The cat ate my ultrasound pics...

Tuesday Nov 20, 2007

Wish I could say that the title was some sort of pitiful attempt at humor. In fact, it's the truth - no stretching, no exaggerating, no embellishing. That troublesome, good-for-nothin', fat, lazy feline ate my ultrasound pictures. For a scrapbooker, this is nothing short of criminal.

We actually have 2 cats, Bonnie & Clyde. Bonnie (my cat) is an angel. She jumps into my lap to snuggle every time I sit down and generally stays out of the way otherwise. Clyde (from now on referred to as "That Blasted Animal") is the devil. He has scratched every surface he can get his claws into, tries to escape the house every time a door cracks open, and will occasionally attack my legs for no apparent reason. I have scars to prove it. This is the same animal who once climbed onto the top of our fridge where we were storing a lovely decorative bowl. He climbed into the bowl, tipped it over, and rode that thing all the way to the kitchen floor, bouncing the bowl only once off the countertop. Needless to say, that lovely bowl is now a lovely mosaic tray.

So, you may remember that back on October 4 (date is significant) I had THE ultrasound. You know, the really good, detailed one where we learned that Torquil is a boy. The doctor's office gave us some souvenir pictures including the most incredibly adorable picture of his tiny feet. Before my ultrasound, a friend told me to take a CD and ask to get the pics on it then. Did I take her wise advice? Nope. Another friend told me to take good copies of the ultrasound pics because they fade over time. Did I listen? Of course not. I carried those pictures around in my purse so I could SHOW people!

When I finally decided to clean out my purse on 10/29 (again, note the date) I pulled out those pics and put them on the top of my "To Do" pile. I really did have plans to copy them. Next thing I know, I hear this crunching sound ... (you know what's coming here.) I turn around to find That Blasted Animal chowing down on my ultrasound pictures. Bleepety Bleeping Bleep! It was all I could do to stop myself from drop-kicking him out the back door.

While I really was mad, I thought to myself, "I'm going to the OB next week, and I'm sure they'll be able to print more copies. Boy, I bet they'll think this is funny." So at my appointment, I ask the nurse (she has no idea if they can be replaced) and the doctor (again, no clue). Both said they would talk to the ultrasound tech the following day. Neither seemed especially amused by my story, but hey, it was almost 5:00. I never heard back, so yesterday I called the office. I'm going back for another appointment, so I'm hoping I can bring a CD and get copies then. Guess what? They destroy ultrasound records after 30 days. Yes, That Blasted Animal destroyed them on day 25. So, if I had not procrastinated, I might have been able to get new ones. Frankly, it never occurred to me that my medical records would not be kept, if not for eternity, at least until the big arrival.

So now what? I do have the all the chunks, and luckily the best shots are still in one piece. There are multiple puncture holes that look much like the dental records of That Blasted Animal, but I'm hoping someone with mad PhotoShop skillz can repair the damage. Photo refinishing looks to be ~$50 a pic, which I would love to bill to That Blasted Animal (not that he has the means to repay me). Got a better suggestion? I'd love to hear it.

Posted at 01:24PM Nov 20, 2007 by Jen Foster in General | Comments[3]