Friday, March 15, 2024

Friday, March 15, 2024

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. Mattie was home between treatments and his friends gave him all sorts of shamrocks and clovers for St. Patrick's Day. Mattie loved the glasses and I remember one day he even wore them to the outpatient clinic. I can't tell you how much a card, gift, or surprise meant to Mattie. Honestly they were the diversions that got us through each and every day. Kindness, generosity and love.... all freely given to us by Team Mattie. Never to be forgotten! In our darkest hour, I got to see the power of community.  

Quote of the day: Dogs die. But dogs live, too. Right up until they die, they live. They live brave, beautiful lives. They protect their families. And love us. And make our lives a little brighter. And they don’t waste time being afraid of tomorrow. ~ Dan Gemeinhart

This photo was taken in March of 2023. Amazing how different a year can look. Sunny was diagnosed with cancer in March of 2022. Throughout his cancer journey, the disease started to truly impact his energy. Sunny spent more time resting, but LOVED being outside. He loved the porch and his backyard, until the VERY END. Sunny wanted to be outside in all sorts of weather, so we bought him a large outdoor heating pad for the couch. He spent so much time in this exact location. 

Now, every morning, I greet the day by looking out at the couch. It is the first thing I do when I come downstairs in the morning. I don't know... maybe I hope to find my boy looking back at me. I remember my beautiful white and tan fellow regaling this spot. 

When you keep in mind the story above,  looked who was outside my window this morning! I miniature version of Sunny. Truthfully at first I had to do a double take. 

This fox has been visiting us now for months. However, this is the first morning, he took to the couch. I noticed the fox did not startle with my noise in the kitchen and given that this was unusual behavior, I was very suspect. 

When the fox turned around to look at me, I noticed he was missing most of its fur, its tail had no fur on it, the fur around his eyes looked crusty and he was constantly scratching. I knew he has Mange. Which is a parasitic infection, like scabies in humans. In fact, Mange is also contagious to humans. I immediately called animal control in Fairfax. The person was lovely on the phone and said she would send an officer to our home. 

Literally 30 minutes later, the doorbell rang and before me stood an officer with a rifle in hand. It was a bit startling. The officer was a charmer. From the Caribbean, knew his wildlife, and we went to the backyard together. Unfortunately the fox was well enough to have sprung off the porch before we got there and we couldn't find him anywhere in the backyard. When I described the physical state of the fox, the officer said, that the fox was miserable and needs to be put out of its misery. We had a lovely interchange and he told me if I saw the fox again today, to call. That he would be right back to help me. Another kind samaritan. Once the officer left, I text messaged my neighbors to alert them of the fox and gave them animal control's number in case they needed it. 

Today was the day I went to the infusion center for my Prolia shot. I frankly did not know how it was going to go. The infusion center is a small space. So there was no where to hide in there. When I walked through the door, I was greeted by a friendly face. It was Laura, the person I had talked to and texted before my appointment. Laura turns out to be the nurse and couldn't have been nicer. I was surrounded by three other people getting infusions. Each one of them was sleeping, that is how relaxed they were. Laura and I had a delightful conversation, she was concerned that I had a good experience, made sure that I was only going to get charge $275, versus $1,500 in my doctor's office, and she even scheduled my follow up six month appointment. Literally this was a MUCH better experience than interfacing with the hateful nurse at my doctor's office. 

While getting my shot, Laura had me sit for 15 minutes. That was my only 15 minutes of peace for the entire day. In a way, that time was a God sent. Unfortunately the rest of my day was very stressful, bordering on upsetting. I am so stressed out that my migraine headaches are unrelenting. Though I am used to terrible head pain, my migraines now present with ear issues. It is the ear issues that make me very upset because I feel pressure and heaviness in my left ear. Any case, tonight I pulled out my rescue drug and lots of Advil, in hopes that this will help.