Goodbye, you obnoxious little brat.

Today I lost a dear, dear friend.

I received a call at 8:50am today. That time is burned into my mind. My friend Lori, whose house my horse is boarded at, was on the phone. She said that this morning, as they went to check on a horse of theirs, Diamond, who was in the process of dying, they'd found my horse pawing violently at the ground. She was colicking.

I told Lori I was going to finish up with chores at the place I was watching, as I was taking care of 4 horses, 2 dogs, and 8 or so cats, and then I would be out. Immediately after I got up, some unseen force urged me to skip chores and go, so I did.

I was not prepared for the sight that awaited me. As I got out of my car and walked into the yard, I noticed several things. First, my friend Lori, her daughter Ginger, who is also my friend, the vet, and the vet's assistant had all been crying. Second, I saw my sweet girl; She was trembling violently from head to hoof, breathing heavily, sweaty and caked with mud. There was a tube in her nose that went down into her stomach, which occasionally spewed gastric contents onto the ground. The vet's assistant was pressing a towel to my girl's nose, as it was bleeding.

After a talk with the vet, spending some time walking my girl around the yard, and talking with my parents, we decided the best thing was euthanasia. As the vet and her assistant prepared everything, Cocoa made her decision. She lay down on the ground, onto her side. Her breathing became ragged and her eyes closed. She was done fighting. The vet slid a catheter into her neck, and moments later, injected the solution that ended her suffering. They checked for a heartbeat once, twice. My dear friend was gone.

The vet's assistant pulled her forelock into a ponytail, and with a few snips of her shears, it was off, my last memento of a fallen friend. But it was only to get worse. The vet then moved on to getting Diamond ready for her her journey over the bridge. Diamond was sedated and brought into the yard, away from Cocoa to keep her from panicking. As my friends said their goodbyes, the vet helped Diamond on as well. And so it was that in the span of an hour, two sweet friends were gone, and three hearts were left broken.

And so may my obnoxious, bratty, naughty little pony rest in peace, her time with me too short.

Let's have a lighthearted post :)

These are the guinea pigs my roommate and I share, playing around in the bath. Feel free to repost at will :)

I Survived.

Surgery was complication free, and I was discharged soon after. 

That's right, I didn't have to stay overnight, no crazy crud to deal with. My nose is drippy and gross, and my throat hurts like nobody's business, but I'm alive. 

Thanks for all of the well wishes, they definitely helped :)

Another Surgery Is On The Horizon

I will be having surgery next Friday, February 11th, to reduce the size of some fleshy bits in my nose that are causing chronic sinusitis and sinus headaches, and also to remove the tonsillar re-growth and my lingual tonsil tissue.

This is a surgery that is outpatient, but obviously there is the possibility of complications in my case, and those frequently happen. I'm just glad I can get this done and over with quickly.

I could use some well wishes, healing thoughts, and good vibes my way, if you can :)

TMI WARNING! My First Waxing Experience

Today I had an appointment to have my hair cut. I drove myself, and my family had appointments soon after. While I was getting my hair cut, my mother and siblings arrived. When I was finished, my mom asked me if I wanted my eyebrows waxed. I've never had waxing done before, but I decided to go for it, however, I wanted to try something a little more adventurous. I asked for the prices of a bikini wax and a brazilian, while my mom looked at me like I had three heads. Mom agreed to let me get a brazilian, but only if I got my eyebrows waxed, too.

My aesthetician was a lovely woman, very kind. She set me up for an eyebrow wax first. It really wasn't painful at all, just a bit uncomfortable. It took very little time, and then they were done. While she set up for the brazilian, I took the opportunity to pee, seeing as I wasn't going to be able to for at least a half hour, and I had downed a complimentary Coke during my haircut. The brazilian itself was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I'd seen videos on YouTube of women screaming during their first brazilian. I didn't scream, but of course that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. The middle patch is the worst, and my eyes started watering a bit with that one. It helps to do deep breathing, and to relax instead of tensing up when the strips are removed.

I lost track of time, and before I knew it, she was done, and I was given the go-ahead to clean up and get dressed. It was a very professional experience, and at no point was I uncomfortable with continuing. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd consider going back.

To think, my day isn't even over yet... xD

Costochondritis...Hurts Like Hell

That was today's diagnosis.

For the past week, it's felt like someone was trying to rip out my sternum. This morning, I went to reach for a med bottle and was basically rendered breathless by a sharp ouchie feeling in my chest. I said enough is enough, and made an appointment at the clinic (the sister clinic of my PCP's office in a neighboring city, and the only one that has weekend hours) and went in. Oddly enough, after I was checked in, someone said hello and my name. It turns out one of the nurses from my PCP's office was having her daughter seen for a sinus infection. Small world.

So I finally see the doc, and he actually knows about EDS and understands. He examined me, even brought in a nurse when he had to check my sternum! I was impressed. He told me what was up, and wrote everything down for me. I basically have to breathe deep, take pain meds so I can, and rest with heat or ice on my chest. I can do that. It's nice to have a solid answer.

And that's my day so far.

One Sick Puppy

I was going to make a post about my trip to the ENT on Monday, but unfortunately I've been dealing with a very sick dog all week, so I'll write about myself and the dog all at once.

Monday morning I had an appointment with the ENT about a fleshy lump in the back of my throat that was worrying me. However, the night before, my dog, Oscar, started acting out of character. He is a mini dachshund, and he was very quiet and still, which is not normal for that breed, really. He also screamed whenever I picked him up. Come morning, I drove him down to my vet and dropped him off, then headed to my appointment.

The ENT said the fleshy lump was most likely a re-growth of my tonsil tissue (I had my tonsils out years ago) and that it could be removed. After he finished examining me, he asked if I had any sinus issues. I've had sinus problems for a really long time, and so I told him yes. He asked if I suffered from sinus headaches, and again, I do. Then he asked me if it was worse on one side or the other, and I told him the left side bothered me a lot. Well, it turns out I have a deviated septum (common in EDS patients) that is pressing on one of my nasal turbinates and causing inflammation and other issues. He suggested I get a sinus CT and possibly surgery if it's fixable.

I am excited, not for another surgery, but for the fact that, maybe, I'll have fewer sinus headaches and infections! He said he could remove the tonsillar re-growth and possibly remove a couple of my lingual tonsils at the same time. I meet with him again on Monday to review my CT (I had it the same day) and talk options.

As for Oscar, he was exhibiting very bad symptoms for a dog. Extremely bloated and taut abdomen, hyper-salivation, pain, and lethargy. First the vet checked for GDV (aka bloat, and fatal if not remedied quickly) and that was negative. Then he had a barium series to check for an obstruction, which was also negative. So the vet basically said it was some mysterious gastrointestinal upset that he had no clue what it was, and prescribed Omeprazole and Mirtazapine, plus special easily digestible food.

Because Oscar has been sick and my family is refusing to do special feeding and give him medication, I've been staying at my family's house since last Friday, when I came home for the weekend and my Monday appointment. I'm really hoping he starts getting better soon, because I'd like to go back to my apartment.

Hope you all are having a better week!

P.S. My insurance dropped me, so I've been living without my Lyrica, which is not cool. They're supposed to re-add me since the law changed, but it's going to take a few weeks :(