Dec 20, 2014
Annus Horribilis
That is how Queen Elizabeth described 1992. That is how I am describing 2014.
I can’t even begin to convey what has transpired the past few days. It has not been an easy time. As you obviously know I have not been posting. In fact I had a wee crying jag tonight but have gotten myself together thanks to a wonderful husband and some vino blanco and here I am late Saturday night sharing my story with you.
Wednesday evening was just a normal family night hanging around the RV.
Well not quite. I was still in the sneezing part of my cold. Thank goodness that is over and done with. But really Colin, I had no idea you were taking this shot. Better watch out, I will be stalking you 🙂
Our life here on the Isla changed in an instant on Thursday morning when Carmeh, our oldest at 11.5 years could not move. She was coming down from sitting in the sun on the dash ( using 2 stools ) when she could no longer move. Thank goodness Colin saw what was happening and when he went to pick her up she screamed, a sound I will never forget, so much pain and perhaps fear. She could stand but not move so I immediately gave her a double dose of Metacam. We also started icing her back. Our vet is as hour behind us time wise but was there for us when we called. There was nothing more to do than what we had done. They were there for us as wee needed them. Who has a vet that is so available from wherever we are at no charge!! Fabulous people.
Meanwhile we are totally devasted by what has transpired. While Colin sits with Carmeh, I take Caeli out for her morning walk. Normally she would not walk with just me, she wants the entire family together. However ‘Shorty’ showed up. He is a cute short but longish beach dog that all the females love. No one saw him last year but there he was today, ready to inspire Caeli. He walked the entire beach with us and ran circles around me. Caeli was so happy to follow him. He just needed a lot of love and cuddles from me. He totally responded to my commands. He made our walk possible. My heart was breaking. When we got back, both Colin and Carmeh were in the yard and she was walking!!!! Had she just experienced a pinched nerve or??? She does have back issues and it is just a matter of time before she could rupture a disk. We have to be so cautious but at the same time she does need a life.
We kept Carmeh and of course Caeli confined all day.
We had made arrangements with friends who live on the Isla to meet for dinner and as they had preordered this fish meal we felt we had to continue on with our plans. So we crated the girls inside the RV and went out for a few hours down the beach to El Velero restaurant.
It was a wonderful meal and this talented group were playing for the table next to us. Turns out that the sunset was fabulous but our backs were to it. This quartet played for over and hour and we lost track of time and had to walk home along the beach in the dark, but oh what a great few hours.
High tide is upon us at 8 AM on Friday. Carmeh seemed much improved with a great deal of energy. We had planned to take the girls in for their anal glands yesterday so Colin took them in.
The vet in addition to doing the anals gave Carmeh a shot of B12. He strongly believes that this helps with inflammation and want us to give her a B tablet every day. He also insisted on restricting her movement.
That means a ramp.
Ishmael found us two narrow pieces of board that Colin screwed together and then covered in scoot guard. He then added high board pieces at each end and then added the yellow rope to stop the girls from crossing over to the stairs. We also added a block at the top of the stairs and the fencing at the bottom so that they had no choice but to use the ramp. It took a few times but they now have the hang of it. A tad more tricky for us to go up and down. However we will do anything to preserve their longevity.
I did not go to the vet with Colin as I had so much paperwork to catch up on. Just as he was returning from Mazatlan I got a call from my sister asking why I had not called back Thursday night. I never received that first message so it was good that she called again. Bottom line, Dad fell on Thursday night. He says he was not trying to stand and move on his own ( which he is not allowed to do ) but obviously he did. I suspect that he stood to reach something, perhaps his urinal, used the bed table which is on wheels and went flying, he fell face down. Fortunately he had a room mate who called for help which took some time to arrive. Twenty x-rays later and despite the immense pain later he is break free. I told him that he has used up all of his nine lives and has to be careful. He agreed. Meanwhile he is on heavy pain meds. So needless to say I have spent the last day and part of today on the phone. Both with the vet and the medical staff for my Dad.
Meanwhile life carried on around us, the sun rose and it set again. It really has been a horrific past few days. Carmeh is going to be okay, this time, and so it seems will my Dad. Both have a lengthy recovery time ahead of them.
..the end to another day on the Isla!
Forgot to mention that Caeli had us up at 3AM to go out and vomit. She repeated the process all afternoon today so we are now dealing with two sick dogs and a problem with Dad back in Edmonton. I won’t even mention the problems I have been dealing with getting him settled into his new room. Things like no commode, etc. Definitely and annus horribilis, if not just the past few days. No wonder my hair is falling out.
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Definatly not a good time for you, hang in there things will get better.
Thinking of you all and wishing you better days ahead.
Oh my, this is so much to deal with. I sure hope the girls will continue to be ok. Such a worry.
It seems like your Dad is such a good sport and just continues to carry on to the best of his ability.
I’m sorry all this is going on.
Wish we could help in some way and if there is, please let us know!
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
It is a tough time for you but because of modern communications it is possible to handle everything from your sunny beach in Mexico just as easily as from home. Make sure you put aside time to take care of yourselves and to have a little fun as well!
I am sorry to hear about the issues you have going on right now.
Our Scooter went down a week and a half ago. She was going up the steps to the bedroom in our fiver let out a scream of pain, and then couldn’t walk. Took her to the vet and now she is on totally confined rest for several weeks. She is 12 and has also had back problems. She gets carried in and out and is starting to feel better. Then of course, she thinks she can do anything again and it’s hard to convince her not to jump up on the fence. Like you, we will do whatever it takes to keep her with us as long as possible. She is not in any pain at this point so we have hope she will be able to use her back legs again even if not completely. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your girls and your Dad as you go through these really tough times.
Oh… poor, dear you!!! So sorry for all the ‘thing” occurring in your life… It is so very hard to stay cheerful at times, yet you seem to, even after a crying jag, sometimes they are for the best, to just clear things out. We all need ‘clearing out’ once in awhile…. take care, we are rooting for you!!!