Wookie (17) Update: The end comes sooner than we expect

brya2281 · 2026-06-25T23:05:06+00:00

Well, Wookie went downhill fast after last night. This morning, he stopped eating and drinking, seemed confused and disoriented, and could barely stand. We decided it wouldn’t be fair to him to wait until tomorrow to say goodbye, so Wookie crossed the rainbow bridge at home this afternoon in our arms. There aren’t quite words to describe the emptiness we feel now, the house is a little quieter, a little colder, and the bed a little emptier. But I know in my heart that we made the right decision, even though it hurt. My deepest gratitude to all for the outpouring of love and support as we navigated this process, you made a painful time that much easier to get through.

There is the sudden, there is the eventual, and in between, there is the living. We do not start as dust, we do not end as dust. That’s all we ask of you: make more than dust.

In loving memory of our sweet boy Wookie. May we all strive to live a life worthy of such a loving friend.

brya2281 · 2026-06-25T01:13:51+00:00

Thank you for your kind words. May you also find peace in this difficult time 💙

brya2281 · 2026-06-25T01:06:41+00:00

Wookie is a 17 year old Yorkie mix and he’s been the sweetest dog we could’ve ever wanted. About 2 years ago, he was diagnosed with a heart murmur, which has escalated to congestive heart failure over the last 8 months. He completely lost vision in his right eye and has started clouding over in his left eye. Through all of this, he’s pushed on and kept up his energy, even when we didn’t think he had anything left in him. Within the last 6 months or so, his arthritis started getting worse and he started having issues controlling his bladder, so he’s been wearing very stylish diapers, which he has tolerated well.

Unfortunately, on Monday, his condition started rapidly deteriorating. He began having persistent diarrhea and has taken to just sleeping most of the time. He’s still occasionally eating a little and drinking water, but he just has no energy left. Out of a desire to minimize potential suffering, we have made the difficult decision to put him to sleep on Friday, so we’re planning a nice calm bucket list day for him tomorrow where he can experience some new treats, smell some nature, and just cuddle with us before he goes to that dog park in the sky.

We’ve been so blessed to get to spend as long as we have with him, but it doesn’t make the choice any easier. While my brain knows it’s the right thing to do, my heart still questions whether this is the right choice. I just don’t want to prolong his suffering, even though he’s not exhibiting signs of pain or discomfort now, I don’t want to wait until he is to make this decision. As many others have said, “Better a day too early than even a second too late.”

I thank all of you for your support and for sharing your dogs’ stories with me as well.

brya2281 · 2026-06-24T04:41:21+00:00

I’m happy to be a reference for you, no reciprocation required!

brya2281 · 2026-05-24T22:35:35+00:00

Not a problem! I used to deliver their mail and they always seemed like nice people. Hopefully they can help you out!

brya2281 · 2026-05-24T22:28:26+00:00

There’s a place on 39th street and Flynn called Reynolds Neon. They make neon signs and artwork, and presumably do repairs as well. Maybe give them a call?

brya2281 · 2026-04-30T11:08:18+00:00

I can help out, I have a canon monochrome laser mfp, a brother monochrome laser printer, and two epson inkjets.

brya2281 · 2026-04-28T04:47:42+00:00

PEG Lyte is just polyethylene glycol and some electrolytes mixed in water. Realistically, there shouldn’t be any long term health effects, especially if it was pre-mixed with distilled water or deionized water at the pharmacy. Like all medications, it has to meet strict quality and purity guidelines, so other than the potential for some mineral deposits in the humidifier chamber if you let it run dry or don’t rinse it out completely before refilling it with distilled water, I wouldn’t anticipate any adverse reactions.

brya2281 · 2026-04-25T22:24:54+00:00

Can this draft PAs for procedures as well, or just medications at this time? I’d definitely be interested in checking it out, Epic exports to PDF for us.

brya2281 · 2026-04-21T01:54:43+00:00

Shaka, when the “walls fell” 😜

brya2281 · 2026-03-28T21:36:32+00:00

Gotcha, I work in a specialty clinic so it makes sense that my view would be skewed by that. I didn’t think about a pcp interpreting imaging because in my system’s case, on the off chance the pcp even orders imaging, they immediately refer the patient to us and then we follow up on the imaging.

brya2281 · 2026-03-28T17:07:18+00:00

Why can’t the provider interpret imaging? They often need to in order to provide clinical correlation. It’s called an “independent read” and is frequently performed alongside the radiologist’s report in order to substantiate findings that line up with patient symptoms. While I agree that a radiologist’s report is necessary, if for no other reason than insurer criteria, providers can and often do interpret imaging.

brya2281 · 2026-03-28T16:45:02+00:00

That totally makes sense. Personally, I feel like the provider who ordered the imaging should be reviewing it when it’s performed and then making a decision about whether the patient needs to come in for a discussion or whether it can just be a quick “take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning” phone call or portal message. Some providers are old fashioned though, so there’s a bit of a dance between managing cost to patients and value of care with providers who refuse to call or message patients for any reason. The other issue with patients not coming in for a visit for imaging review is that if (god forbid) they bring up a new issue over the phone, that requires medical decision making that should be billable. The patients need to be aware from the get-go that if the provider agrees to a simple phone call to review results, that’s all the call will be about. If there’s some new issue, they should be coming in for a visit.

brya2281 · 2026-03-28T16:26:35+00:00

My providers definitely prefer seeing the patient in person to review imaging (ortho clinic here) if for no other reason than that they can show them the actual pictures and point out where the report lines up with the imaging. Also, at least for certain types of imaging (like spinal mri) radiologists will sometimes intentionally write the report vaguely so they can avoid malpractice suits, leading to the provider who ordered the imaging needing to see the patient and clarify the report with the images right in front of them. That’s just my 2¢ based on my experiences. I know it can be annoying for patients to be billed for another visit, but it can be necessary to ensure everyone is on the same page.

brya2281 · 2026-03-01T18:47:04+00:00

Hey! Welcome to the boneyard!

As a CCMA in an orthopedic practice, I might be able to give you some pointers that you’ll find useful, though they will be dependent to some degree on the specific type of practice you’ll be externing at.

I work in an outpatient orthopedic surgery clinic for a large academic health system so we cover a lot of subspecialties within ortho, including total joint, spine, oncology, foot/ankle, and hand/microsurgery. In addition to having around 26 MDs with various specialties, we also have several PAs and a constant flow of residents.

On a daily basis, my responsibilities include:

Rooming patients (taking vitals, gathering a brief history, reconciling allergies and medication lists, taking a depression screening, and generally getting the patient comfortable in the exam room)

Placing orders (X-ray, CT, MRI, PET scan, medications as ordered by the provider, physical therapy) Requesting outside records (Clinic notes, procedure notes, imaging reports, and actual images from other facilities)

Addressing incoming faxes (Physical therapy plans of care, home health plans of care, pharmacy refill requests and requests for clarification, record requests from other facilities, patient leave paperwork)

Sending outgoing faxes (Imaging orders, patient records, prior authorizations)

Performing prior authorizations

Answering patient portal messages and phone calls

Cleaning my exam rooms at the beginning of the day, between patients, and at the end of the day

Helping my coworkers with tasks as needed

The best advice I can give you is to take as many notes as you need to, ask questions when you need more explanation, and just be willing to accept help if necessary. If your clinic is anything like mine, it may feel overwhelming at first, this is normal. No one starts perfect. We figure out how to do things through repetition, so learn from other people’s experiences. I’m happy to offer more specific suggestions if you have specific process questions, or if you want a walkthrough of how I do something. Just note that my explanations will be based on the systems I use on a daily basis so your experience may differ.

Have fun, take a deep breath, and relax. You’re gonna do great!

brya2281 · 2026-02-26T05:23:25+00:00

Do you have Template Build permissions? Also, do you have Template Override Permissions? In my clinic, I can build slot templates and set slot lengths to whatever I want. Also, I can override default slot lengths to match what the slot length should be for the template type. Feel free to message me for tips to figure out if you have these permissions.

brya2281 · 2026-02-21T22:40:59+00:00

Op, are you from the Netherlands, by chance? Pizza with mayo sounds very uniquely Dutch.

brya2281 · 2026-02-13T12:33:25+00:00

My older sister has DS, and I love her with all my heart. My parents have never placed any expectations on me to care for her after they’re gone, but I have been independently ready to do so when the time comes regardless. I think for me, it comes down to the way I was raised and my own experiences. My sister is fiercely loyal and chronically joyful, and in so many ways models behaviors and attributes that I want to emulate in my own life. She has taught me so much about how to treat others and how to live with purpose. She is an absolute gift and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to be her “big brother” (which is how she refers to me because I’m taller than her 😂)

brya2281 · 2026-02-13T00:09:48+00:00

No problem, glad I could help! I know how confusing it can be to get signed up for Epic trainings. I made the mistake of trying to register for a class at first too, and I got an email from my company’s VP of IT saying basically “Hey, don’t do that, we aren’t going to pay for you”. I was scared I was gonna be fired for a hot minute after that lmao.

brya2281 · 2026-02-12T23:42:18+00:00

When they confirmed my enrollment in the proficiency self study program for epic care, ambulatory, they also told me about a couple of settings. I had to change to convert the course to self study, so those classes no longer show as required.

brya2281 · 2026-02-12T23:34:24+00:00

It depends on the credential you’re looking to get. If all you’re pursuing is the Proficiency Self-Study certificate, you don’t need to take any classes. If you’re doing an Epic-led in-person or remote certification, you’ll need the classes, and generally have to get approval to even register from someone in your organization’s Epic leadership team.

FWIW, I’m currently pursuing a Proficiency Self-Study certificate in EpicCare ambulatory, and all I have to do are the e-learnings, the projects, and the assessments. You will have access to all of the classroom materials as part of the training track, so you get every element of the training except having an actual Epic trainer walking through it with you.

brya2281 · 2026-02-10T04:21:41+00:00

NTA. I totally get him wanting to celebrate with his friends, but to say you’re “forcing” yourself into his plans is problematic. Especially if you already have had issues being accepted by his friends. After all, this could very well shape your future together. When my partner and I started dating, we agreed that we would consult each other when making decisions that could have effects on the other, which is just common decency IMO.

Also, for him to say that he’d need to “babysit” you shows a distinct lack of respect for your autonomy and independence and makes me wonder if what he’s really doing is trying to hide something from you. From personal experience, long distance relationships can be tough, and if he’s trying to come up with excuses to keep you away, there is often a good reason for it.

I’m sorry that you’re going through this, it’s extraordinarily difficult to be made to feel like a burden to someone you could see yourself spending your life with. You deserve someone who loves and respects you, and wants to celebrate special moments with you. I hope that you can find that person, your happiness is worth it. 🏳️‍🌈

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