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Gods, I am tired.
Today I took Bolt to the vet for his first subcutaneous fluid treatment, or as hub calls it- his flavor injection. Now Bolt is bursting with flavor! It involves sticking a needle in the scruff of his neck and dripping 200 milliliters of (basically) Gatorade right under his skin. First the vet talked to me and answered all my questions. She explained what was going on, and what to watch for as his disease progresses. She explained that this treatment was basically rudimentary dialysis, which is cool because I had thought it was somehow re-hydrating Bolt, and he didn't seem dehydrated. She also seemed pretty confident that he would hang around for another couple of years (she didn't guarantee it, of course) and when I asked about the eventuality of euthanasia she said 'oh, we won't have to worry about that for awhile' after a brief run-down of the options. A tech performed the actual procedure and showed me how it was done. She was also reassuring and very patient with all my questions. I'm not sure if I'll be able to take over at the next one in 2 weeks, but I think I will eventually be able to do it.
Bolt didn't enjoy this whole thing... he didn't squirm or make things difficult, but he hissed, growled and grumbled the entire time. It was weird, but he also never likes other people touching him so I'm hoping it's not an indication of things to come. Hub is talking about building a carpet-covered ironing board sort of thing that folds up against the wall for when we do this here at home; this will probably help out a bunch. Hub took off work early to accompany me, which I was very glad of. I didn't fall apart weeping like I thought I might (the vet's upbeat and matter-of-fact approach helped) but it was still tough.
We got Bolt some new food that has less protein and is easier to digest. We're going to have to figure out the logistics of getting this food in Bolt and keeping it out of Bowie and Maya, while making sure Bolt stays out of the other food. The new stuff isn't bad for the others, but it's pretty pricey and they don't need it. Free-feeding is probably going to have to go out the window, but at least he seems to like the food.
When I wasn't fussing with that it was other stuff. I went to a couple of doctor appointments, including a last-minute visit to the chiropractor. Why do I wait forever to see her? She helps a lot and my insurance pays for it (as of today, anyway). Then I worked on a last minute present for Jodi and John, the head honkies for the Trad that I'm leaving to visit tomorrow, and that ended up taking a lot longer than I had anticipated. I also had to edit a first-time ritual for one of the Dedicants- it was 90% good, but it takes a long time because I go over the first one with an atomically fine comb. I needed to do this before I left, because it's the Beltane ritual and by the time I get back it'll almost be upon us. So guess what I haven't done any of? Packing! Not hardly any! I'm caravaning with Ellen tomorrow and she says she plans to show up around 2pm, so I'll have until then to get my shit together. I'd be doing it now but hub is asleep, and I think he's irritated at me for leaving all this shit 'til the last second. I don't blame him; I am irritated with me too. I just hope I have enough time to do this and still get enough sleep tonight; we're planning to drive about 7 hours and spend the night in a motel somewhere between Shreveport LA and Meridian MS, depending on what sort of time we make.
I'm assuming I will have computer access, but who knows, and who knows if I'll have a chance to use it before next Monday. I'll post when I can; good night everybody.
Today I took Bolt to the vet for his first subcutaneous fluid treatment, or as hub calls it- his flavor injection. Now Bolt is bursting with flavor! It involves sticking a needle in the scruff of his neck and dripping 200 milliliters of (basically) Gatorade right under his skin. First the vet talked to me and answered all my questions. She explained what was going on, and what to watch for as his disease progresses. She explained that this treatment was basically rudimentary dialysis, which is cool because I had thought it was somehow re-hydrating Bolt, and he didn't seem dehydrated. She also seemed pretty confident that he would hang around for another couple of years (she didn't guarantee it, of course) and when I asked about the eventuality of euthanasia she said 'oh, we won't have to worry about that for awhile' after a brief run-down of the options. A tech performed the actual procedure and showed me how it was done. She was also reassuring and very patient with all my questions. I'm not sure if I'll be able to take over at the next one in 2 weeks, but I think I will eventually be able to do it.
Bolt didn't enjoy this whole thing... he didn't squirm or make things difficult, but he hissed, growled and grumbled the entire time. It was weird, but he also never likes other people touching him so I'm hoping it's not an indication of things to come. Hub is talking about building a carpet-covered ironing board sort of thing that folds up against the wall for when we do this here at home; this will probably help out a bunch. Hub took off work early to accompany me, which I was very glad of. I didn't fall apart weeping like I thought I might (the vet's upbeat and matter-of-fact approach helped) but it was still tough.
We got Bolt some new food that has less protein and is easier to digest. We're going to have to figure out the logistics of getting this food in Bolt and keeping it out of Bowie and Maya, while making sure Bolt stays out of the other food. The new stuff isn't bad for the others, but it's pretty pricey and they don't need it. Free-feeding is probably going to have to go out the window, but at least he seems to like the food.
When I wasn't fussing with that it was other stuff. I went to a couple of doctor appointments, including a last-minute visit to the chiropractor. Why do I wait forever to see her? She helps a lot and my insurance pays for it (as of today, anyway). Then I worked on a last minute present for Jodi and John, the head honkies for the Trad that I'm leaving to visit tomorrow, and that ended up taking a lot longer than I had anticipated. I also had to edit a first-time ritual for one of the Dedicants- it was 90% good, but it takes a long time because I go over the first one with an atomically fine comb. I needed to do this before I left, because it's the Beltane ritual and by the time I get back it'll almost be upon us. So guess what I haven't done any of? Packing! Not hardly any! I'm caravaning with Ellen tomorrow and she says she plans to show up around 2pm, so I'll have until then to get my shit together. I'd be doing it now but hub is asleep, and I think he's irritated at me for leaving all this shit 'til the last second. I don't blame him; I am irritated with me too. I just hope I have enough time to do this and still get enough sleep tonight; we're planning to drive about 7 hours and spend the night in a motel somewhere between Shreveport LA and Meridian MS, depending on what sort of time we make.
I'm assuming I will have computer access, but who knows, and who knows if I'll have a chance to use it before next Monday. I'll post when I can; good night everybody.
