Along for the ride:

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Pounds, Kilos, Ounces and Grams, Oh My!

Last Friday Sparkles weighed in at urgent care at 7.8 oz (ounces), reflected on her chart as 0.49 lbs (pounds). The second tech who took over because she recognized Sparkles and I, repeated the weight in favor of a metric solution (all the meds are calculated by metric weight) and found 221 grams.
Today we returned for a check-up and all is progressing nicely. We even have hope that the yucky eye is healing as Sparkles gains strength. There is talk of including a little canned food in the menu for Ms. Kitten.
The assistant today weighed Sparkles and noted 422 grams. We have a lot more kitty on our hands than we did before; almost double in less than a week. We are witnessing this phenomenon developing daily before our eyes. There will be more photos soon, I promise.
The specialist Kitty Vet with whom we had scrupulously made our appointment today came in and treated Sparkles' eye, for which I am grateful. She answered my questions but asked enough of her own that I knew she had not even glanced at our chart. Sparkles has been seen at this clinic four times in the last ten days. Two of those visits were near-death experiences. I would think that her chart might be of interest!
Finally, when I asked what Sparkles had weighed last time, our illustrious doctor flicked on the exam room computer, which is there for that reason, and told me that Sparkles had actually lost weight. According to the notes, as read by our doctor, she had previously clocked  490 grams.
I excused myself for arguing the point with her and respectfully pointed out that the chart said 0.49 lbs. She said that was not possible as they worked in grams and kilos. The irrefutable print out and my prove-you-right or prove-you-wrong calculations with my trusty, never leave home without it calculator did nothing to sway her convictions of infallibility.
The outcome was not life-threatening, but it sure as heck could have been. I won't be going out of my way to visit this "Specialist" again!


9 comments:

  1. You'd think the entire world would be able to agree on certain standards of measure, or otherwise, like driving on the right (both senses) of the road... but no, there are those who just have to be different, despite the confusion and dangers of said confusion as pointed out here... here's to standards...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Specialist? Another term for know-it-all-who-knows-nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The infamous Gimli Glider came to mind, reading this - a 1976 Air Canada flight that had been incorrectly refuelled in Montreal and ran completely out of juice at 26,000 because someone had misunderstood the recently adopted metric system. (It glided to a safe landing in Manitoba)

    Thank goodness Sparkles has you to advocate for her and is not dependant on just a wing and a prayer.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's great to hear she's doing so well. I know too well about dubious vets, living in the sticks in France!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Duh...

    Congratulations on being right!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ms. Pliers, I was really sure of myself because the vet-techs and I had discussed it in detail during our last visit. I still did the math to prove that the .4something lbs corresponded to 7.8 oz and 220gms. It's always worth checking oneself.

    Di, Horses and vets do go hand in hand, don't they?

    Deborah, I almost mentioned that incredible story in my post. I have seen the documentary. What a shock for those pilots!

    Steve, She started the appointment trying to "wing it" through an easy one and backed herself into a corner. I would not be satisfied with myself if I did that and I kept thinking "How many years of study?"
    All she had to do was stop, evaluate and reconsider. She discounted my "Layman's" input out of hand.

    Owen, I don't think worldwide agreements of any kind are happening very soon. In the interim, people need to pay attention to what they're doing and how it affects others.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank goodness Sparkles continues to improve. What a little miracle kitten.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am sure when we see the pictures, the entire blogging world will vindicate you and agree that Sparkles has indeed gained weight! *G*

    Some people just need to be experts and refuse to listen to opposition. I agree with avoiding the Expert the next time you visit the clinic.

    ReplyDelete
  9. TechnoBabe, photos as soon as I can.

    Jean. It could so easily have been turned into a teaching moment for all their junior staff. That's what I would have done. I wonder if she thought about it afterwards and felt dread at the possibilities for major damage.

    ReplyDelete