Just in time, Some good and bad, 5 Minute Take

Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk to a co-worker who also is an ex-neighbor of mine. We were talking about my old house and how it has been sitting empty for sale for months. He then described just how bad the traffic situation has become since I moved due to the crush of housing and retail they are building in the area now. He said just to make the left turn off our street onto the main road takes around 25 minutes. There is no stop light and a near constant flow of traffic to try to cut into so it is an absolute nightmare. It sounds almost as bad as the early days when Immokalee was a two lane road filled with dump trucks. Back then the commute of 25 miles could take 90 minutes. It’s not back to that level yet but it’s getting there. After hearing the story I felt even more happy that I got out of there just in time.

Elsa had her return visit to the vet yesterday. They checked her heart, blood pressure and did another blood test. The roughly 30 minutes in the office rung up another $400 on my credit card. The news was a mix of good and less than good. Because she has been eating so well she is back up to her normal weight, she had lost a couple pounds when this ordeal started. Her pancreas numbers which were elevated are back to normal as well. However she still has a heart murmur, elevated blood pressure and her kidney values have gone back up a little which were already in the bad zone.

So I talked through the scenarios with my vet. Although Elsa has been eating great for us, the food she is eating is not ideal for a dog with kidney issues. High protein and phosphorus are the enemy of weak kidneys. She wants me to try starting her on a renal support diet. The catch is it has to be something she will actually eat. Food for Dogs has human grade meals that support the kidneys so I am going to get some of it and see if Elsa will eat it. In addition the vet is considering putting her on some meds for the blood pressure because elevated blood pressure is not good for kidneys either.

I would like to make one change at a time to see how she reacts. Get her on the renal food first and see where the numbers fall. That is a big if just because Elsa is so fussy normally with what she eats. We are still initializing her food sessions by feeding her by hand. I told the vet that it’s difficult to change things when she finally is more or less back to normal other than her incontinence returning due to us removing the med to control it. Speaking of that…

As I mentioned in the last entry I sprung into action with multiple layers of leak protection buying in addition to running my washer and dryer nearly non-stop when I am home. Last night I had the two big leak pads on the bed which Elsa was laying on when I fell asleep. Well during the night she must have gotten up and shifted to the point where she was on the edge of the pad, pressed right up against me. She had another accident which resulted with me waking up with a wet pair of shorts and inciting an early morning round of laundry and bedding rotation. Of course it is frustrating but I can’t get mad at her, I just have to keep trying to mitigate the impact. I might try to get her more accustomed to the diapers this weekend.

Last night I shot a quick 5 minute video talking about the ITC filing one of the prominent EUC dealers in the US is involved with. It has created an absolute uproar in the community because it is basically a cash/money grab over a seemingly frivolous patent claim. If you want to find out more details about take a look.

This weekend we will continue focusing on Elsa’s wellness as well as taking in the Super Bowl although I have no rooting interest. I also have my Snapmaker U1 3D printer that needs to be integrated into my office. If I wasn’t focused on Elsa’s health I would have had the printer up and running the day after I received it normally. Oh well, you have to be able to roll with not normal periods of life as they will never stop coming.

Speaking of not normal, I received a notification that 5 years have already passed since my last colonoscopy and I need to schedule another one. I will be procrastinating on that call back for a little while.