Day 268 - Deworming.

Yeah, you know it's a story. Today was a day to myself. My Mom left for Saskatchewan to tend to my brother. Why? Well, Mr. Cowboy had a wreck. I suppose they are inevitable & Lord knows it's not his first wreck. Basically his horse came over on top of him, aided by another horse pulling & Jeff split his pelvis, compressed a few discs in his back, had protein in his kidneys & lost his vision for awhile. Yeah. 


He's doing better & is out of the hospital. Mom has gone down to help him out for a few days. Poor feller. I hope he heals quickly, although I think this one may take awhile! 


I spent the day doing a whole lot of nothin'. Well, not really. I walked down to EVIC with Valentina, visited with Joe & Shauna, threw the ball for Tweet Pea on the way back, went down to the bunkhouse & picked up a few bins to sort through (7 years of travel & photos & scrapbooking stuff - oh boy). I let Shufly in & out & that was about it. 


Oh yeah. The deworming thing. The Vet told Mom that while I'm on chemo, I should handle the dogs dishes, cat food, litter boxes, etc, etc. We should also deworm all the animals in the house. Fair enough. Valentina's would be a piece of cake. She'll eat anything. I take a little chip, put some dip on it, stick the pill to the dip & WHOOP, down the hatch it goes. Now, for Adios. 


Let me tell you about Adios. He's like the trailer trash of cats. He refuses to eat anything but Whiskas. I've tried giving him healthy, holistic food. Nope. He will NOT eat it. It will sit there for days on end. As he depletes the mouse, bird & squirrel population dramatically, I eventually give in to save their little souls. I have even tried mixing the Whiskas with the good stuff. He will selectively eat the Whiskas & leave the other stuff. He only eats the 'McDonald's' of the cat world. Occasionally you can catch him tempted to lick the butter off of a kernel of popcorn or the salt off of a potato chip. So, I think I can do the same with the cat as I did with the dog. I dip the chip & attach the pill. Adios licks the chip & pretty much shuts down as soon as the dip hits his tongue. 


Hmm. Okay, I'll take his little Whiskas Temptations, which he LOVES, and attached the dipped pill to one of them. I put them on the kitchen chair out of the dog's reach. Adios eats all of the Temptations but the ones that have been tainted with the dip & of course, leaves the pill. I run to the cupboard for the butter. I'll roll the pill in butter, he'll like that!


I turn around & the chair is clean. Valentina is sitting there. Waiting for more. Oh no! She ate the cat's dewormer!!!! I shove my finger down her throat & miraculously recover the severely slobbery, no longer enteric coated pill. UGH! Okay. I'll just shove it down the cat's throat & make him eat it. I get poor Adios cornered & grab his jowels. I chuff the pill down his yap, scraping my fingers on his razor sharp tongue. He spits out the pill. I try again. He spits out the pill. Again. I shove it in again & clamp his mouth shut. He swallows a few times & PRESTO! Pill is down! He runs away from me. Phew. Wait. What's that on the floor?!? Are you kidding me?!?! Argh!!! He did spit it out!!! I quickly sweep it up before Valentina gets it again. I take it to the kitchen & crush it up with a few Whiskas kibbles & some butter. I try to get him to eat it. No luck. I have reached my threshold. I put the ball of butter, pill & kibble in his dish. That's it. No more food until he eats it. (I'm behind typing, so I'll just let you know, it was 5 days later & Mom shoved it down his throat & he ate it.)


And that my friends, is how you deworm a picky cat. :o) Actually, I'm sure there are a million & one easier ways to deworm a cat, but I didn't know any of them until after the fact. Apparently using an eyedropper & crushing the pill in water works well too... Next time...


How's that for an exciting Saturday night?! Alright... I'm outta here... Bed is calling my name... xxxx Maria & Valentina


Sorry, no photos for today... check back tomorrow!!

Day 258 - SuperNanny Flies Again!

With a headache still slowing me down, I visited on the phone with a few friends this morning, while Mom panicked about the grease in the BBQ. Hint - If you visit & use the BBQ, be sure to clean it up! She was a wee bit cranky! Add to the fact that there was a MOUSE in the bottom of the BBQ & I was squealing like a stuck piggy! Eeeew! I do not like rodents!!!! I promptly grabbed Adios & put him on the little table where the BBQ sits. He didn't even bat an eyelash. Hmpf. Too bad he could perform at EVIC & not here! Apparently Adios had caught a few mice earlier in the morning, so I guess he had reached his quota for the day! In any case, it got my heart pumping quickly!

I was supposed to be heading up to Cochrane to hang out with Harrison & Heidi for a couple of days, but this head was not allowing me much enjoyment whatsoever! I laid down mid-afternoon & finally decided I was fit enough to get ready & go. I took a few things & headed out towards Cochrane with Valentina by my side. Harrison loves 'Tina', as he calls her, and the past few times when I've stopped in I haven't had her with me. The disappointment on his face breaks my heart! So, now I make sure 'Tina' is always there too!

The children were already sound asleep by the time I got there (about 2100). I visited with Jenn & Mike for a bit & then we decided to watch The Prince of Persia. Hmm... We only watched half of it, as it was a late start & tomorrow was an early morning... I will look forward to the end of it tomorrow! It was a slow start, but by the time we pressed 'pause', I was well into it! 

Wish me luck with the tiny tots! Sleep well & see you tomorrow! 

xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Photobooth Goodnight!

Day 103 - Red Devil. Want Some?

Hey Everyone! 


I hope this finds you well & enjoying life! Valentina & I are having a ball over here! She has been very clingy as of late... Not sure why. Perhaps she thinks I'm going to leave her behind again soon! She enjoyed her day shredding everything I gave her. Including a disposable camera. I really didn't imagine she could put it into that many little pieces!


Well, you're probably wondering where the title 'Red Devil' comes from. Last night, shortly before I went to bed, I had the brainwave to look up the CHOP method of chemotherapy. This is the method the Doctor in Tijuana is wanting to use on me. Without boring you too much with the 'minor' details, one of the drugs is nicknamed 'Red Devil' or 'Red Death'. Sounds great, eh? Not quite something I'm ready to sign up for! It also causes cardiac toxicity. Even better! Render my heart weak for the rest of my life! FYI, it was discovered in Italy. I stand corrected. Not everything in Italy is wonderful!


But wait! It gets better! I read on... Next up is bleomycin. (ABVD Chemo protocol) Take this little baby & it leaves you with oxygen toxicity. Meaning? Well, if I ever choose to scuba dive again... BAM. Dead as a door nail. General anaesthesia applies as well, although I think if the Anaesthetist knows of your bleomycin past, you can survive this one. No heart, no lungs, no hair, no taste buds, what's left?


So the 'C' in CHOP stands for cyclophosphamide. That's the same drug I was supposed to take & didn't. I read about it... It is a known carcinogen & can cause secondary cancers, especially of the bladder. Great! Wikipedia says to drink 3.5 liters of water per day to help. At least I would be keeping Purex Pillowy Soft in business a little longer!


The 'P' in CHOP stands for, ugh, Prednisone. The dreaded drug I feel made my condition worse than it was. I was reading & counting the side effects. 13. THIRTEEN!!!! That is ridiculous! Clearly something is not right with this picture. Why on earth should I ever have that many side effects from one little pill?!?!? That gives me thirteen more reasons to go back to the Doctor & get more pills!!!! Argh! My frustration is near the breaking point! Luckily I'm no longer on the drug & do not EVER plan to take it again. If I must do the CHOP, it will be the 'HO' protocol! :o) Hello Santa! 


I also discovered a location in Toronto where I can arrange to have a tumor sample sent to NY. Why? They can culture the tumor & then expose it to the potential chemotherapy my Oncologist wants me to use. They determine the cell death time & how well each chemo works. They compile a report & then I know which chemotherapy will be best suited for my body (is there one? at all?) & which will be ineffective. I'll find out tomorrow!


Okay, so while I'm typing this, I'm not paying much attention to what's happening around me. It's late, so the house is quiet. All of a sudden I hear a gentle thud behind me. It was the cat, Adios, jumping off the island behind me. He is busily licking his lips. Hmm... I study the countertop. There isn't anything scrumptious on the counter... Then I realize he's been licking the butter! Yuck! No wonder he's not losing weight! Gross!


Today I also reconnected with a ship mate I haven't spoken to in years! Five to be exact! Jenny & I worked together on the Grand Princess in 2005-2006. She is from Scotland, but last year she moved to Australia. Lo & behold, she fell in love & is now playing the visa game to get back to her beloved. We enjoyed a fantastic visit - it was just like I saw her last week! Of course she gave a big push for Jaco & I to pick Australia! Gladly! Over this weather any day!


Anyhow, I suppose I should hit the hay for the night... I have to head to Cochrane for blood work tomorrow. Apparently I'm doing an INR test tomorrow. They want to make sure my blood will clot & I won't die on them. Gravy. And there is a possibility that I will be doing a photo shoot in the afternoon! My dearest friend, Cody & his fiance, Kelsy, are making their way around this neck of the woods & they want some engagement photos done, as well as some optics shots for one of their sponsors. Cody has his own hunting show, http://www.live2hunt.com. I'm very proud of him for following his passion in life & achieving his goals & dreams. And I'm even more excited he's found someone who shares his passion & wants to spend the rest of her life with him! 


Thanks for checking in! 18 days until Mexico! Sadly, I realized tonight that I will most likely be flying back from Mexico on the day Jaco is joining his next ship. On our 1st anniversary! Pooh. Good thing we got married three times, so we can just pick the next date! :o) You see, I was thinking! There was a method to my madness! :o)


Lekker slaap,
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox


Sorry, no exciting photos for today... here's a glimpse at what Mom's Photo Booth has captured in the past year-ish...

Chatting with Jaco

Chatting with Jaco while brushing my teeth while taking my picture. Multi-Task!

Apparently the sun does shine in Canada!

Bad day at the office!

My lap cat, Adios

Mom's sexxy new do!

My personal neck warmer

3 cool cats. Mom2, Adios & Moi

Talking to Jaco while being mauled by Valentina. Perhaps Jaco was telepathically sending me kisses & Valentina interrupted the transfer?