ARRRGH! REALLY??

I wrote a lengthy blog post about Murphy's latest health scare, and somehow accidentally deleted it.  I don't know how. I only know it is gone.  It was a LONG day, and I'm really, really wiped out.

Short version:  Murphy woke up in distress this morning, didn't want to eat or drink, barely wanted to take a step. Left to his own devices, he just flopped on the floor. Staggered slightly when I did get him out to walk (carrying him down the stairs, of course).  

No improvement after an hour or two. He didn't want morning treats or even a drink of water, and on a second walk (carrying him down again) he had a burst of diarrhea, then staggered in the grass and nearly fell into his own poop.  He was clearly miserable, and waiting for the available 2 p.m. appointment didn't seem like a good option. I didn't want to go to the office and leave him there, flopped on the floor, not even stirring to get a drink of water. The vet's office squeezed him in, and ended up keeping him for the day so they could run tests.

8 hours and $250 later, I picked him up.  No real clue what was/is wrong.  He's on pain medication as needed but all of the tests were inconclusive.  His blood work showed low albumin, which is not surprising in a lymphie dog.  Otherwise, everything was okay - no signs of kidney trouble, etc.

He's much more chipper, and he ate his dinner, no vomiting, no distress.  But he's having diarrhea again, despite being on both prednisone and an antibiotic, and that can't be good; normally that "firms things up" almost immediately.   The vet suggested x-rays if he doesn't improve, and if we don't see an answer on them, the next step would be seeing an internist in Maitland.  We'll see how he does over the next couple of days. 

I met with the kitchen designer this afternoon for the first round of planning.  She has some mad  skills, and we are putting way more storage into basically the same footprint as the existing cabinets.  We sit down again Sunday morning to go over more details and discuss countertops.  We'll price granite, solid surface and laminate, but as I've said, I'm actually thinking I'd be quite fine with the laminate option - I'd rather do top of the line laminate than the "affordable" granite. 

Then the fun of living in chaos for weeks on end begins!  Oh boy.  I can't wait.  But it'll be awesome when it's all finished!

Right now, I'm going to take my little sicko dog and his tv-addicted buddy out for another walkie, and crawl into bed.  I'm so totally treating myself to a large-enough-to-see TV for my bedroom for my birthday.  Which is tomorrow.  Damn, I'm getting old.