Hospital Day 1

Yesterday started out well. Laurie was alert and comfortable. In general her pain was 2/10 if she didn’t move but shot to 10/10 if she did move. She then started to experience more pain at about 12:00. This increased slowly until she was 6/10 even when she was still. Of course her neurologist husband, who is has been in medicine 28 years, is of no use what so ever and goes to visions of Sigourney Weaver every time Laurie winces, was freaking out. The surgeon came by and examined her. He was not concerned, adjusted her pain meds and Laurie was soon comfortable again.

I then went home to feed the boys and give them some attention. When I returned she had rolled onto her side and had used the spirometer to keep her lungs clear. HUGE strides forward. We are much relieved.

Thanks to Rita for keeping me calm. Thanks to all of you for your messages. I read them to her and she enjoyed them very much.

Laurie’s in the Hospital

This is Phillip. Laurie is doing well. It’s 8:20, I left her at 10:00 last night. She was more or less comfortable and had her complete wits about her. Yesterday at about 11:00 AM she began to has severe abdominal pain. As it grew she drove home. Eventually it became so bad we called 911. She was brought into the hospital and a CT showed that her bowel had twisted on itself. This called for emergency surgery. They found a portion of her bowel had to be removed. They reattached the two good ends. At this point, barring complications, she should make a complete recovery. Initial estimate was a one week stay but that can vary. I’ll keep you informed. Thanks for all your well wishes.

Open for discussion: January 29

Tasty!

Harley brought his parents over for dinner the other night. I was busy cooking when they arrived, and Stanley was so entranced by the ingredients that he barley noticed Uncle Bob and Aunt Nancy, much less Harley. And it continued for that way most of the night. Except for a few growls, Stanley was a gentleman. And of course Sherman is always a gentleman, even when he is not the sole apple of his Uncle Bob’s eye.

Before it was 7 degrees

The occasional caption contest winner is NJ for “I can’t seem to get this scarf wrapped around my neck……“

Open for discussion: January 24

Play date

This should come as no surprise.

Aunt Nancy brought some of Harley’s toys for the boys to play with. Stanley quickly confiscated one of the tennis balls.

And then this (tri-colored!) squeaky toy. It was a bit of an effort to get it through the doggy door, but he did and promptly hid it.

“Well, on the upside, Harley, you’re becoming famous!”

Open for discussion: January 22

Meet Harley

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine inviting a pit bull onto my lap. But 11 month old Harley is as sweet as he looks. Aunt Nancy brought him over on Saturday and Sunday to socialize with the boys. Aren’t his ears cute? They’ll stay uncropped. As Nancy said, “If anyone in the family gets cosmetic surgery, it will be me.”

This is how Sherman socializes. He is happy to meet any dog, but prefers his rest and tummy rubs. He didn’t mind sharing the couch with Harley. Stanley, on the other hand was his usual “I’ll growl and bark at him, show him I’m the boss even though I’m really, really, really scared.” Harley so wanted to play with Stan but it didn’t happen. We’ll try again next weekend.

P.S. Harley says, “Happy Birthday, Evan!!”

Speak up?

My sister sent me this very funny card. Two dogs are talking to each other and one says, “I used to have a blog, but I gave it up for pointless, incessant barking. That’s my Stan. At some point in the past, I taught him that he could have a treat if he came inside when I called him. You can probably guess where this is going. He’s very good about coming in, and runs immediately to the kitchen. Whether or not I follow through on the treat, he usually goes back outside after a few minutes, because the acoustics are so great in the yard, he just needs to bark.