Time Bled By Itself

Yumi the patient..

Twigs for that rustic feel..

Our move to the new house really made things easier for us because it is located fairly close to the Vet clinic which is awesome especially now. Most of our pets are getting old thus are more susceptible to sickness. Aside from our german shepherd who was recently afflicted by liver and kidney infection, we also have our 4 year old Yumi, a mix of shih tzu and japanese spitz, currently being treated for blood parasite infection for about a month now. She's the lone survivor after all her relatives died from canine distemper because she, luckily, have vaccinations.

How did Yumi get infected? An infected tick unfortunately bit her and took a while before the symptoms manifested. She started having bad breath, body odor, weight loss, turned surprisingly jumpy and little by little lost her appetite.

snow...snow...more snow spray lol..

Our merry little Christmas
tree..

We decided to take her to the vet because she started becoming jittery which was unusual for her. So, we asked the vet to have her blood tested because that's the only way to confirm if there's any problem and the vet confirmed she's positive for blood parasite infection which is similar to typhoid fever in humans.

The vet said it's a long term medication which may last for up to half a year and may be life threatening if not treated. Her medication started last month and today's follow up check up still says she's still infected although the drastic improvement due to the medication was impeccable. Yumi took Doxyvet (antibiotic), multivitamins, antiprotozoal and PAPI liv-well. She gained weight, got her appetite back and no longer smells. Hopefully she'll be normal in less than 6 months because it's quite costly but like I always say they're family too.

Moving on, to really feel the spirit of Christmas we already decorated our home and of course the spirit of the season won't be complete without the traditional Christmas tree. We already have our Christmas tree up, decors are all set when I saw this snow spray being sold at this home depot. I decided to buy one to add a little winter feel to the whole ensemble and also for a dramatic touch hoping to be able to channel it well.

let it snow..let it snow..snow spray..

The artificial snow blended well actually making it look freezing cold due to frost like we need a friggin' heater lol. It looked cute on the Christmas tree as well, as if it's already been snowing for hours and time bled on its own. Ok, now I feel like writing a winter inspired novel, naah, too cliche.

But, seriously, I did write a fictional short story about one winter in New York. I even mentioned the Rockefeller Center's ice skating rink in the prologue. That was during summer break when I was still in college to kill boredom. I honestly don't know where it went but I'm still hoping to find it, probably encode it as it was typewritten. If I won't be able to find it then it's gone with the wind (whimper).

posted from Bloggeroid

Keep Going

Brandon is finally able to walk again and we were all surprised to know after I came home from my Ortho last Monday due to my aching stiff neck. We anticipated his recovery might take longer than usual as it is with dogs on renal failure. It was just his 5^th day after he was released from the vet clinic. We religiously made him take his medications and thank God he responded quite well. It was a miracle actually and I don't know if Brandon is aware that my Dad will be home to see how he's doing. Brandon is my Dad's dog and because he's been busy, my sisters and I do all the taking care of things for Brandon. We're hoping that Brandon will be back in shape real soon and somehow we'll be able to at least prolong his life for the time being. We're praying if we could max it out to twelve years which is the longest life span for German Shepherds.

2 Tbsp. for a glass of water  

His stance is not as sturdy so we still keep him at his makeshift confinement room at home until he's really better. Brandon's been eating well although still finicky at times, not drinking much water though so we have to make him drink this water soluble powdered glucose (in lieu of his dextrose) using a syringe every after his meals. We still keep track of his medicine intake, how many times he drank water, stool, urine time etc. My Dad was happy to see him able to walk again because his spirit might've dampened when we told him that Brandon has been very weak (that wast last week though). At least we set his expectations just in case because you'll never know with senior dogs like ours. Nevertheless, we're still hoping for the best.

Going back to my neck, my Ortho said my neck pain is not really alarming. He just asked how high is my bed, pillows etc. I told him of course I had this drilling project at home which might've caused the stiff neck. I told him about the muscle relaxant meds that I took and how they temporarily relieved the pain yadda yadda. In the end he prescribed Arcoxia 90mg (Etoricoxib) which I think is quite good. Today's the 3^rd day since I took Arcoxia and I think the aching stiff neck is gradually decreasing. My Ortho said he'll figure something else if it will not heal after a week, I hope not. I really hate hospitals and clinics because they sound like a cashier's till to me (ting! ting!) every time I go there.

OC In Me

multi tasking: baking whilst scanning through Brandon's check list.

I always want to keep things organized because my memory no longer serves me right most of the time probably caused by tons of medicines I took during the previous years as well.

I think I may be a little obsessive compulsive because there are times wherein I want my clothes to be color coded especially If I have all the time in the world keeping them in a spic and span order. But, when I'm busy my stuff are a perfect mess. I also love to put labels on things such as cabinets and drawers because of my being forgetful. I love check lists that's why I took this opportunity to make this check list of medicines that our nursing senior dog Brandon is taking to keep tabs of everything he eats, drink, time he took them etc. because there's no room for errors when it comes to taking medicines, I wouldn't like that to happen to me neither. 

I was also able to con the people at home to make use of the checklist I made for Brandon's sake and so far they're doing a great job. I even asked my sissy to buy this clip board for me to hold my check list like what you see in hospitals lol. I feel like a child again role playing as a Doctor or Nurse. I seriously dreamt of becoming a Doctor someday because I thought their job is easy when I was still a kiddo.

Just an update on Brandon's condition: he's eating now although not as greedy as before yet but at least he's no longer refusing food. He's however unable to stand on his own yet since we took his dextrose off because he has not eaten much. Food is fuel so not enough food, not enough energy. I'm glad he seems to be regaining his appetite for food gradually. He's whimpering at times probably feeling miserable for his condition so we often talk to him (yes we do no matter how loony it sounds) to comfort him and tell him to not force himself. Brandon often make his rounds at night so he might've thought he's neglecting his duties for being bed ridden. He's a police dog so what can we do right? It runs in his breed :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Go Brandon!

It's only been two days since Brandon, our ten year old senior dog was released from the veterinary clinic due to loss of appetite and diarrhea resulting to weight loss. He was confined last Monday and stayed at the Vet clinic for couple of days. He was dextrosed but refused to eat the whole time he was confined. We learned that his kidney and liver were affected which is common with German Shepherds his age. We thought it might've been due to the antibiotics he took because of his infected callous/hygroma before since antibiotics are known to affect the liver and kidney if they're weak which is usually the case with senior dogs. He took liver supplements back then as prescribed but he still got sick probably due to old age.

Brandon's makeshift hospital room at home.

We got worried after we received an sms from the Vet to let us know that he hasn't been feeding and it's been 48 hours so we rushed to the Vet Clinic the next day to see how he's doing. Our hopes went up after seeing him ok, a little weak though since he's been refusing food. My sisters and I decided to bring him home hoping to be able to make him eat. We thought, what's the point of keeping him at the Vet if he isn't eating? Brandon might've felt a sense of abandonment that's why he refused to feed. The Vet prescribed this Vitamin C to be taken intravenously, additional bag of D-Glucose for his catheter and off we go.

When we got home he urinated a lot and as per the Veterinarian it would take roughly a week before he poop so it's absolutely normal. We made a space for him at our house's drying area where we set up his bed and everything. We even made a makeshift sleeping area at the dining room (because there's a glass sliding door there where we could peer through to see the drying area) to closely monitor brandon since he's still on a catheter. Boy it wasn't an easy task because he's a huge dog and since he's still groggy we have to prevent him from falling every time he walks around. We watched over him for 24 hours. It felt like one of those days at the hospital except there weren't any doctors and nurses doing their rounds. It was a little tough on my end because I am still enduring this darn stiff neck and I can't do any lifting. Brandon ate a cup of boiled chicken liver, no salt or any spices as per the Vet's instruction.

Yesterday, my sisters went back to the Vet to let her know that he's been eating although not more than a cup. I was in charge of cooking his meals and man it's not easy peasy feeding a sick dog because he still will not devour any sort of food like he used to, he was finicky like a cat. The good thing was, Brandon at least ate about a cup of this canned beef flavoured liver yesterday. He just will not eat the same food over and over. He was prescribed tons of meds: Antiprotozoa, Antibiotic, Immunol and Papi Liv-well for his liver supplement. We already removed his catheter because he's already eating , again as per the Vet.

This morning, we got all panicky because he was shivering so we decided to feed him this Cream Dory fish which I marinated in lemon, honey and very little salt. He might've been just starving that's why because he refused all foods I made for him last night. After eating about half a cup his shivering stopped. We were surprised that he devoured it. He loved it so I made him another cup full come lunch time. Beforehand, we applied this gum paste to boost his appetite by the way which I think worked somehow.

So far so good and we're rooting for his fast recovery through prayers and additional TLC. I once read Armi's (Up DHARMA DOWN) post on Instagram when her 9 year old cat got sick. I was touched when she said that with pets they consider US humans as their only family because they don't have any brothers, sisters or parents to look after them when they get sick. We are their ONLY family. This almost set me to tears because it's true.

As an end note, let's love our pets unconditionally especially during the time they need us the most. For some they're just a pet but for your pet you mean the whole world to them.

posted from Bloggeroid

Mus-kels

Been enduring a quite severe neck pain for almost a week now which made me scurry to my endocrinologist a couple of days ago thinking it is related to my being hypothyroid. If you haven't read my previous blogs, welcome. But if you have been reading thanks!

broken mirror? design them. we opted
for a wooden theme to remedy the crack.

I often associate my muscle pains to my hypothyroidism because there's no other culprit 80% of the time. When I was still hyperthyroid my muscles were so weak, when I turned hypothyroid my muscles are so stiff most of the time and if I stop taking hormone replacement drug I will feel excruciating muscle pains definitely. I have been doing a lot of lifting and drilling since we moved to our new home and a week after, that's when my neck pain kicked in. I know the difference between a normal muscle spasm over something chronic and this time around the pain won't subside for days. I took Alaxan FR, both warm and cold compress, even took use of this muscle relaxant ointment my Ortho prescribed years ago.The ointment partially relieved the pain but the discomfort continued on so I decided to go ahead and have my thyroid checked. My last check up with my endoc was March this year prior to me leaving for Hong Kong and I was told that my TSH level was ok. I was supposed to come back last month but got too busy so I failed to show up and just decided to have another check up after my prolonged neck pain. I know, I know, always go back when you're told by you're doctor to do so for your own peace of mind. So, I attributed my muscle pains to my thyroid and decided to have my blood tested again (TSH, FT4 level). I went back the next day for the result and thank God the pain is not in any way related to my thyroid. It was ruled out since my TSH level (my endoc said hormone level connecting the brain and heart) is fine, not normal though because you're never normal after RAI. I was told that I wasn't hypothyroid which means that my neck pain was due to my heavy lifting or drilling. That, the lifting might've already damaged my muscles and the constant physical activities aggravated it. Problem solved. I was advised to go for a massage and continue taking my Levothyroxine.

my new read...

latest project: Black and White photo
wall. Yes, I drilled all the wall hangers.
Six more photos to go..still far from
 completion.

I'll be resting for the time being and avoid any lifting. I also had a neck massage this afternoon and hopefully I'll be back on track in a few days. I hate not to hover. My sisters and I still got a project to finish which is our Black and White Photography Wall, an idea we got from Pinterest. Well, most of our projects here at home came from Pinterest. It's like the Instagram for DIY home ideas.

What else? I'm back to reading. I am currently reading Claire Zorn's The Sky So Heavy. It is interesting actually. I thought it was boring at first but never judge an e-book just by it's first few pages. It's about nuclear testing gone bad in Australia which resulted to extreme temperature drop. Imagine snow in Australia? I'll share it with you guys once finished. I haven't finished reading Vina Jackson's Eighty Days Amber because I've gotten tired reading all the sexual content and I want something that would make me travel some place else since I miss travelling all the time.

In God's Time

First of, let me welcome the month of November feeling thankful and blessed.

I can say its been a lucky year so far because we sold our house to its now rightful owner before the year come to a close. No one said it would be easy of course 'cuz it took five grueling years before someone finally took notice, was interested and eventually bought it. A lot of changes happened along the way and mostly painstakingly difficult. But then, God listened to our woes and prayers, he granted what we've been yearning for, a move to a new house eventually, to start anew. It was bittersweet but life goes on. Life is a constant change. I thanked my dearly departed Mom of course because this wouldn't have happened without her guidance, and above all, God, he made all things possible. As an adage goes “Patience comes to those who wait” and things will eventually fall into place at the right time or the most apt thing to say is in God's perfect time.

my ever reliable drilling equipment

Moving on, I got so busy decorating the house and all, bought new fixtures etc, etc. My sissies and I found this furniture shop that sells really affordable fixtures. Buying furniture is such a good de-stressing activity. I just love beautifying our new house. I actually love decorating because it brings out the creativity in me and when you have tons of ideas there's no stopping! I was so squeamish to hang our decors on the wall so we bought this impact drilling equipment at the nearest handyman store. At first, it was kind of difficult to wrap my head around the thought of operating that darn drilling equipment but after reading through the not so comprehensive instruction manual, I was able to successfully drill over fifteen holes (mostly by trial and error) which now holds roughly that many wall decors, mirrors, a wall clock, and the most difficult of them all, a towel holder. Drilling on really thick tiled bathroom walls is such a pain. It wasn't as easy as I thought. Nevertheless, I now seriously enjoy drilling the walls no matter how heavy the drilling equipment is after seeing the finished products. The effort and exhaustion is just all worth it. Who says drilling is a man's job? I don't think so. All you have to have is patience for it, an eye shield for the cement particles, an apron with pocket for screws/hooks and a surgical mask so you won't inhale the dust. Last but not least, clean up your own mess if you don't wanna get scolded!

he's better off asleep actually because
he does a lot of crazy things awake :D

I love our new home, it's peaceful and just minutes away from the central district. Let me also share that my cat now sleeps in my room more often because I think he's still scared to get lost in the woods nearby so he'd rather be a homebody kitty. I can't wait to venture into working from home as well because I already got tired of working in the confides of the office and endure the ever worsening traffic jams. I want to have time for lot of other things right now, especially travelling, blogging, baking, and my list goes on.

I'm off to visit my Mom's Columbarium tomorrow. I miss her and I wanna talk to her in silence, bring her flowers. Just early today, I heard the door bell rang twice and there's no one outside. I can't say it's grounded because I fixed our door bell myself and it's working perfectly. I guess she's just paying our new home a visit, trying to test the door bell perhaps since I always have doubts that I indeed fixed it LOL. Well, it's the 1^st of November what to expect? A lot of wandering souls yonder. Let's just offer them prayers. Nothing to be scared of. I am more scared of Burglars than ghosts. Just saying.

It's 54 days to go before Christmas. Have you decorated your Christmas tree yet? I did. My cat hasn't played with a single Christmas balls yet, I am crossing my fingers.