Thoughts and Musings

So...

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:38:00 GMT

I've been wondering if I should post certain things here or not, being that this is a public forum. Everything in this entry has already been on facebook since I can have that locked down to my friends only. I'm not going to go into detail here, just the very basics. And I'm only doing that because I know some of you friends don't have access to facebook.

At my last doctor's check up I found out that I have something called leukocytosis. It's something I've had for a while and because of this, it's now something that needs more looking into. Basically, I have too many white blood cells.

I'll be seeing a hematologist next week Thursday and have been told that there's a good chance that she's going to want to bone marrow biopsy.

So, that's the basics. It's out there. If you want more details see my facebook or drop me an e-mail.

That Age

Sun, 12 May 2013 19:37:00 GMT

Are we really that age now? The age where friends pass away, get diagnosed with bad medical issues, lose their parents, etc? It doesn't seem right. It feels like we're too young for all of this, but here we are.

2013 is a horrible year. Both for me, and for most of those that I know. Something bad seems to be going on in everyone's life and my attitude is now f-2013.

I've had a good friend pass away. Another get diagnosed with something not good. Hell I'm having two biopsies soon.

I guess we've crossed that line where we're not as young as we think anymore.

I don't like that.

Today

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:10:00 GMT

Today would have been my Nana's 101st birthday.

I remember her 100th birthday party and it doesn't seem like it was a whole year ago. That was the last time I was able to talk to her with her knowing I was there.

The next time I saw her was a few days later, the day she passed away.

I know she had more time on this earth than most people get. I know she had more people who loved her than most people have. I know she had a better life than most people. I know she was able to stay pure and good through the trials we all face. But that doesn't mean I don't wish she was still here.

I miss her with all my heart, but I know she's still around somewhere. She promised she would let me know, and she did - twice. I just wish I could see her again.

If you have any living grandparents, cherish them, talk to them, visit them, because you never know when they will slip away.

Rob's Birthday

Tue, 9 Apr 2013 16:05:00 GMT

Rob's birthday was yesterday and he took the day off from work.
We headed to a local movie theater and saw the 2013 remake of Evil Dead. It was actually rather good and I'm glad I saw it in the theater. A review of it is up on Mortimer's review page.
We then had lunch at the Loaf and Jug.
We did our grocery shopping in half the time it normally takes because my mom picked Gabriel up from school and was watching him.
We grabbed some chicken from Fresh Market.
We picked Gabriel up, headed home, and made the chicken for dinner.
I got Rob a "bag of holding" from Think Geek.
Gabriel got him a limited edition mini cracked egg from Squishable because Rob always makes him eggs.
All in all, a pretty good day.

Another Trip to the ER Vet

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:54:00 GMT

Saturday night we noticed that Cupcake was having difficulty urinating. He was straining to go, it was coming out in drops, and he was making a hissing noise when he went. So... off to the ER vet.

They weren't able to get a urine sample, but the doc said it sounded like a UTI. So, he's on an anti inflammatory medication and an antibiotic. If this doesn't help it, then he'll have to go back because it could always be something else since they weren't able to get that urine sample.

2013: Year of the Suck

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:02:00 GMT

More proof that something is wrong with 2013. A good friend from my LARPing days back in Los Angeles passed away on Sunday. No warning. He's just... gone.

My brain is so full of fuck right now and I'm still in shock about it.

What is wrong with this year??? It's not just me, I don't think I know a single person who has not been touched by the badness. What the hell is going on?

10 Years

Fri, 8 Mar 2013 21:47:00 GMT

So, Rob and I have been married for 10 years as of today.

Wow.

More On Sydney

Thu, 7 Mar 2013 11:58:00 GMT

Sydney had another vet appointment yesterday. His blood pressure was elevated, so he's going to start on blood pressure meds - those I can pick up tomorrow at my local pharmacy.

He also had another urine and blood test done. While his BUN number is down (from in the 90's to in the 50's) his creatine is up. So, he's also going on a special kidney medication. I'll be getting that through the mail and he'll need another blood and urine work up ten days after starting this to make sure it's working and not doing anything bad to his system.

He's still sneezing a lot, but they said it's not from a respiratory infection. Might be a little cold, might be allergies. Especially since I'm having sneezing fits as well.

Trip to the ER

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 17:01:00 GMT

Well, it looks as if March is not going to be much better than January or February were, our streak of bad luck seems to be rather persistent.

Saturday night Gabriel tried to jump onto the potato, twisted mid-air, and went a bit too far, hitting the back of his head on an end table corner. The resulted in a gash in his head and a trip to the emergency room to get a staple put in his head to keep the wound closed. Oh, and head wounds bleed very, very badly.

So yeah, welcome March. You suck too.

Sydney Update & Gabriel's Teeth

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:15:00 GMT

Gabriel had to have his two lower baby teeth pulled by the dentist. They had yet to come out and his adult teeth were coming in behind them. One of the teeth had about 1/4 of the root left, the other had the entire root left, so those were not going to come out any time soon on their own. He went through it like a trooper and got double the money for each tooth from the Tooth Fairy because of being such a good boy during the extractions.

I am now doing subcutaneous fluids for Sydney at home. This should help flush his kidneys and keep him hydrated. We're trying a new soft kidney food made by Purina and he seems to like it. Let's hope he keeps on eating it.

It seems that the vomiting and diarrhea were a stomach bug. Whew.

He's having another check up and urine draw next week Wednesday and then we'll be deciding what medications to put him on.

Total cost so far for a week and a half worth of vet care? Around $700. For the first time in my life, I have a feeling I will be making payments on my credit card.

Zero is also doing better. The vet said it seemed like an overgrowth of bad bacteria in his intestine. He's on antibiotics and the bloody stool is gone.

So, for now, I'm waiting on Wednesday to see how we're going to be treating Sydney.

What Is Going On???

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:54:00 GMT

I feel like my life is being turned upside down and I don't think I can take much more of this, I really don't.

Over the weekend Sydney started vomiting pretty much every time he ate and he also developed diarrhea. He's dehydrated, but still has an appetite. He has a vet appointment for 11:00am this morning. I don't think they'll be able to do the second urine draw with him being dehydrated (I can bring him back on Wednesday for this), but I want him to get a subcutaneous water bag and see if they have anything to quell the nausea and diarrhea.

Meanwhile, Zero was running around on me recently and I saw blood in his fur. I checked him out and he didn't have any wounds. I then checked out Cupcake and he didn't have any wounds either. On my second check of Zero he pooped on my hand. It was semi-soft and had blood all over and in it. So, I now also need to get Zero into the vet today as well.

My animals are my fur babies. I can't take much more of this. Why can't they all be happy and healthy?

It doesn't help that Gabriel has a dentist appointment tomorrow where at least two, possibly more, teeth will be pulled. His baby teeth on the bottom never fell out and his adult teeth are coming in. So, instead of losing them normally, he has to have them pulled. It'll be all I can do to not attack the dentist when I see my baby's teeth being pulled out.

Sydney's Lab Results

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:10:00 GMT

I spoke to the vet on the phone - Sydney's kidney disease has progressed a lot since last summer. He went from stage 1 to stage 3. There is no way to reverse it, but we can hope to try and keep it from getting worse.

I'm bringing him in again next week for another urine test that will tell us more.

Sydney's Vet Check Up

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:59:00 GMT

This vet check up didn't go as well as the others have. I'm waiting on his blood and urine work ups, but I can at least post what I know so far.

The good news is that he didn't lose any more weight. He's still too skinny, 5 pounds 14 ounces, but he gained an ounce and didn't lose. So, there's that.

His blood pressure was too high, so he'll be going onto blood pressure medication.

While they have yet to process the urine test the doctor did notice that it was clear when they drew the sample, which means it's diluted. That and the fact that he's been peeing a lot more are not good signs when it comes to his kidneys. So, we know his kidneys are getting worse, but we won't know just how bad until we get the urine test back.

So, yeah, I'm really not doing too good right now. I can't even think about losing my baby, I've had him for seventeen years and I need him just as badly as I need the other members of my family.

Gabriel's Birthday

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:04:00 GMT

Today Gabriel turned seven! Time is going by way too fast and Rob made the horrible mistake of reminding me that he's more than halfway to becoming a teenager. Not cool Rob, not cool.

We did the main celebration on Saturday since his birthday (today) is on a Monday. He decided he didn't want any kids or anything there, just a small family thing. So, we headed to Toys R Us where my mom gave him a shopping spree of pretty much anything he wanted. Unlike most kids, he did not abuse this. He got some Skylanders that he really wanted, a case for Skylanders, a comic book, a Ben 10 mask, some plastic Skeleanimals, and he got me a small plush Twilight Sparkle since I did all the work when he was born. My mom also got him a Squishable Utahraptor and a Squishable mini blue whale and he opened those today.

After Toys R Us we headed to Flabbergast for a few hours. That's a local bouncy house place. Gabriel had a blast.

We then had a pizza party at my mom's house, watched the DVD of Sharktopus at his request, and had cake. He had a vanilla cake, double layer, with custard filling, and cream cheese frosting cake. Mine Turtle was on the top (pics on facebook).

Today was his actual birthday and the start of his Super Star week at school. He got the announcement of his birthday over the loudspeaker and got his birthday pencil from the principal. He waved it around a bit and said his wand was broken. As a treat, we brought in packets of gummi sharks for a birthday classroom treat.

My mom picked him up from school and stayed here until a bit before 7pm. Gabriel wanted Olive Garden for dinner, and so Rob brought take out home from there when he came home from work. Gabriel then opened his presents (I think his favorites from Rob and I were the plushie Meatwad and Master Shake action figure) and we had more cake.

He seems to have had a good birthday. Yay!

Zero's Neutering

Fri, 1 Feb 2013 16:10:00 GMT

We took Zero into the specialist night vet last night for his neutering. We got a call around 3am saying that it was done and he was doing well. We were also told that if we picked him up before 7:00am we wouldn't be charged for hospitalization - and that saved us $100! So, I stayed home with Gabriel and Rob picked him up early in the morning.

He's currently resting comfortable in his fleece log. We'll be bringing him out later for cuddlies.