stacey ewing

I LOVE this Tweet from Emily that was re-posted this morning on Kung Fu Grippe, and then of course re-posted here for your viewing pleasure:

Longing for the days when gals like me were labeled “Nervous” and sent away to paint watercolors and drink broth by a soothing seaside.

It seems somehow appropriate for a “Monday-Tuesday” like today. Although I don’t really long for “those days” I just think it would be cool to be sent away to a soothing seaside with some painting supplies and wonton soup! ;D

Well, we dropped the boy off this morning for an abdominal ultrasound. The vet thought she felt a lumpy tumor in there last week and thought it would be a good idea to do this, espec. in light of his recent digestive issues. The specialist from UF did the scan and found that some of the loops in his small intestine are hardened. It could be cancer or it could be irritable bowel disease. Also, one of his kidneys is larger than the other, indicating a possible kidney infection (even though he’s not presenting outward signs of one).

Our vet had several options. We could do exploratory surgery and get a definitive diagnosis of cancer or IBD to the tune of $700-900 bucks. If it was cancer then he could do chemo at UF for a couple thousand more dollars. The problem (besides the primary issue of us just simply not having the cashola) is that he’s 17, going on 18, and has a heart murmur which makes anesthesia tricky. So those two issues combined with our brokedness pretty much nixes the surgery/chemo-if-necessary route.

She told us that if it is IBD, we would treat it by steroids and if it was cancer, steriods would keep the growth at bay for a time. So we’re going the steroids route. It’s a real bummer to see him so thin- he’s lost 3lbs since May and is down to 6lbs now (keep in mind, this is a cat who has been 14.7 lbs pretty much his entire life up until the last year). I gave him a bath Tuesday night and he looked so much like Pris in the tub- he’s that small now. :\

The good news is that when Pris was on steroids, they bought her two extra years near the end. So maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll buy us just a little extra time with the big guy not so big guy. :)

He’s so happy to be home tonight. It’s kinda sad, they missed a few spots on his belly when they shaved him so he looks a little funny. We started him on the steroids earlier this eve along with antibiotics to clear up the possible infection. Man, it’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since Tim rescued him from Molnar in Ft. Pierce!

This is my most favoritest video clip ever and I could watch it over and over again forever…

Well, it will be 18 years for us this year and yesterday marked the 9th year of the “government sanctioned” portion of our union. Has it really been that long since we had that awesome party with our best friends and family??! Well, NEXT year is #10 for us and that means we will ALL party once again like it’s… yep… 1999… ;)

hi everyone!

sorry for the radio silence lately but the end of the semester wrap-up and extended hours at the ‘liberry’ have been INSANE and now I’m away at SOLINET and won’t get home until late friday.

I promise, I’ll have updates (AND PICTURES!!) of the ‘goings on’ quite soon! :D

xoxo,
stace

To kill some time on Saturday afternoon, Wes, Court, Spencer, Tim and I went to the old FIT campus (Wes, Tim and I went there on Friday afternoon too). The gates to the old Leech (Leach?) Estate up on the hill were open so we walked up there to explore. Apparently renovations would be in the works but the old mansion is built on top of a native american burial ground in addition to being next to/on top of a fragile ecological system. So things are on hold until the historical, anthropological, and environmental societies/groups can work out their separate issues/interests. :) Meanwhile, we had a great time exploring the grounds… slideshow here.

Wooohoooo! This and that much closer to holiday break!! YAY!!!! This week, although hectic, is goin’ much better than last! I SO can’t wait for Friday!!