another saturday night
Jun. 4th, 2005 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verbicideToday was insanely busy, particularly for a Saturday.
Got up, fed Hobbsie and left to meet Alexis. My muscles, such as they are, were shaking like jello by the end. It's nice to feel progress. While a far cry from Linda Hamilton-T2 stage, it's nice to feel like I actually have some strength. Tomorrow's gonna hurt, though.
As much as I wanted to come home, fling myself back into bed, I changed for my French lesson and hurried off to Queen Anne. I'm loving my French lessons. It's so exciting to pick that back up and see how much I remember (and how much I don't). It's a really simple pleasure. I'm even looking forward to homework.
After that, I'd planned on meeting up with Jeff who had very kindly offered to come with me to take Hobbsie to the vet since I've been freaking out about it. We'd wanted to grab lunch before, but time was short. We scurried to Metropolitan Market for some pre-made sandwiches and since Jeff is a considerate, humane driver, I offered to drive us around and then back to his car because I was worried about the time.
We cruella-deville'd to my place (and Jeff at no point screamed like a girl, so I was impressed) and grabbed Hobbsie. I had just enough time to change, and was glad I did because the monster sheds more fur than he seems to have on his body during vet visits. We made it there on time and seriously, I just can't say enough how much I appreciated Jeff's calming presence. I would never have thought to ask someone to go with me, but it was such a considerate offer... I just, was so very glad he was there.
We talked to Dr. Henkle about Hobbsie's continuing asthma issues and how to deal with everything. Then we went to the back with the techs to see how they take blood for the glucose checks. Jeff and I had hoped this would be something I could do at home, to avoid traumatic vet visits. It was awful. Hobbes completely freaked out and if it wasn't for Jeff soothing me, I think I would have thrown up. They weren't able to give him a pill either, and he was one unhappy cat. Then there was the blood draw, which I was worried he would completely freak over--but no. Hobbsie calmly lay on his side while they pumped out 2 ccs of blood. So the final conclusion was that I could not do glucose testing at home, that Hobbsie doesn't deal well with it, and thus we're going to just see how it goes with oral medication.
His glucose test, however, was very encouraging, which means we've got him on pretty damn close to the right dose of insulin. There's a pharmacy in Ballard that will compound the prednisone into tuna-flavored liquid, so we're hoping that a dose a day of that will kept the asthma at bay. Dr. Henkle says that Hobbes is in really good shape for a 16 year old cat, so that was a freaking relief. And we're hoping that the random vomiting of last week was just case of adjusting his insulin from 3 to 2 units. We'll see.
Jeff and I came back to my place where I changed, again, out of my cat-fur lined shirt. We hung out for a bit, watching Hobbes, and I drove Jeff back to his car in Queen Anne.
Finally, I drove off to Pacific Place where I bought a pair of plain black sandals and some books (Bioinformatics for Dummies, and a basic Genetics book), and met Sarah to see Crash.
It was a good movie. Well acted, directed, etc, but it was incredibly depressing and more real than I want my movies to be these days. There was humor in the movie, and I understood it--but I didn't find it funny because well, I just don't have a sense of humor about cop brutality (point: the movie wasn't gratuitous or inappropriate in my opinion, I just couldn't laugh.) It compounded every fear I have as a minority and it was 113 minutes of pure tension.
I love gritty. Deadwood is gritty and removed enough from current reality that it doesn't make me want to throw up or hide in a bunker forever. It's one of those movies that I would say was good, but didn't enjoy watching because it was freaking me out. But then, really, I am a big sissy about these things.
Got up, fed Hobbsie and left to meet Alexis. My muscles, such as they are, were shaking like jello by the end. It's nice to feel progress. While a far cry from Linda Hamilton-T2 stage, it's nice to feel like I actually have some strength. Tomorrow's gonna hurt, though.
As much as I wanted to come home, fling myself back into bed, I changed for my French lesson and hurried off to Queen Anne. I'm loving my French lessons. It's so exciting to pick that back up and see how much I remember (and how much I don't). It's a really simple pleasure. I'm even looking forward to homework.
After that, I'd planned on meeting up with Jeff who had very kindly offered to come with me to take Hobbsie to the vet since I've been freaking out about it. We'd wanted to grab lunch before, but time was short. We scurried to Metropolitan Market for some pre-made sandwiches and since Jeff is a considerate, humane driver, I offered to drive us around and then back to his car because I was worried about the time.
We cruella-deville'd to my place (and Jeff at no point screamed like a girl, so I was impressed) and grabbed Hobbsie. I had just enough time to change, and was glad I did because the monster sheds more fur than he seems to have on his body during vet visits. We made it there on time and seriously, I just can't say enough how much I appreciated Jeff's calming presence. I would never have thought to ask someone to go with me, but it was such a considerate offer... I just, was so very glad he was there.
We talked to Dr. Henkle about Hobbsie's continuing asthma issues and how to deal with everything. Then we went to the back with the techs to see how they take blood for the glucose checks. Jeff and I had hoped this would be something I could do at home, to avoid traumatic vet visits. It was awful. Hobbes completely freaked out and if it wasn't for Jeff soothing me, I think I would have thrown up. They weren't able to give him a pill either, and he was one unhappy cat. Then there was the blood draw, which I was worried he would completely freak over--but no. Hobbsie calmly lay on his side while they pumped out 2 ccs of blood. So the final conclusion was that I could not do glucose testing at home, that Hobbsie doesn't deal well with it, and thus we're going to just see how it goes with oral medication.
His glucose test, however, was very encouraging, which means we've got him on pretty damn close to the right dose of insulin. There's a pharmacy in Ballard that will compound the prednisone into tuna-flavored liquid, so we're hoping that a dose a day of that will kept the asthma at bay. Dr. Henkle says that Hobbes is in really good shape for a 16 year old cat, so that was a freaking relief. And we're hoping that the random vomiting of last week was just case of adjusting his insulin from 3 to 2 units. We'll see.
Jeff and I came back to my place where I changed, again, out of my cat-fur lined shirt. We hung out for a bit, watching Hobbes, and I drove Jeff back to his car in Queen Anne.
Finally, I drove off to Pacific Place where I bought a pair of plain black sandals and some books (Bioinformatics for Dummies, and a basic Genetics book), and met Sarah to see Crash.
It was a good movie. Well acted, directed, etc, but it was incredibly depressing and more real than I want my movies to be these days. There was humor in the movie, and I understood it--but I didn't find it funny because well, I just don't have a sense of humor about cop brutality (point: the movie wasn't gratuitous or inappropriate in my opinion, I just couldn't laugh.) It compounded every fear I have as a minority and it was 113 minutes of pure tension.
I love gritty. Deadwood is gritty and removed enough from current reality that it doesn't make me want to throw up or hide in a bunker forever. It's one of those movies that I would say was good, but didn't enjoy watching because it was freaking me out. But then, really, I am a big sissy about these things.
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 06:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 04:58 pm (UTC)i read this to P
Date: 2005-06-05 12:55 pm (UTC)you are a good kitty mama... hobbsie is lucky. i know from my times working at the animal hospital that a lot of people would give up on a cat just because it's 16. so sad.
Re: i read this to P
Date: 2005-06-05 04:56 pm (UTC)The main thinking behind the prednisone is that we can adjust the insulin to counter any problems caused by the steroids. Dr. Henkle definitely said the inhaler was the best route but it's particularly pricey and it's fairly unlikely that Hobbes would sit still twice a day with a mask on his face, calmly breathing in 10-12 times. He's an ornery cuss.
You are amazing for doing the ear-pricking glucose test, btw. For some reason it completely freaked out both me and Hobbes. Well, I guess it freaked me out because it freaked him out. But wow.
And I could never give up on Hobbsie. He's been my faithful companion all these years. :)
Re: i read this to P
Date: 2005-06-05 09:02 pm (UTC)Yeah, poor Daisy (diabetic kitty, may she RIP). I was the only one (I was living with my parents at the time) who was willing to even attempt the glucose checks... and I was never good at it. Now we have Baby, the diabetic Jack Russell terrier, and he's a total wuss so I am too nervous to even give him insulin most times. P does the glucose checks, and it's always with one of those insulin needles in the jugular. I hate the place it comes from but I think in dogs your options are more limited.
Ah, the things we do for the animals we love!
I say it again - Hobbes is a lucky feline. I hope he feels better. :)
Re: i read this to P
Date: 2005-06-05 09:34 pm (UTC)Eeek about the jugular. You're lucky to have P!
Hobbsie is doing much better already, he's super affectionate post-vet visits (in a 'omg don't take me back there!' kind of way.). And thanks again for everything :)