Long time no post, and updatey things.
Wow, so in my last post from July I seem to have mentioned that I can't believe it will be Labor Day soon. 0_o Happy Labor Day to my US flisters, and happy September, everyone!
I'm about two days late if I have my time zones figured out correctly, but I want to send out better-late-than-never happy birthday wishes to hidden_houses - I hope it was a good one, Sari, and I hope you have a happy & healthy year ahead with all of the good things you deserve!
Things took a turn for the crappy in mid-August because we had to hospitalize our teeny kitty Sophie.
Sophie and Christopher are both fourteen years old at this time (well, for all intents and purposes they are, Sophie's bday is September 30th and Chris' bday is October 5th), so although in my mind they're always going to be kittens, unfortunately age-related creakiness and chronic illnesses are starting to catch up to them. Christopher is on medications for an overactive thyroid at this time and is so far *knocks wood* tolerating them well with his symptoms and weight back under control. Sophie actually got diagnosed with mild kidney disease way back when she was about six, when she decided to vault up in the air playing with her brother, landed oddly on one shoulder, and needed labwork to be sedated for X-rays - it was serendipity in a way because we were able to switch over to kidney-protective foods, and she's had seven and a half years of completely stable kidney function.
Earlier this year on routine labwork her rock-solid-for-years weight was starting to drop off and her labs were showing some worsening of her kidney function - she hung in there for awhile, but she got very sick and lethargic by mid-August and her levels were sky-high at the vet's. After a week in their ICU on IV fluids her labs are still not great, but under control, and actually a little bit better at her post-hospital follow-up. She was a poor exhausted baby for her first week home, to the point that for the first day or so Ian and I were wondering whether we were doing this for us and not her and whether it was time to let her go - but she's made a great turn-around and is doing all of those eating/drinking/peeing/pooping/playing things that says we're doing the right thing so far. She's also on daily meds and sub-cutaneous fluids every other day, which she's taking like a little trooper, and she's back to screaming at the top of her lungs when she wants attention, so I think she wants to stay here with us awhile longer *knocks wood again*. All things considered, I'd say it's pretty good for a seventy-something-year-old to pop back into shape just two weeks out of the ICU. :)
So we're going to keep being really proactive and hovering over her and her brother and probably driving them crazy, but I'm holding out hope that our little household will stay intact as long as possible. I'm incredibly grateful that we've been fortunate enough to have these guys as long as we have, but it's never really enough time that we have with them. I'm trying to enjoy Sophie as much as I can and minimize the weeping on top of her fur, but some days are easier than others. There's just been too much loss in my life lately, and coupled with turning 50 a couple of weeks ago my birthday wish was that I'm not here to see 51 if this is all that's left. (Not that I'm going to do anything about it, chances are Chris could live a long time yet and I'm not about to leave him without his mom.)
Anyway, Sophie and I have been logging a lot of quiet Netflix and Amazon hours while she recuperates, and we just finished our re-watch of season 1 of Veronica Mars. I think this is about the third or fourth time I've done a complete re-watch, and I still love it to pieces and am still picking up little details that I missed the first time or two around. Case in point, the scene where Logan picks out the belt his father will use to beat the crap out of him is set to "Ventura Highway," and it's just so evocative of that whole California baby-boomer vibe and yet so jarring and so disturbingly perfect for such a dark scene. America's Greatest Hits will be playing on my iTunes for awhile, haha. I'm also wondering where all the good Wallace fic is, because I can't be the only person who loved him in every single scene he was in?
Will try to have a more uplifting post one of these days, although I think I've been saying that for about a year now? Stay well my loves, will try not to be gone for a month this time. *hugs*
I'm about two days late if I have my time zones figured out correctly, but I want to send out better-late-than-never happy birthday wishes to hidden_houses - I hope it was a good one, Sari, and I hope you have a happy & healthy year ahead with all of the good things you deserve!
Things took a turn for the crappy in mid-August because we had to hospitalize our teeny kitty Sophie.
Sophie and Christopher are both fourteen years old at this time (well, for all intents and purposes they are, Sophie's bday is September 30th and Chris' bday is October 5th), so although in my mind they're always going to be kittens, unfortunately age-related creakiness and chronic illnesses are starting to catch up to them. Christopher is on medications for an overactive thyroid at this time and is so far *knocks wood* tolerating them well with his symptoms and weight back under control. Sophie actually got diagnosed with mild kidney disease way back when she was about six, when she decided to vault up in the air playing with her brother, landed oddly on one shoulder, and needed labwork to be sedated for X-rays - it was serendipity in a way because we were able to switch over to kidney-protective foods, and she's had seven and a half years of completely stable kidney function.
Earlier this year on routine labwork her rock-solid-for-years weight was starting to drop off and her labs were showing some worsening of her kidney function - she hung in there for awhile, but she got very sick and lethargic by mid-August and her levels were sky-high at the vet's. After a week in their ICU on IV fluids her labs are still not great, but under control, and actually a little bit better at her post-hospital follow-up. She was a poor exhausted baby for her first week home, to the point that for the first day or so Ian and I were wondering whether we were doing this for us and not her and whether it was time to let her go - but she's made a great turn-around and is doing all of those eating/drinking/peeing/pooping/playing things that says we're doing the right thing so far. She's also on daily meds and sub-cutaneous fluids every other day, which she's taking like a little trooper, and she's back to screaming at the top of her lungs when she wants attention, so I think she wants to stay here with us awhile longer *knocks wood again*. All things considered, I'd say it's pretty good for a seventy-something-year-old to pop back into shape just two weeks out of the ICU. :)
So we're going to keep being really proactive and hovering over her and her brother and probably driving them crazy, but I'm holding out hope that our little household will stay intact as long as possible. I'm incredibly grateful that we've been fortunate enough to have these guys as long as we have, but it's never really enough time that we have with them. I'm trying to enjoy Sophie as much as I can and minimize the weeping on top of her fur, but some days are easier than others. There's just been too much loss in my life lately, and coupled with turning 50 a couple of weeks ago my birthday wish was that I'm not here to see 51 if this is all that's left. (Not that I'm going to do anything about it, chances are Chris could live a long time yet and I'm not about to leave him without his mom.)
Anyway, Sophie and I have been logging a lot of quiet Netflix and Amazon hours while she recuperates, and we just finished our re-watch of season 1 of Veronica Mars. I think this is about the third or fourth time I've done a complete re-watch, and I still love it to pieces and am still picking up little details that I missed the first time or two around. Case in point, the scene where Logan picks out the belt his father will use to beat the crap out of him is set to "Ventura Highway," and it's just so evocative of that whole California baby-boomer vibe and yet so jarring and so disturbingly perfect for such a dark scene. America's Greatest Hits will be playing on my iTunes for awhile, haha. I'm also wondering where all the good Wallace fic is, because I can't be the only person who loved him in every single scene he was in?
Will try to have a more uplifting post one of these days, although I think I've been saying that for about a year now? Stay well my loves, will try not to be gone for a month this time. *hugs*