I'm official

As of 7:30 tonight I became a member of the cat bite club...hehehe. Seriously though...it really hurts!!! I was holding this little cat to get ready to do a blood draw. I opened the needle drawer and it must have startled her because all of a sudden she was all over the place. I tried to grab her scruff and she started gnawing on my left pinky! I quickly let go, as I've been told to do, so she couldn't do anymore damage and she was off! Jennifer had come up behind me and let everyone else know that we had a loose cat while she set me to scrubbing with betadine. They finally caught her in x-ray. Apparently she was on top of the tower, after trying to climb up everything else and about to push the ceiling tiles aside and disappear. Katelyn, one of the hospital assistants, had put on the lead gloves, got up on the x-ray table and caught the cat mid-jump, pulled her fingers back inside the glove because the cat was gnawing on it and got her in the sedation box that Jamie, the veterinary technician, had ready to go. Dr. Smith had been helping and quickly went to the owner to get permission to sedate her so they could do the procedures that we had planned. So little Miss Kit got to go sleepy while I sat scrubbing for about 20 minutes. Katelyn called Betsy, another hospital assist. and she came and drove me to the emergency room. Jennifer got my dog and drove my car home after they closed up at 9pm. After they checked me in, Betsy went back to the clinic to help clean and they called me back to a room soon after that. Brian, our clinic manager, came as soon as he could and sat with me while I waited to be seen by the doctor. They gave me a tetanus shot, cleaned my wounds some more and gave me some antibiotics, along with a prescription for that and hydrocodone. Brian drove me home and I'll go get my prescriptions in the morning. Brian will make sure my shifts are covered for tomorrow for sure, and Saturday if I want. L&I is paying for everything, of course, and I'll be okay! My finger is swollen and I have 1 big, 3 medium and 2 small punctures so it's on ice now.

On a happier note, Brian had given me lots of good news earlier today! I have been there 6 months, so I get to start getting bonuses from our monthly bonus board, which was created to get us to focus on doing things such as putting medical notes in the computer (we're trying to go paperless), giving perception tours, scheduling recheck appointments and recommending dentals/spays/neuters. Also, I get to start my retirement IRA thing (they'll match me up to 3% of each paycheck, so I'll probably go with that) and get medical benefits, if I choose to, which I probably will. It's a bit of money from my paycheck, but both of those things are taken out pre-taxes and I'm already fully vested. Medical benefits are Premera Blue Cross, and will cover medical, dental and vision for me and Blake!!! I get to make my own appointment with the insurance guy to ask him any questions I want (pre-existing conditions, etc.) in order to decide. Brian will figure out for me exactly when I am eligible for the other benefits (disability, pet insurance, etc.), since I only just started full-time. And the best part, since I've been there for 6 months, I got a good-sized raise...starting immediately! I TOLD YOU THIS IS THE BEST CLINIC IN THE WORLD!!!