Day 3022

Dash was very weak today. Sometimes all he needs is a good night's rest after a bad vestibular episode, but this morning he seemed worse than yesterday. He still seemed disoriented and often had trouble standing on the slick brick floors. There were several times today when I debated whether to take him to the emergency vet, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. We've rushed Dash to the vet numerous times after a vestibular seizure and there was very little they could do. His initial seizure was so severe that he stayed in the ICU on fluids for four days, but subsequent seizures have been milder and the vet just took his vital signs and sent him home again. Traveling in the car is so stressful for Dash that I've decided that it is better to just ride out the small seizures at home.

If Dash doesn't have a fever, isn't panting or in distress, and is breathing normally when he is asleep, I can be fairly certain the the nausea and vertigo he is feeling will pass. Today I didn't feel this confident. In addition to the usually symptoms associated with vestibular disease, Dash seemed unusually weak. He could barely keep his head up. This weakness could mean that the blood clot in his heart was causing problems with his circulation again. The vets at the cancer center have already told me that unusual weakness could mean that his heart isn't pumping properly. Again, what could I do? Other than continuing to take blood thinners, there is absolutely nothing we can do about Dash's heart. Surgery isn't even an option. The combination of vestibular disease and a serious heart problem are kind of a double whammy.

Sitting with Dash and watching him twitch as he sleeps makes me sad. I wish there was more I could do. Dash's vet at the cancer center tells us we are already living on borrowed time, so keeping Dash calm and happy is probably the best treatment we've got left. We're learning to cope with the vestibular disease and are still hopeful the the blood thinners Dash is taking will eventually dissolve the clots in his heart. Something is working. Dash bounced back a little toward the end of the day. He ate about half of his dinner and Janet and I were able to take him on a short walk to the end of our street and back. He is sleeping peacefully now.

I discovered a cool app today that let's you instantly identify plants and animals by pointing your phone's camera at them. This would be great on my walks with Dash. I am always trying to identify birds and wondering what type of flower I'm looking at. I tried to download the app and I got a notice that I would have to upgrade to IOS 11.3 first. No can do. My phone is stuck on IOS 10.3 forever. That apparently is the end of the road for the iPhone 5. It seems stupid to buy an expensive new phone so you can use a free app, but that's how it goes these days. It's all about the software.

Maybe after I pay my accountant for doing my taxes, I'll still have enough money left over to get a new phone. Nah. That will never happen. There's never any left over money these days. For the time being, I'll just continue looking up wildflowers on Google. Some, like the Bluebonnets I saw today, are easy to identify.

I swept all the catkins off the roof today, so the water won't pond when it rains. I also found a suspicious area that might be the source of the leak in the living room. What I haven't been able to do is convince the roofer that my leaky roof is more important than the other leaky roofs he's dealing with. I'll call him again, but I'm not a miracle worker.

I hope Dash is feeling better tomorrow. Today was a rough day.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2610 - Superbowl Sunday

Well, that was a pretty amazing game. I was rooting for the Falcons at first. By halftime, the game seemed like such a mismatch that I almost quit watching. The fourth quarter made me change sides and start rooting for the Patriots. With a comeback like this, they deserved to win. By the time the game was over, I had to admit that this game was almost as exciting at the Clemson Alabama National Championship game last month where the Clemson Tigers won with one second on the clock. Superbowl 51 was one for the record books. Tom Brady now has more Superbowl wins than any quarterback in history. It was the first Superbowl that went into overtime. Even Lady Gaga put on a good show and didn't ruin things with a political rant.

The only disappointment was the commercials.  I've always loved watching Superbowl commercials. They usually represent the very best that the ad agency folks can come up with. This year the commercials were terrible.The current crop of creative folks apparently have little understanding of humor and irony. You could tell that some companies spent a lot of money, but the money was largely wasted. An hour after the game was over, I couldn't begin to tell you what anybody was selling. I do remember an unbelievable fourth quarter performance by the Patriots and a great Superbowl meal. Not a bad way to end the day.

The day started well too. When Dash's doctor called us this morning with an update on his condition, she seemed very upbeat and encouraging. She said that Dash seemed about 40% better than he did the day before. I don't know how they can quantify how Dash is feeling so exactly, but I'll take 40% any day. They are thinking now that high blood pressure might have triggered the massive cluster of seizures that Dash experienced early Thursday morning. Dash had been taking blood pressure medication and we thought his blood pressure was controlled, but apparently it was still too high and may have ruptured capillaries in his brain. Dash seems to be responding well to a change in blood pressure medication, so hopefully any damage he sustained in his cerebellum won't be permanent. The doctors still aren't entirely sure if the seizures were caused by a vestibular event or cerebellar degeneration. Either way it is pretty serious.

I failed to get Dot out of the house this morning before she peed. We are still washing rugs many hours later. Weekends are always the hardest, because we don't keep the rigorous schedule we do on workdays. Other than peeing in the house, Dot had a good day though. She seemed a bit stronger than she did yesterday.

My day wasn't bad either. I was really encouraged to hear that Dash is finally improving a bit. The weather was nice too. The temperature is up above 70 again. I can never figure out Texas weather. Yesterday I was wearing a heavy winter coat and today I'm wearing shorts. Instead of taking advantage of the nice weather, I stayed inside and went to the gym. On the way to the gym, I stopped at the Superbowl Sale I was telling you about yesterday and got a pair of pants and a shirt for 75% off. I don't need pants, but I do like a deal.

I hope Dash can come home with us tomorrow. We miss the little guy. I'm sure things will be different now because it might take months for Dash to make a full recovery. We'll manage somehow. It will be more important than ever to take things one day at a time.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day