Sterile Sample...

So, I took Lupe to the vet yesterday afternoon for a follow up visit from her UTI. She has finished the 3 weeks of antibiotics (will help from Greenies Pill Pockets...these are wonderful if you ever have to give animals medication) and they wanted to check to see if the antibiotics worked. I was told they needed a sterile sample, so I figured that they were going to catch urine in a sterile cup. Makes sense...

They took Lupe towards the back, I thought that odd, since the last time I went with the tech to walk her while the tech used a ladle to catch the urine. Lupe and the tech came back about 5 or 10 minutes later and she told me that they were unable to collect the sample. They used an ultrasound but her bladder was too small and they want to have to stick her and not get anything out. They had me make another appointment for next week to try again.

Wait a second, STICK HER?! With what and where?! I did some looking online this morning and it appears the best way to get a sterile urine sample is to insert a syringe through the abdominal wall and into the bladder! Ah, NO! Lupe is 12 years old, I am NOT having her stuck so that they can get urine to confirm the antibiotics work. She is not symptomatic so this is just not necessary in my mind. I called the vet this morning, explained I was not comfortable with this and cancelled the appointment. I told them that if she became symptomatic, that I would bring her back and we could discuss this option.

Seriously, they were going to stick her like this? No one explained this to me...how would I know what this entailed as I am not a doctor, vet or vet tech...nor do I work in a doctor's or vet's office. Lupe's vets' office is wonderful! I have never had anything like this happen before there and I will from now on double and triple check what they are doing to her before they do it. And if I don't understand it, I will ask them to explain to me in detail what a procedure involves. I am SO glad she didn't have enough urine in her bladder for them to do this yesterday! I would have been in tears!!!

Happy Birthday

Today is my favorite college roommate's birthday...okay, so she was my only college roommate, but wouldn't that also make her my least favorite college roommate? LOL. Maybe I should say my favorite roommate because I did have housemates when I first moved to Albany. Well, then again, Lupe is techinically my favorite roommate...sorry, in a slightly surly mood. :)

So, here goes...

ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!!

If you have ever seen the Simpson episode where Homer ends up in a mental hospital with a roommate that thinks he is Michael Jackson, my Elisa birthday song is a variation of the "Lisa Birthday Song" that Bart and "Michael" sing for Lisa. Its a tradition for me to sing it to her and on her 21st birthday, I wrote it out 21 times and hid the notes in her room of our apartment. She was still finding them when we were packing up after graduation!

So, happy birthday Face! I hope it is a good one and know how much you mean to me. Scary to think that we have known each other for more than half our lives...we met over 19 years ago! Wow, I feel old!

ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!! ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!! ISA ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISA!!!

Sad Day

I just found out that a co-worker's son passed away last night. Ben was 9 years old and had been battling Osteocarcoma for over 2 years. The cancer went away, but kept coming back. My heart is seriously breaking for this family. It just truly enfuriates me that there is childhood cancer!

Do me a favor, keep Ben and his family in your thoughts and prayers and love your family members a little more today.

I found this on Ben's website and I thought it was really meaningful (it is a quote from a child battling cancer)

“People call me a brave soldier or fierce warrior in this war on cancer. I am not the soldier, the warrior, the doctors and nurses are. I am the battlefield.”

Happy Birthday & Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy 2nd birthday Dara! Yesterday was my cousin's little girl's 2nd birthday...which also would have been my grandfather's (her great-grandfather's) 100th birthday!

Happy 2nd anniversary Julie and Bob!

Its been quite the two years for these families but they are amazing people with strength and courage that never ends!

Hope you all have wonderful days!!!

Sinks

Last night I learned how to take a part the drain of a sink. Why you may ask? Well, yesterday morning I decided to wear a necklace and pendant I hadn't worn in a while. I couldn't see in the mirror on the dresser so I went into my bathroom to use that mirror. And wouldn't you know that the necklace slipped out of my fingers and the pendant went down the drain. Typical. Did I get upset and freak out? No...I honestly figured if it was gone, then oh well, it was gone and I was okay with that.

Well, I wanted to try to find it when I got home so I looked online to see how to remove the trap. Looked easy enough so I did it, except it wasn't in the trap. That mean it either was flushed through (although I didn't run the water after it dropped down the drain) or it was stuck up in the stopper. With my BF and her DH on the phone, I disconnected the stopper and in all the muck that builds up over a year was the pendant! Happy I found it...completely grossed out by the build up. Needless to say, I cleaned that sucker VERY well. Put the pipes back together, confirmed I didn't have a leak and I was good to go.

So, if you need to learn how to take about the pipes from you sink to either clean them or look for something you've lost down the drain, I'm your girl...and I won't charge you like a plumber would :)

Happy Friday all!!!

Its a boy!

I just found out my BF from high school gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday the 29th! After only 2 hours of labor (start to finish), Ryan Jeffrey came into this world (9 lbs. 9 ozs). I've seen a couple of pictures and both Mom and Baby look wonderful...not too surprising, this is Vikki we are talking about. :)

Haven't seen Vikki in years, haven't met her husband or either of her children. We have kind of lost touch over the years which saddens me. Facebook does keep us up to date with each other's lives, but its not the same. I've known her since grade school and we have been through a lot together. Distance and years have definitely changed both of us and our relationship, but she will always been a very special friend and person to me.

Congratulations to her beautiful family!!!

Its October already?

Which means fall, baseball playoffs, candy corn, Halloween and Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

This is a disease that has rocked my life too many times...(chronological in order of diagnosis)

Auntie Steffi - fought and beat it twice, once when I was a teenager and the second time just a couple of years ago.

Mom - fought and beat it in 2005. Treatment took a lot out of her, but I know she was proud to consider herself a breast cancer survivor.

Naoko - fought and beat it in 2005/6 as well. She is an amazing woman who kept her battle very private, but it worked!

Randi - okay, what do you do when one of the people you consider your sister tells you she has breast cancer at 32 and is 5 1/2 months pregnant? Happened in 2007 and after treatment and many surgeries later (and some still to come), she is even more beautiful and stronger than ever before. And did I mention that beautiful daughter of hers?

Julie - in the fight of her life and doing wonderfully! Julie just finished her first round of chemo and is gearing up for her second when she returns to CA next week. I had the pleasure of seeing her and her 15 month old adorable little boy, Cooper, last Friday. It was amazing day and she truly inspires me.

So, make sure you check yourself this month and stop and remember those who are fighting and fought...those who have won and those who have lost. Let's hope there is a cure for this soon!

Love to all!!!