Sunday, December 21, 2008

A Better Feeling Annie

Joe stopped Annie's medicine last week. He wanted to see if she would act and feel better without it. She has been lying around the house while taking it and many times she just looked at us as if to say "please do something." That was breaking Joe's heart which was the main reason to do what he did.

He didn't tell me until later in the week what he had done. It was probably best that he didn't, although I didn't appreciate being lied to, but I probably would have jumped the gun and shot the idea down. But, now that I see her off of the meds I see a much better feeling Annie.

The bumps that had been sprouting up every day have all but disappeared. Her coat looks normal and she is obviously back to her old self. I agree with Joe that I would rather have her with us for a shorter time if she is going to feel better and have a good quality of life.

She sees Jason Monday and we will tell him what we have done. I am curious to hear his opinion. All I know is that she is back to being herself and is happy. That is all I need to know.

Just this morning she was playing and jumping with her daddy. She has not done that since before she was diagnosed. It was the medicine I needed!

On another note, Joe has taken Stephanie out to the country to start to teach the 17yr old how to drive. She has not shown any interest whatsoever in learning so he decided to take the bull by the horns and show her anyway. She is a bit nervous but I really think that she will get through a lot of that today and will be well on her way to wanting to get her permit. It's really weird to me that she has shown no interest in learning. I was chomping at the bit to drive. So taught me and he did a good job. I had my permit at 16 and 4 weeks later my license.

We'll see how she did when they get home. Although Joe probably won't speak to me because I pissed him off right before they left. I didn't intend to, in fact I said "I don't want to make a big deal out of this" before I made the observation that he hasn't been doing much of anything to help keep the house clean lately. He is retired you know and has tons of time to do more. But he doesn't see it that way. He thinks that Stephanie should do more. She does her chores but I guess he wants her to do the cleaning for him. I don't get it. But that is another subject. I don't want to get started on that crap. I will ramble on all day long!

11 comments:

peanut said...

Dear Trailboss,

I think it is absolutely appropriate to want your Annie to have as close to a normal life while she's here. I believe your Vet will support that decision as well.

Life is too short sometimes - live it to the fullest.

a friend of mine had the same thoughts with her pet. She let her have anything she would eat at the end. Unfortunately, yesterday was her time.

So sorry about your Annie. My heart is with you all.

MichelleSG said...

Annie's bumps may have been an infection taking an upper had and steroids will suppress the immune system enough that it couldn't fight it. That may be why they went away off the meds, her body was able to fight them. Great to hear she's feeling good too!

Kudos to Joe for teaching Steph to drive, my dad wouldn't teach me, he didn't have the guts. I don't blame him. I taught my hubby to drive back in the day, err 19 years ago. He's a speed demon, didn't matter that he didn't actually know to drive just that he went fast. Scared the crap outta me...

Jan Blawat said...

I'm not generally into hocus-pocus cures, but a couple of friends have been giving their dogs with cancer a mixture of flax oil and cottage cheese, and both are doing fine. You can look it up on the internet, I think it's a tablespoon of flax oil to 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese. I don't think it could hurt. XOX

Karen said...

I'm so glad to hear that Annie is feeling better. I'm sure you're doing just what she would want you to -- to have quality time with all of you. It's funny how kids don't seem as anxious to drive nowadays. We were all chomping at the bit to get our licenses. Maybe it's more expensive now to get set up with their own cars and insurance? I don't know, but I couldn't wait for the freedom it brought!

Lou said...

I could not wait to drive either. It was such a grown up thing! Maybe it's good your daughter is not in such a hurry to be an adult.

Daniela said...

YOu know what? My oldest son wasn't interested in driving either. He didn't get his license until he was almost 20. By that time, I was begging him to drive.

You are doing absolutely the right thing by Annie. I have counseled many clients in my career about quality vs. quantity of life. I believe that when animals have more bad days than good days, then maybe it's time to start making the hard decisions. But if she's happy and comfortable, then good for her...and YOU.

Scott W said...

What was the name of that place out on the Beltline with all the driveways where I taught you to drive? I remember it had a lit blue sign.

I know it does your heart good to see Annie back to her self. Just keep lovin' on her.

Trailboss said...

I don't remember what the name was So, but it is really close to where I work now. If you were to stand in the parking lot there my place of employment is almost directly behind it but across the loop. About 4 city blocks away. Ironic huh?

It does do my heart good to see her so happy and feeling good.

Andrea said...

I think it's good that Annie will be able to feel like herself. I think it's a good decision. I am glad that she is feeling better. She and her sister used to have so much fun playing around in the yard together. I can't wait to see them play some more.

Syd said...

Good for Annie. I hope that she continues to love life. And Joe has lots of patience. I remember my dad giving me driving lessons. I finally took driver's ed.

Krystina said...

I am so glad to hear that Annie is feeling better!