TheDoctor394 Offline

55 Single Male from Brisbane       116
         

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Ally's Vet Visit

The vet came today to look at Ally, and, by the end of it, my main thought was that I've pretty much got what I was doing all I could to avoid getting - an old dog. The breeder told me she was five, but the vet thinks she might be eight or even older, and he went by her teeth, which are not in a good state (one might even need to be extracted, but probably not). Everything else seems to be fine from the outside, although the inside still has to be determined. She needs dental work, which they can do along with her spaying, and it's the spaying that's knocked me around a bit in cost, as it's $600, with the dentistry around another $90 or so. But, through all this, Ally is my dog now, and whatever quality care she might or might not have been getting beforehand, I want to do all I can for her now to give her the best life possible.

Ally

Just adding the photos here.

My Labrador's Health

It's been a bit of a rough last couple of days. I'm struggling with yet another throat problem, the fourth since I started my job in February (I was sent home from work today, almost as soon as I arrived), but in more upsetting news, I found out last night that my dog, Max, is very sick, with a large mass on his spleen (discovered after an ultra sound), which the vets assume is a tumour.

An operation is an option, but at his age (twelve and a half), it seems that it would be just an expensive and stressful, drawn out process, with little hope of things getting better, especially as he's also suffering from arthritis. So I currently have him back, and he's having treatment. I need to make decisions on what to do. I knew this would come eventually, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Work and Health

I've been doing a block of work at a particular daycare centre over recent weeks, with two and a half weeks to go, and the Kindy teacher I've been working with has loved me helping her, telling me I'm the best she'd had, wishing I was permanent, not a casual. But I assume when this time is over, I'll go back to casual.
But I'm not sure if I want to be permanent anyway, due to the paper/homework staff have to do, which is just ridiculous. I hate it, and I'm sure I'm not doing it all right (or at all) anyway, so they might not want me on that basis alone.
Added to this stress is my health. I have deliberately lost a lot of weight over the last eight or nine years, as I was overweight, but it has gone too low this year, to the point where my doctor has got concerned and sent me for some tests. I've had blood tests, chest X-rays and CT scans, all of which are fine, but I had to go to the hospital today to be checked over for a gastroscopy (or whatever it is) and a colonoscopy, which is going to involve more preparation than I even had for my hernia operation last year.
Both my doctor and I think it's almost certain that my change in working circumstances this year are to blame for the issue, as I've struggled to adapt my diet, not helped by my erratic hours and lunch times. But he wants to be completely sure .
I'm feeling very stressed.

Work Update

Just an update...

I've continued to work at the daycare centre on a casual basis, usually in the Kindy room, which is where I prefer, although, whenever I go in to work, I'm never sure exactly where I will be at first, which I'm feeling very weary of.

When with the Kindy, some of my time is spent with a couple of boys who have autism, and that has been a challenge, especially as one of them is aggressive (pushes other children over at any given moment), but I had one day with him, and the lady who usually focuses on him (but had to move up because the teacher was away), said I did "an amazing job, thank you so much".

Some of the time I work is me being called in at the last minute, and as I write this, I'm aware I could get a phone call at any moment. I'd like to take on a permanent Kindergarten assistant roll, and I recently found out they have been advertising for the position for over a month. If they do choose someone, I imagine they won't need me anymore. It's all still very unsettled.

But I thank the Lord for what I've had so far, and, while I still struggle with certain issues (especially toileting), I'm grateful that I've been able to do as well as I have, and have had this many opportunities.

Sick

I'm sick. I was eventually meant to work all five days this week, but a fever came on on Thursday, and I couldn't work. I eventually went to the doctor, with my temperature going up and down like a yo-yo, eventually reaching 38.9, and was told I had a throat infection, so I have anti-biotics.
I'm crawling back to bed.

Working

I worked today. At last.

Just a few minutes before I was about to go out to get my hair cut, I got a phone call from one of the Goodstart centres I had put down at which to be a casual, asking if I could come in straight away, which I did, and it went well, helped by working with the kindergarten children, rather than younger ones. I'm also going in tomorrow, at an earlier time.

A big concern, and I knew it would be an issue, is my physical state. Daycare has more sitting down on small, hard chairs and getting down than After School Care, and that's what aggravates my arthritis and bad back (two separate things) the most. Hence, I'm in quite a bit of pain at the moment, despite going to get medication from the doctor for my arthritis a couple of weeks ago.

Of course, this all might be just a couple of days' work, and then nothing for ages. But at least it's something, when it was looking more and more like I was never going to have a paying job again.

Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers.

Help

I need prayer. I'm in a very bad way. Emotionally. Seriously bad. I need help.

Another Update

I have been accepted as a casual employee by Goodstart daycare. I still have forms to fill in and stuff, not to mention the fact that I still have never done this specific work before. And I have to get on an availability roster and wait for someone to actually ask me to work.
But it's a step. :-)

Employment Update

An update on my job situation.
The interview went extremely well, but I found out a week later that I'd missed out on the assistant's roll I had applied for, as they were wanting someone with more experience in daycare.
However, I was asked if I would be interested in being a casual, and confirmed I would be. The process continues to go along, as I've had to get JP-signed copies of my qualifications, as well as send them a couple of other things, and they've got to contact a couple of my referees at my last place of employment - and I've just been informed that those people are away on holiday, so that will be attempted next week (bizarre - they interview me and THEN try and check my references).
It's going on and on, but I can only keep doing my bit and waiting.
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