"Nailed" with a Guilt Trip

Yesterday, I woke up in a fairly good mood. It was my big "meeting" day at work (happens monthly). I was looking forward to wearing my new outfit. Fate had different plans for me, however.

The first thing to greet my nose upon waking was the smell of poop! Ugh! Both of our dogs are crate-trained and sleep in their "night nights". Well, I thought it was the smaller of the two dogs, Brandie, since she's had issues with this before. I took her crate apart from the top and out she went...no poopie in sight. So, I opened Autumn's door and sure enough, there was runny poop smooshed inside. I ended up carrying her outside to do her business which consisted of more diarrhea. I then came in and cleaned her cage and got ready for work. Meanwhile, Brandie & Autumn were outside on the deck.

I came back out and noticed that Autumn had "leaked" in several spots all over the deck. Let me back up a little bit. For the past two days, JD and I have been gone during the day because they gave him the day shift at work. The poor dogs are along all day. While at work, I had given them a couple of toys to keep them entertained. Well, Autumn had shredded one of the rope toys. This concerned me when I saw the problems she was having out the rear end. And, when I saw her vomiting up phlegm, I decided to call the vet. Needless to say, they felt I needed to bring her in. Since they couldn't get me an appointment, they advised that I bring her in to the emergency room.

I called work and told them I would be late as I attended to my furry child. We then went to the vet where Autumn got to see Dr. Fitzgerald (a.k.a Fitz) at Alameda East. She instantly seemed better the second we walked in the door. She was excited about the attention she got from the staff and others inside. And, seeing other puppies and kitties was the icing on the cake. Dr. Fitz felt that she needed to be x-rayed because he was concerned with her "eating" a rope toy. She was a little apprehensive to go back. Not too much later, he came and got me and wanted me to see the "pictures". Lo and behold...nothing there! That was good news...but, that was definitely a pretty penny. He decided to send her home with a prescription for Flagyl and a couple of cans of I/D "Mush" food. And, $300+ later we were on our way home. I called work and told them I would be in between 12 and 12:30 after I got home and got Autumn settled.

While I was getting changed, I let the dogs play on the deck (after giving Autumn some of her food). No poopy...sigh! I just knew that meant coming home to a mess. Anyway, I then felt it was time to head to work. It was around 11:30 am. I normally where dress shoes at work, however, I usually wear flip flops to walk from the parking lot to the building. I stuck my rubber flip flops on and was on my way. Halfway through the garage, I felt a "stick" in my foot. I thought that perhaps I'd stepped on a sticker, or maybe a thumbtack (though I had no idea why there'd be one outside). I looked down and to my horror saw this.





What exactly is that you might say? Well, here's another picture....










Just in case you can't tell what that little dot is on my flip flop or what the "metal" thing is between my flip flop and foot, here is an "after picture"!


















And, here is the evil "culprit"

Yes, somehow my "almost naked" foot found a nail in our garage. I looked down in horror but somehow managed to stay calm. My first thought was, "I need to pull it out but how?" And, then I began to think about that night's meeting and how I really couldn't miss it. And, then it was back to the foot again. I saw a lady and her two kids across the street at the mailbox, but I didn't want to yell at them. Instead, I hopped on one foot towards the door leading into the house. I closed the large garage door and proceeded to call JD. And, that's when I broke down in tears. I wasn't sure what to do and the pain was starting to set in. The only neighbor I know was at work, and I don't know anyone else in the area. JD said that he would try and get out of there to come home and help.



I then called my work and talked to T.A. She thought I should call my doctor, but I had no way of getting inside to look up her number. I couldn't even get in the house. If I tried crawling, it would have jarred my foot and made the pain more intense. T.A. managed to get my physician's med assistant on the line. She told me I could remove the nail but needed to clean it well and cover it up. I would also need to go to an Urgent Care (since I couldn't get out there) and get antibiotics and a tetanus shot. The ironic thing...an Urgent Care just opened up in our neck of the woods two days prior. I had the phone number, but it was on a magnet on my fridge...up the stairs. I tried calling information, but they didn't have it listed since it is so new. The only thing I could do at that point was wait.

I called my parents and talked to them for a bit. Mom was worried I was going to black out. At that point, I think I was being a bit cynical. JD was on his way home so I just had to wait. I thought about playing Tetris on my cell phone...ha ha...Tetris before Tetanus! I thought it was funny how I now knew a way that flip flops could stay on while riding rides at amusement parks. Finally...about 20 minutes later (40 minutes into the ordeal), JD opened the garage door. We decided it would be best if I left the nail in the foot and had the physician pull it out. The next thing was to get me from the garage out to the car. I leaned on him and hopped on one foot as best I could. My foot then hit something and it dug the nail in a bit deeper. AARGH...that's when I bit JD on the shoulder! He was none to pleased!

At that point, he got the cooler out so I could sit down. I told him that we should just remove it. He got these huge scissors (tinsnips he calls them) and tried gnawing away at the rubber. And, it didn't give. He got some other scissors and still had a hard time. Finally, he got one side cut and started working on the other side. And, in doing so, he kept moving the shoe which moved the nail which was still inside my foot. I won't tell you how that felt, but I wasn't happy. And, at this point, I felt as though I was going to pass out. Then, I said it..."let's just do it!" On the count of three, "one...two...three...aaaaaagh!...(it was out)....wait, that didn't hurt!" Let's just say, even though my foot was in shock, it felt much better with the nail out of it. James figured the nail was in at least a Centimeter (maybe more). There was very little blood thankfully. We then drove to the Urgent Care. I got my tetanus shot, my oral antibiotics, and I was on my way. My bill was much cheaper than Autumn's.

After the doctor, JD and I went for a hamburger and shake. I decided that I was way too wound up to go in to my meeting. And, there's one thing I need to point out...I literally plan my life around this monthly meeting. So, for me to miss it was pretty HUGE! JD wasn't going back to work either. Instead, we both went home and crashed for a two-hour (much needed) nap. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. Miraculously, Autumn was 98% back to herself...go figure. I think that her "episode" was perhaps just one BIG expensive guilt trip! And, to top this post off...here's a picture of the "golden child"!

A Lazy Sunday!? I Think Not

So, this morning I woke up and remembered that Archie, my diabetic cat, is almost out of his insulin. I thought, "this would be a good day to do a glucose curve since I won't have time during the week." The last time I had called to get more insulin, they needed to see him and wanted to curve him, etc. It costs an arm and a leg to take him in and have this done. We have three other animals (another cat, Sophie and dogs, Brandie & Autumn), so we seem to visit the vet quite often. It is a good clinic although probably one of the highest priced. We (well, Brandie & Autum) also go to their Doggie Daycare once in awhile. Needless to say, they get lots of money from us! Sidebar: If you've ever watched Animal Planet, you may have seen Dr. Fitz on Emergency Vets. He practices at Alameda East. One of our dogs, Autumn, has actually been seen by Dr. Fitz a few times. Anyway, my thought was that maybe his doctor wouldn't give me the hassle of having to see him if I did a curve on him at home. So, I got the glucometer and lancets out and then opened the test strips to find that there was only one left...Aargh! It is going to take at least six to do a curve, and that's only if I do it right the first time for every blood draw (I knew that wouldn't happen).

I called JD at work (he works the graveyard shift) and asked if he could stop at the 24-hour Walgreen's and pick up more test strips. I thought for sure that I specifically stated "24-hour" since it's Sunday and most pharmacies don't open until 10 am. After hanging up with him, knowing that he was going to stop, I did the first blood draw (successful the first time I might add). Archie was very cooperative and his glucose reading wasn't too bad...a little high...but I know we have all day to play with. And, at the time of the first draw, he had only just received his first dose of insulin (he takes it twice a day). JD got home about 15 minutes later and said, "Walgreen's pharmacy doesn't open until 10 am." Okay...I admit it...I let my frustrations take hold because I know I specifically pointed out, "24-hour!" I was just silent as he went on to talk about something else, and then he could tell I was upset. I know he was tired, but damn, I specifically pointed it out. So, as he was brushing his teeth, he made a point to tell me that I wasn't being "grateful". I felt bad for that because he was right, I wasn't being grateful. Instead, I was secretly breathing hard. He's always the one to tell me to pay attention. Sigh!

So, it was 8:30 and that point and I needed to do the next curve at 9:30. I started looking online for the closest 24-hour Walgreen's since we live in the boonies. Some nerve... our Walgreen's that we FINALLY got last year didn't have the decency to designate itself as "24 hours"! The first one I called said that they had the test strips but only in the 100-pack which is $93. Aargh, he's a cat, I love him with all of my heart but there is no way I need that many. Around 8:45 I apologized to James and told him that I was grateful but frustrated. Before leaving, I said "goodnight" to him. And, I was off, to drive across Denver to try and find the strips. Instead of going to the Walgreen's I called, I drove to one a little bit further away (without calling first...doh!). The pharmacy was open, however, they did not carry what I needed. So, I drove across to the one I originally called. The guy I had talked to said, "oh...you need Ascensia Microfill...you asked for Ascencia Contour on the phone...we do have the 50-strip Microfill." Sigh...good news...but damn it, I did say "microfill" to him! What is it with men and listening!?!?

I made my purchase and got out of there. I had a few minutes to spare so I stopped at Starbucks for an iced caramel macchiato and then came home to do the next blood draw. Archie is such a good cat and tolerates it quite well. In fact, I think it's harder on me when I have to stick him more than once because I can't get his darn ear to bleed for me. And, as I had mentioned earlier, I ended up wasting a test strip because there wasn't enough blood for a good reading. After two pokes and two test strips later (and dropping the container of test strips on the floor), we finally had the second blood draw! Whew! And, it was only 9:30! So much for a lazy Sunday. The next blood draw is set for 11:30 but for now, I must go attend to the two puppies...