Animals

Hello---remember me? I am the one that used to post fairly frequently, then life happened. I know I left you hanging with the tease of a thought provoking post and that is still spinning in my little head but for now, I need to write about these goings ons.

Well, surgery boy is doing fairly well. He is hobbling around on and off crutches, on and off pain meds. He swears that the Vicod*n does nothing for him yet within an hour of taking it he is crashed on the couch.

S1 has stopped vomiting but has had another life setback. He and his girlfriend broke up last night. It breaks MY heart to hear the pain in his voice. I think we all know too well how shitty that feels. They have dated for almost 3 years, were each others first and only loves (so far) and ahem, the first sex for either of them. I don't know if they will get back together but whether they do or don't I just want S1 to be happy. Of the three, he is the kid I worry about the most. He is the most fragile emotionally and I want to protect him from all lifes bumps. He is in that initial stage of not knowing what to do next and there is nothing I can do to help and it is very very hard for me...but I know it is important for him to experience these things as they are part of lifes little treasures. I would love for him to open up and talk about everything but he is an internalizer (yes, that is most likely why he is being treated for an ulcer). Maybe there are people at school he will talk to-girls I hope-to give him the positive feedback he needs. I really don't think his guy friends have any more of a clue about women than he does. I can talk till I am blue and since I am a mom and not a girl obviously nothing I say is pertinent. HA!

(Actually my big post that I was planning is about S1 and his health issues but I really can't dredge all that up in my mind tonight, it has been a very long day and I still have to go next door to take care of the neighbors pup while they are out of town.)

We had a sad event in the family this week. We lost one of our kitties. He had gotten very sick and it had gotten to the point where the only kind thing to do was have him put to sleep. For those of you that have had to do that, you KNOW how tough that is!!! SO wait till you hear this. I still can't believe it. When I walked into the vet with Putter in the carrier there were several people ahead of me waiting at the desk to pay, check in, etc. Anyway the lady in front of me turned around and started talking to me about how cute the cat was and she asked why I was there. I told her he was quite sick (and I should have stopped at that) but told her he was going to be put to sleep. She HAD to see the sadness in my eyes and see that my heart was heavy but did she offer condolences? Did she sympathize with me? Nope, she ripped me a new one right there in the lobby. I stood there paralyzed while she said that there was no way she was going to allow that, that I HAD to ask the vet for a carton to put the cat in so I could drop him off at a rescue group etc etc. Honest to God this lady ranted at me till it was her turn at the counter. I was mortified. One kind gent sitting there spoke up and told her that it would be wrong to drop off a sick old cat to a rescue group that would never be able to find it a home and would be stuck with the bill for euthanasia. The rant lady even asked the girl at the desk "don't you know anyone who would take that cat so that lady won't put it to sleep?" At some point, I know I made it pretty clear that I was not enjoying this trip but she acted like I was having a blast and it was her job to stop me. She left while muttering how SHE could NEVER do that and how could I do that and actually went to her car crying. Oh, I did ask her if she wanted him and she said she had 4 cats and couldn't take another. I cannot believe that she went on and on when I was standing there obviously sad. When she left several people in the waiting room offered their condolences and told me to ignore her, that she was obviously out of line and a bit of a loon too. So the 28 pound cat is gone and it is so strange around here without him waddling his fat belly across the floor for his next meal. So far Bo, the normal sized kitty seems fine without him and has actually been extra cuddly with me and seems to be fine with being the lone cat with two pups.

SPEAKING OF PUPS~I thought I would post a couple of photos here of the new one and the original one. They have becomes incredible friends these past couple of weeks and are together constantly. Cosmo is already very spoiled. We made the mistake of letting him sleep with S2 and now he howls if he is put in his crate.....so of course last night when S2 was out till his curfew, Cos slept with us..between us...with his head draped over my neck. Oh, how that dog lovesssss to snuggle. If these photos don't make you go "awwwww" then you had better check to see if you have a heart :) And would someone please tell my why anyone would dump this sweet, well behaved, cuddler off at a kill shelter? For the life of me I have no idea.

If you want to meet me

you only have 11200 days to do it. According to the real age calculator that I linked to below, that is how long I have left. www.embedtube.com/uploads/33101407Realage.swf Also, I have a post brewing in my head that I honestly want feedback on. No time right now to write it all out (because I have spent all morning surfing new and somewhat bizarre blogs and not working like I should be). You know how it goes,,,,,you click on the link to someones comment and it shoots you to their blog then read the comments and shoot off to another blog and on and on. Anyway...thought pondering post to follow but in the meantime, find out how long you have left so we can set up our lunch date.

The stuff that nightmares are made of....

I don't have time for a real post tonight but I am stealing Dr. Deb's link so you can all read a scary bedtime story. Folk's this is not funny and has me more than a little concerned. Do you want your goofy coworker knowing what you told your doctor the last time you were there?? http://drdeborahserani.blogspot.com

WHEW WHAT A WEEK

and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down.

First--the new dog. He is amazing. I had heard stories about shelter rescues being very grateful and wonderful pets and it is so true. I highly recommend it. This little guy's favorite place is draped across your head or shoulder when you are lying down. Cosmo and Harley have become fast friends and if they aren't together, they are looking for each other.

Second--work. It is going to kill me. Does anyone know a rich little old couple that would like to send my kids through college so I can not work 18 hours a day? No? crap. Hey a girl can always hope.

Third--the boys. So much stuff is going on here and most of it is scary. S1 called from school on Wed night/Thu morning telling us he was on his way home-sick. Once we got the whole story out of him it turns out he has been vomiting for 2 weeks. No food stays down. On Thu. using my connections I got him in for an appointment and they told him he has IBD. I wasn't there (he is 19 now and goes into the office as an"adult") so I couldn't ask questions like..if he has IBD why is he vomiting but not having diarrhea etc. Apparently the lad is constipated too and none of the food is going through the way it should so it is coming back up. THEN...this morning when he was still vomiting, I started asking a zillion questions and when I asked him if there was any blood in the vomit, he says "no just some black slimey crap". HOLY SHIT..it probably IS blood. When I asked him if he told the doc on Thu he said "yea, I told him there wasn't any because blood is red mom"--OK I guess he wouldn't know that it can be black, he is a kid with no medical knowledge but don't you think the MD on should have pressed a little bit for more info?? Anyway..now I am going to ask BigD to call a gastroenterologist that is an acquaintance of his (that calls here frequently with police questions so now the tables are turned and it is his turn to help us) and see if we can get this squared away. My guess is that S1 is working on an ulcer. He is a very intense kid, a self proclaimed perfectionist that puts a lot of pressure on himself to be all things to all people. He is also the one of my three that I worry about the most.

Moving on to S2. When he was in 7th grade he was playing basketball and during a game his knee went right when his foot stayed planted. Since then I have suspected an ACL tear because of his continuous symptoms. He has had many MRI's, CAT scans, etc and none have shown a significant problem but I can see the knee doesn't look right and he has significant symptoms off and on, lots of pain etc sooooo to make a very long story short, he is going in for surgery this week. He will be in a brace for 4-6 weeks-and is hoping that he can be crutch free for the prom and graduation. We had contemplated waiting till summer for the surgery but then his whole summer he would be laid up so since he can still go to class (and probably gets LOTS of sympathy from the girls) it made sense to do the surgery now and get it out of the way.

There is a part of me that is terrified taking in a big healthy 17(will be 18 in a couple weeks) year old and doing surgery but this has been bothering him and keeping him from his beloved basketball because of the instability and I finally found an ortho guy that I trust and more importantly he operates in a hospital I trust so we are hoping this will go smoothly and all will be well.

Thankfully S3 is blissfully normal and happy with no concerns at this time. (Did I just jinx myself??)

So, now I have been at the "new" job for a couple of weeks and I can't work this week with all the appointments, procedures, surgeries etc that will be going on. Thankfully, the office is very family friendly so it shouldn't be a problem. Damn, I hate having to even ask for time off, when I was just self employed there was never that concern. I know I need the job, it just makes me appreciate all the years of self employment even more.

Anyway,,I am sure none of you are wanting to hear more of my worries. You came here for pix of the new guy in the house....so without further anticipation..here he is helping S3 IM his friends~ He thrives on being loved and I tell you after a crazy week there is noting better than unconditional doggy love.

Stressed? I don't think so.