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Personal crisis.

My dog is incredibly sick. She had surgery Monday for an obstruction, which went well, but they found during it that parts of her pancreas are basically dying (it's called acute necrotizing pancreatitis). We didn't actually know that till Thursday because they had to do a biopsy to figure it out. That's generally fatal, but she was doing really well and didn't have any symptoms - we wouldn't have known that she had it at all had she not had surgery. So we were worried, but cautiously optimistic.

Today I noticed her belly was looking a little yellow, and not in a cowardice speaking-in-metaphors kind of way. Which worried me for her liver, so we called the vet, they said to bring her in for bloodwork, and now she's been hospitalized because her liver numbers are way up. Again they said normally dogs with this kind of stuff are in terrible shape, and she's still fine (except for her golden hue), so that's good, but.....

But.

I'm just really scared and sad, and I'm not sure how to deal. And then I'm not sure what to tell my students - some of them know about the surgery, so they've been asking about her periodically, and I've given them updates that she was doing well, since she was. But I'm kind of a mess and I'm not sure if I should tell them or not.

I lean towards sharing it with them, since I AM a mess and I think they need to know that and know not to push me on things; I'm almost certainly going to have a shorter fuse than usual, and there's definitely a shot I'll start to cry about something at some point.

On the other hand, I very well might cry if I do tell them, so that would be potentially horribly awkward.

Opinions? (And good thoughts for my puppy would be deeply appreciated.)

4 comments:

R said...

I say share it with them. I share parts of my life with my high school students...not anything too personal, but if I know I'm going to be gone, I usually tell them why, I tell tnehem a little about my husband, always asking what they are doing over the weekend and if I can, I tell them parts of mine. I always feel like it's good to know that your teacher has a life :) My little sister had surgery a few weeks ago and I let them know when it was going on in case my cell phone rang. If something is going on that I know I'm going to be a little on edge about and it's shareable, I share it. I know lots of teachers say it's not good to share any personal stuff with your students, but I think they appreciate it.

p.s. - we got our first puppy this weekend! a weimaraner, and he is a cutie!!

R2P2 said...

I'm so sorry to hear that! I know how hard it is to see your beloved furbaby in pain, especially knowing how serious it is.

Since you are so good about establishing relationships with your kids, I say tell them. They're probably going to pick up that something isn't right anyway. You could preface it by reminding them that you're not trying to make excuses, but if you're not yourself lately, here's why. I think these are all valuable life lessons they can learn from you in this time: life happens and it's hard but we can't always put everything on hold to deal with it; however, if we're honest (not making excuses) with people, compassion and love can help us in those times we gotta work through it. :) Hang in there!

luckeyfrog said...

I would say that if you want to tell them, tell them. I would leave out most of the details, but I think you could tell them that you are having a bad few days because your dog is very sick and you are worried about her. I think students are generally really compassionate and will probably help you feel better.

I'll be thinking of your puppy, and you too. Poor thing.

teachin' said...

Thanks, all - she's actually doing much better. And not only is that nice for the obvious reason, it also means that I've stopped crying and so my face might not be all blotchy and swollen by the time I go to school tomorrow. :) I'll still tell them, at least those that ask about her or my weekend, but at least I won't be melting down.

RKS, congrats on the new pup!

"I'm a dreamer but I ain't the only one Got problems but we love to have fun" -K'naan, "Dreamer"

I teach eighth grade Language Arts at an urban school. My kids kick ass and will change the world. I want everyone to know.
 
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