Well I am sure by now you get the picture - that I am quite a poorly person. I am told I am clinical complex but I am very good at controlling my illness(es) very well. So when I get a flare up of diverticulitis, I get very upset with myself! I just can not work out what part of my diet changes to then suffer with awful tummy cramps and diarrhoea. Is it my diet or is it all the different medications I have to take on a daily basis - who knows? But what I do know is that I feel so poorly and it hurts a lot. Not made any the better because I am unable to curl up in a ball, like you naturally want to do with tummy ache. I am still in the period of laying flat on my back, so that I do not dislocate my new right hip replacement. Laying on my back causes me more lungs issues; normally leading to bronchitis and now with my sore tummy - well let’s just say I am in a pickle and feeling quite sorry for myself.
But I also have another poorly lady in the house; Hannah, my beautiful dog. Hannah has a bladder infection and probably cystitis - so sore. Even at 14 years and 8 months old, she is a pretty clean lady. But this is the second time she has had a bladder infection and I missed the clues this time. I know I am poorly but I feel so very guilty that I didn’t notice or think about what was happening. She has just had to pee! She goes to the nearest door; front or back door and pee’s on the door mat. She does try to go out. But if the back door isn’t open she can't cope with then finding me to say, “mum now, door NOW”. So we have had a couple of puddles in the last couple of mornings and then yesterday afternoon while I was in bed we had a couple more puddles. I happen to text Poppy late yesterday evening and she came straight back with; I wonder if she has a ‘bladder infection’ - of course, why on earth did I not think. The last time she had it, I was so on ‘it’ that in fact I got her to the vets so quickly that she didn’t even have a temperature! But this time - I failed her. Anyway I rung the vets first thing this morning and got her a 10:30 appointment. Poppy said I didn’t have to go to the surgery but I wanted to go, she is my old lady. As I am still not driving, Poppy came and picked us both up, to take us to our vets but at a different surgery. Me hobbling along on my walking sticks and Poppy having to lift Hannah into the back of the car - what a pair of ‘old’ ladies we are. On the drive to Royal Wootton Bassett Poppy also said, having thought about how Hannah had been on her walks and with hind sight Poppy realised that she was crouching down in a slightly different position. So she felt bad too. What it is to be pet owners - all that guilt, when you don’t work things out quick enough!! Anyways while waiting for Poppy to come and get us, I had managed to catch a tiny bit of urine to take to the vets and as soon as the vet saw the pee; she said, “guys I think you might be right”. The urine was so cloudy and even I thought gosh this is bad. Hannah now has some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories to make her feel better - hopefully. As she has only just had blood tests done, the vet didn’t think they would be required unless of course the medication didn’t make her better in a few days. I do have have to say Hannah has probably at most had the infection for three days but probably just two. So it’s not as if she has been in pain for a long ‘long’ time.
This is all after having had a tiny two minute stroke, three weeks ago and her first (again) tiny stroke last December. We don’t think she has had anymore. I am home with her a lot and both times she has come to find me, to show me what is happening. It seems to be more distressing for us than her because her tail is still wagging all the while, even her gait is peculiar and she sits with her hanging to the left for that very short time!!
But we are getting sad - it is not time yet. And she is doing incredibly well for a Bearded Collie but we do all wonder just how long we have left with her ....
Hannah 04/10/2004 - Present
