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Troubled Waters: Turtles, toxicology, and wartime shelter medicine

In September 2022, I traveled to Ukraine to assist an animal rescue group called ZooPatrol in Irpin, a city near Bucha and just west of Kyiv. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived. This organization began with a group of animal lovers in Kyiv after the devastation and destruction left many Ukrainian animals to fend for themselves. I just knew that these were the kind of people on the kind of mission that I wanted to be a part of. I didn’t expect to teach my Ukrainian colleague surgical techniques, or for her to teach me Ukrainian innovation, courage, and resilience. I didn’t expect to be operating with such limited supplies, facilities, and personnel, or using of anesthetic protocols much different than I have used in the past. But of all the things I didn’t expect, I certainly never expected to consult on an actual toxicology case in my temporary Ukrainian home, but during the second week of my trip, that’s exactly what happened. And it all began with a turtle.