More On Elwood

David beat me to a post on losing our froggy friend Elwood. It's amazing to me how such little fella can impact your life. I never imagined I would touch a frog, let alone hold one. Although he was an amphibian and not a reptile, he helped me face my phobia of snakes. I still have a decent fear/phobia of snakes and would like to stay as far away from them as possible, but they don't freak me out as much.

A couple months ago Elwood started to have lumps under his skin. After research we believed we found a diagnosis/treatment. Cestode worms. We performed treatment and the lumps resolved. Unfortunately I can't help but think he was never fully healed. Within the past several weeks he developed multiple skin lesions (some in the form of abscesses), his appetite diminished, and another large lump appeared on his head. We were treating him with antibiotics but he was to the point where he would not eat for days at a time. Finally, I decided to puncture the lump near his head and removed discharge. The following day we found him after he had passed with the same discharge seaping from his entire body. Ultimately we believe his body was full of some sort of infection.

As David said, this truly saddens us, however we also understand that this comes with keeping pets. He brought happiness to our lives and I hope he enjoyed his habitat as much as we enjoyed building it for him. We still have Whompy, our other frog, and he seems to be doing well.

We miss our boy

Hey everyone, this is David. I wish I could say I had good news, but I don't. Some of you may know that Elwood our tree frog has been ill. He was fighting a skin infection and yesterday afternoon Heidi and I came home for lunch. As soon as I saw him, I knew he had passed on. It was almost a year ago to the date that we bought Elwood. I understand he is only a frog, but we truly love our animals and our hearts are very heavy. I am glad he is no longer suffering, but we still miss him very much. We bought a little wood box with a latch, and we made a little plot for him next to our garage. It's true that we've saved our animals and given them a great life, but they have also rescued me. Caring for them is therapeutic for me, and they can get me through some tough days. Rest in peace Mr. Wood

Heinz 57 Ketchup

This is a Heinz 57 Ketchup post.....oh, I mean catch up post. Tee hee. With the dawn of Facebook I don't tend to blog often. Where to start? Let's start with the kids.....

Spencer's doing better with his seizure and auto-immune disease. No seizures since starting his medications and his itchy/hurting mouth is much better. As of this moment he has started a second anti-convulsant medication. Our hope is to acquire a stable state on the second medication and wean him off the first medication. We're doing this to protect his liver long term. After the change, we'll then start the transition off of one steroid to the other for his auto-immune mediated disease.

Jax. Well everyone knows he has FIC (Feline Interstitial Cystitis), however over the past 2 months he was coughing/sneezing. We initially thought it was hairballs and treated as such. It continued, so we went ahead with a workup with radiographs. We found he had no problems with digestion and tried a few trials on medications with no success. With the process of elimination and watching his symptoms he was diagnosed with feline asthma. It is a condition that needs to be addressed. If it is not addressed it will get worse and can be fatal. If you do treat, it will still get worse, but you can help to control it. We went ahead with an injection of steroid to give him relief. It helped. Not only did it help, but it definitively diagnosed the asthma since he had a positive reaction to the medication. There are several treatment options but most consist of being on some sort of steroid regime. As with Spencer, and any other animal, you want them on the lowest effective dose. So only time will tell as we go through the next few months, but hopeful we'll get a handle on his condition as we did with Spencer.

I've posted before, but all of our animals have some sort of condition. Most have multiple conditions/diseases. When I told my mom about Jax, she couldn't believe it. She said, "Only your animals." Most people have pets that may have one to two major health problems in their life, ours keep adding. I'm just thankful that our pets are with us. They are worth it.

David's still a vegetarian. Actually he's a vegan. He doesn't want to say he is because there's a stigma that comes along with it. In addition, although he's strict with his lifestyle, he knows there's room for error. I'm amazed at his transition. I would never have guessed he'd go down this road, let alone as fast as he has. In addition, he's soda free. Yep, you read right....no soda pop. That in itself is amazing. Although he drank a TON of water, he also loved his soda. So giving this up is huge. He loves where he's at and I don't see him ever looking back.

As for me, I'm still dabbling in the raw vegan world. Actually, I have transitioned from high raw to low raw. Basically what that means is I've moved from using a lot of nuts to focusing on fruits and veggies. I was 100% low raw for a month, felt great, doing awesome and last week had a bit of a hiccup. I don't want to call it that, but have no other word. There's too much that goes into this lifestyle that it's hard to explain here. But, in a nutshell, it's all raw, no added spices (including salt, etc), focuses on LOTS of fruit and veggies, and LOTS of water. I plan on keep on keeping on with it, but not as strict as I was initially. I have an addictive personality and cold turkey is the best way for me to do things. Unfortunately cold turkey changes don't always make for the best long term changes. I ulimately would love to be 100% low raw and know I'll get there, since I've already been there and have felt the amazing changes. But, for the time being I'm going to work towards that target and feel positive that I'm moving in the right direction.

I've gotten back to running pretty solid. In addition, I got a Trek bike for mother's day and plan on biking to work this summer.

I'm glad for the positive changes in our lives. I'm grateful for everything in our lives. After these recent changes I've realized that not only do I need to see what I'm grateful for, but also verbalize it. Hence, my daily "4 gratefuls". It's not about throwing stuff in people's faces (the I got this and you don't type of thing) it's about being positive and spreading happiness. Maybe if more people did it, the world may be a better place. Wishful thinking? Meh, maybe, but it's worth a try. It's easy to see the negative and get down on yourself. When I first started my gratefuls I found it hard to think of 4 for each day. Now I go through my days constantly thinking, "I'm grateful for this...." It's hard to narrow it down at the end of the day oftentimes. That, or trying to remember all what I said I was grateful for during the day.

Well, I believe that's about it for the catching up. Until next time...

Nothing New

Why do I never get around to blogging anymore? I still find it so enjoyable, yet never write. Bah.

I'm still doing the raw vegan thing. Still loving it. There are multiple "forms" of going raw so I've decided to venture into a specific area. In a nutshell it focuses on increased fruit intake which means it has lower fat intake. I enjoy fruit so I see this being a positive thing. As always, only time will tell, but I'm willing to try it and see if it "works" for me.

Spencer's doing well. I'm thankful that we've started to taper off of his steroid. He was to the point of needing to go outside every 2 hours and having accidents in the house. He's a good boy though and found the puppy pads all by himself (we have them setup for the other dogs and everytime he's used them). Unfortunately I feel horrible when he has to use the puppy pads. Although he's relieving himself in the right area, in his head I know he thinks he's having an accident. He knows he is only supposed to go potty outside, so I know it's probably a mental battle as he tries to hold it as long as he can. Thankfully mom and dad have been able to check on him which has limited his need for accidents. I'm looking forward to continuing to taper off his steroid and getting to the lowest dose possible. Within the next week we also hope to start to transition to the other anti-convulsant medication.

Other than that nothing much has been going on. Warmer weather is around the corner. We're ready. Both of us have been sick over the past 2 weeks with head colds and just want to feel better.

Put The Lime In The Coconut

Over the past few weeks I've had the opportunity to have some new food experiences. Nothing too exciting, but all the same, different. Most everyone has experienced coconut is some way, including myself. However, on all of my vegan/raw sites people recommended or some recipes call for a young coconut and/or it's milk. Young coconuts aren't the easiest to come by. But, when we made a trip to Whole Foods last week I had two catch my eye. We bought them and they've been sitting in our fridge since then...until today.

It takes some work getting them open, but finally it happened. First we tried the juice, and then the meat. I had no expectations. It was different. The first sip I was unsure. However, as I've found with this diet change, most things seem different, because they are. For instance, changing from chocolate to carob or cacao. But after a few bites, your taste buds and brain align and you find that things are pretty good. Same deal with the coconut.You must forgive me for my lack of skills in describing food. It's just not my thing and I personally can hardly ever understand people's descriptions of food, wine, beer. I just think, "it's good," or "it's bad." I'll try my best to explain the coconut. The water consistency is the same exact consistency as plain water, just a little cloudy in appearance. It tastes like water with a very slight sweetness and a woody (?) undertone. As for the meat, it tastes almost the same way. It's cool looking at it because it's so white. I describe the consistency as that of drying Elmer's glue while David says it's like fish. I have no idea about the fish thing. Either way, our descriptions are very unappetizing, so we didn't think much of that as we ate the mild tasting meat.So, how do I rate a young coconut and it's milk? I like it. I like it a lot. It's something different. It's something good. I'm sure others would say, "meh, not much taste. nothing special." Unfortunately although I like them, they're not that easy to come by and the buggers are decently hard to open. With that being said, they'll be a special treat for me when I make a trip to Whole Foods.

Oh yeah, most may not know this, but I share darn near all of my food with the kids. Yeah, some may be grossed out by that. Either way, I enjoy it, they enjoy it, and they have a wide palate ;) They love their fruits and veggies. Now they can add coconut to their list of foods they've tried. And how did they rate the coconut?

Spencer says, "Nom, Nom, Nom!"

Vikings says, "Everyone else is trying it. I'll try it. Yum!"Lily says,"You know I'll eat anything. They don't call me the vacuum for nothin'. I was so fast eating it, mama couldn't even take a picture."

Spencer's Results

Spencer's results arrived this week. We had several possible diagnoses and one was proven correct....lymphoplasmacytic neutrophilic gingivitis. It's also known as Lymphoplasmacytic Stomatitis (LPS). It's a for of immune-mediated inflammatory response. Unfortunately there is no known cause. In addition to occurring in dogs, it can also occur in cats. With cats, often full mouth extractions are necessary. With dogs it usually is easily controlled with excellent dental hygiene, antibiotics, and long-term steroids. Other changes (i.e. diet) can also assist in treatment.

Unfortunately, treatment for Spencer may not be so easy. Considering his previous diagnosis of epilepsy and already being on an anti-convulsant we'll have to make some changes to his pre-existing medications. There are many ins and outs of his treatment, but I'll simplify it.....Due to drug interactions our current plan is to wean him off of phenobarbital onto potassium bromide while on prednisone (steroid). After changing, if steroids are required long-term, we will then switch to a different steroid. In addition, he will be put on an antibiotic for the next 3 weeks since an underlying infection was also found.

We're hoping that this treatment will give Spencer some relief. Something to keep in mind is that there are possible side effects from long-term treatment of both of his conditions, so we can only hope for the best. Although we haven't been down this road before, it's all too similar having been down another road with our other pets, especially Lily. But as we've found, this too shall pass. And if it doesn't pass, we'll adapt and overcome. We're thankful to have an answer and thankful to have a plan so that we can make Spencer feel better.

Spencer's New Problem

Within the past few months Spencer's breath has become horrible. Originally I thought nothing of it. If anyone knows anything about greyhounds, they know most have been dealt a bad set of cards in the dental department. However, looking closer I noticed his teeth weren't bad. They're not perfect pearly whites, but there's not a huge buildup of tartar and calculus. More recently we've noticed Spencer itching his mouth on anything he can find. His paws, a rug, our legs, and even our radiators throughout the house. Most recently I took a look inside his mouth to see his gums are red. We're not talking pink....we're talking RED, inflamed, painful gums. In addition to the redness we noticed this past weekend that there were lesions on his gums from rubbing so much. So we had him checked out.

Originally we (myself, David, and the doctors) visited the idea of him having a form of allergic reaction to his phenobarbital (anti-seizure medication). After research we came to the conclusion that chances are this theory isn't right. Thankfully due to my co worker's (our vet's) affiliation with OSU he called them to get some input. OSU has a large greyhound "program" that focuses on greyhounds, along with research on the breed. They lead us in a new direction.

There could be a multitude of things going on with Spencer, but these are our current ideas....lymphoplasmacytic stomatitis, pemphigous vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Those are some mouthfuls, eh? Basically they're all autoimmune type of diseases.

The next step in diagnosing is to put him under anesthesia, retrieve a biopsy, and submit it for further examination. I'll be taking him into work in 2 weeks to have this procedure performed and hopefully we'll get some answers. It may not be a serious problem, but it's obviously uncomfortable for him and it's time to find out what's going on. If it is one of the diseases listed, USUALLY they symptoms can be controlled through corticosteroids. Although, the side effects of steroids aren't preferable (increase food/water intake, increased urination, weight gain......), especially using them long term.

Once again, it comes as no surprise that we may have yet another special need to address with our pets. As I've blogged so many times, they each have their nuances and diseases. And although we don't want our kids to suffer and wish they didn't have these problems, we wouldn't trade them in, even if we had the chance. I'm thankful that they are in our lives for a multitude of reasons, especially the fact that we have the ability (for the most part) and the desire to help them instead of casting them aside like some others may do.

Once we receive results I'll post more information.

Raw

Looking back through this blog I've seen myself go through many changes. Changes range from lifestyle to physical to mental changes....and many more in between. I'll admit, sometimes after reading through my posts and seeing what I've written, seeing what happened, and/or seeing where I am now, I feel like I look like an idiot who can't decide what I want to do. Meh That's the bad part of a blog I guess. You expose yourself. The good and the bad.

For over 1.5 years I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I guess you can say I've succeeded in that change I blogged about. I like it and it's worked for me. About a year ago I entertained the idea of taking that another step further and making a change to a "raw diet." (I hate to use the word diet, because it's not a "diet." If you think about it, anything that you eat is your diet.) A raw diet is where you don't eat anything that's been heated/cooked. Technically it's a form of vegan diet. Basically a lot of veggies, fruits, and nuts. Don't get me wrong, it's not a chincy diet. You'd be amazed at the combinations and recipes out there.

I love being a vegetarian. At the same time I'll be the first to tell you, it's easy to be an unhealthy vegetarian. As with my running, I've let my eating habits slip. I've gained weight and just feel blah overall. I want to feel healthier again. That leads me to the moment where I am now. I think I'm ready to try a raw diet. Since Monday I've been attempting a raw food diet. So far so good. This isn't something I can do cold turkey like going vegetarian. However, I've done very well maintaining raw until a few pieces of candy each night.

So why am I doing this? The answer: why not? My other reasons -

I'd like to re-align my body to become healthier. If you think about it, I'm already halfway to already being raw by being a vegetarian. Even if this doesn't stick maybe it can help with being a healthier vegetarian.

It's been shown that going raw can help with chronic problems/diseases. I'm all for trying "holistic" options.

I don't like to make food and actually go through the process of eating. I know, that sounds crazy. If I didn't have to feed myself, and could receive my food through IV, I'd be happy. Don't get me wrong, there are foods that I like, but it all just seems like a hassle for me. So the way I look at it, the easier it is, the less I have to eat, the better. I don't want/like my life to revolve around food.

Although this will sound contradictory to my last statement, changing my diet may allow me to try different foods I may have never thought to try. I may not want to work for my food, but I'm always willing to try new things.

Going raw can also help with weight loss. Although this isn't my main goal, I'll take it if it comes.

I think it's funny that my diet is basically what our Russian Tortoises eat. Heck, no veggies and fruit will go to waste between me, the tortoises, birds, and dogs (yes our dogs LOVE veggies and fruits).

So, that's where I am. You never know what changes are going to stick and be lifelong or just be a personal fad. Either way, changes make us who we are and they make life interesting.

Adjusting

Mardi and Tchoupi are adjusting quite well to each other. We have been surprised as to how well they've not only adjusted but bonded. I'm not sure if Tchoupi likes Mardi better than Chango or if she's trying to cope with the loss, but she now seems more relaxed in the cage (she sleeps curled around versus straight now). And as I write they are as close as they can get to each other and sleeping away. Although we miss Chango terribly, this makes our hearts happy.

Chango

I'm not sure where to begin with this story. Chango flew away yesterday. I think we're both still in disbelief.

This past summer we decided to add a bird to our family. After getting Tchoupi home we realized we probably should have gotten another one to keep her company. We went, purchased Chango, and headed home. Immediately they both perked up and they were inseparable since. Parakeets may learn to talk but given them being paired it was unlikely. We worked with them nonstop to get them acclimated to us. In all honesty, they were used to us, but still relied on each other for their comfort.

As time went on their clipped wings (to limit flight) grew back out. Finally, they didn't flop to the ground if they fell. We'd allow them to fly around the house a little bit each day. We enjoyed watching them. Clipping wings is a topic I'm on the fence about. Yes, I know they're pets, but I'd like all of our pets to live as "naturally" of lives as possible, within reason. That's one reason we let their flight wings grow. But that thought process kind of leads me to doubt owning any birds. You know, taking their natural abilities away. On the other hand, they were bred to be pets, not to be out in the wild, and no matter what they're going to be a pet to someone....and we'd rather them be with us, knowing they'll be loved. I know, I'm thinking to deeply into it and I can't wrap my brain around it.

So, we let their wings grow. Yesterday we got home, let Spencer out to do his business. I also let the birds out of the cage to fly around the house. At that same time David let Spencer in, and out Chango went. I heard David's, "Oh shit!" and the door slam. I ran to the door. I'll never forget that moment for the rest of my life. I could see Chango's turquoise wings as he flew higher and farther away, never looking back. Then David, out in the ankle+ deep snow, his flip flops thrown from running, standing there in his socks, with his hands on his head, and the look in his eyes of his heart being ripped out. Off we went, on foot, trying to find him. We called his name. We threw seed. Mom and dad even went out just to make sure. He was gone. He never stopped, so we could only imagine where he went.

I didn't know what to do. My heart hurt. It still does. However, I deal with death on a daily basis through my work. I never in my wildest dreams thought I could perform a euthanasia on a pet. Now, sometimes I feel heartless as I walk into a room, perform the procedure, and don't think much about it. Don't get me wrong, I give every client and pet the respect they deserve. And I always say, "Say "hi" to Toto for me." (Toto being my childhood pet that was euthanized several years ago). I also admit there are days that I do break down and cry with the client or shed a couple tears as I walk out of the room. It's all part of my job. In addition to my dealing with death, I wasn't as close to Chango as say our dogs and cats. When their time comes I will be a basket case.

With all that being said, I'm handling Chango flying away differently than David. My heart hurts from losing Chango and the thoughts of what will happen to him. But my heart hurts more watching David. The pets are his "release." He will sit in the pet room for hours admiring them all. Playing, feeding, cleaning....whatever. He's content. Chango was "his" bird. David, just like most men, doesn't cry easily. And whenever he does I'm at a loss of what to do. Yesterday was one of those days. I didn't know what to do to comfort him. All I could do was hug him and say, "it's going to be alright." Unfortunately, it's most inevitable what will happen to Chango. Domesticated birds don't usually survive in the wild. Add onto that the cold weather, chances are he didn't make it through the night. Last night was harder than yesterday, knowing this to be the case.

All we can do is be thankful for the time he was with us and hope that he was as happy as he made us during that time. And if and when he does pass, it's not a time of suffering for him.

Not only were we grieving but we had Tchoupi, our other parakeet, to worry about. We didn't know what to do for her. She seemed ok, but confused. After doing research most people said to pair them again. I gave David the option and told him that the choice is his. He decided that he wanted to pair her again and she now has another friend. His name is Mardi (as in Mardi Gras). They seem to get along. However, it's back to square one teaching a new bird that we're not the enemy and that they can trust us. It will be a long road, but as always, worth it in the end.

To Chango: Mr. Blue we loved you!

Who Says We Don't Have Kids?

Back when we were first married we were able to sleep in until whatever time we wanted. Even after we added Viking to the mix he never woke us up early to go potty (thanks to litter box training) or to eat (must not have been a hungry fellow). Adding more animals to the family didn't seem to change things much, until we added Lily. Lily's issues with IBD lead us to puppy proof our house. Not from her chewing things up, but from making unexpected messes she could control. In order to let her sleep by us we purchased a Pack and Play. We'd wake up in the middle of the night to clean up any messes for our sake and hers. I even went through a year of making her own homemade food. Cooking, measuring, packing, and freezing. As everyone knows, she has gotten 99.9% better. She'll sleep with us here and there, but tends to stay downstairs now.

After adding Spencer to the mix, our lifestyle once again changed. He has a set time for meds, eating, and going outside to go potty. And trust me, if you are off of his schedule, he'll let you know. Needless to say, his schedule is an early one. He'll let you know by pacing in the bedroom and sticking his wet cold nose in your face. In addition, Lily has taken to his schedule and oftentimes takes it upon herself to let us know what time it is if Spencer decides to slack off. Her method of wake up? Standing at the bottom of the steps barking until you wake up. Most times the cats join in too....meowing outside the bedroom door. It makes almost no difference if you go to bed early or later, they'll wake up between 6 or 7 am (if you're lucky).

For instance, we stayed up until midnight last night. Sure enough, 6am rolls around and they are wound up and ready to go. Time for potty and to eat! I'm thankful that most nights we can make it through the night without a wake up from them now. I'm also thankful that we've figured out some sort of schedule for the weekends. David and I flip back and forth as to who gets up, feeds them, lets Spencer go outside, and then head back to bed.

Add onto the early morning wake ups and schedules, the constant cleaning (putting toys away, vacuuming hair, washing bedding, washing bowls.......), having 2 crib mattresses in our house (Spencer's beds), and their afternoon naps (as we speak)......who says we don't have kids?

Disclaimer: We know full well that animals aren't' kids and understand that people see their pets/animals different than we see ours. However, in our eyes, we see our pets as our kids. We know that many people cannot identify with the bond that we have with our pets. In addition, in no way am I complaining about the lifestyle we've made for ourselves by adding our pets. We wouldn't change it for the world.

Tortoise Table Revealed

The majority of the holidays are over (other than New Years) and as expected, I've survived. Actually the holidays went VERY well and were quite enjoyable. In addition to that, my mind and body have calmed since my last post. Whew. After talking to David we brainstormed and compromised on a setup for our "cat room" (I think it's about time we changed the name, eh?) AKA pet room. The tortoise table has been revamped to be higher sided and Elwood's (the frog) enclosure is now located within the tortoise table. I knew it would all work out, but man, this this is quite awesome.

Basically, it was a table that was previously used for displays. Unfortunately (or fortunately for us) it was no longer being used. David spoke with a few people and bada boom, bada bing, it was ours. It has a steel base that's almost desk-like that has adjustable feet....excellent for on uneven hardwood floors. It's solidly built with wooden bottom and sides. Then, within that there's thick, sealed plexiglass. As I stated, David attached additional wood and added fence to the top for a "lid." It's just about done. I'd like to paint it at some point, but not right now....maybe a spring project. So without further ado, here are a few pictures.....

The table as it came to us....
This plexiglass within the table....
Built up sides....
A look inside....
David watching the tortoises....

Sensory Overload

I'm worried I'm in sensory overload and the holiday festivities haven't really even started.

Yesterday was a long day at work. Not busy long, but cleaning long. I was on my hands and knees almost all day dusting, vacuuming, cleaning closets, scrubbing baseboards.....the list goes on. I then went on the clean the 'rents bathrooms out of love. By the time I got home at 7:45pm I was tired. Then I started receiving some texts requesting my presence at a family get together. I figured, "why not?" I did a quick change of clothes and took off. I had a good time and enjoyed the company of my extended family. With that being said, it was a loud atmosphere and I left with a scratchy throat. My senses were heightened, but I was ok.

I then arrived home to big changes at our house. David had been eyeing a table at work that would work as an excellent tortoise table. He saw that it wasn't being used, asked around, and found that it could be ours. He was thrilled. I was thrilled. Until I saw it. It's huge. Ultimately it will be excellent for our tortoises (Yes, we now have two. There's more to that story. Too much to discuss here.) It's well built, probably worth more than we know and we'll save time and money by reusing it in some other way than it was originally meant for. However, it screws with the dynamic of our Bright Cat Room we recently remodeled this summer. I'm not necessarily into feng shui, but if I was, this isn't jiving. My surrounding have to feel "right." After my senses were already heightened, they elevated many more notches.

As time went on I could feel my anxiety rise. I tried to take a step back, get it in check. Unfortunately, I'm not always that good. I can't describe the experience I go through when this happens. My normal emotions usually go something like this.....I want to scream, then cry, then vomit, then clean, and then purge stuff from my surroundings. I've found that if I don't feel I have control over a situation, I gain control through cleaning. I basically feel like a cat with FIC right now. Yes, the disorder our cat has. When they stress out, they manifest their stress in the bladder, feeling like they constantly have to urinate. Obviously, I don't feel like I have to urinate, but I sympathize with the guy when he has an episode of FIC. Let's hope this table doesn't set off an episode for him!

So, David was expecting to share his joy with me and what he got was a buzzkill. Sometimes I suck. We sat and discussed for a good hour or so how we're going to make this new setup work. Or better yet, work the tortoise table into the room, making a new setup, that will work. More than likely we won't be able to use some furniture pieces that we were using before. I do know this, over the past year I've tried to de-clutter the house. And I'm going to try my hardest to keep it that way. It's going to take some innovation to make this room work. Obviously we went to bed with our house in disarray.

I went to bed exhausted but with my mind racing and my anxiety continued to my dreams. Dreaming about Dormitor/Torb combos (don't ask) for work, anesthetizing and performing glucose curves on animals, worrying that we're not going to make it to the family gathering because we're making an impromptu trip to Minnesota...all the while waking up every half hour, sweating my butt off. Needless to say I didn't wake up well rested. Not only that, but I woke up to a house in disarray. Why couldn't it all have been fixed while we slept overnight?

I'm excited about our family gathering today, but I can't help but think about the general stressors that come with times with family over the holidays. You know it's usually a good time, but you'll ultimately have those moments of stress.

Trying to put these feelings into words seemed impossible to me. I could see it in my head, but knew that it would translate different if I wrote it out. But I do know I feel better than you can imagine just sitting down to write it out. I'm thankful for that. Because, although I don't usually drink, at 5:30am and I was tempted to take a few sips to take that edge off. No joke. I think this was a better choice.

Hoping that my this sensory overload continues to ebb and that joy reigns over the next few days....

Jax Likes The Christmas Creation

I was folding clothes a few minutes ago and I caught Jax out of the corner of my eye.....he was checking out the Christmas Creation. I shooed him away. Within a few minutes he was back by the Christmas Creation. This time, climbing in. Him, along with Lily have always loved laying under the Christmas tree. Now that we've taken away the tree, I guess he figures, "If I can't lay underneath it, I'll lay in it." I swear, if it's not one thing it's the other with these kids and their antics. Although, it was cute.
And a cute picture of Natchez

One Month On Phenobarb

Quick update on Spencer: He's been on the phenobarb one month. I must admit we were getting worried for a bit there. He couldn't make it up the steps on his own without falling, so David was having to carry him up to bed every night. Of course David can easily carry him, but at 83 pounds, that's a little rough on me. He was in a a generalized fog and would crash (as in sleep) one hour post pill. Thankfully, he's evened out and seems to be doing excellent. He's still on the medication but is back to his old self. Knock on wood, no seizures either.

Nothing Says Thanksgiving Like Kraft Easy Mac

Today, Thanksgiving, we spent the best way we know how....together. Ultimately we'd love to make Thanksgiving our travel holiday. Unfortunately, my work schedule didn't allow us to do so this year. Our hope was to volunteer our time with a local organization. However, after multiple calls to multiple locations, no one ever contacted us. So be it. We did our own thing.

Most times we see holidays as just another day and we don't tend to do anything other than the norm. I started the morning out watching a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (definitely not as good as being there) and then headed out for a run. After that we set out to see if anything was going on in Sandusky. As expected, there was nothing. We ended up in Meijer, grabbing a few odds and ends. Back at home David had his Meijer pre-made breaded chicken breast, chips, and queso, while I settled on Kraft Easy Mac. Nothing says Thanksgiving like Easy Mac, eh? Of course there's always a chance of overeating, but let me tell you this, if you're a vegetarian, it's much easier to keep yourself in check for Thanksgiving. While eating we watched Adventureland.

So that leads us to tonight. We've been decorating for Christmas and jamming to some Christmas classics. I'm not going to lie. As time goes on I no longer do most of the decorating...it's David. And that, I'm thankful for. The kids got to enjoy their Thanksgiving Feast and we enjoyed giving it to them.....


No surprise that Spencer was fed last, but finished first, followed by Lily, then Viking. We didn't know if they'd eat everything, especially the cranberries, but our pups aren't ones to waste any food...so they ate it all and licked their bowls clean.

I'm about to fix a bit of tortellini. We also picked up Red Lobster biscuits last night, so those will accompany our dinner. And to finish we're watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation with the 'rents and some Coldstone Creamery Pie. Although this year's Thanksgiving wasn't adventurous as last year's, we're still thankful to be able to spend the time together.

Worth It

Things are content here the Henry Household. Spencer has been on his medication for a week now and has had no seizures. He's a little doppy (maybe I should say more doppy....greyhounds aren't always the most gracious) due to the meds, but he's getting by. Jax had another flareup with FIC, but I think we had it back under control. We've got him on daily meds and the cats both on a different diet in hopes of curbing the flareups.

With everyone (animals and humans included) I've finally broken down and purchased a dry erase board for the refrigerator to keep track of who's gotten what. Some things/doses you can miss, others you can't, so although I have an excellent memory, this will help us keep track too. In addition, David will know if I've already given them meds, etc. and not have to ask. Even with my memory and the dry erase board, I have no fear that Spencer will not let me forget his medication. That boy has an internal clock that's amazing. If it's time for him to eat, he follows me until I feed him. If it's time for meds, he follows me until I give it to him. I've been giving him his meds in cheese for the time being to make it a positive experience, so of course he's after the cheese and not the meds. Even so, he cracks me up.

One thing is for sure, these kids keep me busy. Last week I had to run a few errands after work. Could you believe that 2 out of the 3 stops were for the animals. Ha! It's alright though. And although it may seem like I'm complaining, I'm not. I'll be honest, as with everything you sometimes hit your limit and get frustrated, but 99.9% of the time we know that they are worth it. We wouldn't have them if we didn't think so. Speaking of, it's 7am, time to feed the birdies and time for Spencer's meds.

Update On Spencer

A quick update on Spencer. After reviewing his history the doctors have determined that yes, Spencer, our 3 year old greyhound, has epilepsy. We ran a bit more bloodwork to compare back to the bloodwork ran in August and we have decided that it's time to get Spencer on an anticonvulsant medication. He will be on this medication daily, for the rest of his life. As with many disorders/diseases there is the ability to control, not cure. We will continue to monitor any further seizures and will also monitor bloodwork in the future in hopes of controlling Spencer's symptoms.

They're Our Kids After All

With all of the medical issues David and I have, it's no surprise that our animals have inherited some problems. Ha! Just kidding about the inheriting part. Actually, I think it's because I'm a registered vet tech and have a flashing light above my head that draws all of these animals to us. Either way, we've got some kids with some issues.

Viking: Broke his leg, 2 days after acquiring him, by falling off the couch. He continues to have residual issues from his fracture. Not to mention we believe he has a partial cruciate (ACL) tear in that leg too. He can play some mean catch, but don't be surprised if he comes back limping. Doesn't slow him down much though, he just keeps on a goin'.

Natchez: She came to us as a rescue and has a history of eosinophilic granulomas. (basically an inflammatory disease of the skin that has many triggers.) Thankfully it's easily treated and she hasn't had many problems within the past couple years.

Jax: We acquired him from one of my vet hospitals. He had been hit by a car and someone found him and brought him in. He was never claimed and we took him. He suffers from Feline Idiopathic/Interstitial Cystitis. He'll have episodes when you think he has a urinary tract infection due to his frequent visits to the litter box. In actuality, small changes can mean major stress, and stress in cats manifests through the urinary bladder. Speaking from dealing with clients' pets and now my own, this is a confusing and stressful (to the human) diagnosis. You not only have to treat the cat for it's symptoms, but somehow figure out what is causing the stress....sometimes things you can't change. i.e. change in weather, etc. Not to mention, if you don't take care of the problem, it can lead to further problems that can be fatal, such as an obstructed cat (a cat that cannot eliminate it's urine).

Lily: Lily, Lily, Lily.....She was on death's door when she presented to the vet hospital. We didn't think she'd make it through the night, yet she did. Ultimately her owner did not have enough money for treatment so she was abandoned. After a long wait David and I were able to adopt her. As for her problems, to make a long story short, she has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We spent a couple years, many medications, many diets, and loads of money trying to make her better. And then one day, her life changed forever. We have no idea what happened, but her life turned around. She's on a regular diet and on no daily medications. However, she still has flareups and "bad days" but are easily controlled.

Spencer: We adopted Spencer a year ago. The rescue group saw us coming....he was a race dog, from the track, that mysteriously had a broken pelvis. Needless to say it is believed he didn't actually break his pelvis while running, but was injured through brunt force of a human (possibly for not doing well enough on that track??) When we adopted him he was still on light exercise and within a month we confirmed through x-rays that he was fully healed. As with any other fractures he still has residual discomfort on and off. We thought that would be the end of his problems. Not so fast. Back in early August, after running outside I let Spencer inside to get a drink. I heard a loud noise and ran inside to find him on the floor having a seizure. It lasted a good minute and he recovered. Knowing it was not an emergency I monitored him throughout the weekend and then took him to work Monday to have a full workup performed. Everything checked out fine. I had no worries. As with humans, dogs can be perfectly healthy, have a seizure one time and never again. We marked down the date and continued to watch him. He was doing great until 2 weeks ago....another seizure hit. He had been laying down, attempted to get up, and collapsed into a seizure. David was the only one home so I left work to watch him the rest of the day. Once again, no fears, just didn't want him to be alone. The general rule of thumb is that no medications are needed if there are no more 3 seizures in 3 months time. However given that he had 2 seizures the doctor said that given his age more than likely it is epilepsy. We marked the date, and have continued to watch him. Today, while relaxing in his bed, another seizure hit. So......I'll document another seizure (3 now) and let the doctor know. I'm unsure what the plan will be, but we'll take care of our boy.

As for our newest exotic additions, no problems have reared their heads.....yet.

I never imagined our kids would have the problems that they do, but that's okay, we love them all the same. We're thankful to have them in our lives and hope they're thankful to have us too.

I've Got My Eye On You

No surprise, but Viking has taken an interest in the birdies. Thankfully he just likes to keep an eye on them. Although he's looking straight forward I know that he's using her peripheral vision to watch them....he does the same thing when we eat. We find it funny because he tends to not blink and his eyes slowly close.