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maystoneThat was one hell of a case of jet lag. I'm finally starting to wake up. Unfortunately it's almost midnight, but you can't ask for everything. Heh.
Is there newsiness? Let me think. Oh, yeah! I had an appointment with a neurologist yesterday morning. I like him a lot; he's a newly minted M.D., and he's brimming with enthusiasm and eager for a challenge; he's also looking to put into practice everything he learned in Bedside Manner 101 :) All kidding aside, he listened to me, which is something new and exciting. He also listened to Dar, which I really appreciated, because she's been observing the changes that I've been going through; that has a particular benefit above and beyond my documenting what I feel is happening. Not to sound egotistical, but he also is taking into account my intelligence. As he stated, some of the behaviors I'm evidencing could be shrugged off as lack of sleep in a lot of the general population, but given my past achievements it's obvious that I'm on a progressive downward trajectory.
He noted that I have two different types of tremors going on, which was surprising since I've only been aware of one. He did the physical exam, and I could tell that some things were off a bit. Anyway, he's ordering yet more blood work and - tah-dah! - an MRI. He wants me to have it withing six weeks, so if one can't be scheduled in Ontario, he'll give me a prescription that I can take across the border to Buffalo.
I'm starting to be optimistic about getting to the bottom of all of this sooner rather than later. God, I can't wait to get my life back. There's so much that I want to do again.
I wish that I had loads of fluffy good news to relate, but there's trouble everywhere it seems. Dar's friend, Sean, is still fighting for his life, and it looks as if the next 6-8 hours will be decisive. His body either learns to tolerate the new device implanted in his heart, or else the doctors are going to let him go. He's been beating the odds for about a week now in a nearly miraculous manner; I'm in awe of his will to live. He may yet beat this thing.
We've been following news of a terrible illness that's killing alpacas in the States. I'd only be slightly exaggerating to call it a plague. It's a fast moving pneumonia that presents as a slight cold; the alpacas don't even appear to be all that sick, acting and eating normally. They're dead within hours. The necropsy reports are starting to come in, and it's an interstitial pneumonia of as yet unknown origin. The lungs are crushed by the sudden, rapid build up of liquid (mucous?) around the lungs. It's terrible.
It appears to have started at an alpaca show in Colorado. Or maybe it was California. It appears to be spread by humans, and the worst part is that now it seems to be mutating; there are reports coming in of goats dying from it. The vets are madly working on this.
No one in Canada even seems to know about it outside of Dar, myself, and the other handful of Canadians who are on this particular Yahoo group for alpaca owners and breeders. This is beyond troubling. There's a big alpaca show coming up in Ontario in just a few weeks, and no one connected with it is prepared to take the bio-hazard precautions that are required. Our collective is going to have a booth at the show, and while none of our animals will be there, the fact that this could be spread by human contact is incredibly worrying. Both Cinnamon Girl and Sparky have had major illnesses and their immune systems probably would not stand up to this disease if they came into contact with it. Plus, if this sucker is mutating, neither Dar nor I with our immune system issues should be around it, either. It's a mess, for sure.
I can't end on such a negative note, so let me throw in the possibility of Morse going to a new home tomorrow. Mark is taking him to a meet-up with a potential new owner, and I truly deeply really hope that he impresses this woman with his charm and good looks :) That will leave just Jane and Mirabelle. And I'm hoping that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dumbphilomel's friend will want one or the other of them. We can then bring the remaining cat inside for the month or two that it will take for the shelters to clear up some space. And here, folks, we have the living proof of the old saying, No good deed goes unpunished :) Still, I'm glad that we took them all in, because each of those kitties would certainly have died without love and medical attention. And what kind of world would it be without Miranda, Jane, Morse, and Chloe the Wonder Kitty?
Is there newsiness? Let me think. Oh, yeah! I had an appointment with a neurologist yesterday morning. I like him a lot; he's a newly minted M.D., and he's brimming with enthusiasm and eager for a challenge; he's also looking to put into practice everything he learned in Bedside Manner 101 :) All kidding aside, he listened to me, which is something new and exciting. He also listened to Dar, which I really appreciated, because she's been observing the changes that I've been going through; that has a particular benefit above and beyond my documenting what I feel is happening. Not to sound egotistical, but he also is taking into account my intelligence. As he stated, some of the behaviors I'm evidencing could be shrugged off as lack of sleep in a lot of the general population, but given my past achievements it's obvious that I'm on a progressive downward trajectory.
He noted that I have two different types of tremors going on, which was surprising since I've only been aware of one. He did the physical exam, and I could tell that some things were off a bit. Anyway, he's ordering yet more blood work and - tah-dah! - an MRI. He wants me to have it withing six weeks, so if one can't be scheduled in Ontario, he'll give me a prescription that I can take across the border to Buffalo.
I'm starting to be optimistic about getting to the bottom of all of this sooner rather than later. God, I can't wait to get my life back. There's so much that I want to do again.
I wish that I had loads of fluffy good news to relate, but there's trouble everywhere it seems. Dar's friend, Sean, is still fighting for his life, and it looks as if the next 6-8 hours will be decisive. His body either learns to tolerate the new device implanted in his heart, or else the doctors are going to let him go. He's been beating the odds for about a week now in a nearly miraculous manner; I'm in awe of his will to live. He may yet beat this thing.
We've been following news of a terrible illness that's killing alpacas in the States. I'd only be slightly exaggerating to call it a plague. It's a fast moving pneumonia that presents as a slight cold; the alpacas don't even appear to be all that sick, acting and eating normally. They're dead within hours. The necropsy reports are starting to come in, and it's an interstitial pneumonia of as yet unknown origin. The lungs are crushed by the sudden, rapid build up of liquid (mucous?) around the lungs. It's terrible.
It appears to have started at an alpaca show in Colorado. Or maybe it was California. It appears to be spread by humans, and the worst part is that now it seems to be mutating; there are reports coming in of goats dying from it. The vets are madly working on this.
No one in Canada even seems to know about it outside of Dar, myself, and the other handful of Canadians who are on this particular Yahoo group for alpaca owners and breeders. This is beyond troubling. There's a big alpaca show coming up in Ontario in just a few weeks, and no one connected with it is prepared to take the bio-hazard precautions that are required. Our collective is going to have a booth at the show, and while none of our animals will be there, the fact that this could be spread by human contact is incredibly worrying. Both Cinnamon Girl and Sparky have had major illnesses and their immune systems probably would not stand up to this disease if they came into contact with it. Plus, if this sucker is mutating, neither Dar nor I with our immune system issues should be around it, either. It's a mess, for sure.
I can't end on such a negative note, so let me throw in the possibility of Morse going to a new home tomorrow. Mark is taking him to a meet-up with a potential new owner, and I truly deeply really hope that he impresses this woman with his charm and good looks :) That will leave just Jane and Mirabelle. And I'm hoping that
dumbphilomel's friend will want one or the other of them. We can then bring the remaining cat inside for the month or two that it will take for the shelters to clear up some space. And here, folks, we have the living proof of the old saying, No good deed goes unpunished :) Still, I'm glad that we took them all in, because each of those kitties would certainly have died without love and medical attention. And what kind of world would it be without Miranda, Jane, Morse, and Chloe the Wonder Kitty?
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no subject
2007-10-27 04:09 (UTC)no subject
2007-10-27 20:56 (UTC)Poor 'paca babies :(
no subject
2007-10-27 04:53 (UTC)*love to you all*
no subject
2007-10-27 20:57 (UTC)no subject
2007-11-17 08:49 (UTC)no subject
2007-10-27 05:08 (UTC)I was planning to come up this weekend to see about the kitties, but my friend is ill with the flu or something, and has asked me to postpone when I called her tonight to confirm we were still on. So ... sorry about that, I had been planning it for nowish.
In other news, November was going to be when I did the LOTR marathon, if you were still interested. If not, no big, but if so, let me know what weekends are good for you. :-)
no subject
2007-10-27 21:00 (UTC)I just have to find out when my MRI is, and then I can schedule the LOTR weekend. Woo! Maddie has hers scheduled for tomorrow, so it may be that mine will be on a weekend, too. I should know by tomorrow. I hope.
no subject
2007-10-29 02:45 (UTC)Also, sounds like a plan! I hope Maddie's MRI goes well, and I hope yours gets scheduled conveniently.
*hugs*
no subject
2007-10-27 15:59 (UTC)*fingers crossed that Morse charms the hell out of the prospective owner*
Yay! You found what sounds like a real doctor. Woot.
*tries not to worry about alpacas*
no subject
2007-10-27 21:11 (UTC)