“Alliteration”: fog, bog as I struggle on
Last night in desperation I took a quarter of a Xanax to quell my anxieties, but then watched the ceiling fan slowly spin to a stop as we suffered a power outage. Our hard-working AC had gotten the house cooled down to about 79 degrees - with ceiling fans churning that’s tolerable, and this held until about 1 AM until the day’s baking heat started to penetrate. Thankfully our power was restored sometime between 2-3 AM, but the damage had been done - another night’s sleep wrecked.
I dragged myself off the mattress a few minutes before 7 AM with a low-grade headache - I’ll finish off my coffee & then I can take some Tylenol & get on with my day. “Answers, we’ve got ‘em” - as lab work indicates that my poor Clarice may have a pancreatic tumor, kind of the last thing I was expecting! At almost 18 years old I was thinking liver or kidneys failing, maybe even a brain tumor?
So now I must decide if this is the kind of tricky surgery I want to try my hand at, or simply pass her over to the surgery center? Until I get this headache under control I can’t think straight - but I do know I can’t give up on a dog who still trying to live, she is eating like a champ!
When I was walking over to the couch to sit down and talk to my husband last night, the rambunctious puppy hit my arm so I threw a glass of tea on him which was fitting, somehow! So after we cleaned up and mopped up (he actually went to shower off because his lap was drenched), we didn’t get to talk about any personal issues, just the logistics of animal care - P is taking Izzy to the surgery center August 12th so she can have the best possible outcome for her knee surgery - I just don’t have that specialized equipment.
Sweetie, Clarice is old. You love her with a passion. If one of your clients brought in their dog in the same condition with pancreatic issues, what would you recommend? What is the outcome and longevity after a successful surgery?
ReplyDeleteI'm ever the shoulder devil.
I really thought I was not going to bring her back home with me last night - I was honestly surprised to see that hypoglycemia! I really thought I would either see something horrible like renal failure, or nonspecific signs that didn't give me a strong diagnostic vibe - just goes to show ya, even a crusty ol' Aggie like me should still run that lab work!
ReplyDeleteI want to get feedback from my colleagues at the surgery center - I know of course they'll be happy to take her in & put her on their table, surgery is their bag after all! but I would like to hear latest statistics on surviveability. Her Chihuahua genes might carry her past age 20; I know there are no guarantees but as I said, I find it hard to pull the plug on such a voracious eater - like her momma, Clarice loves her food!
Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI hate power outages. Especially in the night. Such archaic events which should have been done away with by now.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you. Hard decisions. I love chihuahuas. Blocker was like Clarice. She was not planning on dying ever. The day she died she got up and greeted us and fell over. Blocker was unable to eat for years and we syringe feed her 4 times a day. She loved life. Loved being alive. Do what feel is best for her and you both. I am praying for you both.
I don't know that now is the time to have deep conversations with P about your future. You need him and he doesn't seem to be wanting to leave as far as it looks.
The post was was from me in case I forgot to add my name.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Yes of course I recognized Blocker's name :-)
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