June

July can't get here soon enough. Why? Because June has been a buzzard for me.

Lovey and I got each got a ridiculous case of chiggers after hanging out at the property with a builder and an architect. Seriously, I have never itched so much in my natural life. I wanted to get my nails done just so I could adequately scratch.

A few days later, I noticed a bruise-like feel in my lower abdomen. When it still hurt a day later, I called the doctor to get it checked out. Because I hadn't seen our new primary care provider yet, I was considered a "new patient" and could only schedule an appointment for a week and a half later. Um, no. Googling suggested it could be several things - appendicitis, ovarian cyst, ectopic pregnancy among others. Did I mention Google is scary? After another call to the doctor's office, I headed off to the emergency room with a sweater (it's always cold in there) and the latest Jen Lancaster (because I figured the wait was going to be long, at best).

Surprisingly, the ER of my local hospital isn't that busy at 10 on a Friday morning. I was sent right back and started on an IV. After interrogations from the doctor and several nurses, I was ordered a CT scan. Long story short, the CT scan dye is scary (thought my heart was going to explode), the catscan was negative (good sign) and I was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and sent home with an antibiotic. Ok, didn't think of that one.

See, I've never had a UTI before. I always heard how painful they were. My only sympton was the bruise-like feeling. Anyway, I started my antibiotics like a good girl.

A few days later, I had two more bruise-like feelings above the first spot. Really? Back to the doctor I went. This time, he said I had an inflammation and was prescribed prednisone. Lovely. The days passed and I completed my course of each medicine.

Yay. The month was looking up. So what if it was the 22? Better late than never.

And then......

Thursday morning I woke up at 3 AM with pain in my legs. Sharp pain in both ankles and both knees. Mind-numbing, throbbing pain. I could barely even put weight on my right leg when I stood up. Lovey was in Virginia for work so I counted the hours to daybreak until I could call the doctor - otherwise i would have revisisted my friendly neighborhood ER.

Luckily, the doctor could work me in at 9. He took some blood, gave me another prescription and I went home. All day yesterday, I laid on the bed with my legs completely still so they wouldn't hurt. It's the craziest thing I ever felt. Since I had some time on my hands, I started thinking back to a conversation I had with one of my former clients. She told me that she had been given Cipro for a sinus infection and how she had had so many side effects with it. She said she had joint swelling and that her doctor told her it could take months to leave her system.

Hmmmm. This morning, I got the call that the bloodwork was normal. Then I google-bombed Cipro. (And sometimes Google is awesome!) Wow! I found a forum where people were talking about their Cipro side effects. Yikes! So many people shared my experience with the pain (as well as the inflammation from the week before looking back). Many people experienced even harsher, more long-term side effects. The word "toxic" was used frequently. Yeesh.

Hopefully, my legs will feel better in a day or so (my ankles already feel better than yesterday), and I can get back to life. It's excruciating to be home on a weekday and not be able to do a project. And there are only so many Amsale Girls you can watch back to back. Trust me.

Bottom line: stear clear of Cipro. It's the devil.

Poor Bloggity

Poor blog. It's been badly neglected. If the bloggity was a child, Social Services would have come knocking months ago. Alas, I'm going to try to fix that.

Let's see.....what's been happening......

It's a lot!



And someday, this will be my backyard view. Ah! Peaceful marsh. Not a busy road, no loud Harleys (but close enough to a fire station for Pullo to howl after the fire trucks).



We even buried Baby Girl under a dogwood tree at the back of the property so she could be with us there.

I, of course, have already compiled a boatload of inspiration pictures of the interior and exterior. Every inch is already mentally decorated. There'll be lots of that talk in coming months.

Hmmm. What else?

Oh! I've been on a creative binge the last few weeks. I have so many projects going on right now, it's crazy! I hope to have some of them posted soon. Check the Green Room for updates.

Heartbroken

We lost Blanca this morning. Poor baby girl has been so sick for the last two weeks. The Sunday after my birthday, she had trouble standing up. A day later, we noticed she had a lump on her right hip.

The doctor said it could be one of two things: a rectal tear or a bedsore. If it was a tear, there was nothing to be done. Because of her heart problem, she was unable to be sedated to repair it. If it was a bedsore (which I'd never heard of in a dog), antibiotics should work. For the rest of the week, she slept most of the days.

A few days later, the bedsore burst. So much infection came out. No wonder she was miserable. We kept peroxide on it to stave off infection. The wound healed nicely. I held her up and made her walk in the backyard to strengthen her legs again. Then over the last weekend, her eating got kind of spotty. She'd drink plenty of water, but no appetite. We were sometime able to get her to eat a small piece of turkey.

On Tuesday, the doctor was cautiously hopeful and gave us some softer food and a syringe to force feed her. He said she had to get her strength back up. We got some in her, but not much. Miss Blanca was still strong enough to fight that!

Wednesday, she was weaker. Still not eating, now not drinking much. Last night, we couldn't even get her to wake up fully. We fed and gave her water with the syringe.

Last night, I sat holding her for a few hours. I patted her and told her it was fine if she needed to go. Like I have every night this week, I cried for her. I was so terrified that we would have to put her to sleep. I didn't see how I could do it - even if it meant she would be at rest. I wanted her to be able to go on her own terms.

This morning, her breathing was shallow. I fed her some water with the syringe to keep her hydrated. I kissed her on the head and hugged her tightly. I put her back in her bed and covered her with a fluffy towel.

At lunch, I came home to check on her. No rise and fall of her breath through the towel. My Blanca was gone.

No more nervous walking in circles, no more medicine, no more pain.

Rest in peace, baby girl.