Whew!

We've had quite the couple of weeks

Greg had a spinal cord stimulation trial that started on October 20th. It was to see if a permanent implant of this machine would help his pain levels. He was doing pretty well with it, and while he was uncomfortable because of the insertion procedure itself, he was finding some pain relief.

Then they took it out.

Then everything went to crap.

So they took it out on Tuesday the 25th in the morning. By Tuesday night he was complaining that he felt feverish and icky. Wednesday he was achy, feverish, and starting to have chills. His pain was bad enough that he was only getting up to use the toilet.

Thursday he took himself to the doctor that had done the implant. The doctor said he didn't have a temperature, but scheduled a CT scan for later in the afternoon at Southwest Washington Medical Center to check for any abscesses or anything else abnormal in the area.

By the time we left to go to the hospital for the scan, Greg was feverish and having trouble tracking in a conversation. I could tell he was really sick. And not just a cold or flu sick. Something was wrong.

He survived the CT scan, although he said it was very painful to move around the way they needed him to move to get the right pictures. He asked for a bed so he could lie down while we waited for the results. They came back negative with nothing showing in the spinal area. The pain doctor said he was free to go and to check in with his primary care doctor if he had fever or chills. Since I knew he had both right then, I was pretty worried. Luckily, the really nice radiology tech was kind enough to offer to arrange for a room in the ER for Greg. I took him up on it because I just knew something was really wrong. It just didn't make any sense to try and take him home and wait for an appointment with his PCP the next day when there was a whole hospital full of doctors right there.

We got a room in the ER pretty quickly and had a doctor there checking him out within a half hour or so. His temperature was 103 (and at 11 he had no temperature) The doctor did some blood draws and sent them off to be read and ordered a spinal tap to check for meningitis. Sure enough, it came back positive.

Yeah, that scared me too. Just a word to the wise, don't look up stuff on the internet when you are waiting for a diagnosis in the ER. It'll scare the crap out of you.

The ER doctor admitted him to the hospital and he was snug in his new room by about 12:30. Unfortunately he was also vomiting and very feverish and in an enormous amount of pain. They hooked him up to about a zillion machines and started fluids and antibiotics.

I don't know if you all know much about meningitis, but it is an inflammation of the membranes (the meninges) that cover the brain and spinal cord. It is very painful because of all the nerve endings that are effected by the inflammation. There are two main forms: bacterial and viral. In Greg's case, his was bacterial, which is a very serious form of the disease. If it isn't caught and treated early it can cause all kinds of problems and often death. This is different than the REALLY scary version that you hear about that kills teenagers, but it is still very serious.

The hospital stay is a post in itself. What an experience. For a while they weren't sure if he was contagious, so we all had to wear masks and stuff. Luckily, they figured out pretty quickly that he wasn't, because those masks are darned uncomfortable.

On Saturday they decided to do an MRI and another CT scan. The MRI showed an abscess in the spinal column. They decided to do surgery to drain it. Apparently with a little bag of pus back there, the bacteria was basically throwing a frat party and the antibiotics he was getting were doing little good.

He started feeling much better on Sunday once he recovered from the anesthetic and surgery and all. They released him on Halloween and sent him home with a line in his arm and a pump that delivers antibiotics automatically every 4 hours.

He's home now and is doing fairly well. His pain is down but he still has a bad headache and feels pretty weak and lousy. I've been home with him all week taking care of him. I'm a terrible nurse, but he's been very patient with me.

I'll fill in more later. I'm heading for bed.

Halloween Fun With Dogs

Yay! I can start putting up all the fun Halloween photos I find.

Watch out for the Zombie Poodle!


Spider Dog!


Look at these nails:


Taking breast cancer awareness to new heights!


And just because no dog picture post should ever be without Whippets:

Just Wait, Thing Will Change

Big changes coming up soon in my life. Not looking forward to them.

Yay! Another New Simon's Cat!

Anyone who has ever brought a new kitten into the house will understand this one!

10 Signs You Might Be A Zombie

Still having trouble deciding which Team I'm on (Zombie or Unicorn). I did find this helpful list on line. I'm pretty sure I have at least 5 of these. But then I also have a red dot in the center of my forehead, which might just be a zit coming on, but what if it is a horn poking through?

I'm so confused!

We all go through life a little clueless. Sometimes we don’t learn things about ourselves until they’re brought to our attention. For example, what if you’re the loud guy at the party. But you’re really not aware of it until a few friends bring it up over dinner. You’re shocked, embarrassed but now aware and can remedy the situation.

Now imagine your a Zombie. It’s an awkward social dilemma, in most part because your friends are less likely to bring it up. Probably for fear of your reaction and the chance they would be eaten. So how do you know if you’re a zombie? Here are 10 signs you could be the walking dead

10. You Died Recently – Think back, did anything drastic happen to you lately? Car crash? brutal attack? Bite from someone who may or may not have been dead? If so, and you’re still walking around then you could be a zombie.

9. Really Bad Body Odor – Deodorants and expensive soaps just not cutting it? Do you find that you’re putting on extra perfumes or colognes to keep from offending others? There really is nothing strong enough to battle the stench of decaying flesh. If this is the case you could be a zombie.

8. Inability To Run – Having problems on the treadmill? Find yourself doing a 30 minute mile? Is it even hard to keep up with the elderly people on the sidewalks? This could be caused by the deterioration of leg muscle and hardening of tissues. This could be the reason for your shambling gait. If you’re unable to chase down even the smallest of children, you could be a zombie.

7. Appearance Problems – Do you exhibit signs of physical decomposition such as rotting flesh, discolored eyes, open wounds, exposed bone, green skin, or loss of hair? If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms please consult your mortician. You could be a zombie.

6. Inability to Speak – Conversations getting more and more difficult? Do you find sentences being reduced to one or two words? Is it easier to grunt or moan rather than express your true feelings? If so, you could be a zombie.

5. Lack Of Sleep – Instead of being nuzzled up in bed, do you find yourself walking the streets all hours of the night? If it’s 3 am and you’d rather be causing terror in a park than catching 40 winks, you could be a zombie.

4. New View On Movies – Do you suddenly catch yourself cheering for the ‘other guys’ when watching Night of the Living Dead? You could be a zombie.

3. Inability To Be Killed – Are villagers having a hard time killing you? Can you only be destroyed after having your head removed? You could be a zombie.

2. Wardrobe Malfunctions – Have you been wearing the same clothes for weeks or maybe months at a time? Think about it for a second, was this the outfit you wanted to be buried in? Are they now just a shredded mess of fabric hanging off your rotting bones? If so, you could be a zombie.

1. BRAINS! – Find your diet has changed? Is gray matter the first thing you look for on a menu? There is no doubt about it, you’re a zombie

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Team Zombie or Team Unicorn

Which team are you on? Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

I'm reading this book called Zombies Vs. Unicorns that is an anthology of zombie and unicorn stories. It's really good. These two authors were having a "heated exchange" about the merits of each of them and decided to put together an anthology of stories.

Here's the Intro from the book:

Since the dawn of time one question has dominated all others: Zombies or Unicorns?

Well, okay, maybe not since the dawn of time, but definitely since 15 February 2007. That was the day Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier began a heated exchange about the creatures’ relative merits on Justine’s blog. Since that debate the question has become an unstoppable Internet meme, crowding comment threads and even making it to YouTube.

Here in the real world Holly and Justine are often called upon to defend, respectively, unicorns and zombies. The whole thing has gotten so out of hand that the only remedy is . . .

Zombies vs. Unicorns. The anthology.

That’s right, you have in your hands the book that will settle the debate once and for all.

For Justine it is a question of metaphors: Which creature better symbolizes the human condition? The answer is obviously zombies, which can be used to comment on almost any aspect of our existence. They are walking entropy. They are the dissolute wreck of consumerism. They are the eventual death that faces us all. They are a metaphor for slavery, conformity, and oblivion. What are unicorns? Fluffy, monochrome, sticky tedium.

For Holly, however, unicorns are majestic beasts that are at once symbols of healing and fierce killers with long pointy objects attached to their heads. They were hunted by mythical kings, their image emblazoned on standards by noble families. And they continue to fascinate people today (often in sticker-and-rainbow form, she admits). Besides, between a unicorn and a zombie, which would you rather be trapped down a mine shaft with?

They spend a lot of time having arguments like this one:

Holly: Seriously, you don’t like unicorns? What kind of person doesn’t like unicorns?

Justine: What kind of a person doesn’t like zombies? What have zombies ever done to you?

Holly: Zombies shamble. I disapprove of shambling. And bits that fall off. You never see a unicorn behaving that way.

Justine: I shamble. Bits fall off me all the time: Hair, skin cells. Are you saying you disapprove of me?

Cherie Priest: But Holly, if you ask nicely, a zombie will give you a piggyback ride even if you are not a virgin. And that is why zombies win.

Justine: See, Holly? No one holds with your zombie-hating ways.

Holly: But the horn of a unicorn can cure diseases! Possibly the diseases you might get from accepting a piggyback ride from a zombie.

Justine: Oh, I see, so you’re all for the use of unicorn products. Are you thinking about having a unicorn coat made for yourself as well? I wonder how PETA feels about your unicorn-exploiting ways. . . . Not to mention that zombies don’t have diseases. I’m appalled that you would spread lies about them.

Clearly, we had to gather the finest minds in our field to answer this urgent question.

Because Holly can’t stand to read about zombies and Justine would rather eat her own eyeballs than read about unicorns, we have kindly ensured that each story is marked by a zombie or unicorn icon. No unwary zombie fan will accidentally start reading a unicorn story or vice versa.

We can all rest easy.

Especially those among us who love to read about zombies and unicorns, who now have a book crowded with stories about both creatures by the best talent in the field.

If you’re strong enough to read all the stories, you will know by the end of this anthology which is better: zombies or unicorns!

Justine: ZOMBIES!!!! (I win.)

I can't decided which team I'm playing for. I'm wishy washy. Sometimes I want everything to be all sweetness and light and unicorny, and sometimes I just want to shamble around saying "brains" and eating everything in sight.

How about you? Zombies or Unicorns?