Major Life Changes

Update:  I have moved our cancer journal posts over to a new blog - Rudy and Denise.  It will be easier to keep organized having all of this on a separate site.  


It's been ages since I last posted.  I looked at my last post where I was whining about being stressed and how crazy life was.  OMG!  Let's just say I didn't know what trouble was when I wrote that post.

My husband has been diagnosed with lung cancer.  That changed EVERYTHING and at the same time seems to have clarified my priorities.  We have been too close to the trials of cancer twice now with loved family members.  One did well.  The other didn't make it.  We know all too well what we're facing.  We're at the beginning of what I call the roller coaster ride.  Treatment will get underway soon.

I have hit bottom several times - so low I felt bizarrely numb.  It was a very odd feeling (or rather non-feeling) that I'd never experienced before. Looking back I think I had literally scared myself into some kind of mind-numbing state.  But I seem to have come out of it and am feeling stronger and more positive than I ever suspected I could.  There are MANY people praying for us and that is the only thing I can attribute my strength to.  My husband is being an absolute rock.  He's not afraid for himself.  He only gets emotional when he thinks of others, especially me.  So, yeah, I NEED to be strong.

All in all, we are being positive.  When riding this roller coaster, there are very few things you can control.  One thing that is under our control is nutrition.  Instead of researching the disease itself, which scared the hell out of me, I have researched things we could do to compliment medical treatment.  The biggest thing is nutrition.  We've dropped all sugar and cut out almost all processed foods.  Some people may think I'm imagining things, but it seems like it's already making a difference.  Or maybe that, too, is prayer.

I have created a new page on this blog with information about the food we are eating.  I have IBS and my husband has cancer.  Our meals are meant to nourish and heal us both.  The page is definitely not complete, but you are welcome to peek.  Eating for Cancer and IBS

Also, I have created a "Rudy and Denise" Facebook page to keep friends and family updated along our journey.  Join if you like.  I hope it will be positive and filled with tips I discover along the way.  We are SOOOOO determined to be a success story.

When it Rains, It Pours

It's been raining really hard today, but my title isn't actually referring to the weather.  Life is overwhelming right now.  There are too many things demanding attention.  Anyone who knows me personally, knows that Rudy and I are completely nuts over our pets.  They are our children.  We have 6 cats and 5 dogs.  When something goes wrong with one of our children, our world stops.

Sadie gets her nails painted pre-surgery - to make sure they operate on the correct knee.

Our world has spun off it's axis.  Our largest dog, Sadie, had surgery last week.  We thought it was to be hip surgery, but it turned out to be a bad knee.  She was our first dog to go off to college.  :-) The surgery was at Auburn University.  She's home and doing well, but life is complicated.  She has to stay in a cage for a month.  She has to wear an e collar for 10 days.  She only comes out of her cage for brief walks outside to take care of business.  She is most unhappy about her situation.

Cocoa thinks having a bed in the floor of the living room is a grand idea.

When she loses sight of us she whines.  If we don't respond she panics.  Her cage is too big to be moved, so for now, there's a twin mattress set up for me (her designated sleep buddy) in the floor in our living room. The whole room had to be rearranged to make this work.  It looks  terrible and feels chaotic, but that's just how it has to be for now. And who cares, since the whole house feels messy right now.  I'm behind on everything.  Since Sadie is getting better day by day and we have figured out how to make this work, it's not a huge worry.

However, while our attention was focused on Sadie, one of our sweet kitties (Little Bit) got very, very sick.  It must have been coming on for a while, but she hid it well.  Her kidney's are failing.

We have notes like this all over from phone calls with vets.

She went to the emergency clinic for the weekend and is now with a specialist.  She's responding well to fluids and I'm waiting to hear from the specialist now.  I've been waiting all morning.

We've dealt with this before and it's not pretty.  Our other cat that had this (Spooky) lasted a year more than anyone thought he would and was quite happy for most of that time.  We had to inject him with fluids every day of his life.  I guess we'll be doing that again for Little Bit.  I hope we can get her back to feeling well.  Giving fluids can be a challenge.  I learned some tricks over time to make it easier and more comfortable for the kitty.  I hope I can remember all the tricks.  I know one had to do with getting the best needles possible.

Update:  We've talked to the vet a number of times since I posted yesterday.  Little Bit's numbers keep coming closer and closer to normal.  She's acting like she's feeling great.  We're picking her up tomorrow.  :-D  Not sure what we'll be dealing with after that, but things are not looking so bleak.

Our two sick babies are the most worrisome thing going on, but our lives are little over-complicated right now in general.  Rudy is absolutely overwhelmed with work. I do his bookkeeping, so when his work picks up, mine does, too.   I have to watch every little thing I eat or I get sick. Gluten and more are off limits.  Thinking so hard about every meal is exhausting.

I also recently started promoting another antique mall on Facebook.  Now I have two malls.  It's pretty time consuming, but I enjoy it.  The main challenge will be figuring out when to go take photos since Sadie can't be left alone.

Our problems are small.  I am well aware of that.  But it sure is hard to feel peace when everything around is in a state of chaos.

Bach's Rescue Remedy is good for stress in a nice subtle way,
but the way things are going,  I may need to pull out something with a bit more kick.

I wish that specialist would call.  :-(