What a glorious morning it was and still is if you don’t mind the rain. I don’t mind it, we need it and it’s washing pollen off things. We’ve had a good bit of pollen but it’s expected given we live where there’s a lot of different deciduous trees and plants. The dogwoods have been amazing and the azaleas are in their full glory every where we’ve driven. Since I’m woefully allergic to my environment, I just carry my inhaler. I consider it a work around. Work arounds are good aren’t they? We often have to figure them out when we have had a repair to an aneurysm, whether ruptured or not. Blood flow gets changed and we need to adapt.
I became so excited seeing a place that is selling diesel fuel at $4.99/gal that I called one of the girls at the clinic to let her know. Everywhere else it’s been around $5.89/gal so quite a savings. Her FIL has a landscaping service and their truck and skid steer use diesel. We were discussing it when BH and I took the girls in for their yearly vaccinations. I knew I had to get my diesel cans refilled but OMG the price of diesel has skyrocketed over the last few months. I have been going to the same Veterinarian clinic since I moved to NC and adopted my first pup here. That was way back in 1987, so 38 years give or take a few months.
It all started with Gladys who was stashed in with the kittens. She could fit in my hand she was so small. I told the young man working at the pound I wanted to look at that strange kitten. 2mminutes to closing time we finished the paperwork. He told me all the female pups that came in had to be euthanized per county rules but he just thought she was special. If I hadn’t adopted her, he would have had to put her down as soon as they closed. That county used to charge owners of female dogs property tax. I kid you not! They sent me a letter, I sent one back stating refusal to pay and shared how puppies were made. Takes two to tango is what Dad always said. But what I said was when they start charging for males as well I would pay otherwise it was blatant discrimination.
Gladys was a special dog, extremely intelligent, nurturing to animals and people alike. I had trained her not to cross the line of trees in the front yard so she wouldn’t go across the street. What does Gladys do? She found a work around and went to the field next door, crossed the street one morning and got clipped by a car. If she did something wrong, she was put in time out for 15 minutes. Friends at the church I used to attend didn’t believe a dog could tell time. One day I was at a friend’s home when Gladys went exploring. She didn’t come back when called. When she finally came back I put her in a time out in the bed of my truck. When her 15 minutes were up, she came to the tailgate. Friends were amazed I didn’t have to tell her. They never doubted again.
Another time, I followed her into the woods way back behind my landlords and a son of the neighbors trailers to see why she was so insistent on going back there several times a day. She had come across a Chow who had a litter of pups. She laid down with the pups and the Chow left. A bit of time later, the Chow came back and regurgitate her meal to feed her pups. Gladys came straight up to me hiding behind a tree, gave me a look that I thought only mothers could give and nudged me back home.
A couple years later I had finished up my degree and was working in a group home for girls. We had one who hadn’t said a work in three weeks since she was placed there. Teaching Parents lived at the group home. We spent the days and nights there. Usually I worked by myself, that’s another story, so I was missing Gladys something fierce. BH would keep her when I was at the cottage, the couple I worked with when they were there, didn’t want a dog in the house. Called BH to bring her by so I could get some Gladys time. Myself and all the girls except for the one who refused to talk were playing a game of basketball. Gladys went straight up to the girl who was sitting on the grass and laid her head down in the girl’s lap. The girl started crying, laid her head on Gladys who didn’t move. About 30 minutes later, she had cried herself out. Gladys was soaked from her tears. That young teenager started talking!
Gladys and I started out with Dr. John Martin (RIP) and he had me be his Vet Assistant every time I took her in. That started with a cat of a neighbor who the owner thought was pregnant but turned out to be a hair ball. Dr. Martin always gave me a veterinarian lesson when I was there, I loved it. He had hired other Vets to help his business grow. Back then dog’s weren’t’ spayed or neutered until they were about 6 months old. Females had to go through their first heat season. The other Vets usually stayed for a year or two. He was building his large animal practice, had explained to me that ranchers would trust their small animals to a new vet before they would their large ones. Livestock is generally worth much more money than small animals. His large animal practice flourished and he hired Dr. Kim Mitchell eventually selling her the small animal practice. So a work around for him to get to do what he loved to do.
First time I met Dr. Mitchell was when Gladys had contracted pancreatitis. It was around Thanksgiving and the landlords had thrown out a turkey carcass for the cats and she got into it. BH doesn’t do vomit and poor Gladys had vomited everywhere which meant BH was also vomiting. BH and I were talking about this the other day because Ohana got sick. BH had called me at the group home and I asked for Gladys to go to the clinic. Dr. Mitchell kept her but allowed us to come visit. I went during the day when the girls were in school, BH went before and after work.
The first opportunity I had was on the Monday following Thanksgiving. BH was able to go on the weekends and spent many hours with her. When I went in, Gladys’s paw where the IV was placed was soaked. Dr. Mitchell had hired several Vet Assistants. I pointed out the soaked paw, the assistants told me it was her licking. My dog does not lick like that and I wanted to see (several cuss words) Vet insisting the IV had come out. One of them walked in and told me to move my arse out of her way she was the Vet. Looked and said I was correct and had the needle removed. She also told myself and BH that she had fully expected Gladys to die as her numbers were far higher than what the books said a dog could survive. She credited it to all the visits we made and time spent with her.
BH and I got Trouble when we bought our first house. Gladys was about 12 years old at the time. Trouble came to us on Good Friday so her registered name became Trouble on Good Friday. Trouble got into a lot of trouble. Veterinary science had grown and changed, females were fixed young to avoid potential cancer. My parents would drop off their Australian Cattle Dog for a few months each year when their travels prohibited having the dog with them. One day Trouble and their dog were making too much raucous in the house and Gladys was having none of it. She gave them both a look resulting in both laying down and turning their soft areas to her.
Dr. Mitchell became Aunt Dr. Kim with Trouble who was a frequent visitor to her and the emergency clinic after Gladys had to be put down due to cancer. She was concerned Trouble would get depressed when she was spayed so had her playing in the clinic with the plastic cone on. Trouble did great. She also learned to gig one on the backside lifting the up off their feet. She thought it was fun, we did not. Trouble was also very nurturing. On her second knee surgery there was a woman at Dr. Moss’s emergency clinic who was extremely upset, cussing screaming carrying on. Trouble went to comfort her but I wouldn’t allow it. At one point I gave the woman a Gladys look when I thought she was going to kick my dog. If she had, I probably would have been arrested if you catch my meaning. We were eventually called back to the room, the girl who took us also had thought the woman was going to kick Trouble and was impressed that I didn’t say anything but the look stopped her. Dr. Moss came in eventually. He knelt down to Trouble and she laid her head on his shoulder. Dr. Moss started crying and Trouble took her big Labrador head pulling him in tighter. Trouble gave good hugs like that. At one point BH and I thought we should leave and give them their moment as it felt like we were intruding. Dr. Moss apologized, nothing to apologize for we said, he just needed some Trouble time. He was the only one who could take X-rays of Trouble without knocking her out. He had taken classes in Japan for acupressure and acupuncture. To say Trouble loved her Vets would be an understatement.
When we took the girls in last week, it was the same day Aunt Dr. Kim was signing the papers to Dr. Cole (forgot his last name). She will still work a couple of days a week but the clinic is not hers anymore. Happy sad day I told her when she told us she was leaving as soon as she was finished with us to sign the paperwork. Lots of changes coming her way and ours as well. She told me I needed to keep Dr. Tye, her husband busy LOL I always put him to work when he comes over. She is already looking at work arounds for this new journey. She is going to stay the girls Vet as she has told the current Assistants to only schedule them when she is working as well as Dr. Cole. He will be the Vet for the next dog in our life as she expects that when the last of our girls go, she will fully retire.
Life is full of changes, we are never stagnant in our lives. We have changes in our bodies, our beliefs, experiences. Look back to when you were in the single digit years up to the double you are now and look to see all the changes you have had to make. It’s amazing when we do that! You can even list them to be even more amazed. Make your list of positive and negatives. The older we get the more of those we have. I hope your positives outweigh the negatives! Now on to the welcomes!
@CCNieto starts us off in Nebraska. Christine experienced a SubArachnoid Hemorrhage 10 years ago and was treated with a mesh pipeline.
@Fistulator is down in Texas and was treated with coiling to an aneurysm in his neck that was impacting the right vertebral artery. He has already done an intro post explaining in detail! Find it here Neck Aneurysm - Intro, Journey and Symptons
@Charzalady is up in Virginia. Char’s coiling procedure is scheduled for the 6th of May for a small unruptured aneurysm. The doctor said they are usually watched but her aneurysm has 2 daughter sacs which are more prone to rupture.
Ending this week’s welcomes is @Tzama98 in Bangladesh. Towrin is a relative whose mother had an endovascular procedure which resulted in a long recovery period. She was recently diagnosed with thickened and prolapsed valves.
A hearty welcome to everyone! Please folllow @Fistulator example and tell us more about your story. We usually use the General tab for most everything but there is also the Support and other tabs available. If you run into any obstacles navigating this site, please reach out to myself @Moltroub or the wonderful folks that make up @ModSupport. Be patient for replies as we are all over the world.
A big shout out to everyone who has started a new topic and/or replied. This is how we support each other. If you need to ask questions, receive support please do so. If you can offer your own experience to others, please do so. This is how we stay a supportive group, helping each other out on their life journey. Perhaps someone has had a roadblock and needs to figure out a work around, we can do that by sharing!
Don’t forget the homework of seeing positives and doing your relaxation breathing along with proper hydration, protein intake and rest is never ending. Do take a look at all the changes you have made over your life, it truly is amazing! Have a great week!