the last part of this trilogy.. Will be a very late post in this World Veterinary Day celebration.
10 years ago. I remembered when I was struggling to finish my education and had this hesitation. Most of my friends already started their interviews with companies, and some of them looked out for internships in clinics/ hospitals in other regions. While I have already been accepted to work in Indonesia’s largest gibbon conservation program. But did I ready for that? I was struggling during the class and exam, especially when it was about clinical stuff. Once my lecturer praised my theoretical skill, but she was disappointed with my motoric ability and warned me. During the bachelor’s program, I scored less in clinical stuff. while in the internships program, especially in clinical practice, I was way behind my mates. Working in wildlife conservation as a veterinarian demands good clinical practice skills. What drove me to finally go for it is, that it’s my dream job.
Took a couple of years of flashback, when I almost finished high school and prepared for university enrollment, I was clueless. I didn’t know where I should go. I only tried so hard to graduate high school. Then my mom had this obsession… She wanted me to go to medical school, though I wasn’t smart enough. I couldn’t pass any test at any medical school that I did accept in international affairs study. I still had another chance for national enrollment, so my parents suggested to I have to try medical school as the first option and (surprisingly) veterinary medicine school as the second option. Now we all know where my fate went end right? Then I was still clueless in the earlier year. I had a good score. But again, nothing motivated me to study hard. Until I correlated my study with tv shows that my Dad loves to see. Wanna try some guesses? Steve Irwin and many other wildlife series in discovery or animal planet. Then I started to join a student organization that has a focus on wildlife medicine. I envied my seniors running their field study in a national park like Baluran, where they can watch Banteng in the wild (FYI, Banteng is my first wild animal spirit). I envied my seniors having internships in many rescue centers and zoos. I envied it when my seniors work their thesis research on wildlife. I want to be like them! Therefore, my study runs late. Normally we can finish the bachelor’s program in 4 years and I’m 4,5 years. It happened because I was too picky to run my thesis research, then there were me and my classmate who randomly researched Babirusa’s nutrition in a zoo. There goes my second wild animal spirit: Babirusa. In 2008, there was a joint conference of Asia zoo and wildlife Medicine in Bogor, and I went there, writing a poster about my organization’s annual field study in sea turtle observation, and there goes my 3rd wild animal spirit. After that, I was almost sure that I have to work as a wildlife vet in the future. On the other hand, I am also active as a dog show steward, so there I spare my backup later.
So carry on the day I finally flew to Kalimantan in 2010, to join a gibbon (there my 4th wild animal spirit) conservation program named Kalaweit. At that time, we were in transition to move the center from Palangkaraya to Muara Teweh. So sometimes I have to switch to each center during that moment. After a while there, a year later I was promoted to the coordinator of the medical team. Not just one site, but two, Since they also have another location in West Sumatra, also in transition to move to another region. Fast forward, I think I got some mental burnout attacks many times and had so many different views there.
That’s the time when I decided to quit and moved. 2014, I tried a new experience, still in wildlife but in West Java, in IAR Indonesia, until now. It is the largest slow loris (there’s my 5th wild animal spirit) conservation program in Indonesia. I almost surrender, since I have so many things to catch up on. Clinical practice like surgeries, perspective change in how to diagnose cases, and perspective change in holistically running conservation programs. But I survived in my 6th year, thank God.
Many sad moments happen during my 10 years of work. Losing your lovely patient is an example. I remembered Kimmy, a hand-raised gibbon baby since her parents neglected her. She died because of my confidence. That moment made me stop to bring my emotions into this work. We are just living creatures, and we can’t save every life. Working in the jungle tested your emotions. Far away from family, sometimes it felt miserable, especially compared to everything you got in your life before. Limited communication networks, remote areas, private electricity for just 4 hours a day, and access for entertainment, information, and education were too limited too.
Happy moments can be found in the simplest way, such as eating some jungle fruit, and encountered so much wildlife. Traveling to a new place, enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Got an opportunity to travel abroad too, to represent your organization’s works at the conference. worked with many animals like cats and dogs, macaques (long-tailed, pig-tailed, and Mentawai), gibbons, crocs, snakes, raptors, and slow lorises. Succeed to intubate a loris, succeed in your first solo surgery in your 6th year of a career (way too late). Succeed to publish the first scientific article.
Tried to operate so many advanced and complicated machines in your work like blood machines, x-rays, endoscopes, and gas machines (I know I’m a dork!).
Another happy moment is when people started to debate their wonderful life and compared it to mine, I can just easily shut them straight by telling them I have already been on the TV many times!
I’ve been treating Hundreds to thousands of animals, some survived and can go back to the wild again, some are just stuck in captivity but (hopefully) with good welfare, and some couldn’t survive.
I never thought I can be a wildlife vet for 10 straight years and yet survived, live, married, and have a daughter, though it is still far from welfare. Well everyone’s struggling, right?
I remember when I was frustrated to look for a partner since most people don’t have an interest in wildlife. Therefore I tried to bridge a network with students. I tried to inspire them (even though I’m far from a good inspiration), and made a charity program for students who had an interest in wildlife medicine. And glad I still meet those familiar faces in my circle until now.
Too bad my charity program has to be ended 3 years ago. But then it’s not stopping my altruism and voluntary spirit just like that.
It’s been 3 years, since I become a vet volunteer for a local herpetofauna conservation program. I also do TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) in stray cats around my neighborhood.
Besides that, this year is my 2nd period to become the board of the Indonesian wildlife vet association.
I also believe that education is the key for people to understand the vet’s role in society and it can be done in so many ways, such as through social media. So that’s why I’m a bit social media geek.
At the present I know I still have so many flaws, I’m clumsy, I do terrible mistakes like an amateur, I have bad memories, and sometimes I’m inconsistency, But what I learn now is, to be patient, focus, keep reading and study and pretends you know nothing as it is easier to understand more.
To look behind and now facing forward. I don’t know what will happen. Some people suggest I pursue a master degree, some suggest I take a diploma exam, and there’s also somebody still awaits me to quit this life and hoping me to switch to normal office work. In my unpopular opinion, I may need to rest awhile, to take care of my daughter and let my wife come back to her professional life.,
I was always clueless and wondering when people ask about what was in my head to keep struggling like this for the wildlife. Well, I can’t just say it’s my dream job. But it’s not making people aware of how probably it’s important for them. I just realized lately that saving wildlife is an effort to save the environment and humans in the end, just exactly like the “one health” or what Indonesian Veterinarian motto: “Manusya Mriga Satwa Sewaka”à Preserving Human welfare through animal
Anyway,
It took almost 4 years of work until people finally called me “doc”
And just in my 10th year, I finally got gratitude greetings from people around due to the world veterinary day celebration –>and it means a lot for me too!
Happy World Veterinary Day to me, keep struggling, and believe your 4 wisdom words. Those 4 words that you almost left in the rubbish:
Hardwork
Knowledge
Joyful
Dream
One more mystery revealed after the x-ray which was the absence of my lower left last molar! There was no trace of upcoming growth in the jaw, but the rest of the last molars were consistently grown and appeared. So where the fuck that molar go???? The dentist said that it’s probably already extracted. But I didn’t remember when the last time I lost my tooth is. I am also very rare to go to the dentist. If I extracted that, it should be in my adult age. While it’s been like more than 10 years ago the last time I visit the dentist and that molar tooth hasn’t erupted yet at that time
Just a couple of hours before we pass the 2018 gate and will enter the 2019 gate, and believe me it’s just another matter of crappy bullshit that I used to work every year to close the year. Some kaleidoscope, some summary or the trending stuff today, the rewind. I know I was lost within the mid of the year after lost and found many months before. In fact, I have no excuse other than laziness. So just like before, here’s my effort to fix it which would easily break as soon the year switches. LOL
But before reached punchline, I tried to introduce to the participants about veterinarian, the works of veterinarian and talking about the animal health, I mentioned about zoonosis.
piyopikavet
piyopikavet 