So, We Wait for Test Results, and Try Stuff.

The vet examined Murphy and said that she can feel a thickening in his intestinal wall - the near-constant irritation that is his condition causes this. We are doing full blood work to see how his other organs are functioning, he had fluids injected under his skin, he had a shot of anti-nausea meds, and we were sent home with the instruction to rest his tummy tonight - he had some chicken broth for dinner. Tomorrow morning I'll try him on a bit of home cooked food.

We are abandoning commercial food for now and going with good ol' chicken and rice, plus other things like bone meal and vitamins to make it balanced. We'll see what the blood work reveals and just go from there. The hard reality of this disease is that he's one of the long-term survivors already. Few dogs make it this long. BUT we are not counting him out - he's his sunny little self, and very annoyed that his stomach is being so unpleasant. He drank some chicken broth and didn't even finish the half-cup I offered, but he's beside me pestering for a share of MY dinner. NOT happening, dude. We'll try home cooking tomorrow, after his tummy settles down.

I am not freaked out. He has been like this once or twice before, and it turned around. The thickening the vet felt in his intestine is a troubling new development and we'll have to see if it's related to this recent upset, or just something to monitor.

I know we will reach the end of the line someday. Maybe someday soon, maybe not. But as long as he has that spark of Murphyness, I will work to find a way to make him feel his best for as long as I possibly can. I'll know when it's time to stop trying, because I know this dog. I told Cousin C the update this evening, and she was upset - she knows him too, he's been a guest at her house many times, and kept saying, "He's not a regular dog. He's more than a dog. He's so smart and aware and you can see he understands. He really is like a little person." He is. He will tell me when it's time to stop trying. It will be obvious. And we aren't there yet.

And this was just one element of a long and terrible day. While I was waiting at the vet's office, my daughter texted me to tell me that one of her friends was just diagnosed with a potentially serious kind of cancer. (Not that there are humorous kinds, but you know what I mean - one that could be a real bitch.) She's a young mom and a really lovely woman, and that really hit me hard. I won't say it "put it in perspective" that Murphy is "just a dog," because anyone who has spent any time around him knows he's not "just" a dog. Particularly to me, with the life we've shared. But it was terrible, shocking news, and definitely a "Can this shitty day get ANY shittier?"

Oh, and all of this is happening while I'm juggling business stuff out the wazoo, including a technology swap. This Mac Girl is forced to go back to a Microsoft platform for work. I'm selling my iMac to my son-in-law, and buying a laptop that will work with all the stuff I have to use. I didn't have this issue in Asheville - the MLS, etc., was all Mac-friendly. Here, not. My son-in-law has been coveting this iMac for years so I offered it to them first, and it was a done deal in no time. So it's going to a good home, and tomorrow morning I am picking up a shiny new laptop. The money, it flows like water - I am flushing big chunks every few hours this month.

But between this and the massive information I'm stuffing in my brain and now the stress over Murphy's condition it's been one hell of a week, and it's only Tuesday.