Riley

Riley, my mom's cat whom we adopted, is in the vet hospital as I type, receiving treatment for "fatty liver disease."  She hadn't been herself for several days, and last night, we decided we should take her to the emergency vet.  They kept her overnight, gave her IV fluids, then we picked her up this morning and took her to our vet.  She (our vet) seemed a little grimmer than the emergency vet, and now Hannah is a wreck.  She's kicking herself for not having said something sooner.

We've got 24 - 48 hours without her, as the doctors drip more fluids and see if she will eat.  She'd become almost skeletal, and, handily, the treatment for this is food.  We are hoping she'll be able to eat on her own, or with the help of a syringe.  Worst case scenario is a feeding tube.

The bill last night was $630.  No telling what a few days at our vet will be.  I do know my monthly visits will have to be off for the rest of the year.  At least I got one in.

I stop acupuncture, too.  It's costly, and I'm not getting any good things out of it.

Right now, I'm just very sleepy.  We didn't get back from the emergency vet until after midnight, and I was still lying awake at 4.  Doubt that Hannah got much more sleep.  And she's supposed to work a 5-hour shift today.  All I have is therapy.

If Riley doesn't make it, Hannah will be devastated.  First Esme, now this.  And she is not the best at telling anyone what she needs, so I'll just have to sort of stand close and let her come to me.

And, if Riley doesn't make it, that's one more way I'll have let Mama down since she died.  Another thing I didn't handle well.

Very Sick

Right now, I am going through as bad an emotional spell as I have since I was suicidal.  No hope, no energy, constant worry.

I don't want to lay it off on the acupuncture, but after each session I've had, I've been immobilized --- the first time by physical pain, this time by emotional.  I just stare straight ahead, unable to move, unable to find a reason to move.

And blogging about it is iffy, as I already feel that I've scared away friends who had once stood steadfastly by me, but lately, have been nowhere to be found.  If I were crying wolf, I'd get it.  

But I'm not.

Agony

Second acupuncture session today, and it was a disaster.  The needles, the cupping caused pains that made it difficult to breathe.  One needle to my hand sent electricity through my fingers.  One needle in my foot, in a place that one was last time, caused me to gasp in pain.

Then, all of a sudden, I was crying.  Not just tears leaking out of my eyes.  Huge, racking sobs.  I couldn't stop.

If I can't even endure the treatment, how will I ever get well?

A Monday

Finn has the oddest habit of grabbing shoes when someone comes in the house.  Not when someone is leaving, and needs to put shoes on, but when they're coming in.

When you adopt a rescued pet, you wonder (or at least I do) what kind of life they had before.  Finn was definitely trained to "stand up" and have his leash put on.  I wonder if this shoe thing was part of his training, too.

Sort of a quiet weekend.  Hannah worked both days.  I got a good amount of knitting done.  Briton  came over last night to watch "The Walking Dead."  Obligatory Daryl photo now:

I spent a whole lot of time looking up and printing out patterns.  I've got a sock and a scarf on the needles right now: the scarf courtesy of Roxanne.  A while back, she sent me two skeins of Chunky Mochi (color 817), and one of the patterns I came across was a scarf pattern calling for --- you guessed it --- two skeins of Chunky Mochi.

Got a follow-up appointment with the acupuncturist on Wednesday.  I'm anxious to hear her thoughts on the three-day-long headache I had after our first session.

March used to be a fairly busy month for me, events-wise.  My wedding anniversary is/was March 10th.  Mama's birthday is/was March 24th.  Dale's is/was March 31st.  Now, it's down to my best friends' birthdays.  Shari celebrates hers on March 1st, though she was actually born February 29th.  Tomorrow is Lisa's.  Hard to believe we're all fifty-flippin'-three years old.

A Saturday

Apparently, some parts of Georgia got snowfall today.  Nothing here.  Completely unfair.

One week out from my acupuncture treatment.  I've had a headache every day (but two) since.  I'm doing as much as I can with the new dietary requirements, but can't, and really don't plan to, switch over wholly.  More fruits and vegetables, not a problem.  All the fermented stuff?  A bit more problematic.  And, as much as I try, I just cannot drink the amount of water she suggested.  I'm drinking more than I used to, but not near as much as I'm "supposed to."  Did you know each person is supposed to drink, in ounces, half their body weight in water every day.  Not that 8-glasses-a-day rule.  That's outdated and uncool.

Some random sentences generated by this artist's book I'm following:

"A stitch is dropped --- the sweater won't be born."

"The fan spins clockwise, moving air around."

"From nose to knees, there's too much me, and

My eyes have darkened taking in the view."

  

And one poem:

The river to the ocean runs,

The brook becomes the sea.

The pounds stack up until they're tons,

An acorn yields a tree.

How true, some great things start out small

And never dream the day

That growth will overtake them,

And Fate will have his way.

Pretty Much My Week to This Point

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The acupuncture treatment went very well.  I was aware of a slight sting when the needles went in, but it was much less than being stuck with a regular sewing needle.  Not a problem at all.  Honestly.

There was also a cupping treatment, which was more uncomfortable than the acupuncture.

What has caused the most problem since, however, was the intense massage.  Since I woke up yesterday, I have had a searing headache.  Everything that was done was to release pent-up energy and toxins, and I must be a damn landfill of the stuff, as much pain as I've been in since.  I've been in bed with ice packs all day today, even having to cancel a therapy appointment.

The therapist told me on Saturday that my symptoms might worsen after the treatments.  She was right.