146 posts tagged “health issues”
What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?
Growing up, we took a vacation every Labor Day weekend to the Black Hills in South Dakota. On one of those trips, I got the stomach flu plus an asthma episode. My friend, Michelle, came with who also has asthma and she ended up with the same thing. We spent the weekend together on the floor in the bathroom thinking we were going to die!
When we got to the vet to see Butterscotch yesterday morning, he was in very rough shape. I started crying immediately. So much for being the strong mom. They had him covered up with a towel to keep him warm and he didn't open his eyes. I finally asked if I could pick him up and they said that was fine.. It seemed as if he was trying to purr but it came out very labored. We all gave him lots of love. After about 15 minutes, Butterscotch started having a seizure so I had Ray run get the tech. She had me put him down and she tried to hold him still. It didn't last long. He still had a faint pulse but she said she thought he was on his way out. Within a few more minutes, he was gone.
We're all very heartbroken. Though we only had him about 2 months, he quickly worked his way into our heart and was so lovable. I'm thankful that we were there to comfort him when he died so that he wasn't alone. We had a little burial service this morning. We wrapped him in a baby blanket that he liked laying on in the garage.
Cody was being very strong until bedtime and then he broke down. Lily has her moments but mainly wants to know when we can get another cat. Jace has had a very hard time. He's so tender hearted.
It's kind of bizarre that I hesitated to buy too much for the cat because I was always afraid something would happen to it. We just seem to have such bad luck with strays. I think the next time we see a stray, we should probably tell it to run for it's life!
Some of our happy moments with Butterscotch:
Butterscotch even went to school for Lily's Show & Tell a few weeks ago.
Will we get another cat? Well, I think we determined that it can work to have a garage kitty. We all really enjoyed spending time with him and even bought him a heated house (though our garage floor at the new house is heated). I think we should wait until we're moved and then look in the spring for a brand-new kitten that needs a home. Then, we can make sure it gets all it's vaccinations on schedule.
We have a very sick kitty. I went into see him around 3 and he didn’t come out of his house until I took him out. (Totally out of character). His eyes kept rolling back in his head and he was very lethargic. I took him straight to the vet and had to wait 2 ½ hrs because of other emergencies. Poor baby just laid his head on my shoulder the whole time. He has a fever and either an infection or acute leukemia. He has had all his vaccines but it’s possible to be born with leukemia or he might have had it before getting the vaccine. We’re hoping it’s the first. They kept him for fluids, antibiotics, and an anti-inflammatory for the fever. Bandit died at the vets alone on a Friday night so I really don’t want that to happen to Butterscotch. If he’s not going to make it, I want him to be in my arms. He’s such a good-natured cat. I have such awful luck with strays!!
Butterscotch is not improved this morning. The vet now thinks it’s a type of viral infection which had a long name. They can recover with supportive care but it doesn’t look promising. If he doesn’t show some improvement during the day, he thinks we should probably put him down. Seriously, we have the worst luck with strays. I think the next time we see one, we should tell it to run for it’s life!!
Lily woke up at 1:00 am with a fever and bad cough. Good thing there's no school Thursday or Friday this week.
That is NO longer the question. Our family always gets flu shots every year. With 3 asthmatics, we can't take the chance. However, I had my concerns this year about the new vaccine for H1N1. I had decided we would go ahead because I thought the benefits outweighed the risks but it hasn't yet become available. The 1st case of H1N1 appeared in our county just last Friday. On that same day, Jace was home with a fever and Cody was home with a sore throat. On Saturday, both boys were perfectly fine so I thought we'd dodged the bullet. Sunday, Cody woke up and said he felt weak and tired so didn't go to church. By the afternoon, he was sporting a fever, had thrown up once, and was coughing. This did not look good.
Cody stayed home from school today and I decided to make him a Dr. appt. since he had all the flu signs. By the time we got to the Dr., his temp was 104.4 and he was dehydrated and hardly able to walk by himself. He was given Tylenol, a shot of Phenagrin, and a Gatorade to try and get better without having IV fluids. After about 15 minutes, the temp was down to 102 and he was drinking a little Gatorade. They also did an influenza test. Around 10 minutes later, the nurse came in to give him some Advil and then they checked his temperature again. It was 103 and off we went to the lab for blood work and then the ER for IV fluids. In the meantime, we were told that he was positive for Influenza A. They send it to the state lab for H1N1 analysis but that's basically the only influenza going around right now so they assume that will also be positive. Cody actually had the regular flu shot 2 weeks ago. We spent 2 hours in the ER while Cody got 2 liters of fluids. It's amazing what a difference it made.
What really stinks is that Cody's only 2 middle school football games are tonight and tomorrow night so he's going to miss them both! They were even playing at the high school under the lights. I'm praying that Jace's brief fever and cough were his version and that Lily's little cough is her version and that Ray, myself, and especially my parents, don't get it at all! I don't think I've ever used so much hand sanitizer in my life!
Cloudy:
- The weather! September was our most summer-like weather of the year. It was just beautiful! October 1 came along and we switched straight to winter. It's been cold, rainy, and windy. Thankfully, we haven't had any snow yet though it's been in the forecast a lot.
- I have to miss Cody's 2nd middle school football game tonight because it's during my choir rehearsal. Pooh!
Sunny:
- I had 3 moles on my back biopsied last week and they all came back negative. I'd had a few done in college and those were also fine. Better safe than sorry, though.
- Every week I've had more children showing up for choir and we're having a great time! I found some really awesome songs for us to sing.
- I raised $285 for the March of Dimes when I went to jail today.
- By the end of today, the entire upstairs of our new house will be primered, 1/2 the ceiling painted, and the kitchen walls done. Moving right along now!
Fumble:
- I'm having 3 moles removed from my back next Monday. I had 2 removed in college and my chiropractor suggested I have a few checked out at my last appt. before we moved. I finally got around to it yesterday. At first, the Dr. thought there were 2 that just needed watching but then she found one she didn't like under my bra strap. If they're removing one, we might as well just get rid of all 3.
- Jace's flag football team got creamed last night.
- The Steelers lost on Sunday because Jeff Reed missed 2 field goals. I could've understood missing one in the pouring rain but 2?!
Touchdown:
- We're ordering our kitchen cabinets today or tomorrow.
- The perfotaper finally arrived last night and began work today. I'm hoping things will move along now!
- The start of Fall TV programming. I enjoyed DWTS and Castle last night.
- The kids are acclimating soooo well here. I'm very happy and excited for them.
- The 1st practice for my new kids' choir here was last Wednesday and I only had 6 kids (2 were mine). When I scheduled it, I didn't realize it was an "early out" day for school. The church program that is before my choir had less than half of the kids that attended the previous week so I'm hoping my attendance will be much better tomorrow. I'd really like a minimum of 15 kids.
- I went to my first handbell practice last week. I've always wanted to learn to play. It's harder than I thought but the others said I did amazing for my first time.
Things I Dislike:
- Yesterday morning, Lily fell backwards off our bed and hit her head really hard. I still had her go to swim lessons thinking it would take her mind off things. She did fairly well until the last 5 minutes when she got out. She was nauseous. When we got to the house, she curled up on the bed under a blanket and said she just wanted to go to sleep. That's when alarm bells started going off in my head so off to the ER we went. She threw up when we were in the ER and then really perked up. The Dr. said sometimes the adrenaline from an injury makes someone nauseous and tired but he didn't think it was a concussion. Whew!
- Cody had a horrible migraine yesterday. I don't know when he'll learn to watch for the early signs so he can take medicine early enough to head them off. He ended up throwing up twice, slept from 5:30-9:00 on the bathroom floor, and then Ray moved him to bed. He's still sleeping.
- Movie companies taking kids' toys and making movies about them that are not appropriate for the kids who play with the toys! "Transformers 2"
Things I Like:
- I think we'll be ordering our cabinets next week. We're almost done with the design. They're the Maple Glaze ones. http://www.pinnaclehomeproducts.com/Cabinets_c_1.html
- We've also got most of our light fixtures chosen and hope to order them next week.
- Today is the Town & Country Festival in town. We'll be taking in the parade, free lunch, games, and other entertainment.
- Three days until we see our neighbors from back in Jamestown!!
- The theater in town just reopened after being closed for a year. Now, if they could get a PG movie that would be great.
- Spending a 99 degree day at the pool with friends.
- Jace made Cody's All Star soccer team! He'll be a sub but he's still doing awesome considering most of the kids are 11 or 12 and he's just 9.
- I had my first hair cut & color here yesterday. It's scary for me to go to someone new. I just about fainted when she told me the price. It was $60. In Jamestown, I paid $120!!
Our neighbors at the lake were in a horrific head-on crash June 12. They were headed to the lake when a vehicle coming the other direction was passing on a hill. At first, nobody was expected to survive. The husband is now being moved to a rehab center with a severely broken leg and ankle and some short term memory loss. His wife lost an eye and had one side of her face completely shattered. She came out of her coma on Sunday and is starting to spend some time off the ventilator. She definitely has a much longer road to recovery ahead but at least she should survive. Nobody really knows the condition of the man driving the other vehicle. Our neighbors were in this truck.
I think its amazing how they ended up side by side facing the same direction. One of the trucks must have spun completely around. Our friends are in their 50's and the other driver was 32. Please keep them all in your prayers.
Friday, we went to the first branding of the year. Though I am basically a city girl, I've always loved branding time. Not the actual act of the branding itself, but the gathering of people, the cowboys, and most of all, the food! My dad doesn't actually brand cattle anymore but we still call it branding. Instead, he just does ear tags. At the same time, they vaccinate the calves. That also means a lot less cowboys and no big meal :(
Cody was missing from the pictures because he had a migraine so was sleeping in the car.
The next day, grandpa took us shopping. Lily got a pink cowgirl hat, boots, and shirt. The boys each got cowboy hats, boots, and Wranglers. I even got a little something.
They don't come off at bedtime either.
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