08.31.08
Fun and Games the last 2 weeks…
Well, not really…
About 2 wks ago, Amber started acting a little lazy. I didn’t think much of it for the first days. So she wasn’t eating much…well, not at all. And when I tried to go for a walk with her, she was hanging back rather than trotting ahead. Then she STOPPED eating. This is the dog that Chuck has nicknamed “Hoover” for how quickly she inhales her food. Even with lots of treats mixed in, she wasn’t eating… Even when I tried to put her favorite food in her mouth for her, she wasn’t eating. So, that Friday we went to the vet. The possibilities were heartworm (test was negative), congestive heart failure (EKG was fine), something in her stomach (the x-ray looked fine), liver infection or disease (can’t quite tell - liver looks okay in the x-ray but that didn’t rule anything out, and her serum looked too yellow). So, $400 later, we went home with an antibiotic in case it was a liver infection and to wait for the blood work results. The next day (Saturday) I worked all day. Chuck was home and heard someone at the door, but thinking it was someone else, didn’t go to the door. Sunday evening I happened to check the mail on the off chance it hadn’t been checked the day before. There’s a bottle of medicine and a note from the vet (the visitor the day before). Turns out she has anemia, and as we check further, it’s probably an auto-immune response. The medicine is Prednisone - a dose 8x higher (!!!) than she was on when she was younger. Argh! But, she’s finally eating again and tonight she actually went for a walk with me - about 1.5 miles, and was still trotting just ahead of me when we got home. It’s such a relief to see her eating and walking… Now we just have to deal with her being on the prednisone, hopefully get that ramped down sooner rather than later.
One fun thing last weekend was that I finally got to see the baby girl. We got a couple of pics of us together, but she’s holding them hostage in her camera, afraid I’ll post them :( She’s back in grad school now, has a place to live and is looking for work down there. She’s also talking about going into nursing once she gets this masters degree done.
I’ve been hoping against hope to hear good news from my job interview (it was just over 2 wks ago) and have procrastinated on re-working my resume. It’s time to bite the bullet and get that done. I suspect that whatever decision was made, I wasn’t selected for the job and I’m a little chicken to call to confirm that. So I HAVE to kick butt and launch a serious job search. I did get some health insurance lined up this last week - it’s terrible insurance, but it’s coverage that gives “creditable coverage” so when I get something else, our pre-existing conditions hopefully won’t be a problem. In the meantime, though, we have to self-pay our scrips so I’ve been researching programs to get help with that. The fun of unemployment… or I should say, hubby’s unemployment.
I have done at least a little crafting. I finished my swirly crochet headband, sewed another one, sewed a “rag quilt” style pillow cover, finished my first patriotic sock and started the second, and got some lockerhooking done. And some knitted samples for the store. Wow… sounds like I’ve actually accomplished something!
Chuck thinks it sucks, but despite the “holiday” I am working tomorrow. So, it’s time to head to bed so I’m up and at ‘em in the morning.