Our Weekend!

Last week we noticed a swelling on the ear flap of Meka, my assistance dog.

I researched the symptoms and they fit those of aural hematoma, which is caused by bleeding between the layers of skin of the ear.
I took him to the vet and he was, in fact, diagnosed with an aural hematoma.

The vet stated that the treatment with the best chance for permanent resolution was surgery. We set up a date for surgery on Friday 10/29. She did drain it with a needle but advised that it would likely refill again, but would give him a bit of relief until the surgery could take place( if by chance, it actually resolved, the surgery could be canceled).

So, at 8:30 AM on Friday, we brought Meka in for his surgery; we picked him up again at 4 PM.

He came home with a bandage on his head and one on his leg where the IV was.

We were instructed to remove the bandage the next day and use the Elizabethan collar whenever we were not able to directly observe him to make sure that he didn't scratch or paw at the stitches.

We also have an anti inflammatory and antibiotics we need to give him.

He was fairly lethargic the rest of the evening, but went out readily for a brief relief break at about 11pm, then we all conked out.

Photos below:





Yesterday when we got up David went to the kitchen and the kitchen light blew out and blew a fuse, we thought, but actually blew a breaker further along the line. So, we had to get maintenance and it was determined that the fixture had a short, so I had to quickly do some shopping online to decide what I wanted and where to go for it.

I went to Home Depot and got some fixtures and got back as quickly as I could so that the maintenance man would still be available to install it. He did. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with the first choice of placement, but at least we have light where we need it, the breakers aren't tripping and I can have things moved later if necessary.

Because the maintenance man was working on the ladder in the kitchen, I didn't get lunch until 2:30 PM, then needed to do a couple of errands and went to Mass at 5:30.

Later, we removed the dressing on Meka's ear. The wound was still pretty raw looking.

I re-bandaged the ear and for overnight we placed the Elizabethan collar on him ( no photos of that yet).

He bumbled about in a pathetic fashion, trying to judge where this thing will fit and where it won't and how to move with it. At some point during the night, he decided to join us in bed, a very rare occurrence without an express invitation. In true doggy fashion, he made himself comfortable. The cat moved to another location, then another. Meka continued to spread out and David was soon clinging to an edge of the bed with an edge of the blanket.

I slept through most of this and woke fairly refreshed.

Today we plan a relaxing day, no plans except to greet trick or treaters!

Happy Independence Day!

Our cool spell here in Brooklyn is over; it's heating up. We're moving into the high 90's.

We're having some friends over this evening, about six in all. In the past, we've watched the fireworks from our living room window, but this year and last, the location of the fireworks was moved to to the Hudson River on the West Side of Manhattan rather than the East River, which is visible from our living room.

We'll still be able to see some of the highest bursts, but not the full show. However, while this will change one part of the "tradition", it won't dim our appreciation of our time together.

I prepared a menu that I'm pretty sure that everyone will like; won't blow the calorie budget too badly and didn't require massive amounts of prep.

While I think that I will likely go somewhat over my limit, I've planned ahead, so that I meet my nutritional needs and minimize the damage.

Since this change is supposed to be for life, there has to be room for celebration and variation in our circumstances, so I'm not worrying about it.

I'm also giving some time to thought and prayer for our nation.

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Independence Day weekend and that those of you who are traveling have safe journeys!

The first photo below is of a flag and bunting bedecked Brooklyn Borough Hall, the others, of fireworks past:

Happy Canada Day!

We are both native New Yorkers, but we have a Canadian medical student living with us and we decided to help him celebrate Canada Day...

Not to fear, I've duly logged the piece of cake...

May 9th, Mothers' Day

I'm pretty tired but I wanted to post, both to reflect on the day and to hope that yours was as you wished it.

As I've been mentioning for the past couple of weeks, I'm embarked on a course of steroid treatment for an exacerbation of MS. I'm currently tapering off.

This is always a process involving many unpredictable variables and effects.
I haven't done it for quite some time and never in the midst of a weight management effort.

Mothers' Day and the whole week before it has provided the opportunity for a great deal of reflection.

I've found myself thinking a great deal about my Mom and my two grandmothers; all the things that I learned from them and the relationships of love and caring that surrounded them.

I miss them and yet still have them with me everyday.

In turn, I also had the opportunity to muse on my relationships with my husband and sons.

We celebrated our 31st Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday.

It is amazing to consider the speed with which two baby boys turned into 30 year and 29 year old men who have begun their own lives and families; quite dizzying and not without conflict and disorientation.

I was lucky to have a Mothers' Day greeting call with the elder, who needed to work today and an invitation for my husband and me to a local restaurant with the younger son, his significant other, her son and mother.

We had a lovely, relaxing and delicious meal in a Spanish restaurant.

The dinner posed a challenge to my SparkPeople member identity but I'm actually pretty pleased with my response which was of planning and flexibility. I made conscious choices and not random reactions; looking over the menu ahead of time to plan and making food choices earlier in the day to allow some leeway. As it was, I'm pretty sure that I logged everything and while I wasn't present in the kitchen, my best estimates tell me that I ended the day within my calorie range.

Yes, I could have been heroic and passed on the tapas altogether, but I wasn't and didn't. I did, however, limit myself to small portions and resisted the pull of the "clean plate club" into which my dear Mom and Grandmother initiated me when I was a child, with all the best intentions. (It's OK gals, you got me through childhood and it's up to me now!)

Even if it turns out that I made a mistake or so and the total went above the range, it's not about the numbers, but the choices.

The medication and the flare also put my exercise pattern off but tomorrow I'm returning to the Aquatics Program I began in March. It's the last session of the series.

In addition to my Physical and Occupational Therapies, I'm planning on taking advantage of a Summer Promotion at the YMCA and joining sooner, rather than later so that I can get back into a kind of exercise that I think has been really useful and start building back up.

Did I say I was tired? This was much longer than I'd planned.

I hope your day was as full of love and learning as mine, no matter where you are on the "motherhood spectrum". 211

Below are photos of my mom and me and the boys and me.

More Ups and Downs

The increased fatigue that I had been experiencing in late February and early March, improved for a while but then over the last couple of weeks, I've had another increase in symptoms, which were particularly intense over the past weekend, including Easter. I was again experiencing intense fatigue along with gait problems and some visual symptoms.

Last week, I found myself unable to go to Aquatics or to my Physical and Occupational Therapy Sessions and had trouble even getting out of bed.

I've been trying to do what I can until I can get back on track in terms of exercise, but I've been continuing to log my food and water intake and have been resting.

I was able to visit with family on Easter and to get to Holy Week and Easter Services at my parish, even though I wasn't too lively.

On a lighter note, when I got dressed for church on Holy Thursday, I found that the skirt that I planned to wear was quite large in the waist. This was the first time I'd really had a chance to notice a significant difference in my clothing.

By Monday, I felt a bit better and once again got to my programs.

Below is a photo of our Easter Eggs, some of our Easter Dinner and of the tulips on our table.

A new year begins...

Christmas and New Year are behind us now and I'm already a bit behind on postings!

It seems that we no sooner got finished at the Craft Fair and we needed to prepare for Christmas at home. While we decided not to do the full court press on decorations, we decided on having a small gathering of family and friends for dinner on Christmas Day. We did the exact amount of cleaning necessary to prepare for guests and did some cooking and a lot of baking ahead of time.

Here are some cookie photos:







Think there's a market for this art form on Etsy.com?

Then came the day after Christmas (Boxing Day, St. Stephen's Day) and we had a health scare with Meka, my assistance dog.

After preparing for and beginning our Christmas celebration with "Midnight" Mass on Christmas Eve and serving dinner to family and friends yesterday on Christmas Day, we awoke today with expectations of a lazy day of recovery and minor clean-up.

When Meka, got up to eat, I noticed and mentioned to my husband, David, that Meka seemed to be limping. He came back to lay at the foot of my bed and later when he attempted to get up, he seemed unable to do so and looked limp and lethargic. We were finally able to coax and cajole him up and got him to walk, though unsteadily. Once walking, he was able to continue, however his gait was not normal and fluid and as soon as he began to slow down, he seemed to want to sit or lie down or lean on who or whatever was close at hand.

I called our vet but upon discussion, we decided to take him for immediate emergency evaluation.

Meka stayed overnight at the Veterinary Emergency and Referral Group here in Brooklyn in order to receive supportive treatment and to be monitored.

After taking a history, the vet had noted that Meka was exhibiting neurological symptoms arising from two distinct areas in the brain, brain stem and cerebellar regions.

We could not recall any reason to believe that he had ingested anything toxic, nor had he suffered any trauma.

They did blood work and x-rays which were essentially normal and unremarkable.

After determining that the facility was fully staffed throughout the night and that his neurological status would be monitored throughout the night and could receive treatment as necessary, reluctantly agreed to have him stay.

I checked in by phone for updates at least five times between getting home and 5 AM.
The reports varied from "somewhat worse" to "more or less the same" to "somewhat better" throughout the night but all the staff I spoke to agreed that he was "sweet" and that when offered food, would eat (that's my boy!!).

Later in the morning, I had just picked up the phone and was just about to call to check in again and to say that we would be coming in to see how he was and what our next step would be, when the phone rang. It was one of the vets from VERG who told me that Meka was doing much better; that he was walking and moving more normally, was wagging his tail, seemed in good spirits, obeyed commands. He stated that he would like to discharge Meka this afternoon!

So, at about 4PM on the 27th of December, we went to collect him.

As I waited for a staff member to open accessible entrance door, I turned my wheelchair around and there was Meka, returning from a walk with a vet tech.

I don't know who was more pleased or excited!

We completed all the necessary debriefing; his IV catheters were removed; follow-up appointment made and we were on our way.

After settling him in, I needed to get to church because I was due to act as Lector at 5:30 PM Mass. Having done that, and answering lots of questions as to Meka's whereabouts both in church and on the way there and back, I arrived home to find David taking the photo below.




As you can see from the picture, he doesn't look quite his ebullient self; he's a bit weary looking and has his shaven "cuffs", but is not deterred from a good chew on a tennis ball.

We're had a follow-up appointment on Tues. with the staff surgeon who specializes in neurology at the center where we had Meka seen on Friday and Saturday. He said that he believed Meka had experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA); that there was no way of knowing if or whether it could happen again or preventing it from doing so without exposing him to medications and or procedures which have their own risks and expenses. He stated that he didn't see a need for follow-up unless we saw further symptoms.

We'll do regular follow-up with our regular vet.

At the moment Meka's pretty much back to his old self and continues to do well. All in all this is the best outcome for which I could have wished.

I've got a few new items ready to post on etsy.com within the next couple of days, and plans for several more soon after.