Things here are going surprisingly well. I hate to say that for fear of Jinx showing up, but I have to trust Good Fortune sometimes, right?
Marty: the little stinker is WELL - all capitals. All tests are normal and with the new diet (low-fat, low-residue digestive formula) he is flourishing. Understand, this is a dog who was so picky about his food that he sometimes wouldn't take a steak if you hand fed it to him (and believe me, we tried!) He never ate doggie treats (Milk Bones, etc.) until we discovered the Chicken Jerky treats, and even then he wouldn't always eat them. About the only thing he WOULD eat regularly was the rosemary off of my plant in the yard (weird, huh? The vet said it wouldn't hurt him, and actually made his breath smell nice, and he rubbed himself all over it, so HE smelled nice too! But, I always feel hungry around him...) Anyway, he wouldn't eat this special food either, but the vet insisted that we not give him one other thing, that Marty would eat it eventually, when he got hungry enough.
So, nearly a week passed, all the while Marty is taking 3 antibiotics, a steroid, Reglan (like Tagamet or Prilosec, only more expensive), and a vitamin pill designed like an acidophilus to keep his digestion in track. I was shoving so many pills down the poor guy's throat it was no wonder he wasn't hungry. We also had to force-feed him - I shoved food into his mouth, held his mouth closed, and waited for him to swallow. About 2 tablespoons at a time, three times a day.
One day, about a week after we discovered the poison, he took the food out of my hand without my having to shove, then a week later, he would take the first bite from my hand, then eat the rest off of the plate (he STILL won't eat the food if it is in his "dog food bowl"), then after another 10 days or so, he would eat the food off of the plate.
Now? Now we can't get the plate to the floor fast enough! I heat the food just a little (10 seconds in the microwave) and put it on the floor by his "dog food bowl" and he has his face in the dish before it hits the ground! He scarfs it up in seconds (and he is eating 1/2 a cup at a time!) He also started eating a 1/2 cup of his dry dog food (same formula) if we sprinkle a tablespoon of low-fat chicken broth on it (the vet said that was okay). Now we don't have to do that, he eats it down like candy.
Candy? Well, the company that makes his special food (Royal Canin) makes a hard treat (like a Milk Bone) out of the same formula. We tried them, and now he can't get enough, and eats them like crazy.
He had his "regular" checkup yesterday - rabies & parvo shots, nails trimmed - and Dr. J and his staff couldn't make over him more. He is down three pounds from his top weight, just hovering above his ideal weight by 1.5 pounds. His coat is shiny, his eyes are clear, and the vet couldn't get a stomach growl even with Marty terrified of being at the Pain Place. Marty has always loved Dr. J and the girls, even when they are hurting him, and still greets them like family. He doesn't like the new vet so much, but I share that sentiment - the new guy is right out of residency and is eager to try every new technique and treatment he learned, even if the case doesn't warrant it. Marty had the little teeth between his two bottom fangs pulled out last Spring by the new vet, when he told my mom that the jaw was getting soft and he would eventually have periodontal disease if they left those teeth in. Well, I would never have agreed to them being pulled, but I was in bed sick when Mom took him. I was furious, as there are other, less drastic measures to try first before pulling the teeth. Marty suffered horrible for weeks when I don't think he had to. Dr. J agreed a little, but was afraid to say too much, as he hired this kid to inherit his practice when he retires. Dr New Guy was very instrumental in getting Marty over the poisoning, though, so I am more inclined to accept him, but Marty still doesn't like him much.
So he takes Mom on her walks every morning, pulling her along and coming home so full of himself! He eats like a pig, and is getting his playfulness back - so much so that he hurt one of the "toes" on his paw, getting the claw caught in the carpeting. He limped a couple of days, but is over it now. Dr. J prodded the toe and didn't get a response out of him. Marty still holds that paw up with a pained expression on his face every time he wants something! He learned all too quickly how to make Mom and I jump through hoops. Last night he insisted that he didn't get enough dinner, and sat between Mom and I and the television, ears back, eyebrows furrowed, and that paw in the air. He was hysterical, especially since it was the wrong paw!
Mom: other that Marty taking her for walks every day, she is doing so much better. When the doctor threatened insulin shots if she couldn't keep her diabetes under control, we battened down the hatches and now eat a 98% diabetic diet (I am not, but it runs in the family, my oldest brother recently diagnosed at 59). I had a little high cholesterol (not high enough for medicines, but high enough to keep an eye on it), so Mom cut down her carbs and I cut down the cholesterol. I eat oatmeal for breakfast every day, drink Promise Activ (in the yogurt section, it has plant sterols that clean your system of cholesterol), and we eat more soy beans in the form of Edamame which I shell and put in everything. I love them for snacks, and actually got Mom hooked on them too. I put them in salads, make a wicked Edamame salad, and add them to my burritos when Mom makes her pinto beans. I use Soy milk or Lactaid (lactose intolerance is a "bonus" with my MS).
I had a follow-up blood test on Monday, so we will see if my efforts are rewarded. Mom had hers last Friday, and just yesterday the doctor called and told her she was way better, and to keep it up. She has more energy now, too, though she attributes that to Marty dragging her out every morning! We cheat about every 10 days or so and have Mexican food at our favorite restaurant, and I have sushi every other week (we got a place in town that gets one-day-old fresh fish everyday!) Mom also has fat-free frozen yogurt every other week from the ice cream parlor, but I had to stop getting it (lactose again).
Mom turned 85 in September, and she acts 70. People are always shocked to hear how old she really is. I am so proud of her, and so proud to be her daughter. She is the best roommate I could ever ask for, and I have had plenty! We giggle like kids, hold each other when we cry, and take care of each other when we are sick. Thank God we haven't yet been sick at the same time! We get along like two old broads, sitting in our recliners watching the Diamondbacks (GO D-BACKS!!!!!) and the Suns, she doing her crossword puzzles and me doing my beading.
So there - pretty boring, huh? At least I had something to say for a change, even if it is only interesting to me!
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