(Annie sitting on my unmade bed and modeling the cap I won from the Golden Retriever booth at the Dog Show last month.)
On Wednesday morning, I took Annie to the vet to have a cyst removed from her neck. The minor surgery went well, but the recovery hasn't been fun for either of us.
On Wednesday night, we had another round of storms, which sent Annie marching throughout the night despite the fact that she was still somewhat drugged and couldn't walk in a straight line.
The next morning, all seemed well. She kept down her food, so I started her on the pain medication. Big mistake. When I came home from work and took her outside, it quickly became obvious that she wasn't feeling well. I won't go into details because some of you may read this after eating a meal. Suffice it to say that we made numerous trips outside that evening, and then she proceeded to get me up every two hours during the night so that she could go outside and be sick.
Friday morning, we went back to the vet to get some answers and some relief. Apparently, her sensitive stomach doesn't tolerate pain meds. So, she's on some other pills to get her digestive tract back to normal. She's getting back to her normal self, slowly but surely.
In the meantime, I've played the game of second-guessing myself. Was it a smart idea to have her cyst removed? After all, she was totally fine before the surgery. Will she have any lasting effects from the pain meds (i.e., did they do any permanent damage to her insides)? Who knows. All I know is that this game doesn't produce answers, only more fears and concerns. So, I must live with what's been done and make the best of it.
I also now have a greater appreciation for working moms who take care of children in the middle of the night and then have to get up and go to work the next day in spite of the sleep deprivation. Thankfully, I have the weekend to catch up on the lost sleep from Thursday night. And, I guess I'll store this week's little "parenting" adventure with the one I had last fall in case I ever need to draw on them in the future.
Have you had any interesting parenting adventures? If so, I'd love to hear about them.
4 comments:
Oh, I'm so sorry Annie is sick! That has to be tough on both of you!
We've been sick here this week, too. Both of mine have kept me up at night with coughs and ear infections. Mark works out of town during the week, so I understand the single parent thing, too - although I do have help on weekends. Also, I can always pick up the phone and say, "I'm calling Daddy," if their behavior gets to be more than I can handle. For some reason, that usually does the trick.
Does that make me a tattle-tale? :-)
Love to you and Annie!
--r
The middle of the night can be really rough, especially when you have to wake up the next day and punch the clock.
But it never seems hard, when you look at that little face that's relying on you to make them feel better, take the hurt away, or chase away the nighttime boogey man. You'd do it a million times over, and never sleep again if that's what it took to help them and take away whatever's causing them pain. You'd gladly take it on yourself, if you could only make them feel better.
R - She's doing great now. Thanks for sharing your love!
A - That's a beautiful word picture of the selflessness that I think of with parents. Sounds like you're a pro!
Sorry about Annie. We used to have 2 Goldens. Loved them dearly, both, insanely taken early from us. My most horrific adventure was flying to GA with Julia (12 months old) and without Jeff and she NEVER stopped screaming until we landed and then she promptly fell asleep so then she had to be carried. Come to find out, she had an ear infection.
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