A small update

I’m still not getting anything done. That stresses me out, but life comes up sometimes and we have to deal with it.

Frankie is on the mend. I was at the vet before the sun came up for her ultrasound. The ultrasound is kind of a mixed bag, because there is a chance of no answer at all. The missing part of a toy is either hard rubber or plastic and that rarely shows up on an ultrasound. There are other symptoms that can show up during the procedure.

Our vet was training on the ultrasound, or he was updating his skills, something to that effect. He said he would only charge us about 60% of normal if they could look at Frankie as part of this. That’s a bonus for us right now. I also had the expertise of the trainer to go along with our own vet.

The results: They did not spot the piece of the toy. This is not definitive. The device could have missed it because of its makeup. That leaves us with exploratory surgery, or watching and waiting.

The doctor said they saw no lesions, no hot spots, gas pockets, or anything else that would indicate a foreign body. He recommended the watch and wait method. This drives me nuts, because I like real answers. We discussed the likelihood of this thing passing into her bowel. It is 2.5 to 3 inches long, so it would have to line up perfectly before it could move on. He said he’s removed objects that were in the stomach for six weeks or more.

I asked about the possibility of it digesting, at least in part. He said it would not, but it might lose the bright pink color, or even become softer like old gum. That might make it easier to pass. Or… it isn’t there at all. The only thing we know is she was chewing on the toy and the piece is unaccounted for. For all we know, Otto could have swallowed it, and as big as he is it would likely pass.

Here’s my thought tonight: It isn’t there. However, I wouldn’t like to have an emergency situation while we are out camping a hundred miles from town either.

The aspiration pneumonia happened. Frankie was like a bear rug for a couple of days. She barfed up a piece of cloth about five days ago, something like the tag off a tee-shirt. It’s possible she aspirated some of this, and caused the bigger problem. She got an injection for that yesterday and we brought home some pills for her. Today, she is not her old self, but she is happy and animated. (She’s normally bat-shit crazy, and climbs on the back of furniture like a monkey. I expect my monkey child to be back tomorrow.)

We simply need to be better pet owners than we have been. Frankie is limited to her ball for brief periods and a few Nylabones that she can only get tiny slivers off of. We aren’t ready to turn the whole house into a white-room, but that’s about what she needs.

I was sick all day yesterday too. My nose ran all day, I had chills, aches and pain. I actually went to bed about 7:30 and don’t regret it all. I feel better today.

Some of this put me behind on Lisa Burton interviews. I now have two complete ones to schedule, but it won’t slow down my guests at all. I’ll just have to schedule two of them on Saturday instead of one. Eventually, I’ll get some new words of fiction down.

Back to the paycheck job tomorrow.