The Leaves of Wrath, Pt. 2

November 30, 2020

After the awful drought this summer, we’ve had some decent rain this fall.  Leaves need to be dry to mulch and suck up, so I had a couple of days off after the first bout of  cleaning up.  Eventually though, it was dry enough to complete the task.

Starting the mower was Much easier, and after some thought I decided to just use the dog’s pool to move the mulched leaves.  There is hole in the side by the top from a branch piercing it at some point and it’s the perfect  place to run a rope through to pull it around.  Much easier than using a tarp.

It probably took about three hours to just do the east half of the dogs’ yard.  I took down the temporary fence, that’s been up for 3 years… So much nicer without that bit of wire fencing cutting up the yard.  It was all hard work, and took several passes to mulch and several more to suck up.

By the time I was done, I was Done.  Exhausted. 

As day became night, I just thought I’d overdone.  I crawled into bed and realized that the ache in my middle was not wholly muscle ache, but also stomach ache.  Oh, no.  The dreaded norovirus had struck.

It was not the full-blown, OMG I’m gonna die version, but I felt miserable.  I took Zofran which mitigated the nausea.  I couldn’t sleep, just napped.  This went on for a couple of days.  I was concerned about “shedding” the virus, so I cancelled everything I had going on for the next week.  That included Thanksgiving and the entire weekend after. 

Normally I bounce back from norovirus in about three days.  This time I was miserable  for SIX days.  It was hard on the fur-kids, too.  Due to the 30 mgs of prednisone Piper is taking, sometimes she just HAS to go.  Poor thing had two accidents requiring FIVE puppy pads (each) to clean up.  I refuse to get upset at her, the combination of her meds and my infirmity created the problem. The only thing I really worry about when I get sick is the pups and Blackie.  Taking care of them is my responsibility, and I’m grateful that I’ve always managed, no matter how awful I feel.

Several friends were concerned that this might not be a norovirus, but instead the dreaded coronavirus.  CVS does Covid-19 testing, I made an appointment, and Saturday I went and was tested.  Late yesterday evening the results were available on their app on my phone.  Negative.  I do not/did not have Covid-19.  YAY!

The yard is done, the dogs are good, Blackie is good and I’m getting better all the time.

The Leaves of Wrath

Bwahahahaha…  

Did you know that the alternate name for the season of Autumn is Fall?  Why?  Because all the leaves are FALLing.  (I don’t know if that’s true, but it sure sounds right to me!)

My yard has a dozen or so full-grown, leafy trees.  I love them all.  They are also the reason, along with the dogs why grass will not grow nicely in the back yard.  Too shady.  I’ve had them “lifted” and a lot more light reaches the ground, but weird growing seasons and three dogs have stunted my attempts to re-grow a lawn back there.

But back to the leaves.  Owing to the stress and uncertainty around Hyper Piper, I’ve done next to nothing around the house and/or yard for the last couple of weeks.  Two days ago I realized I’d better get going on the yard or the weather would make outside work more miserable than it already is.  I mean, who LIKES to do leaves?

Last spring I treated myself to a battery-operated blower that uses the same batteries as my drill/driver and chainsaw.  Also, got more batteries…  So I blew off the side yard, twice.  Took three (!) batteries each time.  Yesterday, I blew off the front yard, which only took two batteries.  Since the town will suck up leaves, I blew them all into the gutter, which is illegal, but if I left them on the lawn there’s a good chance what little grass I have would be killed.

I don’t worry about the leaves in the street on the Henry St. (south) side.  It’s a dead end, I’m the only one who drives there besides the garbage trucks, so really, who cares?

Anyway, back to the leaves…  I went out this morning sometime after 10 or 10:30 and got the lawn mower out.  I wanted to mow/mulch the side and front lawns and start mulching the back.

OMG, it’s been a loongg time since I started that poor thing.  Francis (grandson extraordinaire) has been mowing my place when he mows home (next door) so my mower hasn’t seen runtime in Months.  I think it took me 20 pulls on the cord to get it started.  My poor aching right shoulder!!! 

With the fur babies safely in the house, I got the front and side yards taken care of, including running over the beds in the front, also mulched up the north “yard” where our neighborhood bunny hangs out (did not disturb any nesting sites!) and said “yay!” 

 

the gigantic squirrels' nest in the pear tree.

the front yard is done

 

I should have stopped there, but I’m a sucker for punishment.

I mulched and sucked up the yard east of the driveway – not all of it but the nicer part.  Then I grabbed an old tarp and headed into the dogs’ yard.  I’d done some blowing and raking a couple of days ago and the dogs were loving the huge pile of leaves in the middle of the upper part, but I really wanted to get that mulched down and sucked up.

It takes multiple passes with the mower without the grass catcher attached to mulch down the leaves and debris, and repeatedly lifting the front end of the mower as it threatens to quit with the massive amount it’s being asked to chop up.  It did quit a couple of times, although it started right back up again, my poor shoulder not withstanding.

I think there were eight or ten loads from the grass-catcher on the tarp when I decided it was full and I should drag it to the road.  Thankfully, it’s downhill.  I dumped two more loads into the dogs’ pool (which we didn’t use last summer).  I did not drag that down to the road as I realized my back was starting to ache a bit and well…  I’ll tie a rope around the lip and drag it down by that maybe tomorrow.  Or later today?

Piper is looking for the leaf pile.

 

It doesn't look like much, but it is.

Side yard looks pretty good!

East side yard looks like crap!  Not worried about it.

Tripp and Tyson playing in the rear of their yard.   The un-done half of their yard.  They love the leaves, but I'll get rid of them Soon!

 

By now I was certain that it must be mid-afternoon.  I’m soaked with sweat and aching, so I put everything away.  What time is it???  12:35?  WTF?  Is that all?

That’s what I get for getting up at 8 a.m. to take Piper to the vet to have her stitches out.

Speaking of Piper, she’s now getting 3, 5mg prednisone pills twice a day and is doing better.  She’s still not herself, the list of medicines she’s on and the schedule for taking them is appalling, but she’s here, she’s up and about (a little) and we’re all happier for it.

She still not eating well, but she is eating – what dog wouldn’t scarf up chicken liver, ground turkey, carrots, asparagus ends and rice? She left the little bit of kibble behind.  Smart puppy!!

So anyway, the dogs’ yard is about half done and I’m done in.  I hope I have energy later to go out and maybe blow leaves away from the fence or mulch some more.  The three ibuprofen should kick in any minute now.  Really, any minute, please.

 

 

Trippy and Tyson playing in the yard.  

 

 

 

Piper's Tale, a Mystery Diagnosis

 

 The long story:

 

Piper is not feeling good.  Some days she’s so sick, I don’t know if she’s going to make it from one hour to the next.  And we don’t know why.  Here’s the tale:

Wednesday, October 28

Piper and I go up to Tufts for her 3^rd and final shockwave treatment.  We get there Early as I mistook the time.  Still, better to be early than late.  She’s only limping a very little bit.  But when she comes out, she’s really loopy and dopey coming home.  Still, not much different than other times.

Thursday through Sunday:  Piper is quiet, as if she’s not getting over the anethesia.  She’s limping a lot (left front), and using the Klimb I made to get on and off the bed.  She’s eating.  But she’s not herself.  Trippy jumps on her and she almost falls over.

Tuesday, November 3

She has trouble getting up in the morning, a lot of trouble.  But maybe she’s just stiff?  Nope, her back end collapses under her and it takes her several moments to hoist herself back upright and slowly walk down the hallway and go outside. 

After I vote, she wants to go out, but she can’t get herself up – her butt collapses under her.  I find a towel and help her up, but let her got out on her own.  Mistake, as she tries to go down the hatchway instead of the stairs and again, her back end slides out from under her and she slides down the hatch to the yard. 

I call Tufts, frustrated and angry.  What did they do to my dog???  They told me to come up, so I loaded everyone in the car and we flew north to Grafton, MA.  When I got there I was informed that the E.R. was full.  I kinda almost lost it and explained that I had called and was told to come there.  Two techs with a gurney came out and got Piper.  Tripp, Tyson and I settled in for an afternoon of waiting in the car.

I walked the boys, played on my cell phone and tried not to worry too much.

They sent her home around 6:30 p.m. with no diagnosis, no prognosis and no recommendation other than “it has nothing to do with her shockwave treatment.”  She had no fever, they ran blood work, all normal; pulled fluid from a lymph node, all normal. 120 miles, and entire day, and NOTHING.

Wednesday and Thursday she was eating but was very quiet.  Not collapsing, just weak.

Friday that changed.  She has major issues trying to move, and doesn’t eat her dinner.  Her back end collapses,again, she’s very weak.  She’s hot, well, warmer than usual.  She looks up at me and I can see she’s in pain and scared and wants me to do something about it.

We go to Bolton Vet.  Thank heavens Dr. Katy Zyra is on and she comes out to see Piper on the leash.  She takes Piper in and determines that yes, lymph nodes are enlarged and she’s running a fever of 103.3,  low grade but a fever.  Dog normal is 102.  She makes an appointment for the surgeon to remove a lymph node for biopsy the next morning.  I bring her home, to bring her back in the morning.  Gave her Doxycycline.

Saturday, November 7

Lymph node surgery goes as planned and she comes home around 4 p.m.  She has no interest in food, although she guards it.  At 8 p.m., we go back.  Dr. Katy sends a tech out with two shots, steroid and something to settle her stomach.  We come home and she lays down in the den for the night. Gave her Doxycycline at night

Sunday, November 8

I swapped out the hard e-collar for a soft one as she hated and cried when bumping things in the hard collar.  The soft one is big enough to keep her from licking the incision on the back of her leg (where the lymph node was removed).  She came into the bedroom bright and early and stood up on the step stool, sticking her head on the bed next to mine and waking me up.  Her tail was wagging and I was hopeful that whatever was wrong was over.

She had a good day, although she was still pretty quiet.  Eating.  Got her Doxycycline.

Monday, November 9

Quiet day, but she eats.  And takes her doxycycline.

Tuesday

Won’t eat her breakfast, but takes her pill (doxy) in a pill pouch treat.  Hand fed it to her.

She lies down in the den and stays there.  (I work outside on the yard most of the day.)

In the evening, she won’t eat again (dry heaves when she went to eat, so she left it). I gently patted her back and she yelped.  I hold her head and rub her behind her ears and along her neck and she feels HOT.  Really hot.  Abby Normal.  I call Bolton. 

As I get her into the car, I accidentally leave the back door open and the boys take off.  My “grands” came over to help me get her in the car, and the girls stay with her while Francis and I head across the schoolyard to catch the boys and bring them home.  Thankfully, they are fairly obedient and did come running to me at the top of the hill.  Leashed up, we walk them home.  Halfway there, Tripp realizes that Francis is holding his leash and turns around, barking “what the hell are you doing with My Leash?!?” Which made both of us laugh.  We all needed that.

Up at Bolton, Piper is running a high fever, 106.3.  At @ 10:20, she had a brief (5 to 10 second) seizure.  Again, no reasons why.  X-rays of her chest and abdomen are taken, Chest is clear, abdomen shows a lot of gas but no bloat.  Blood is still normal. 

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Bolton is stymied as to what’s causing Piper’s issues.  They contact Pieper Memorial Veterinary Hospital in Middletown.  They can do ultrasound and other tests and have specialists in every field.  I transport Piper to Pieper.  They do an ultrasound of her abdomen and find essentially nothing.  Some lymph nodes are enlarged but nothing to explain her symptoms.

They are keeping her overnight and their internal med specialists will look at her on Thursday and if they can’t figure anything more, they will do an MRI of her head to determine if this is a neurological issue.

Already spent over $2500…  Middletown is going to cost between 2300 and 3700…

Thursday, November 12

After Tyson’s class, we drive down to Middletown to visit Piper.  Still no answers…  waiting for the lymph node biopsy. 

The visit is unsatisfactory as “the boys” are total goof offs, it’s raw out and Piper is weak.  I only keep her outside for about 10 minutes, as I don’t want her to get sicker.

Friday, November 13

The specialists decide that an MRI on her head is not necessary.  What they really want is the report on the lymph node.  If it’s negative re: cancer, they feel confident that she has non-typical Addison’s disease.  Basically, in all the tests they’ve run, she’s got almost NO corticosteroids in her system.  That would account for most of her symptoms.  So, now they’ve sent off  for a super serious tick-borne disease panel and are going to proceed as if it’s already diagnosed.

I get to visit her, and I leave “the boys” home, make the back of the car as comfortable as I can and we (Piper & I) spend an hour + cuddling and singing together.  I have the car running and the heat on so it’s not cold and raw even though the hatch is open.  We have blankets and towels to keep us warm and it’s wonderful to snuggle with my Hyper Piper. 

Saturday, November 14

PIPER CAN COME HOME!!!

The report is back on the lymph node.  NO CANCER!  So, she has a-typical addison’s disease which is manageable. 

The list of her medications is ridiculous, and it’s a bit wild trying to keep up with what, when and how to give her the different pills.  She’s on two antibiotics, two appetite enhancers (amazing that my chow hound needs an Appetite Enhancer!), pain meds, prednisone, and something else…  Some once a day, some twice, some before eating, some after… OMG, I need a map to figure this out!

But all that matters is she’s home, hopped up on the love seat next to me without me having to help her, and she’s going to be okay. She didn’t eat much of her dinner, but I’m going to make her some egg, rice and turkey and with the enhancers, I hope she’ll eat breakfast.

It will be some time before we have everything figured out for her, but knowing what’s going on makes everything easier. 

Hyper Piper of Haven is home where she belongs.  We’re all happier because of that.