My Take Tuesday: The Cost of the Calling

Last Friday, I found myself on the receiving end of medical care rather than providing it.

For the past several months, I had been dealing with a nagging pain that seemed to worsen at night and after sitting for extended periods of time. Like many veterinarians, I convinced myself it was probably nothing. Maybe I had simply overdone it. Maybe I was getting older. Maybe it would just go away on its own.

It didn’t.

A visit to my physician confirmed the diagnosis: a right inguinal hernia.

So on Friday, I underwent surgery to have it repaired.

This marks the third hernia repair I have required since becoming a veterinarian.

Apparently, years of pulling calves, pushing cattle, lifting Saint Bernards, moving anesthesia machines, carrying feed sacks, and occasionally wrestling a reluctant reindeer can take a toll on a fellow’s body.

Who knew?

The truth is that veterinary medicine is a physically demanding profession. Most people see the medicine, the surgery, the diagnostics, and the science. What they don’t always see are the thousands of pounds lifted, pushed, pulled, restrained, and carried over the course of a career.

The dairy and beef cattle years were especially hard on my body. There is nothing quite like spending long days in corrals, chutes, barns, and calving pens to remind you that livestock generally outweigh veterinarians by a considerable margin.

And yet, if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Not for a second.

The sore muscles, the long nights, the scars, and even the occasional surgical repair are all part of a life spent doing work that I love.

I am taking a few days away from the clinic to recover and plan to return to work on Thursday. While I am eager to get back, I will be taking things a little easier over the next six weeks. My surgeon was quite clear that if I would prefer not to have a fourth hernia repair someday, I should allow this one to heal properly.

That seems like sound advice.

In the meantime, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our wonderful clients for their patience, kindness, and understanding. Your support means more than you know.

Veterinarians spend much of their lives helping others through illness, injury, and recovery. Every now and then, we get a small reminder of what it feels like to be on the other side of the exam table.

I have been reminded once again that healing takes time, that good care matters, and that sometimes the hardest thing for a veterinarian to do is sit still.

At least for six weeks.

We’ll see how that goes.

And that is My Take.

N. Isaac Bott, DVM