This is so great:

Although Vader’s voice could use some work!! Love how the Death Star plays Wham! Would write more, but I am off to a holiday cookie party (no matter what city I live in, I can’t seem to avoid these darn cookie parties… lol).

The ULTIMATE way to relax!!

Ahh, sick day

Watching the Dodger’s List educational DVD tonight!

Educating ourselves on IVDD recovery and options. It’s super helpful. We’re so happy to have found Dodger’s List (in fact, someone reading this blog commented and pointed us over there- thank you), it has been a life saver. Everyone on the message board is so informative and caring. Even though there’s an obvious dachshund bias around those parts!

We are in the process of IVDD-proofing our home. Heading to the mattress factory to get SOMEONE an expensive memory foam mattress for his dog bed tomorrow. Now… let me just rant that E and I have an old crappy mattress for ourselves… meanwhile nothing but the finest for the Four Legged Moneypit!!!! Maybe I should develop rapid onset IVDD myself… would that get me a nice fancy new bed?

Behold, our fabulous Christmas present to each other (and most everyone else) this year:

It’s a new back for the dog!

Old dog, new back. There goes the Christmas budget… and then some. Like his new spot under the tree? That’s where he lives for the next two weeks as he rehabs. Crate Rest ONLY. They are very strict about this over on Dodger’s List. No couch cuddling, no floor cuddling, no long car trips. We’re a little worried about his psychological state, however are more happy that his back seems to be doing better. He’s peeing on his own now which is a HUGE RELIEF. He had acupuncture today. I’ll post some photos in a few days.

Cheers And merry merry.

Just a quick update- Linus is “walking” around in his sling. He still has lots of residual weakness and loss of feeling in both feet- for example he still won’t “flip” his back paws around if he lands on the top of his feet instead of the bottom of his pads.

HOWEVER, these are some awesome improvements nonetheless! For example- he wagged his tail (nub, really) the other day!! WHOOO WHOOO We were doing cartwheels of joy around here over that one.

He also was using his back legs to scratch his ears, which was verrrry exciting.

So slow, but steady gains. He also has control of his urine output and bowels, which increased our quality of life (for every one of us!) substantially. The rehab process is long, slow and arduous. It’s not about quick and easy fixes… it’s a lot of hard work for small little gains over drawn out increments of time. Three yards and a pile of dirt, as my dad would say. Still doing physical therapy on him every six hours, and also taking him to acupuncture once a week. He has a meeting with his doggie neurosurgeon tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll have a nice progress report.

I think the biggest thing that’s an issue now is both of us being super paranoid we are going to kill him, or break him, or hurt him further. We have to carry him up and down the stairs a lot since he can’t do them himself. And he’s a 30lb dog! Imagine doing this surgery with a great dane or something. Imagine if I still lived in my former NYC 5th floor walk up! Shesh Carrying him is always a mental worry now… neither of us are certain how “stable” his back is at all. It’s very nerve wracking!

Here he is walking through La Mission on a rainy San Francisco Saturday:

GO LINUS, GO!!

Thank you all for the love, kind words, thoughts, encouragement and support. It means the world and really helps
<3,
cj

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to say thank you for all of the thoughts, advice and good vibes you have been sending our way. It’s really helped reading all of the comments and we’ve learned a lot.

I’m actually away at this medical conference for work this weekend (can you believe it!! arggh stupid rest of life why couldn’t you just pause and let me just handle this one problem without the world still turning!) and Wonderful and Noble Earl is holding down the fort at home until I get back on Sunday night.

LINUS CAME HOME TONIGHT!! He has a littttttttle bit of movement in his right rear leg and sensation in both feet. So that’s great news. According to his surgeon, he could be walking in around 7-10 days, although it might take up to 21 days. In the meantime, we have to give him physical therapy every 6 hours and clean his catheter every eight hours.

Here he is in his “walker” … this is how you walk him you basically hold up his rear end and then let the front legs do the walkin

And here he is chillin out in bed, which is prettymuch ALL he’ll be doing for the next four weeks:

Thank you thank you again for all of the thoughts, advice, stories and vibes.
Ceej

I went with wallowing in a Beer + Sad Expression —> Elicitation of free shot from the bartender:

Rough day.

ROUGH day.

Imagine if you have a window of 20 minutes to answer, “well, you either pay 6k up front right now for this emergency surgery for your dog, or else he’s permanently paralyzed and will have to be put down.”

…. ummm….

6k is a lot of money. Combined with the 3k we just spent on him for his ACL repair, plus the 1.5k we spent on the cat who decided to get two UTIs and infect and rupture her anal glands (yuck)… we’re approaching 10k just on ani-mules for the past 5 weeks. :::exhale:::

How much constitutes “too much?” At what point is the “contract” you have between you and this trusting, loving and loyal soul moot?

At what point are you putting your own dreams aside (Paramedic school, travel to see afar and much missed family) aside to possibly only extend a life by a little? When is a dog just “a dog” and not a member of your family?

How the HELL does anyone make these freaking decisions??!

We decided to do it. “He’s been a good dog.” *cry* But I’ll tell you, it was NOT an easy decision to make.

Linus is under the knife RIGHT NOW and could be in the emergency vet hospital for up to 3 days. We’re allowed to go see him during Visiting Hours tomorrow, from 8pm-10pm. We can bring some special treats and toys. He saw the “best of the best” Neurosurgeon and I’m sure they did a wonderful job. Did you even know dog neurosurgeons existed?

:sigh:

More details of the exact procedure to come… but in the meantime I needed to make a complain-y post to wallow. Grab a Stella and join me and Andrea (((thannnk you))) and I in this cozy booth. My misery right now could use some company.

We love you, Linus!! Heal up fast, Boy.

Hey all –

I was asked to tell you that Courtney killed her computer and it is currently at HP being revived. So posting will be sporadic until her laptop returns.

Today was a busy day!

Started off the morning with Ricky, doing “a symphony of deadlifts.” Basically, deadlifts to warm up, then low rep heavy sets of deadlifts, then dimel deadlifts, and finally we ended with a 90 second deadlift hold. OOF. Afterwards I had a dr. appointment for some pain in my hand, took Linus on walk to the polls (see below photo), conducted a SUPER SECRET ERRAND regarding my beloved’s Christmas present (start early!), went to a cafe and studied for an hour for an upcoming conference, had an acupuncture appointment for the pain in my hand, and finally, picked up and worked an open night half of a shift at work.

Busy, busy! But productive and overall very nice. Voting wasn’t easy; I had to go to a few different polling places because they still had our last address on file. But at least I got a sticker!

In other news, I am giving a lecture on Thursday night at the San Francisco Paramedic Association. I am so excited, however… they opened my seminar up to Paramedics as well! AHHH! Previously, my lectures have only been to the EMT-B students, which perhaps because I am an alumni of their EMT program, is not *all* that intimidating. Now… the fact that I’ll be presenting to Paramedics who could potentially be working alongside right now out in the field…. yikes! No pressure.

Here’s the blurb for my presentation, if you’re interested:

Hey Look, I’m Certified! Now What?

As an EMT or Paramedic student, you’ve taken the first step towards an
exciting and fulfilling career in EMS. In this workshop you will learn
everything you need to know to go out into the field and land a job! These
days the employment market is tough, however armed with these skills the
prepared, motivated and savvy student will be able to procure gainful
employment. Resume building, networking, job hunting strategies, and
interview prep will be covered. Learn where you can take your career with
your new certification, and how to get there.

Please join us for this informative and interactive session while networking
with others wishing to serve as EMS professionals!

DATE: Thursday November 4th
TIME: 5:00pm to 6:30pm
PLACE: SFPA ­ 657 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA

Happy Halloween from Linus the Ladybug!

We are off to the suburbs to go trick or treatins with my cousin’s kiddos. Linus is coming and will be riding around in a wagon! lol.
He’s recovering very well from his ACL surgery, and the vet upped his rehab status to “able to do SLOW 10 minute walks.” hurrah He also mentioned how in the 36 years he’s been doing cruciate repairs that Linus is having one of the best recoveries he’s ever seen.

Well I am off to clean the apartment a bit and then get showered and costumed up.

Happy Halloween, Ghosties!