NOMV Race Around The World

I am so excited!!

Not One More Vet, Inc. has begun our first real fundraiser.

We are working together to race the circumference of the world (25,000 miles/40,000 km) to unite veterinarians, students, support staff, animal lovers, and all of those that love us!

Registration has already begun as has the race, but it is never too late to join or donate!

Would you like to join my team, Team Renewed Strength? Sign up here!
Would you like to donate? Donate here!!

#NOMVRaceAroundTheWorld #WhoAreYouRacingFor #NotOneMoreVet #SavingLivesOneStepAtATime

We Are Worthy

I had a good therapy session today. I have been struggling with a lot of things lately, often related to how other people see me and how that negatively impacts my self-esteem and mental health. When COVID-19 put me into isolation, I finally started seeing a therapist. I let you know that I would let you follow along in this journey. Today was a very important day.

For the first time in my life, I could say and believe that, “I am worthy.” Not because of actions or achievements, but by nature of being alive, by nature of being, I am worthy.

I am worthy of love.
I am worthy of respect.
I am worthy of responsibility for my actions.
I am worthy of responsibility for my inactions.
I am worthy of life.

I want you to know that you are worthy as well. You are not alone if you have struggled with this concept. Today, I cried for the last 41.5 years of my life that I missed out on knowing and believing this. It is never to late to learn.

#YouAreWorthy #IAmWorthy #WeAreWorthy #NotOneMoreVet #NOMV
#WashYourHands

Just Be

There are so many things that are going through my head today. Some are important. Some are frivolous. Some are serious. Some are random. So, what have I been thinking about?

• COVID-19 and isolation
• I am out of cheese!!
• How can I help others while I am in isolation?
• Am I going crazy? Is my fear and anxiety normal?
• Sadness from cancelling my trip to Mongolia in August to train/mentor veterinarians.
• Joy that some of my friends have tested COVID-19 negative.
• Fear for friends on the front lines of the pandemic. Human and veterinary professionals and staff. Those that work in grocery stores. Those that are exposed to the public.
• Fear for friends that can’t work from home and have lost their jobs.
• Children. Those that are learning from parents that are doing their best. Those that are not safe in their own homes – both children and adults.
• I really miss animals. I don’t think I have ever gone this long without touching an animal. I love pictures and videos, but it is not the same!
• I feel powerless. Powerless to save lives. Powerless to make a difference in the lives of those around me.
• Anger. Lots of anger at the flippancy that some people seem to have with our current situation and needs.
• I rejoice at seeing friends and strangers working to make this less difficult for others.

I am well known for ruminating on things that cause me stress and anxiety, so I have made some strides forward in taking care of myself. On Saturday, I had my first therapist appointment. This was a long time coming. The last time I spoke with a counselor was after September 11, 2001. Most of the time, I am able to work through my stress, anxiety, and depression. These are not normal times. I have had to start addressing that I have had to cancel my trip to Mongolia later this year. It is not just the loss of the travel experience, but rather, the opportunity to rebuild my personal reserves that are filled when volunteering in Mongolia. Yes, I go to help others, and I will not lie and say that I don’t get something from it as well. Volunteering is a major part of how I rebuild myself when I am broken. Along those lines, I also signed up today with http://www.weavr.org, the Wisconsin Emergency Assistance Volunteer Registry. Many of my friends around the country have signed up to help out in an emergency. Many of my friends are making masks and gowns for reusable PPE. I am looking for the helpers that Mr. Rogers told us to look for.

It is okay to have all the thoughts. To have all the feelings. Learning to sit with them is hard, but possible. Not having them take over your life can be a struggle. Please take the time to just be. Be Kind. Be quiet. Be strong. Be sad. Be present. Just be.

#WashYourHands #BeKind #WeAreTheCavalry

#GivingTuesday

Do you have a veterinarian that means a lot to you? A veterinarian that has saved your pet’s life? A veterinarian that has been there from the first day to the last of your pet’s life? A veterinarian that was there and you cried on their shoulder, because you had no one else to turn to? A veterinarian that has answered your questions and calmed your fears?

If so, Not One More Vet, Inc. (NOMV) is an organization that you need to know about. Veterinarians are 4 times more likely to die by suicide than the general public and 2 times more likely to die by suicide than other professionals. These are statistics that the veterinary community is not proud of, but rather is a struggle that we, veterinarians, have regularly. This is not just an American issue, it is an international crisis. Current data shows that between 1 in 4-6 veterinarians has considered suicide. There are many factors that lead into this and there are a lot that still are not known. Not One More Vet, Inc has made its mission to end suicide in the veterinary profession. Through education, a peer-to-peer support group, and our grants program, NOMV has saved lives. We are working to give veterinarians the tools to deal with the specific stresses that we deal with on a daily basis. Through the highs and the lows of life, we are there for each other.

Did you know that Facebook and PayPal are donating up to $7 million dollars this Tuesday, November 27, 2018? A non-profit can receive up to $50,000 in a match. Last year, the match was gone by 6 am, but the donations will make a huge difference in the life of a non-profit.

This year Not One More Vet, Inc (NOMV) is hoping to raise at least $12,000 to provide up to 12 grants in 2019. These grants are used to help veterinarians that are in crisis.

In 2017 and 2018, the NOMV Grant Program has assisted in paying for in-patient treatment for multiple individuals in mental health crisis, finding relief/locum veterinarians for clinics when there has been a crisis or death of the veterinarian, obtained medication and food for a struggling single parent veterinarian, and many more ways. We hope to expand our program to help even more individuals as we have not had the funds to help everyone that has come to us. Please consider Not One More Vet, Inc. in your holiday giving plans!

If you would like to donate via Facebook, you can donate here.

If you are not on Facebook, but would still like to donate, you can do so here with PayPal, Credit or Debit card. You can even set up a repeating monthly donation!!

If you have any questions about what NOMV does, please let me know. I am happy to answer any questions you may have!

Please, tell me about the veterinarian that means a lot to you!

             How can you save a life?

Why do I do what I do?

Four years ago, I joined a small group of veterinarians in a group called Not One More Vet on Facebook. Two years ago, I joined that group as an admin to add individuals to the group after verifying that they were in fact graduate veterinarians. We went from about 2,000 people to currently over 16,000 members. In 2017, the other admins and I started a 501c3 non-profit, Not One More Vet, Inc.

Today, we published a blog post from one of our members, Guided by Something…. As I read this blog post, tears streamed down my face. Why do ask? Because lately, my physical and mental health has been suffering. I haven’t had the chance to take care of myself. I have been sick in mind, body, and spirit. I have been feeling lost and as if nothing I do matters. That I am not enough. Even though I still do not feel 100%, I realized that little and big things happen all the time that I don’t know about. I realized that if my other admins and I had not been here to manage NOMV, to add this author to the group, to give a bit of ourselves every day to thousands of others, then this life may be not be with us any longer.

This week is Veterinary Technician Week. A week to celebrate the wonderful work that the technicians do to promote animal health. If you haven’t already, please go to your local veterinary clinic with a little treat, send a card, or a pizza. Let the technicians, and the entire veterinary staff know that you care. You too, can be a part of saving a life.

Travel, Lots of Travel

It has been awhile since I have posted a blog as life has been crazy busy for the last few years, but it seems like forever. Between relief work throughout Wisconsin and Alaska, the mission to Mongolia, veterinary conferences, as well as Not One More Vet events, I have barely had a moment to just sit (other than on an airplane or in a car/bus/train).

Moose in Wasilla, Alaska

On March 31st, I left home to spend 5 weeks working in Alaska, followed by a week at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, specifically at the veterinary school. While in Estonia, my Not One More Vet colleague, Dr. Carrie Jurney, and I spoke about The Science of Happiness. Seven groups of veterinarians, veterinary students, and veterinary technicians came through the doors to listen to the initial lecture and then attended workshops where we worked through emotional intelligence and crisis intervention. Our wonderful hosts took us to learn how to blacksmith with Mart Salumaa at Eesti Põllumajandusmuuseum! Seriously, this was one of the coolest things I have ever done!

Melanie and her initial hammer strikes

Carrie, Mart, and Melanie after successful blacksmithing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Town Tallin, Estonia

 

I found the Mongolian Embassy in Estonia!

On May 13, 2018, I arrived for the first vacation to do nothing that I can remember taking. I was not there for a wedding, a conference, or work. I was there to rest my brain and body and to spend time with my sister and her family in the United Kingdom. I was able to sit, to sleep, to read, to lay in the grass with the sun shining on me, to play with the kids, and of course Dr. Mario marathons with my sister. I had the joy of meeting some wonderful people, including veterinarians that I have only known by name and Facebook picture.

Melanie and sister, Kayla, at Isaac Newton’s house in the orchard.

Relaxing in the garden, soaking in the rays

Relaxing and letting my body rest was so important. I need to do this more often – resting. I suspect that you may need this, too. Please take the time to take care of yourself in this super busy world that we live in. Busy is not a virtue, although it appears that we may have tried to make it so.

This is not good-bye, it is see you soon!

Goodbyes are hard, so we will focus on just seeing each other later!

When is your next vacation? Will you at least take a 10 minute break?

 

 

Not One More Vet (NOMV)

In 2014, a new Facebook group was started called Not One More Vet (NOMV) by a wonderful veterinarian named Nicole. She was pained by the death of Sophia Yin from mental illness. Nicole thought this Facebook page would be a good way for close veterinary friends to talk about the stresses that we go through and to hopefully make an impact, however small, in veterinary medicine. It could be a place to start changing the way we view mental illness and suicide as a profession. Even the CDC has noticed that veterinary medicine has an unusually high number of anxiety, depression, and suicide, to the point that the CDC has been working on figuring out why this is the case. There are many theories, including access to methods, frequent explanation and belief that euthanasia is often the best (or only) option, perfectionism, compassion fatigue, and many others.

I was lucky enough to be asked to join this group about 2 weeks after it began. I have made new friends and seen a change in my own mental health for the better. In August of 2016, I heard that there was a backlog of people trying to join the group, but it was becoming more and more difficult to verify that people were in fact veterinarians, so I saw a need and offered to help. The group of 4 admins (Nicole, Carrie, Jason, and David) jumped on the offer and the as more veterinarians were approved to join, the requests to join came in exponentially, we have added 2 additional admins (Nora and Leigh to help as our international contingency has grown dramatically). As of today (April 1, 2017), it is no joke, but the group has reached 11,400 members! Wow, is it a lot of work to keep track of everyone and see that when they cry out for help, we are there to give it to them.

Despite having so many veterinarians connected and doing a lot to help them, we have not been able to stop the suicides. We have stopped some of them, and multiple people have come to us to share their stories of coming back from the abyss of depression and the edge of suicide and surviving. Until we can reach them all, we are not done. For this reason, Nicole, Carrie, Jason, David, and I have started Not One More Vet (non-profit status pending). On that page, we have resources available for anyone in the midst of a mental health crisis. There is also a location on the web page for veterinarians to register to join the Facebook group, as well as links to Your Daily Dose, our self care blog, and ways to contact us for speaking engagements, donation information, or general questions.

A fellow veterinarian was given this “Veterinary Survival Kit” along with the mentioned items after speaking to a middle school class!

 

If you are a pet owner and appreciate your veterinarian, please let them know! Some days we go from a euthanasia to a new puppy appointment to a giving devastating news to a family to a sick animal that just needs a little extra help to get better. We do our best to be positive and support you. We may not be able to say it, but sometimes, we (and our support staff) need your support, too. A hug, a smile, a kind word, or even some chocolate or fruit can go a long way.

Are you a veterinarian or have a loved one that is a veterinarian that you think may need help? Please contact us. We would love to help and serve you!