Sydney's Story
July 22, 2004
Dear Dr. Fingland:
We are writing to personally commend your university, as well as several of its faculty, staff and students for the excellent service that we were provided during recent visits. In August 2003, our Rottweiler, Sydney, was diagnosed with canine osteosarcoma, which is an aggressive form of cancer. Our veterinarian recommended we consult with the oncologists at the Kansas State University Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Being a three-hour drive from Wichita, we made our first consultation appointment, which was with Dr. Ruthanne Chun. When you hear the word cancer, you feel so hopeless, helpless and numb. However, Dr. Chun was patient, answered all of our questions and was very professional, yet caring. She provided us with some hope as were able to participate in a clinical trial that Dr. Laura Garrett was conducting.
For two months, we drove up every
two weeks to get Sydney's chemotherapy, X-rays or follow-up exams. Then
every month after that for follow-up X-rays. With every visit, all of
the people at the hospital were friendly and professional. They would
apologize if procedures ran later than expected and handled the often
bad news in a very compassionate way. Despite all of their efforts,
Sydney began to have seizures related to the cancer on June 10th and we
had to rush to the hospital to have him evaluated, as we felt the end
was near. They stabilized him long enough for us to take him home in
time to celebrate his 9th birthday on June 13th and prepare our
goodbyes. We had planned on euthanizing Sydney at our home, but because
we wanted someone who genuinely cared for Sydney to release him from his
pain, we decided to give him one last car ride back to K-State, to see
the people who had cared for him during his time of need. Upon our
arrival, Dr. Garrett, who was off duty but happened to be in her office,
took time to stop by to say goodbye to Sydney and give us some
comforting words. Sydney was released from this earth with dignity by
Dr. Chun, assisted by senior vet student Sarah Hicks on June 16, 2004.
On June 23, 2004, we received Sydney's ashes in the mail. On that very
same day, we also received a letter from the Pet Trust at K-State
informing us that senior veterinary student Sarah Hicks had made a
generous contribution in memory of Sydney so that he would be forever
remembered. Then on July 2, 2004, we received a package from the
Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Enclosed was a baked clay paw
print that had an impression of Sydney's paw (taken while he was in ICU
on June11th due to Dr. Garrett not knowing if he would live much longer)
and was painted and had Sydney's name on it. There was also a very
touching sympathy card signed by the radiology technician Sheila Stern,
oncology nurse Amy Juracek, Dr. Laura Garrett, Dr. Ruthanne Chun and
senior vet student Sarah Hicks. No amount of words can express how much
these gifts mean to us.
As you can see, we were provided
not only top notch veterinary care, but everyone, from the admissions
desk to the radiologists, from the vet students to the oncologists,
treated us with respect, care and most of all, compassion. We have never
encountered such a wonderful group of people than we have at the
Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. They provided outstanding service,
but did so in a way to help lessen the heartache of such a difficult
situation. The level of service we were provided makes us very confident
that the future veterinarians they are training will carry on those
qualities that are so needed by folks like us. We will definitely
recommend their services to everyone we know.
Attached, you will find a list of people that we encountered while
visiting the hospital. We're sure we are leaving a few people out that
worked behind the scenes whose names we don't know, but they are equally
important to us. The list is comprised of the people whose names we do
know who extended their caring and compassionate service to us. Our
special thanks go to Dr. Chun and Dr. Garrett, who were Sydney's main
oncologists, who were exceptional in their professionalism and care. And
to senior veterinary student Sarah Hicks, whose compassion and care for
Sydney while he was in ICU and when he was euthanized is beyond words.
In addition to the wonderful care Sydney received at your hospital, we also found an online bone cancer support group quite helpful. Please feel free to share this web site with others who may benefit. The address is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bonecancerdogs.
We thank you so very much for your time. If you would please ensure these folks are recognized for their excellent level of care, we would appreciate it. Again, thank you for taking time to read this letter and all our best to your and your wonderful university.