SELF-INDUCED SLEEP DEPRIVATION

I started playing Words With Friends on my iPad yesterday against one of my favorite opponents, my daughter.

At 2:00 this morning, we were still playing.

They should flash a message on these brain exercising games:

WARNING: THIS GAME MAY BE DETRIMENTAL TO YOUR SLEEP AND MAY CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE IN THE ELDERLY!

But I did find that I could still play with one eye open even though I continuously got the crap beat out of me!

I’m going back for more!

THE CALL WE DID NOT WANT

The phone rang at about 4 p.m. right after the plumber left. By the way, I needed a new garbage disposal (no, they cannot be repaired) so I got it replaced. The old one had rusted through. But I digress.

It was the vet’s assistant on the phone to tell me that they had just received the analysis that we’d been waiting for but not the results we wanted. Peaches had the type of stone that will require another round of antibiotics as well as extended use of the special diet, possibly for the rest of her life. Since she seems to like the food, I’m not too concerned about that but the extended administration of the antibiotic capsules is stressful both for Peaches and me but we’ll manage. I just want her well and happy!

I blame myself for her misfortune by feeding her ‘people food’ even though her breed is inclined to have bladder stones. That still does not excuse me from contributing to her breed’s defaults. I am guilty as charged! But, I know my sweet girl forgives me since she knows I love her and she is filled with unconditional love as all animals are, even the ones who are not loved in return; a lesson we should all learn and live by.

So, I am waiting with abated breath to see just what is next in store for me; waiting for another shoe to drop and praying for strength to deal with it. So far, the strength has come and the dealing has been done.

Man, a Caribbean vacation would be nice right about now!

CONFOUNDED CYCLE!

Peaches got her stitches removed today. She’s been such a good girl throughout her ordeal and I’m so proud of her! She trembled all the way to the vet’s office since the last memory of her ride in the car led to stitches, drugs and pain. But on the way back, it was almost as if she gave a big sigh of relief.

We are still waiting for the lab results from the stone samples that were sent out of state for analysis. Meanwhile, she is to stay on the diet plan and takes her last antibiotic tonight so we’re almost at the end of that road. But wouldn’t you know, just about the time you think you can relax for a few days, something else pops up its ugly head and sneers at you!

Last night, the kitchen sink developed a leak at the garbage disposal so I had to call the plumber this morning. They will be here this afternoon.

Mo money, mo money, mo money! The confounded cycle just keeps going on and on!

ROAD TO RECOVERY

I am happy to report that Peaches seems to be on the road to recovery and beyond. She’s starting to act like a youngster; something she hasn’t done for quite a while. She wants so badly to play “soccer” with me again but I have to hold her back since her stitches don’t come out until Monday. But it’s so good to see her happy and pain-free and to think, we could have lost her!

She’s been such a good little patient taking her two pills twice a day and eating her diet canned (gasp!) dog food. I did go to the vet’s this afternoon to pick up some snack biscuits (also in the same diet group and pre-approved by her vet who also did her surgery) so she would have something to munch on and keep her teeth clean.

Erin and my granddaughter have come down with ‘flumonia’ and hopefully, are also on the road to recovery. While being confined, Erin has discovered that daytime TV is the pits. Well, no duh! I do however, like to watch one soap and Ellen’s new show which is much more entertaining than Opera ever thought about being. Too bad Dr. Oz is on during my nap time and I still have not learned how to use my DVR. Oh, well!

Here it is, almost bedtime and I have not even eaten dinner yet. Think I’ll grab a small salad and call it a night!

CONVALESCING

I am writing this with one eye open. Peaches got to come home at 5:30 last night and was higher than a kite. She was no trouble in the car since she really didn’t know too much about what was going on around her. All she wanted to do was sleep.

When I picked her up at the vet’s, they had her outfitted with one of those cone collars. I took it off of her after she almost strangled herself trying to remove it when we got home.

After getting her settled onto a comfortable pallet and a two hour drunken-passed-out nap, she decided she was thirsty and managed to stagger to her water bowl. She gulped half of it before I could stop her knowing that what goes in, must come out. She then settled back for another nap on her pallet.

About an hour later, she got to her feet and started going in circles. Oh, oh, she’s looking for a place to potty! Too late! She cut loose with all of the water she had drunk since her surgery and went back to her pallet with an “I’m so sorry but I couldn’t help it” look on her sweet face. Of course, she picked the carpet so needless to say, I spent the next twenty minutes or so blotting and spraying, blotting and spraying.

They have her on a special diet which I’m happy to report she is eating and meds every 12 hours. She’s is doing great and leaving her inch and a half incision stitches alone (so far).

Instead of giving her a lollypop for being a good girl, the vet let her take home 3 of the largest stones in the huge mass they removed. They look like beach pebbles. Interesting!

To keep her from jumping on my bed or any other furniture last night, I slept on my most uncomfortable couch in the world (couch hell, it’s a love seat) while she slept in her comfy new plush bed beside me on the floor. Only one of us got any sleep although I did take a short nap this morning while Richard babysat.

Hopefully, things will be easier tonight and we’ll BOTH get some sleep.

STONED

Yesterday, I took Peaches to the vet. She was experiencing all the symptoms of another urinary tract infection (UTI) and they seemed to come on suddenly and with a vengeance. This would be her third since last December.

Since, as the vet put it, this was her third strike in a year, he was suspicious of the possibility of bladder stones. Also, this is a common ailment of the Shih Tzu breed so he ordered an x-ray.

Sure enough, she had two quite large ones and a mass of smaller stones, too many to try to dissolve with medication so surgery was recommended.

I left her there overnight (so hard to do) and surgery was performed early this morning. The nurse phoned me at about 9:00 a.m. to say all went well and they had removed ‘a whole lot’ of stones from the bladder. I would be able to pick Peaches up this evening at between 5 and 6 p.m.

I’m sitting here watching the clock creep towards 5:00 so I can leave to go get my “baby”. She will most likely be stoned on pain meds and pissed at me for leaving her there overnight.

But hopefully, she will soon realize that she feels better and that I did what I had to do. Poor baby has been through a lot in her short almost seven years and I could not stand to see her miserable for one more minute!