I have so much to blog about, but just can’t find the time right now. Granted, that’s a nice problem to have; life is full right now and for the most part good.
Among the things I can’t wait to share is the extraordinary weekend Robin and I had in Indianapolis with my friend Josie. Robin and I donated the equivalent of 4 needle biopsies of healthy breast tissue to the Komen Tissue Bank, the only one of its kind in the world. “Our” tissue, “our” bodies (collectively) we are convinced, hold the answer to the cure! I’ll give a head’s up on Facebook when I get this exciting post up. I hope you read it and become inspired to help; we are so close! KC PetConnect is another area I’m dying to tell you about. We’ve grown “leaps and bounds” (pun intended) in the past few months and incredibly exciting things are in our near future. This is a free community service, a non-profit organization founded by my sister TC before she passed away from breast cancer in November of 2007. From what started as a simple promise to TC to keep her legacy alive, has grown into an army of volunteers, fundraising and incredible amounts of pro-bono work by animal lovers and advocates from around the country to make it the “one-stop-shop” for reuniting lost pets with their families. I can’t wait to share all the going’s on with you! ChrissyCan, “my little company that can”… is undergoing a vast and exciting makeover. At 48 years old, I have finally begun to ratchet down what I want to be when I grow up. I’m working on my business plan, my Slogo, I need a graphic artist for my “soon to come” new website and I want to design some really kick-ass business cards. Why? Because “ChrissyCan”!
There is one thing however that can’t wait a few days or another week until I find the time to post. That’s my heartfelt thanks and “Shout-out” to Tucker’s Vet, Dr. Steve Shelor of Spring Hill Veterinary Clinic. Tucker, if you follow my status on Facebook has had a tough summer. He is enjoying the double whammy of bad hips and a non-functioning thyroid. At least twice recently, Mike and I have wondered how on earth we can prepare the kids for yet another lesson in the “Cycle of life”. Dr. Steve has twice gotten him back to “near perfection” regarding health at least; those of you who know Big Tuck are rolling your eyes and giggling at the many memorable moments (aka: naughty behavior) he has exhibited over the last nearly 10 years. Dr. Steve is what I would call a “practical vet”. He’s out in the country, a “farm vet” we call him. Always concerned about Tuckers girth, we tried every kind of “diet” dog food out there. Sharing my frustrations with him on one visit he matter- of- factly told me to stop buying all those over-priced foods, feed him less of what he likes and supplement it with canned green beans. “Green beans?” I said. “Yes, they are full of fiber, will fill him up and have virtually no calories. Feed them to him whenever you think he’s hungry.” I stopped by the store on my way home, bought a case of generic brand green beans and low and behold on Tucker’s next visit to the vet about 9 months later, he was down 17lbs!
The poor dog has also always been cursed with allergies, usually resulting in a painful steroid shot twice a year when his itching resulted in hot-spots. This caused Tucker to have “Roid-rage” for the next 10 days causing everyone in the family to want to take him for a ride in the country and leave him there! Again, at a routine visit I mentioned this to Dr. Steve. He told me he could sell me some pricey canine antihistamine to help Tucker through the allergy seasons, but first suggested I go to Wal-Mart and buy some “Wala-dryl” (not Benadryl mind you, no sense over paying for the exact same product!) and give him one in the morning and one at night. Tucker has not needed a pricey steroid shot since!
And when I say “pricey”… it’s almost a joke. Dr. Steve’s prices are so reasonable it’s worth the 30 minute drive out there. A couple of weeks ago when we ran the whole gamut of tests on Tucker to find out what his latest lethargic behavior was about, was the first time I have ever written a check with 3 digits on it. This included a complete check-up by the good Doc and every blood test you can possibly run on an animal. The only thing it would not rule out is any type of cancer and since he showed no signs of it, Dr. Steve suggested we not “spend the money” on X-rays until we’ve ruled everything else out. How refreshing is that? A mere $110 later, we found out Tucker’s thyroid is barely functioning and a simple and cheap daily medicine is expected to liven him back up. I remember getting his thyroid tested at our local JoCo vet up the street nearly 7 years ago and paying 80 bucks just for that test alone! He wasn’t even sick; the vet just wondered why he was so big. Anyone who knows “Big Tuck” can see the dog is a monster… his head is huge, his paws are huge and his heart is huge. Dr. Steve would never have ordered a test like that back then.
Sadly, the roller-coaster we’ve been on the last couple of months is back down at the bottom with a big hill to climb in front of it. Tucker has been down for more than 2 days now, whining and whimpering… his hips have got the best of him again. Mike is out of town, I’ve been a mess over it vacillating between denial and ministering the dog last rites through sobs. Last night I slept on the floor with him the entire night, if I took my hand off his body he would cry out. I could see his big brown eyes locked on me even in the darkness. No doubt about it, Tucker and I are besties.
This morning couldn’t come quickly enough; the kids and I had contemplated an emergency room vet visit in the middle of the night, but as long as I held Tuck's hand he was calm. I didn’t want someone else who doesn’t know… and love… him telling me the news we are all dreading; I needed to wait for Dr. Steve. And Mikey to come home too. The clock finally struck 6a.m. and Nicky helped me carry the big lug down the stairs. We were both drenched in sweat forcing our bodies into awkward positions in order to protect Tucker’s. When we got to the bottom, I called the vet out of stress and panic… how long can this go on? To my amazement a man answered the phone. “Is this Dr. Steve?” I asked. And it was. He came in early to check on an animal he was worried about and heard the phone ringing out in the office. He knew exactly who I was and more importantly who Tucker was. He doubled the meds he’s taking for his hips, assured me since he’s still eating he doubts there is anything new internally going on which was my fear last night. He told me to give him lots of TLC, get him up to change positions from time to time throughout the day and he really thinks the extra dosage of deramax will do the trick; we just need to be patient. “You are welcome to bring him in, we can do x-rays for your peace of mind, and if his discomfort is too high, we can certainly hospitalize him until we get the condition back under control.”
Those were the words I was looking for. Words of hope, understanding and comfort. If anyone is going to deliver yet another canine miracle to us, it’s Dr. Steve. Tucky and I have wiped our collective calendars clean for the day; we’re spending it on the floor rolling his red “baby” back and forth. Sometimes I catch that look in his big brown eyes and I know what he’s saying. And right back at ya Tuck… no matter what happens, thanks for being the best buddy a girl could ever have.
