Well this has been a hectic two weeks and until the second week of March it is shaping up to look the same. Crazy, hectic, fun, stressful with lots of ups and downs.
Our United Student League / Student Government decided the basketball teams needed to have a tailgate cookout like we did for basketball. While this is a fabulous idea and one that I am highly supportive of, I am not sure it is a good idea to let the vegetarian cook hamburgers. I can roll some hot dogs around on the grill pretty well but I really am not good at judging the "doneness" of a hamburger.
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| Before the Meat |
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| 400 Hot Dogs and 400 Hamburgers |
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| These are huge Weenies!!! |
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| Walking by could get you roped into cooking. Thanks Anna and MaryAnn! |
This past week we had about 25-30 teachers out each day. There was a AVID college trip going on and therefore we had a lot of teachers out for that and then a few pull out days.this week. On top of that, there is the flu and a NASTY cold going around that is causing people to be out as well. So, with that many substitutes on campus it has been a rough week. On top of that, there have been several situations I have had to be involved with that were because of bad decisions and stress that it just drained me completely this week. Every night I went home it was completely exhausted and I would fall into bed and just fall asleep. The late nights and early mornings may be catching up. LOL!!!
The week held good moments as well. Meeting with students about their projects, grades, where they are going to school and supporting decisions they have made to make changes always brings a smile to my face. So may students were at school on Tuesday night to fill out their FAFSA form to get money for college that it makes the hard days and nights mean something.
In addition, the course catalog is done for students, it is printed with a beautiful yellow color and ready to be handed out in the coming weeks as students sign up for classes. This is something new that we are doing this upcoming year which the school has not done in the past but something that is natural to me. Making sure that kids can read what they are about to sign up for to make an educated decision is important in choosing classes. So I am super excited about this year's registration.
This was a short week and it ended on a sad not fore me and a traumatic one. As you know if you have been following my blog that Squeak has been having difficulty since December. While I was gone in December she threw up all over my bed. She continued to do it in January and I took her to the vet. They changed her diet and said they thought she was constipated. I also gave her a kitty laxative and she seemed to be doing better. Not as much vomit on a regular basis but still some here and there but only occasionally. So I called the vet on Tuesday morning after she threw up again and he recommended to go ahead and schedule the abdominal ultrasound. So I called to schedule that for Monday, February 15 at 10:00 am.
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| Squeak! |
However, on Wednesday night when I got home Squeak did not eat dinner. I put down food and went to change the laundry around and the next thing I knew Husky was eating her food. I tried to push Husky away and back to her food to let Squeak eat but she walked away. I do leave the kitties some crunchy food during the day so I kinda thought maybe she had eaten and was not hungry.
I went ahead and packed since I am supposed to leave on Thursday night after school to go to LA for a conference on Friday and Saturday. However, as I packed I was starting to feel very worried and then guilty for leaving. On Thursday morning I got up and decided to feed Husky and Squeak separately. I took Squeak's food to the bathroom so she could be in there while I put on makeup but she still did not eat. She lapped up the broth from the food but did not eat any of the food. I put my bags in the car, hugged on the kitties and called Jessica on the way to work feeling very sad and guilty. I knew she would be coming over to feed the cats and I wanted to make sure she could come on both days in the morning and afternoon. However, she had to work on Friday. She said she would send Michael over but I really am worried about Squeak and decided I just better come home to her.
During work that day, I continued to worry about her eating and being gone so much this spring. I decided to stop by PetSmart on the way home and get some Senior Kitty Milk and broth food to see if she would eat some of this as well. She did drink some of the milk but did not really eat anything nor drink any of the broth. However the broth smelled awful so I would not have eaten it either.
On Friday, I got up and got dressed like I was going to the conference. I had everything in the car and was ready to go and I took one look at my baby Squeak and said, "I can't do it, I cannot go." I called the specialist to see if they had an appointment today and they said the radiologist was not in and therefore they could not do the ultrasound. I explained my situation and she called two other locations to see if they had any appointments. She came back to let me know that the Carlsbad California Veterinary Specialists (CVS) had a 12:30 appointment. I called the Carlsbad location and they told me their radiologist was not in either. I asked if there was any reason for me to come and the nice receptionist suggested that I still take her in because they can give her some medicine to make her more comfortable. So Squeak and I left at 11:00 am to go and pick up her records and head to Carlsbad. I put her in the carrier with her favorite blanket for the 45 minute drive.
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| Squeak in the Car. |
Please know that I have done nothing but be sad, cry, and have a headache for two days being worried about her and crying. I mean this is Squeak. This is the cat that came out of a car from the engine and sat in my lap to eat tuna. This is the cat that has slept with me every night I have been in the same house with her, this is the cat that sat with me during National Board Certification, my PhD, and been there with me for all the major life decisions. This is my kitty that moved to CA with me and been my buddy when I am happy and sad. I know she will eventually pass but I was thinking I still had another few years with her and she would just fall asleep on the bed and pass quietly.
When I get to CVS in Carlsbad and get her inside I am a mess. I am not sure what they are going to tell me. The vet tech, the vet intern and the vet, Dr. Polansky were great. They let me be upset, let me tell them about Squeak and walked me through the process of what they were going to do that day. Dr. Polansky explained to me that this is either a metabolic or structural problem. He wanted to run the urine, blood and fecal tests to be sure there were no changes and then if there was no issues, he explained that while the radiologist was not there, they could do the ultrasound because one of the doctors who was not board certified but had been doing them for 20 years could do the ultrasound. Dr. Polansky told me it would take about an hour or so to do everything but that there would be no sedation for Squeak or anything for me to worry about. I left to go and get something to drink and eat as well as have keys made to the apartment for people to come and feed the cats and check on Squeak.
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| Squeak's Awesome Doctor! |
When I got back to the vet's I had to wait for about 30 minutes and then they took me back to the room and I was there for another 20 minutes or so until Dr. Polansky came to tell me that the metabolic tests all came back normal, which was good news. However, he says that she has enlarged lymph nodes around the stomach, which does not sound good to me. This worries me because enlarged lymph nodes should mean an infection but her blood panel was fine so that means it is something else. While Dr. Polansky was trying to be kind he did say lymphoma and all I can think of is cancer. He wanted to do a needle aspiration to check on the cells to see if it is cancer or not but that would require them to look at the cells and sometimes they have to do the test more than once.
This was going to take another 30 minutes and I told Dr. Polansky that I was worried about getting Squeak home that it was getting to be 4:30 pm and the traffic going to Temecula on Friday is awful and I did not want Squeak to be uncomfortable in the car. He told me he would give her some fluids and anti-nausea meds and she should be fine for the way home. They let me sit in the small room while they ran the next test.
While in there, I just continued to get more and more upset about my little girl and what is going on. I am scared to death that I will be gone and she will be in pain. I don't want her in pain, I want her to always have a great quality of life. When Dr. Polansky came back in he asked if I had seen "my girl" yet and I said no, I have not seen her since he took her at 1:00 pm. He went and got her for me and she immediately got out of the carrier and came to sit on my lap which caused me to start tearing up again. He told me they were not able to get a cell sample because her stomach is too full and he would like to try tomorrow (Saturday). He said he remembered I was supposed to be at a conference and wanted to know if I was going or not. He was willing to let her stay and I could pick her up tomorrow after the conference if I wanted. I told him that I was not going to go and I asked if she could come home and he said she could that she was stable and fine but if it would make me feel better she could stay the night. I opted to take her home with me and explained that I was worried about her because of all the traveling I am doing with my job over the next months and I live by myself. We talked about my options of having friends come to feed her, leaving her with someone, or medically boarding her and I explained that I am going to need a voice of reason as we go through this process and figure out what is going on with her. He said he would be honest and completely honest with me telling me what my options are and helping to guide me to make a decision that is good for Squeak and myself.
So at 9:00 am on Saturday, Squeak and I headed back to Carlsbad for her appointment. I know she is not a fan of the car and this is stressing her out but hopefully we can get an answer about what is going on. When we got there, Dr. Polansky came to get her and took her back for her need aspiration. The vet tech came to get me less than 30 minutes later and take me to the room. Dr. Polansky brought Squeak in and told me that they were not able to get a sample that the lymph node is sitting behind her stomach and it is close to a blood vessel they did not want to puncture and the stomach. He explained that if they punctured either it could cause other problems so they did not go any further. He wanted me to bring her in on Tuesday or Wednesday but I have to work. I reminded him that I had the appointment in Murrieta still and he said great, for me to keep it. He wanted me to call him on Monday morning and let him know how she is doing and he will call the Murrieta location and fill them in on what is going on and we will go from there. He said he knows the doctors there and has worked with them. He says the radiologist there is good and will be able to compare the ultrasounds and made determinations.
Dr. Polansky is a great guy. He gave me his cell phone number to get in touch with him in case there is anything that happens this weekend and Squeak needs him. He told me to let her eat whatever she wants and to just make sure she is comfortable because she is probably stressed from the car ride and my reaction to everything as well. He says that he can see how close we are and how much of a bond we have by how she acts with me. Now, I know this blog makes it sound like she is on her deathbed, she is not. She is still moving around and going to the bathroom. She did eat on Friday night, of course it was the Tuna and she is not eating cat food but she did eat. He says that he feels I have noticed this and caught it early enough that whatever diagnosis there is, the chances will be good because I brought her in early. But I am still worried.....IT IS SQUEAK!!!
I took her home and fed her on Saturday and she ate more Tuna and drank Kitty Milk. We sat on the couch together for a bit and then I went into work. I feel like I am stressing her and touching her all the time and I know she needs rest. I also want to be sure that I get home earlier this week so I need to get some things done. She did eat Saturday night and she has eaten on Sunday as well. I cooked some chicken for her and she ate that, as well as a little egg and of course the tuna. If I give her cat food she just laps at the broth so I am a little worried about that but at least she is eating something.
Even now, as I type this, she is laying on me with her little shaved belly and is calm and collected as the kitty but as the human I am still worried. She has followed me around the apartment today and sat with me where ever I sit. Such a sweet kitty!!!!
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| Squeak with her Shaved Belly |
Squeak and I did change the sheets and make the bed together on Saturday morning. This is something she loves to do. She likes to get under the covers and makes me pull her out for each layer of the bed I put on. In addition, Husky is helping by not playing with her too much right now and he likes to come up and give her kisses on her head. Good Husky!!!!
On Sunday, I just hung around the apartment with Squeak and cooked dinner with Erin for Valentine's day. It was low key and a great day to be able to just relax and get some things done around the apartment, marked off my "to do" list and work on the blog. The next three weekends I am out of town and it is going to be tough.
I did have some great news today. My friend Katja called and is willing to come and stay at the apartment with Squeak while I am gone. She stayed with me some this summer when she was changing her living locations and her and Squeak became fast friends. Squeak will love having her there and I will feel more comfortable. Ali also agreed to come and stay with her a few days as well. I feel better about being gone with someone here so that if she is in pain or gets worse she can get to the vet.
BTW - Did anyone see The Walking Dead??? Wow! Awesome episode!!!
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