Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 -- Mattie died 659 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2006. Mattie was four years old and this photo was taken in his bedroom. At one time, Mattie's room was filled with all sorts of his creations. Drawings, sculptures, and even paintings. Mattie was very prolific in his short life. But I am happy he was because all of these items are part of his legacy. 

Quote of the day: Even nice things don’t make you happy when you’re tired. ~ Jo Brand

I woke up today at 7:15am. It was a LATE start for me, but I was too tired to move. Since my dad did not have to be driven to his memory care center, there was no need in my book to get things moving so early. My dad is really flexible about when he wakes up. It is my mom who wakes up at 5am and therefore I feel pressure to get myself moving. 

In any case, in addition to all my usual caregiving tasks, I wrote to Sunny's oncologist and asked him a ton of questions. I was able to review all his test results (which are inconclusive) and we are taking Sunny back in this Thursday for follow up testing. But so far we have spent $4,000 in testing alone, and we are not any closer to answers. Word to my readers, if you own a dog, please consider pet insurance. I am so glad a friend of mine told me about this when we adopted Sunny. Given all of Sunny's health issues over these six years, this insurance has saved us. 

This afternoon, I took Sunny out for a walk. Last week, while balancing the Foundation's fundraiser, Sunny did not get any walks. But walk time is good for both of us and it also gives me the opportunity to see how Sunny is feeling. Needless to say, Sunny is still urinating blood. I was hoping that the antibiotics and anti-inflammatories he is on would alleviate this situation. Clearly it hasn't! 

Meanwhile along our walk, I heard that infamous SOUND again. It is a scream of a fox. I have to admit when I first heard this sound last year, I thought someone was screaming for help. It is an eerie sound. While holding the leash, and keeping Sunny from chasing after the Fox, I recorded a piece of today's adventure. Listen to the sound. 

I am pleased to say that I boxed all raffle items that need to be mailed to winners. I also electronically sent gifts to all the top walkers with the greatest number of steps. So by the end of this week, the administration associated with the raffle and prizes will be complete. Now I can begin to refocus on acknowledgments of donors and gift in kind donations.