Monday, April 28, 2008

lucy in the sky with battle wounds

I have a tale to tell...
  1. LONG VERSION - Back when Lucy was a puppy, we took her to the groomer at Petsmart to get her nails (claws, if you want the technical term) clipped. They were really cool, did it in about 30 seconds, and said that the first one was on the house. We decided to buy a trimmer after that and just do it ourselves instead of spending money to get it done all the time. We've actually done it a few times since then. Never without a little bit of a struggle, of course, but they always seem to be successful nail trimming missions. As of the last week, Lucy's nails have become razor sharp. Just really too long for anyone's liking. So we decided to finally trim them again yesterday. However...the first nail I clipped, I cut a little too short (apparently) because it started bleeding....................a LOT! So I had to refrain from freaking out while holding a 20 pound firecracker. I call her a "firecracker" here because when she gets fiesty and stubborn, it literally takes all of your strength to keep her still. Joe the Genius, grabbed some sugar to press onto the nail and said that it can be used as a coagulant (I learn something new every day). That seemed to work after a minute, but....wait....ok never mind. It was still bleeding. So while I applied pressure to her paw while holding her close to my chest so she couldn't wiggle out, Joe looked in one of the beagle books we have and it mentioned using cornstarch to stop the bleeding. Tried it. Seemed to work okay, but there was still some blood coming out. So we called our vet (who was CLOSED because it was a Sunday night) but then called the emergency number that is recorded on our vet's answering machine. Apparently, there is an emergency animal clinic a few miles away (good to know). So Joe talked to the vet there and he said to try putting flour in the cut and holding pressure onto it for a minute. Then, if it was still bleeding after a few minutes we should probably bring her in. At this point, I was getting limp arms from holding Lucy, so Joe took hold of her and I held the flour pressed against her claw. I even held it there for 2 minutes just to be sure. That seemed to do the trick. So, to end the debacle, Joe dabbed a little super glue to the claw to seal it well and we were left with remnants of sugar, cornstarch and flour all over our clothes (and a few drops of Lucy to boot).
  2. SHORT VERSION - I will never...let me repeat...NEVER try to cut my dog's nails again. I am a little traumatized.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

kidney update

Just letting you all know that Joe completed his evaluation process with the Mayo Clinic today.

He had to go for testing last week (all day Wednesday and Friday) and this week (Monday and Wednesday) - blood tests, ultrasounds, heart tests, electrocardiograms, meetings with doctors, screening, etc. etc. so that they could evaluate his health to see whether or not he is a good candidate for a kidney transplant. For example, if there are other things wrong with your health (diseases, conditions, etc.), they may deny you a transplant. The transplant board had their evaluation meeting yesterday, however, and...

Joe has been accepted for a kidney transplant!!!

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!

And...if all goes well with testing his family matches...this might be taking place sometime this summer. So not to far to go!

I'm so excited for this! I know that there is a LOT involved in transplantation (month-long recovery, nutrition changes, lifestyle changes, daily medication forever, to name a few), but there is also much to gain. He'll hopefully be feeling better and more energized in no time!

To whichever of you end up being the best match for Joe...there are not enough words to express thanks! I know that there is a lot involved on your end as well (time off, recovery, etc.). But this is the best gift that he could ever receive!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

why Tax Day 2008 wasn't that bad...

Good day to you all! -

Life in Phoenix is getting a little more interesting lately, to say the least. For example: Lucy Pants (I like to call her Lucy Pants sometimes) is starting to "talk" more, work is picking up a little in spite of the "recessing" economy, Joe is having his evaluations and tests at the Mayo Clinic this week and next week (GO JOE! I hope they OK your transplant!), and the weather is a-changin! (got up to 97 this week!).

Also, the sometimes feared and dreaded Tax Day has come and gone. Most of the time I'm at least able to get at least 20 bucks back from the government, but there have been a few times when I've had to paid an ungodly amount to the IRS. During those years, I would pray for dear life that April 14th would just sweep over to the 16th. But here are a few reasons why April 15th this year wasn't all that bad:


(1) We have a brand spankin' new computer thanks to tax money...it's so AWESOME!!!!!


(2) I have a new haircut which is growing on me...especially since it's getting so warm out lately (it hasn't been this short since the 8th grade!)


(3) I have newly grown fingernails! For those who don't know, I've bit my nails to the cuticle (pretty much) ever since I can remember. And probably before then, too! This picture proves that after 20+ years of biting, quitting is still possible!

(4) Did you notice the ring?

Monday, April 14, 2008

new camera









OK, it's taking forever to send pictures, and you might get three emails with the same pics, but here's some more anyway !!!! This is my new camera, it's a Casio EX-S10 EXILIM, and it was a gift from Theresa. I can't tell you what I got her yet, because I'm picking it up tomorrow...but you all will know soon enough.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Et cetera

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening!

How's that for an opening? I figure it covers all bases. As for when I'm typing this, it's evening here, Joe is about 3 hours into his dialysis treatment, and Lucy is amusing herself by throwing a bone around on the floor. Actually, right now, she's sniffing everything in sight. She usually alternates between the two.

After work I took her for a nice long walk. Yesterday, Joe and I actually brought her to this dog park (sponsored by Petsmart - the Walmart of the pet industry) that is aonly about 4 miles from our apartment. It's pretty freakin' huge. There is a large area where mostly the larger dogs play, and there's a smaller fenced area for dogs 20(ish) pounds or less. The big dog area, while not filled with TOO many dogs, was a little intimidating and, being her (and our) first time there, we figured the smaller dog area would be a good start. She was first chased around and around by a couple cute little dogs and we could tell she was a little skittish. But after awhile, she loosened up and actually became the "chaser" herself.

It's a neat place. The dogs for the most part were pretty well behaved and many of the pet owners were very friendly (and, obviously, dog park old timers because they all knew each other). It's open until 10pm every night, so we'll probably start taking her there a couple times a week. I would take her there tonight, but I'd rather Joe be there. He was actually making fun of me a little bit yesterday because I was being a "paranoid mother". I had just never been around so many dogs "off leash" before and sometimes it's easy to mistake playing for fighting...the chasing and play growling that went on sometimes made me think it was dogs being mean to each other. But the dogs never fought once, it's just playing. So there's definitely more to learn about dogs. I guess Lucy isn't the only one who's being enlightened. ha ha

Anyway, I just thought I'd fit in a quick blog to let you all know that we're a-okay. I'm actually starting to feel better now. Since I didn't mention anything about it before, though, I'll just quickly tell you that I've been sick since last Wednesday. It started with allergies, I ended up having a fever of over 100 for about 5 days straight, chills, congestion, coughing like crazy, plegmmy, sweaty, yummy goodness. Yesterday was my first day of not having a fever and this afternoon I FINALLY started feeling normal again. My head is still a little foggy and I'm still a little weak and definitely congested, but I'm on my way back to health again (which is good, because every time I accidentally leave a tissue somewhere, Lucy always seems to find it and rip it to shreds).

I'll try to get some pictures up soon. Nothing really new in the photo department, but it's nice to liven up the page every once in a while.

Hope all is good and well with everyone!

Until next time,
XOXO
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