Updates on Everything

 My brother is doing much better.  He is able to walk down the hall now;
still is quite weak, but is making positive progress and that is really good
news..

My dog, poor Mollie, has dog flu.  She doesn't have the severe respiratory
symptoms, but she coughs occasionally and has a "runny nose".  Her appetite
is off--vet suggested chicken and rice--she threw the rice up--this was day
two of the bug.  I took her back to the vet.  X-rays and blood work were
done.  Both were negative.  I called her old vet--and he told me about
the dog flu.  She has fevers, diarrhea, loss of appetite, lethargy.  So she
has been getting rotisserie chicken  about 4 times a day, and she goes
outside to her "bathroom".  And she wakes me frequently.  Day and night.
And I'm  on my 4th round of antibiotics since coming back from Florida.
Mine was bacterial though.

Daisy is doing fabulous now.She is on a twice or three times a week Lasix.
And 2.5 mg of Prednisone.  I'm actually wondering if the fluid overload
was causing the increased seizures.  Whatever the reason, she is full of
herself now.  She hides and pounces on mollie's nose--As I bring Mollie
through the door, I say, "Watch out for the cat!"  And this big dog
slithers behind me, keeping me between the dog and cat.

The cat and chickens are the healthiest one!

Continuing to try to do a garden and get the inside painted.  It's taking forever.
Will be worth it when completed.  Right now, I am so sleep deprived from
Mollie waking me to go out so frequently, that I can only barely focus.

All for now--

Kate Thorn

Trip to Florida

Melanie and I made an emergency trip to Florida last week.  My
sister called me crying and asking me to call my brother's doctor.
I  did manage to get through--he was very blunt--thought my brother
was a bum .  He was ill when he finally called 911.  We were in FL
(oddly enough, I worked as a traveler in ICU in that very hospital)
by the next morning,  We went to see my brother that morning,
He looked worse than I expected.  Chest tube and ventilator, arterial
line for monitoring of blood pressure and oxygen saturation level.
He did wake up for a few minutes--didn't recognize me.  I'm not
surprised.  We hadn't seen each other since 2001.  My sister and neice
arrived the next night.  My daughter took over the meals--she used those
rated highly on trip adviser.  We dealt with his house and she took over
again--changed his air conditioner filter, arranging to have carpets
cleaned.  She bought a new mattress pad for him. (I merely supplied
the credit card.)  I have set of sheets  I can send him.  They're new.

He was to transfer to another floor today.  Finally out of ICU!
Good news!  Very good news for us!

All for now,

Kate Thorn

Update on Daisy Cat

I adjusted her meds--added Lasix 2 to 3 times a week, and asked
for 2.5 mg of Prednisone.  She hasn't had a single twitch or seizure
since the addition of Lasix.  I know this isn't a permanent fix, but
for now, she is happy and healthier than she's been in a long time.

Mollie is inside the majority of the time.  She's outside around 8-10 hours a day,
which to me, is not enough.  But she gets on the deck and barks to
get in.  My critters have me well-trained!

The chickens have captured my daughter--she even wanted to get more
this Spring.  I nixed that.  I was feeding them grass, and she couldn't
believe how nuts they were over it.  I explained they needed chorophyll
in their diet.  Every day, they get sunflower seeds and grass from her.

All for now,

Kate Thorn