He's Back!

Napoleon is finally home! I can't even express to you how much we missed him. Greg and I picked him up yesterday evening after all of Greg's follow up appointments. I now have both my boys back. I'm one happy lady! And I have to say, we have one happy pup! Greg and I were both met with tons of loves and kisses all over our faces. He was SO HAPPY to be home! And he was so cute. All he wanted to do was be on Greg's or my lap, at all times. I thought for sure he'd want to run around a little, but no, all he wanted was snuggles all night long. No complaints here!

Ahhh, life is good. Oh, and a Gregger update...he is doing really, really good. Sodium levels are still up. It was a promising appointment with the neurologist yesterday. Oh, and get this, the resident who did most of the exam is from Phoenix/Tempe. Its always nice to connect with former southwesterners like us. :) Have a lovely day! 

One sick puppy

I've had my fill of my favorite housemates being in the hospital this month. First Greg, and now poor little Napoleon. Tuesday he started getting really sick, and I was getting really worried. Apparently the puppy flu has been going around some of his playmates. Only-he is just too small to handle it! So he has been at the Albany Animal Hospital since Wednesday night. It's crazy how much we miss that little pup! He's been getting good care there though, and he finally turned a corner and started eating yesterday! Hooray! This morning I'm on my way to see him and give him lots of loves. I'm hoping that they will send him home with me, but they might keep him another night just to make sure he is free and clear of whatever was plaguing him. 

 Here he is hooked up to his IV to give him fluids and sugar. Poor guy!

As soon as he saw me the other night, he got as excited as the vet has seen him get, gave me lots of kisses, and just wanted to snuggle. He stayed snuggled in my coat until I sadly had to leave.

 Here he is as his perky self.

To help give you an idea about just how small he is, this is him with a plate sized pancake. Ya- before he got sick we had just gotten his weight up to 3lbs! That was a momentous day! We're going to have to work up to it again I'm afraid. 

If there is one thing he is really missing, other than us and his normal routine, it would be his bed and his toys. He LOVES his bed. And he is a very neat little pup, always collecting his toys on his bed. He never leaves them out around the house. If he sees one out, he immediately picks it up and carries it to his bed. It's the cutest. He is going to be so so happy to get home!

Well, think good thoughts for him that he can come home soon! And have yourself a lovely winter Saturday.

GOALS

Image source.

I have some goals I would like to accomplish this year. Not necessarily resolutions….I’ve not yet resolved exactly what I want to do with some of my goals. And I hate New Year’s resolutions because they never happen for me. In the past, I’ve set these lofty (almost unattainable) goals for myself, never really shared them with anyone, and then once I thought about starting to work on them- realize just how lofty they are and then never even started. So that is goal numero uno! START MY GOALS! I suppose that would include overcoming my fear of failure and success. Yes- I am so afraid to succeed it’s not even funny. Perhaps I should look at each new goal or adventure as a failure adventure- then maybe I’d surprise myself by succeeding and keep up with it! Hmmm, reverse psychology does work wonders for me. 

Here are some goals of mine this year:

1. Don’t be afraid to JUST DO IT!
2. Get better at blogging. This will include posting AT LEAST once a week. This also includes sharing more of our lives with you.
3. Take more pictures. I’ve taken a lot of time off of photography. It’s time to get back into the game and rediscover my creative self.
4. Keep a cleaner house. (who am I kidding really…if you’ve ever lived with me you know. But a goal of mine it is nonetheless)
5. Remember birthdays and send birthday cards. (part one will be easier than part two for me)
6. Finally start learning a new language. I’d like to get Rosetta Stone and learn French. Oui!
7. Get and stay in shape.
8. Go somewhere new in Oregon every month.
9. Take online classes. One can never learn too much.
10. Sew. Learn to use the machine I have and go to town.
11. Branch out in my knitting. With my latest project, I’ve already grown a bit more confident in trying new patterns. I’d like to keep it up.
12. Cook more- and get better at it. Bake more- and really get better at that. Basically, I’d like to do more kitchen experiments (that is usually what my cooking is).
13. Make the Kids Art Discovery Zone at the Corvallis Fall Festival (40 year anniversary this year!) BETTER than EVER!

Well, there you have it. Nothing too lofty.  And now I’ve shared them- so that is supposed to make me want to do them more right? Right. And I can share my progress throughout the year- which will accomplish goal #2- blogging more! Win, win.

Do you have any goals this year?

Knitting for a Cause

I spent all weekend knitting. It was quite nice, I must say- to sit and watch movies all day while my hands were busy at work. I'm not just knitting because I felt like it (which is reason enough, of course), I'm knitting for a cause- for a cure to Type 1 diabetes. The idea was spawned to make a blanket to auction off at the JDRF fundraising gala in May. I had just bought the cutest little pattern to make a "Beekeepers Quilt", so I showed Christine the pattern (she is the administrator of the company I work for, my only knitting partner in crime, and is on the JDRF committee in the Portland chapter).  Well, she loved it, and so the company is buying all of the yarn, and we (and other recruited knitters- hint hint) are going to shoot for 600 "honeycombs" by April. This is quite the undertaking! I don't know, for some reason I thought the pattern would move through a lot quicker. I did finish 6 this weekend..and it went a lot faster the more I completed. I was half thinking-what the heck have I gotten us into- but then recovered and realized that as long as I devoted as much time to it as possible- and especially if I could rope in enough women to make as many as they could- then all would be well. I mean- this blanket once done should bring in a lot o' money honey! It's my secret wish that it would be the highest ticket item at the auction and go for at least 20 grand. (a girl can dream you know!) 

This is now where I try to recruit YOU! Are you a knitter? Do you know anyone who is? Wouldn't it be fun to knit for a cause?! It's totally a service project doing something you like, at your convenience! At the end I would of course show you a picture of the completed project. Plus- I'll provide you with the yarn and pattern- as well as any help you need! Shipping included if you live out of state. Really- I don't mind mailing it to you at all, with a return envelope. I got you covered babe! Or dude- if you are a man and you for some reason reading my blog and happen to knit. dude- i got you covered. (that would be really weird tho) Anyway, I digress....so if you are interested in knitting for a cause/cure, then email me at nrphoto(dot)andrea(at)gmail(dot)com. Knitting for a cause is super awesome- just so you know. Ooh, and if you need service hours- this would use up so many of them! Ha! It's perfect really. 

It Can Only Get Better……

Hello folks! Sorry for the loooonnnngggg absence here on the blog. How boring. I should tell you first that our Christmas was just the two of us, and it was lovely. Who would’ve known that New Year’s would not follow suit? Not me! We are off to a rough start for 2012. Very rough indeed.  Let me fill you in…. (and this is only if you are interested. I have to document this as it is a pretty big deal for us. And if you do continue reading, right now would be a good time to get a snack and drink- for it’s a doozy.)

To ring in the new year of 2012, we went to Bend, OR with some of our friends. The second night we were there- Greg passed out and hit his head, hard. Like, really hard. Why did he pass out you ask? It’s a mystery, but I attribute it to dehydration and long hours of standing with locked knees. This happened on the 30^th. That night I was waking him every 2 hours making sure he knew 2+2 and who the current president is. The next day we went to Urgent Care, the doc there gave him some anti-nausea pills and some IB Profin, said it was probably just a small concussion and watch out for further symptoms.

Fast forward to January 5^th- those symptoms were presenting themselves in a big way. He just didn’t look right! Everyone at his work was concerned, I was concerned, and so I picked him up from work and took him back to urgent care. There, they drew his blood and scheduled a CT scan for that evening. An hour later he got a call from the doctor saying his sodium levels were too low and he needed to go right away to the ER. There, they drew more blood and did the CT scan of his head. His sodium levels were still low (lower) and the CT showed a walnut size bruise on his brain frontal lobe and a small bleed! Huh, what!? Next thing we know they are getting him a room at the Corvallis Good Samaritan Hospital and calling the ambulance to bus him over there.

What we learned was that the brain contusion caused a hormone called ADH (anti diuretic hormone) to be released which caused his body to retain fluid, which drastically lowered his sodium levels. This condition is known as SIADH. Do you know what happens when your sodium levels drop? It causes brain swelling, damage, and death. How do they fix this problem? Very s.l.o.w.l.y. If they raised his sodium too quickly, it would cause a whole lot of problems, including his brain cells shrinking, brain swelling, brain damage, and death. The good news was that he didn’t need any brain surgery due to the contusion and bleed. That would all heal on its own, and was healing.

Greg spent the next 5 nights in the care of Good Sam. He was put on a fluid restriction, had to endure a 24 hour EEG, and getting his blood drawn every 2-4 hours. He looked like a heroin addict -his arms had so many holes. At one point, his sodium had dropped to 110. The normal range is 135-145. YIKES! Even the renal specialist said he was quite worried. Slowly, but steadily, he started to improve. Tuesday (1/10/12) afternoon, he was finally released.

He is doing so good now. He is back to work and more himself. We had an appointment with the renal (kidney) specialist yesterday who said that he looks good, and he doesn’t have to restrict his fluid anymore. Oh, to note on that subject, he was allowed to have about 200 milligrams of water about every 4 hours. He could have drunk that amount in one gulp, but stretched it in small, small sips. So glad he doesn’t have to deal with that now. He is back to work. Hurray! He’s getting his sodium checked tomorrow to ensure that things are still good with the fluid restriction off. Our next step is seeing a neurologist. I’m so grateful for doctors who know what they are doing and communicate what they are doing (for doctors are NOT created equal- so many of them are TERRIBLE – thank goodness for the good ones, and THANK GOODNESS FOR NURSES!). I only had to fire one doctor, and I won’t go into the details, but I will say- if you ever find yourself in the hospital (which I dearly hope you don’t), you do NOT have to just take whatever they say as law and abide. Get a second opinion if something doesn’t seem right. You have the right to fire and hire anyone there. Just so you know.

On the whole, I am just so THANKFUL that he is ok. He lives people! He lives! He must have like 9 lives or something with all that he has gone through medically. He is one tough cookie. I believe in the power of prayer and I believe that helped him pull through. I really don’t know what I would do without him. I love him so much. Did you hear that Greg? I LOVE YOU!!!! No more banging your head OK? :)

So anyway- you are now caught up. All is well and returning to normal. I’ll get back to regular and more fun, upbeat posts very soon!