Progress: an update

Thank you all for the wonderful comments on my last post. I know that many people might think it strange, but you all (my friends in blogland) and your friendship and support mean the world to me. I love you guys.

Ginger is improving a little each day. She still has a pronounced head tilt and some very minor balance issues, but every day she's a little more back to normal. She's eating well, drinking well, peeing and pooping well.... :)  Yesterday she started going back to her normal spot to sleep (on the rug beside my side of the bed) instead of staying in the den where she's been all week. This morning she made the first sounds we've heard from her since this all started--George ran to the porch door and started barking at the neighbor's Lab, and Ginger hurried over and joined in! She hasn't made a peep during all this ordeal, not even a yelp or a cry. That's one tough girl! She's even managed to give us a doggy grin or two when we've had to scold George for being too rough near her. She's always enjoyed watching George get in trouble! And she wags her tail at us sometimes in the circular motion she uses when she's happy. We're hoping she'll continue to improve and beat this thing altogether.

I had a great talk with Dr. Causey yesterday. First he gave Ginger a thorough exam and went over all her bloodwork with me. Then he closed the doors in the examining room and talked with me for over an hour about the situation the other day with Dr. Harper. He swore to me that it would be addressed and that something like that would never, ever happen at his office again. He hugged me three times and got teary eyed with me when I cried. He remembers Gregg having cancer 8 years ago and how much Ginger meant to us during that time. Then last year, Dr. Causey had cancer himself and had to undergo serious surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy. So now those shared experiences are an extra bond between us and he's not just our vet, he's our friend. I feel so much better now that we've had that heart-to-heart! He made some good suggestions regarding Ginger's recovery, like feeding her lots of fish packed in oil to support her brain while she recovers from this (primarily neurological, we think) event. He then talked to me seriously about finding ways to ease the stress Gregg and I have right now and taking care of ourselves. He said that dogs are so naturally empathetic to their people that our stress and fear will easily rub off on them and that might impede Ginger's recovery. He advised cultivating a sense of calm, peace, and as much as possible, normalcy in our home to help her keep her stress hormones down as she recovers. Isn't that wonderful advice? I just love Dr. C. He's going to see us again in two weeks to check on Ginger's progress. We're hopeful she'll be almost totally back to normal by then.

As for me, the congestion in my chest is about 75% gone and I'm feeling better. I'm still tiring easily, and sometimes at work this week I'd break out in a sweat and feel kind of weird for a while, but all in all there's been a lot of improvement. It felt good to go back to work. Two days back to a normal routine were enough to banish the last of that awful, anxious, "end of the world" dark cloud that had been dogging me for days. Keeping busy is good medicine, and it's hard to be sad when you're surrounded by lively young teenagers all day. :)

Thanks again for all the kind comments and concern for us. I'll update again soon. In the meantime, please send our girl plenty of good vibes as she recovers!

Ginger relaxing on the porch this morning after breakfast. She was smiling at me. ❤

Low point

The last few days, yesterday in particular, have been one of the low points in my life. I hope by writing about it here I can relieve some of the heaviness on my heart.

Let me begin by saying that I've been sick. My cough got worse and worse over the weekend and then I started running a fever, so I finally gave in and saw the doctor at Urgent Care on Monday afternoon. I had (and still have) a bad case of bronchitis, and the doctor said I shouldn't have waited so long to get some help. He started me on a strong antibiotic with strict instructions to see my primary doctor later this week for a re-check. My oxygen levels were a little lower than normal, not dangerously so, but enough to give him some cause for concern. I felt really, really terrible.

In the middle of all this, we found out that our home warranty wasn't going to cover the latest repair to our air conditioning. It was going to be a huge expense to repair it (in the neighborhood of $1000) which we would be nuts to do for a 36 year old unit. So on Monday we also called a man that was highly recommended to us, and had a whole new HVAC installed. That cost us several thousand dollars, but at least it's done now.

So then while the guy was installing the new unit (and I was at the doctor) Gregg happened to be outside watching the dogs running around and barking at the workmen. Suddenly Ginger fell over, and when she got up, she was walking funny. Gregg's initial thought was that she had stepped into one of the holes they're forever digging in the back yard and had hurt her foot. But no, it was so much worse than that.

For the rest of the night, Ginger couldn't walk straight. She kept losing her balance, tilting her head to one side, and her eyes were darting around in a peculiar way, as if she couldn't see straight. In the middle of the night she vomited a couple of times. We were so scared. Gregg slept on the couch in the den beside her and watched her all night. I didn't get a bit of sleep, myself, between being scared for her and sick. I was up, showered, and waiting with her at the vet's office when they opened at 8am.

Our regular vet, Dr. Causey, is wonderful. I love and trust him and he takes wonderful care of our dogs. But Tuesdays are his day off, and a new young female vet was working instead. They took Ginger inside, and by the time I got the car parked, they were already bringing her back up front. The young (looking) girl holding Ginger's leash said, "We took her temperature and it's normal. This must be neurological, either a brain tumor or a stroke. Can you take her to the specialty animal hospital in Columbia? They do neurology and oncology there and that's the best place for her." I said, "Can I at least see a vet here first?" And she said, "I am a vet. I'm Dr. Harper." Well, my bad. I didn't know. So I said that sure, we could take Ginger to Columbia or wherever we needed to go. My heart was breaking and tears were streaming down my face. Dr. Harper said, "We'll call ahead and let them know you're coming" as she handed me directions. And just like that, she walked off. The office manager wasn't even looking my way, so I got her attention and said, "You'll make sure Ginger's records go out ahead of us? And you'll let them know we're coming?" and she said, "Yes, we will" and went back to her typing.

Guess what? They didn't call ahead.

So anyway  I raced home, calling Gregg on the way and telling him that we had to take Ginger to Columbia Veterinary Emergency Trauma Surgery which is about a 90 minute drive from here. I pulled into our driveway in full crisis mode to pick him up, Ginger drooling and panting in the backseat. George barked and whined at the gate as we pulled off and I felt so bad leaving him behind. He's utterly devoted to Ginger and he knew something was very, very wrong.

That drive was one of the worst experiences of my life. We were both convinced Ginger was going to die. This is the dog that showed up as a puppy on our back porch the year after we were married, and adopted us. The dog that was by Gregg's side every minute of every day for the 6 months he was out of work undergoing cancer surgery and chemotherapy. The dog that's as beloved as any human member of our family could ever possibly be. We both cried the whole way there. I'm not exaggerating when I say that that drive was a traumatic experience. At some point I remember thinking how glad I was that we had never had children, because life is just a long series of heartbreaks, one after another, and I wouldn't want to inflict that on another human being. I was in a bad, bad place.

But the story has a happy ending. Something I had Googled the night before turned out to be what was wrong with Ginger: Peripheral Vestibular Disease. Apparently it can sometimes be caused by an inner ear infection, which wasn't the case here, or it can just happen for unknown reasons. But the key thing is that it usually resolves itself completely over a period of a few days as long as all the dog's bloodwork comes back normal. And Ginger's bloodwork showed her to be remarkably healthy for a 12 year old dog. The only thing that hasn't come back yet are her thyroid panels, but everything else was superb and the vet said she expects Ginger to do very well. They told us to give her an over the counter human medicine for motion sickness once a day for 5 days and to have our primary vet do a follow up at the end of the week.

CVET was an amazing animal hospital. It's state of the art, offers all kinds of specialty animal medicine, and is open 24/7/365. I'm really happy to have it as a resource for future reference. The staff was incredible. But it was expensive....$725 altogether for blood tests and some fluids to rehydrate her. We could have had all that for half the cost at home, not to mention the truly awful car ride.....for a diagnosis I had found the night before with a 10 second Google search.

All because it was Dr. Causey's day off and the
new vet in the practice couldn't be bothered to give us more than 5 minutes of her time. I plan to have a good long talk with Dr. C. when I take Ginger for her follow up appointment later this week.

Of course I'm beyond grateful that she's probably going to be ok. When we got home with her yesterday we were both exhausted. We've been sick ourselves, and we had missed a whole night's sleep, and then with all the stress and trauma.....it was a horrible, horrible day. But at least our girl is still with us and expected to recover.

And then, right after we got home yesterday, there was this....

Oh, my heart. ❤

Georgie had his Ginger back.

Fun times at my house

It's funny how the entire world seems to shrink and become smaller when you're sick. I feel as bad as I've felt in years right now. I'm pretty sure another trip to the doctor is in the cards for me tomorrow.

I have so much congestion in my chest that I've been getting short of breath. Friday afternoon I actually went and bought an over-the-counter emergency inhaler. I haven't had an asthma attack in years, and I was truly afraid I was going to end up in the ER for a breathing treatment. I also bought Mucinex DM, which is practically a miracle drug, and it's helped keep some of the worst congestion at bay. I'm running a fever now, too, and I ache all over. I'm pretty sure this is either the flu or bronchitis.

This whole weekend has been terrible. I've been feeling horribly depressed and sad. I'm sure it's just being ill that's making me feel that way but whatever the cause, it's awful. I cried when I got an email from a friend, checking on me. The dogs have been a big comfort. They both sit as close to me as possible, never leaving my side. Ginger, in particular, always makes sure she's touching me even if she's just sitting beside my feet. She's such a good girl. And Georgie looks so sad. He knows I don't feel well. I love those dogs so much.

I went ahead and texted the principal to let him know that I won't be in tomorrow. With a fever, I might be contagious, never mind  how awful I feel. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Of course, Gregg has gotten sick now, too. That's always scary to me, since he only has one lung. We watch any respiratory infections very closely in case he needs to go to the ER. So far, he's sick, but not quite as sick as me...at least not yet anyway.

How do you cope/comfort yourself when you're sick? I can't seem to concentrate to read for very long, and I have a bad headache to boot. I can't settle on anything to watch on tv, either. This is just the worst!

ps....Our a/c might really be dead this time. I think we're going to have to get some quotes on a new HVAC next week. Thank goodness it's cooler outside or I'd have to go somewhere else to stay. I couldn't cope with being hot on top of everything else!

Enough! Enough!

Somebody just take me out back and put me out of my misery!

I've developed a chest cold on top of everything else. I feel terrible. Terrible. Yesterday at work I just wanted to die. Aches, pains, sore throat, cough, chills, sweats, and the occasional back spasm to round out the fun!

Thank God it's Friday. 4:30 can't get here soon enough.

Sorry about a solid week of complaints. I just have to get it off my chest.

(Off my chest! Ha!)

Back this weekend....if I survive. Happy Friday, everyone.

Calmer

Today has been a better day.

My back isn't hurting as much or seizing up, stopping me dead in my tracks, so the shot really seems to have helped. I've gotten by with only one dose of ibuprofen, which my stomach lining is thankful for. Too much of any NSAID and I have a stomachache to go along with whatever I'm taking it for.

The a/c guy will be here sometime on Friday. In the meantime, our temperatures have dropped into the perfect open-windows range so the wait isn't a hardship right now.

I finally accepted that the book club meeting I was supposed to host next week wasn't working out. I was already behind in household chores I had planned to do this week, and between the bad back and the a/c issue, Gregg urged me to try to trade with someone. He knows how nervous I am about it...it will be my first time ever hosting the club and the biggest group (about 12) I've ever had over. I want the house to be sparkling clean and decorated for the season, and lots of great food. I texted Kathleen,  the group leader, and she readily offered to host next week. What a relief! In return I'll be hosting for her in December.

So that's another worry off my mind.

Here's a a couple of pictures from today to finish off this post.

First: these popped up in our back yard today. Hurricane Lilies!

Does anyone remember my friend Carol giving me fig tree cuttings to root in a bucket of water? It was the most wrong time of year for it and I never thought it would work. Well. Not only do these cuttings have small roots, but they're sprouting at the top and growing new leaves, too.

Sometimes it's good to be wrong.

Update

Turns out I just have pulled muscles in my lower back. Had a cortisone shot in my hip, instructed to continue with the muscle relaxers at bedtime and Motrin through the day. The shot hurt like hell. Came home, still hurting, and discovered that our a/c has died again.

Lovely.

So much for that!

Well, I won't be getting that perfect attendance bonus this year at work. I had to leave early today. I have an appointment to see my doctor about my back at 2:15....yes, I finally broke down and called the doctor. I'm not sure what they're going to be able to do for me, since I already have muscle relaxers and no one ever wants to prescribe good pain medicine these days. I asked the school nurse (I have a lot of faith in her) if it was worthwhile to go, and she said yes. She said it wouldn't hurt to have an x-ray done to make sure something isn't really wrong.

I hate missing work and losing out on the bonus this early in the year, although honestly I suppose it's better that way. I'd really be mad if I struggled all this year to go to work, sick or not, and then was forced to call out during the last few weeks! Last year our band director dragged himself into work with the flu in early May because he was determined not to lose out. That's going too far, in my opinion, when you're risking getting others sick. He had plans to use that money for his honeymoon spending cash (he got married in June) and so I didn't blame him, but honestly he should have just stayed home.

Since sick time can only be used in half or whole day increments, I left work at 12 even though my appointment isn't until 2:15. If they make me do x-rays there's no telling how long I'll be there. I hate going to the doctor! I'd much rather still be at work.

Oh, well.....wish me luck. Hopefully it's just a pulled muscle or something equally minor, and hopefully they'll have pity on me and give me something decent for pain relief. Motrin just isn't cutting it!

I'll check in later. Thanks for all the responses on my last post!

Is there a cure for this?

I'm becoming one of the most clumsy, accident prone people I know. I keep hurting myself!

Remember how I thought I had a broken toe this summer? It was definitely broken. It took a full two months to heal and is still slightly tender to the touch. I did that by walking into the bottom of our exercise bike on the way back from the bathroom one night.

Two weeks ago I tripped in the bedroom again. I was walking into the room to turn on the light, and I didn't see Ginger lying beside the nightstand. She's a black dog, you know? So I tripped and went down hard, catching myself in the belly on the wooden corner of the nightstand. I hurt the big toe on my other foot that time (thankfully it isn't broken, just "sprained") and also got a big purple bruise right above my navel.

Last January I fell while walking on the nature trail with some friends, and hurt my knee. I also had extensive bruising on the back of that knee that worked its way down my calf over the course of the next month or so. That hurt a lot.

So what prompted this post? This morning I was messing around in the back yard and decided to plant something in the ground I'd had growing in a pot all summer. When I lifted the second shovelful of heavy, moist dirt, I felt a distinct "pop" in my lower back followed immediately by painful spasms. It was so bad I wondered if I was going to be able to get myself back in the house! I was soaked in sweat and trembling like a leaf by the time I managed to get inside. I immediately got an icepack (a big pack of frozen vegetables) on it and took 800mg of Motrin. I've been icing it all afternoon. It was so bad I even took one of Gregg's leftover pain pills in addition to the Motrin. All that seems to have helped a lot. Still, I'm dreading tomorrow morning and what it's going to feel like after sleeping on it. And I really, really don't want to miss work....the district is offering a $2,000 bonus at the end of the year for perfect attendance. I'd hate to lose out on that this early in the year.

What can I do to stop being so damn clumsy? I'm sure this happened today because my muscles and tendons were cold and I hadn't really properly stretched or moved around much prior to breaking out the shovel. I guess I could be more mindful of that in the future. And more careful when I walk in the dark. Sometimes I just fall out of sheer clumsiness, though, and I have terrible balance. Does anyone recommend anything to help with that? Some sport or exercise that will improve my balance and flexibility?

In the meantime...I'll keep you posted in the latest edition of Times When I Hurt Myself. Sigh.