2013: A Year Happily Behind Me

Dog:  In November 2012, we had our 13yo yorkie Max put down.  He’d been headed steadily downhill all year, he’d lost his sight in his good eye, gotten feeble, and on that particular day he’d fallen.  By chance, my husband was home from work and he called me like 3 times, panicked and unwilling/unable to make that final decision (poor dear), and I finally made it.  I told Matt to call the vet and tell them we were bringing Max in to be put down (Matt did), and I headed home from work to deal with the crisis.

I drove to the vet and back because I knew Matt really wasn’t up to it.  When the vet techs warned us it happened fast, I had no idea it happened *that* fast.  Holy cow.  He was there, then his eyes just went vacant.  That was the only time I’ve seen Matt cry.  We had originally for years talked about burying Max in the yard, but Matt just couldn’t do it and we left him for the vet to manage.  We got a paw print card and some fur in a card from the vet a week later.

Around that same time in November somewhere near Greenville, SC, a puppy was born.  This puppy was destined to wind up in a shelter, get rescued by a group who brings dogs from southern high-kill shelters north, and eventually this puppy wound up meeting us at a rescue event I Shanghaied Matt to in early March 2013.  Tillman, a (we think) beagle dachshund mix, came home with us the end of March.  He is higher-energy than Max was, but has a stronger pack mentality and just adores being with us.  He housetrained quickly, but in other training he is stubborn (all-hound) and we have a hard time keeping his attention.

Tillman broke his front left leg in early June.  It required surgery, and now he has 5 pins in it.  We’d had him at a kennel for a play-day while I had an outpatient procedure done (see Health, below) so that gee, maybe I could have some relaxation time after my procedure.  But no.  We had to run all over hell and back that day, me to the hospital, Matt to take Till to our regular vet, and then both of us down to Annapolis Fucking Junction (almost 2 hours away) to the Doggy Orthopedic Surgeon for the surgery.

Between the cost of this surgery and the cost of Max’s eye surgery 5 years ago, I could have paid off half my student loan.  I can’t tell you how stressful that time was for Matt and I, financially and otherwise.  We had to take Till to the (nearby) vet nearly every week for almost 6 weeks due to his growth and needing the cast redone, the bandages changed, the stitches removed or cleaned, etc.  Then, after he’d healed, he developed mange and we had to go to get him dipped 3 times.  Oy.

We are happy with Tillman.  He is closer to us that Max was in many ways.  Max was a great first dog for me.  Tillman is much more hound and therefore much wilder, I think, than that spunky little terrier was.  Tillman is also lovier, if that is possible. 

Health:  In May, we took Tillman to Rehoboth Beach, DE, (see Vacations, below) to a dog-friendly B&B.  While there, I got sick.  I had diarrhea, which is not usually my problem.  I have existing GI problems but they are all stomach-related, not lower GI.  I didn’t get off the toilet for an hour, let’s just leave it at that.  I did throw up once.

After we decided I was stable, we headed home.  We were leaving that morning anyway and I wanted to get going on the 3+ hour trip.  I started out feeling fine, but the closer to home we got, the worse I felt.  I couldn’t put my finger on it, though, it wasn’t nausea, it was just….weird.  

I got home, we all three took naps.  I woke up a few hours later and threw up blood.  Looked like coffee grounds.  I wasn’t positive that’s what it was, but I made an apt with the doc the next day and she confirmed it.  She told me if I had continued to throw up blood I should have gone to the ER because I could have bled out and died.  She said the most likely cause was that I busted a blood vessel when I threw up at the B&B and was bleeding into my stomach from that. 

However, she treated me like I might have a bleeding ulcer.  I was on a soft, bland diet for weeks and on a chalky gunk that was supposed to coat my stomach to protect it but actually made me feel oogy.  Between that, being sick, and being scared to eat anything at all in case I scratched whatever was bleeding back open, I lost 15lb.  I saw my GI Specialist, got an endoscopy (the day Tillman broke his leg), was told I didn’t have a bleeding ulcer but he couldn’t see any reason for my bleeding, so it was probably something minor that had already healed.

I do have Barrett’s Esophagus, though.  (“Well, give it back!”)  It is a pre-cancerous condition I had before (undiagnosed) when I was not medicated for my acid for 9 years.  My doc doubled up my Prilosec prescription.  He also told me I’m not to eat after 6pm, I can’t have caffeine, alcohol, citrus, tomatoes, large meals, etc.  I am supposed to eat 4-5 small meals during the day.  

I’m doing some but not all of this.  I really want to get off the Prilosec as it has some unfortunate long-term deficiencies in several minerals and vitamins.  My bloodwork doesn’t show these, thank goodness, but I still want….need to know if I can manage my acid and hiatal hernia without major medication.  

So, I am trying a variety alternatives (MSM, aloe juice, Bromelain enzymes) to see if I can manage it while at the same time weaning myself off the Prilosec.  It seems you have worse issues if you stop cold turkey.  By the end of 2013, I am at about a half dosage, roughly 10mg morning and night, and not seeing any acid problems.  

I also go for a second opinion at the end of January 2014, as I have a lot of questions and don’t want to go back to my current GI for a variety of reasons….one being the 2^nd opinion guy sounds like he will work with you on alternate plans, diet guidance, etc.  Stay tuned.

Garage:  Not much happened here, which is a huge bone of contention with me.  It has been nearly 3.5 years since we tore down the old garage.  The new one is up, no siding, doors and windows are in, roof is on.  I can’t park the car in it.  It is full of stuff (stacks and stacks of cut wood, our kayaks, a couple pieces of furniture, tools, etc, etc).  

We have hired someone who is currently out of work but has oodles of construction experience to do work for us, and that should be starting soon.  

Vacations:May is off-season for Delaware and we’d had good luck with off-season trips there before so we went for it.  This time wasn’t a good weather weekend.  It was cold, windy, and rainy.  Tillman LOVED the beach, though, and we both had a great time.

Matt and I also took a week+ and drove down to Georgia and back to visit with family, see the sights, and try to figure out if Tennessee or North Carolina would be nice to move to.  TN, no (except for the fried chicken we had).  NC, you beccha.