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Well....I got a friend request and logged into my renspace this morning, and realized that the last time I posted was the day I found out I was to have surgery.  That happend yesterday.

It went well I think.  I didnt talk to the Dr afterward, but there was very little pain in recovery.  I was pleasantly surprised by this.  the nurses were all laughing at me.  I was all - it doesnt hurt...it doesnt hurt and they were uh.........okay sure.

 

I remember having my stomach surgery which I totally DIDNT expect to hurt and waking up in recovery moaning about the immense pain I was in..that was a shock!  so when I woke up from them scraping around inside my HEAD for goodness sake - and there was no pain, I was really happy!

 

The only real pain I feel today is around the bottom of my nose.  Likely from being stretched to fit instruments inside.  They aparantly put in some foam packing somewhere, and I have to cal today to make an appointment to go in and have that removed next week.

 

Evereything tastes funny.  I hope that is just a side effect of the drugs they have me on, but somehow I doubt it.I can breath again and that's lovely!!  I cant bend over, and I cant lift anything...but that just means I take advantage of the lovely men in my household....as if I didnt do that already!

 

I have a little swelling in my cheeks and nose and I am getting two black (or really more like yellow/brown) eyes.  I dont think you would notice if you didnt know to look.

 

YEAY - with recovery like this - I will definately be able to go to Fairey Festival this weekend at Coopers Lake, PA!!! - now...I just have to decide....do I go as a fairey - or a pirate?!!?!?!?!?! 

 

 

I havent posted in a while. I've been sick, and busy.

but...so...I went to see the ENT specialist today. Guess what....it's fun surgery time!!

I guess I havent had a surgery yet this year, so I was due I suppose...but this does not sound like fun.

heres what they're doing: bilateral sinus endoscopy with maxillary antrostomies, removal of contents, anterior, posterior ethmoidectomies, frontal sinusotomies, sphenoidotomies, with navigation, possible septoplasty under general anesthesia

I am told that the recovery time is minimal, and that I can be back to "work as usual" in two weeks, with no heavy lifting for a month. (means that someone will have to haul the EZup in and out of the car for me at fling, and cary my suitcase.)

I found someone's blog on line that said that he was pretty much fully recovered in two weeks with minimal discomfort, but it still sounds like an exploration in torture to me.

they are going to go in and cut away parts of my sinus, theres a posibility that they can cut too far and expose the brain, theres the posibility that the fluid around the brain can leak out through your nose. that to me sounds strangely sci-fi. You can get an infection around the brain, and/or within the sinus areas that they'd have to go back in to suck out...but other than these few things, there's not alot of other risk.

It will also probably keep me from getting these  sinus infections in the future. I've been suffering with sinusitis since I was small. Every year I get a sinus infection that yeilds gallons of green glop which drips copiously from my nose. There is a good chance that I will no longer suffer from allergies either.

OH and - Im not showing a mold allergy any longer, and no food sensitivities either. This is strange to me because I have ALWAYS had problems with mold. dunno...my body has a mind of it's own....

well...now it's time for a nap!

so - whats the button about hez?  yeah..well...heres the thing...

Do you remember hearing about the 10 week old Australian Sheppard/ Sheltie puppy my mother adopted from Katie's Rescue?  She found them on Petfinder and applied to adopt a puppy from their shelter in West Virgina.  When we got her, she was very very sick, having been abused and neglected.  She turned out to be an 8 month old not Aussie/sheltie that had a severe upper respiratory infection and she has been taking antibiotics ever since she got home.  

I have been working day and night to file charges against the shelter and the woman we got the puppy from:  Carrie Bay Green, but it's West Virginia, and the shelter's hard to find and no one seems to be able to help us.  Katie's Rescue has 50 some dogs listed for adoption, and many claims of abuse and neglect (and worse) against her by many people.  So I am trying to get someone to get in there and Vet check her animals at the very least, but she's very rural, and very wily and we've been getting no where fast.

I've spoken to senators, humane officers, FOHO, Attorney Generals offices and people all across the country and found out that the problem of animal abuse, neglect, torture, and ring fighting is everywhere....we just happen to have gotten a great big taste of it in our puppy:  Maggie.

Well, after being on the antibiotics for several weeks, Mags was still coughing, so mom made an appointment to take her in for X-rays of her chest and lungs.

Maggie went for that today.  I took her at 9 am.
they MADE me drop her off, because they claimed that it would cause her more undue stress to have to come up and get her from me in the lobby, run her down for the x-ray, bring her back up...I think they just didnt want to be bothered...but I agreed and left her there, and walked out crying.  

They assured me that she would be well cared for, and that nothing about their facility would even come close to anything she saw in WV, and that she would NOT have flashbacks to the abuse and neglect....but I still cried.  I dont like leaving her and seeing her scared puppy face as the woman she didnt know took her away just turned my heart!

so - she was there to get her X-rays.  Maybe now we'd find out whats going on with her I hoped.  She has still been coughing alot, but her other symptoms have pretty much cleared up and she's starting to act like a normal dog.

Well, at 11 they called me to pick her up, and I went in to find out that our bill was more than double what they had quoted at a final tally of $148.50.  Keep in mind that this is the fourth visit to the Vet in nearly three weeks and shes already gotten three prescriptions of different medications in addition to the 125.00 adoption fee that my mother paid to Carrie Bay Green at Katies Rescue.

The vet took two X-rays, did blood work to check electrolyte chemistry, and did a routine EKG which had to be sent out to be read.

what did they find out you ask?  

The vet took me back into the room and showed me the X-rays.  It turns out that Maggie has an enlarged heart that appears to be rubbing on her diaphragm.  When she sleeps it's probably pressing on her windpipe making her cough.  when she plays and romps, it probably beats harder and presses ....making her cough.  Her upper portion of her heart is somewhat enlarged, and the lower part is much larger than it normally should be.

While the vet says there are medications that she can provide so that the cough wont be so bothersome, I am still rather devastated.  I love this dog already, and I dont want to loose her.

Good points are:  a.) she's nearly full grown, so the chances of the heart getting much bigger are slim  b.)its not heart worm or some incurable illness that is going to kill her in a few weeks  c.) There dont appear to be any murmurs or arrhythmia.

The report on the EKG will come in tomorrow and they will call mom.  As long as that is okay, she might be alright for a while.

The really down side to all of this is that they NEED to do an Echocardiogram within the next 4 months (prior to her 1 year birthday) and that is going to cost 350.00.  We do not HAVE an extra 350.00 in addition to all of the current vet bills, and the ongoing medications that she will need.  It's also going to be time to spay her soon and I'm not entirely sure we can do that with this health concern looming over her head like this.

remember that button? 

yeah - thats what the button is about.  I am asking everyone to distribute the information about maggie, with the button and my information:  email:  Artsywench at Gmail dot com.  My name is Heather Yanyo and you can reach me by phone at 412)835-1838.

If you can donate anything that might help mom with her care - we would appreciate it so very much!!


yep...thats what the button is about!

just because I couldnt come up with a subject line.  thats why.

 

so - it's finally quiet.  I got my house back.

Bill's called me twice since he left an hour ago.

ugh

I went to see a great dane yesterday that was up for adoption.  she's 3.  she's sweet, but they wanted 200.00 for her adoption fee.  I asked them if they could do anything to make that go away, and instead of replying to my email, they relisted her on craigs list.  fuckyou then.

 

sunday was a pain in the ass.  inlaws and stepbitch were here.  I forgot how much I dislike that girl.

she was worse than she has been lately, and I was glad when she left that I was busy cleaning up the food in the kitchen.

 Eric didnt show up or call, how unusual - what.a.jerk!  why does this surprise me?  

 My mother supplied a lot of comfort though...great birthday gifts:  my tomtom so I wont get lost no mores, a great outfit from india for renfaire, granny weatherwax and nanny ogg figurines which you caint get no wheres! and my expensive shampoo and hairspray that I so cant afford but love.

my father in law gave me a gift card to kholes.  I've never been to kholes.  whatthefuck is kholes?

 

In general - It was an annoying day filled with stress and I dont want to celebrate my birthday like that again.

 

this friday is my birthday party though!  Im trying to come up with a good "superstitions" theme...but well....being a grouch...im having a hard time getting inspired.