It's seems like it's been almost forever!

[bubba]

First we were on vacation, then were barely back after Christmas when I had to take my husband into urgent care. From there, he was referred to have and MRI done two days later, and we were at a neurosurgeon four days later and a thoracic surgeon two days after that! He has a large tumor in his spinal column and chest cavity. The neurosurgeon was able to remove the part in his spinal column on 1/24....and it was benign as they expected it would be. He goes in for the second half of the surgery next Friday, the 17th.

Througout it all, the dogs have been wonderful. As I now have a hospital bed in the living room and that is where my husband is spending most of his time these days, the dogs will gently jump up on the foot of the bed and lie down next to his legs...at times inching up just far enough for a scratch on the top of their head! Yoda takes his favorite toy over and drops it next to the bed on the floor, I think he thinks he is leaving dad a present!

Today was a funny day for Cooper. This morning I was eating the breakfast of champions - POPCORN - and the dogs sit and wait for me to toss them their fair share. I was not in much of a sharing mood as I have been quite sick the past couple days with a cold, wandering around the house w/a mask on so my husband won't catch it. Anyway, I gave in to their beady little eyes and tossed them each a piece, making sure one was on my right and the other on the left. Well, Cooper's piece went into my tennis shoe. He didn't see where it had gone, but after he sniffed it out he stuck his nose in there as far as it would go and was pushing w/his back legs as hard as he could (his front feet came off the floor...it was so funny!) and still he couldn't get it. Of course, I was too busy laughing and wishing the camera was within reach, but finally I reached down and helped the poor guy out. I could not believe how hard he worked trying to get that!

Then tonight, we couldn't find him. My husband finally located him in the upstairs bathroom where he had hopped into the bathtub. We have an old fashioned cast iron four footed tub, so it sits quite high above the floor. He had pulled my pajamas which I had left on the side of the tub in with him and was curled up and sound asleep....again, no camera at hand! Earlier this week, we couldn't find either one of them. It was one of the days I was really ill. I thought my husband had let them out into the backyard, but they were nowhere to be found. I was just getting out of my pajamas and into some street clothes to go looking when he found them in the downstairs bathroom....the toilet paper was even still intact!! I was amazed. However, the towel lost. It's funny how you can tell who the culprit is just by picking the towel up.....the way they skulk down as close to the floor as they can get thinking, 'I must be blending in, I must!' as they make their way to their crate.

What would we do without these guys? It's been fun trying to catch up over the past four or five weeks, but I think it's going to take me quite awhile!

pat, cooper and yoda.

[wellygoggles]

Sending many blessings your way to you and yours, and yes, thank God for our little guys who make our days When I get depressed and down about my illness, my little guy tunes in and stops behaving atrociously and gives me lots of kisses - how does he know?

May you and your husband receive many such kisses

[CarCarDawn]

Hi! Sending only good things your way . . . My little one always puts a smile on my face especially when you think there's not much to be happy about!! He's actually better than any medicine I could take!!! ~ ~ ~hang in there!!

[tlwtheq]

My heart goes out to all suffering illnesses. I will say extra blessings for you tonight, as in a part of the Jewish worhsip service called Mi Shebeirach...a blessing for those in need of healing. You will be in my prayers as I light my candles.

I also have fond memories of my Shadow, who could be very cantankerous indeed, being there for me in a quiet loving way in times of pain and grief.

B'Shalom,

Tara, Olie and Teddy's Mom

[savannahsmom35]

Good to hear from you again! We will definately be praying for you and your hubby and hoping that you both feel better soon. Sometimes I think that these guys can really tell whenever we are feeling sick or down and they try their darndest to make us laugh and feel better again. It is hard not to smile when you see a Cairn with his head in your tennis shoe!

[toomanypaws]

My thoughts and prayers are w/ you and your dh during these trying times. I believe the secret to healing is having a Cairn or two in your home to warm your heart.

[Tracy A.]

Wow Pat- sounds like it's been rough. Glad to hear that your babies are keeping everyone laughing.

Hoping for a speedy recovery for your Hubby- and not more colds for you.

Tracy

[Eliz222]

Pat, ((HUGS)) to you and your hubby. You both sure have been through alot! Cairns are a great source of comfort and company....and always there when you need a good laugh!

[tena]

Sorry for your troubles of late, I'm glad the critters are there to ease the stress.

[brin145]

My prayers are with you guys, Pat. Especially on the 17th. And for Cooper's sake, I'll pray for better aim with your popcorn throwing arm.

[bubba]

This nursing gig is hard work!!! I applaud anyone who does it for a living, but then you'd say the same about my job too! Thanks for the kind words and thoughts everyone sent our way. Surgery is going as planned for tomorrow. The worse part is the drive back and forth to Seattle, as we live in Tacoma, and anyone who lives around here can vouch about Seattle and it's traffic! Last time he was up there, the average drive was about an hour and ten minutes and it is only thirty miiles! Coming home is much faster though, as I usually did that drive late at night.

I'll be missing in action again.....have fun w/your dogs!

pat.

[tlwtheq]

Take care, good luck and God bless.

Tara, Olie and Teddy's Mom

[savannahsmom35]

We will be thinking about you and your family. Please give us an update after the surgery!

[tena]

Good luck....

[maggie]

Wishing you all the best!

[Eliz222]

Pat, wishing you and your DH the best.....you both are in my thoughts and prayers today.

[CathyAnn]

Pat....just wanted you to know that you and hubby are in my thoughts and prayers.

Please post an update when possible.

Cathy

[bubba]

Again, thanks for the kind words. Yesterday we were at the hospital before the daylight came out! This surgery went well, it took only 1.5 hours as compared to the five hours the last one took. The surgeon says he is confident everything is now gone. Hardly any blood loss and no transfusions (last time, he lost three liters, and a body only have five of them!). Again, it was benign. Roger is in a lot more pain this time....either because of the deflation of the lung, going thru the ribs, or the chest tube. All I know is he was not a happy camper, even with his little morphine button.

Shortly before I came home last night, they brought him a roommate. The man was large, very large. And he snores quite loudly. The kicker is he then starts giggling in his sleep which wakes him up. I made a quick getaway wishing my husband a good nights rest - hahahahahahaaa!!!!! When I got home last night, the poor dogs had to search high and low for dad....drove them nuts they couldn't find him. To top it off, it was quite windy here and it seems we lost power. I think my monitor in my office is fried and I can't get my computer to turn off which I don't understand. Hopefully my guru will be home soon to help me!

Thanks again,

pat.

[Eliz222]

Thanks for the report, Pat. I'm glad everything went well with your DH. I wish he didn't have any pain, but it sounds like they have it under control. That's great news that the tumor was benign...what a relief this must bed for you! How long will he have to stay in the hospital? Remember to take care of yourself too.

[Scully'sMom]

From my family to yours, please know many prayers and good thoughts are headed your way.

[bubba]

Thanks again.....the doctor said if he felt up to it, he could come home today. I'm glad he didn't feel up to it since tonight just as I was getting ready to drive home, he got really bad and was having trouble breathing and catching his breath. Boy...do nurses ever run quick when you run out into the hall and grab the first one and tell her your husband is having difficulty breathing! They had two nurses with him for about 30 minutes, called the doctor at home, had an xray technician up there for chest xrays and everything. Apparently when they deflate your lung, not only is there a huge risk of pneumonia (which we were aware of), but there is also a huge risk to get an infection in the lining of your lung. If that is anything like the pleurisy I had last fall, he really doesn't need that! As it goes, he will be in the hospital for a bit longer yet, but that is the best place for him. Heck....my car knows how to get to Seattle and back on it's own now!

pat.

[savannahsmom35]

Hope that he is feeling well enough to come home soon! I am sure that the pups miss their Daddy like crazy!

[tlwtheq]

Pat,

It looks as if things are improving for you and your DH. Just take it one day at time and rely on your fur babies and on us to help.

Hopefully your hubby can come home soon...I can speak from personal experience that getting a good night's sleep in the hospital is impossible. Even if you don't have a noisy roommate, they wake you up every 4 hours to take your vitals.

Please keep us posted; you'll be in out thoughts and prayers.

Tara, Olie and Teddy's Mom

[bubba]

Hello all...

My husband got to come home late afternoon. They think that the cause of the breathing problems was because he got off the schedule for his pain pills. They said that night that he had not requested them. I told them that three weeks ago when we were there, they brought them to him every 3-4 hours. It was then that they told us the orders said he was supposed to request them when he wanted them, however, nobody bothered to tell us that until this happened! Needless to say, I was not very happy and neither was my husband.

He is home now, in his hospital bed in the living room, being watched by me and the dogs and happy to be on drugs every three hours!!!

pat.

[Tracy A.]

Hi Pat:

Glad to hear Hubby is home!

Years ago my father had a lung deflate, he acted like it hurt badly -truth be told my father is a bit of ahhhh ahh baby when it comes to pain- so my Mom and I have sort of discounted his discomfort (sounds bad of us doesn't it?), but through his sickness' I do know that Morphine maybe doesn't kill the pain, but they won't remember being in pain-- I do know that once a marriage goes through a long term serious illness, it makes you appreciate eachother (or as my mother would say, I didn't kill him - eventhough more than once I wanted to- that's her way of saying she loves him- lol) And Laugh any chance you get.

Tracy