For the past couple of years I've talked about life as a vet. However, there is another half to me...my wife. Most vets are not married to other vets and those spouses have to put up with a lot of things that they probably never expected. I've been married to my sweetheart for almost 12 years, and she's had to deal with some pretty odd things. She also isn't a science-based person, having majored in English and minored in Drama. She has a pretty weak stomach and doesn't like "creepy-crawlies". In fact, when she saw the cuterebra picture from last week she became nauseous, and couldn't even come close to watching the videos. Here are some other things my wife has had to deal with....
* Trying to get blood, feces, urine, and other unseemly things from my clothes.
* Hearing me casually talk about abscesses, surgeries, and other gross things while we are eating dinner.
* Coming to visit me at work and seeing me in the middle of a surgery. (Remember that weak stomach of hers?)
* Seeing me struggle with life-or-death decisions and worry about it the whole time.
* Having me call at the last minute and say that I won't make it home for dinner because of a last-minute emergency.
* Having me leave in the middle of the night because I was called in for an emergency.
Veterinary spouses often have to put up with even more things, especially those married to large animal vets. There's nothing quite like having to help give birth to a calf or see your spouse carried away in an ambulance because they were kicked by a horse. Spouses also have to give support and comfort when things go wrong and a patient dies. I know that my wife has helped me on untold occasions.
So I just want to give a big "shout-out" and thanks to the husbands and wives that support their veterinary spouses. It's not an easy job and we're glad that you do it.
