Bailey's been very sick...

Some of his drugs...

He did lots of sleeping... No energy for anything else...

He went in to get his teeth cleaned... During the procedure he stopped breathing... They had to put a tube down his throat and do all sorts of things to get him to breathe again... I am truly grateful for that as I don't even want to imagine what it would be like without my little boy...

But he ended up with a really sore throat, he couldn't and wouldn't eat. He hurt his lungs as well as seen on the X-rays. He lost so much weight and was on four different drugs in the end. There were times when I really thought that we would lose him...

But he has come good. He is all better now and putting on weight little by little... He is back to the old cheeky boy I know and love. Thank God :)

Cheers Damaris

Darling Nova...

Our darling Nova...

Joshua's darling Nova has been losing weight for some time now... She looks soooo thin... I changed her food from what we were on to Science Diet about two months ago and made sure to give her 1.5 times the serving she was supposed to have. Still no weight gain. I checked her over to ensure she was not in pain, no arthritis, Sentinel is given every month on the first day as usual... I just couldn't explain it.

Friday morning she didn't want to really get up to go to the toilet first thing in the morning. Alarm bells went off in my head and had her to the vet that afternoon... Greg our lovely vet did a full blood test on her as he was stumped as well... Well the tests showed nothing at all. Very frustrating... Greg is thinking that maybe she has liver disease or something wrong with her pancreas. Either way he has given her steroids and he has changed her diet to puppy food (even though she is nearly 11) as it has more protein in it. Hopefully this will help her put on weight. We also found out that she is starting to go blind in her other eye as well. Just at the bottom of the right eye but all the same is till happen... Joshua was very concerned off course but glad to be there for her when she was going through all of this...

Here is hoping we get to the bottom of what is going on with her weight loss... Though must say she loved having two rides in the car in two day. :)

Cheers Damaris

Operation... Hospital...

Cham rather ill...

Joshua's Axolotl is not well... Since we got him he has not once fed out of his hand so doubt that he did that in the pet shop as they said he did... We have therefore rarely observed him feeding. Over time he has been getting thinner and thinner so now he is in hospital... ie the Fridge...

Yep you read right, he is being, what they call... fridged. This means that the metabolism slows right down so he doesn't loose more weight. It also means that he is basically in hibernation and doesn't eat much if anything. I did put a worm in there from my worm farm but he was not interested at all.

Since going into the fridge (you have to change his water every day) he has still been loosing more weight. I think he has anyway. His legs are really skinny and all we can find on the net to do is give 10 minute bath salts once a day for three days. We have changed about 20% of his water to ensure it wasn't that. The end of his tail is now curled which indicates stress as well. Poor mite. Today will be his second salt bath so will see how he goes...

In my opinion he looks terrible and I really hope and pray that he survives... Joshua off course is in mourning already... He is not dealing well with it at all, blaming himself. Must find out how to make an axolotl eat...

Cheers Damaris

Being silly...

The ceiling fan in my room...

The two way bathroom to my left...

This is what I saw when sick in bed yesterday...

Cheers Damaris

Brave little trouper...

Joshua, home and ready for another sleep...

Thursday was Joshua's big day. We left home at 5am and got to the Hospital in time for the 6:30am admission time. The nurses and staff were wonderful as always. This was Joshua's fifth time in surgery in his little life of nearly 11 years...

Surgery was supposed to take only 1/2 hour. Go in, do the recession of the turbinates and out again. Well once they got into his nose they found out that there was not a bit of space up in that nasal cavity. He was completely blocked up. They even took photos and I saw them. Poor baby...

So in the end he took two hours in surgery and trust me I was starting to wonder where my boy was. They had to carve, cut, gouge and burn bits up there... The procedures are called: Turbinoplasty and debrided nasal nucosa (the second means basically chopping things out) Lovely hey??? Not...

There is a whole heap of wadding up there that will break up over the next week. We have to flush out the nose four times a day which he doesn't like as he doesn't like the taste. Better than saline though as that would hurt his raw nose. Amazingly there has been no bruising as well which he thinks is great as he thought he might end up with black eyes.

Last night was his first night at home. We stayed one night at the Hospital and we were both glad to get out of there. So noisy... but again the staff were wonderful. They also kept saying what a pleasure he had been and how lovely his manners were. He was a trouper, I agree.

He had a great night sleep last night he said this morning which I am so glad about. He hardly snored which was wonderful. I still woke a bit as usual and will need time to readjust but was glad to be back in my own bed again.

This is his last bite at the cherry so to speak. His last operation. The one that they did this time is one that they only usually do for adults and is also the reason why the head surgeon took on his case. He has operated on his each time from 2.5yrs of age. I hope and pray that this will help solve his problems with breathing... Poor darling has two weeks of home time to endure now and is not happy to be missing out on school but at least his teacher is sending home worksheets for him. :)

Cheers Damaris

Operation update...

My three incisions...

Well Friday came and went and I was supposed to be in there and second on the surgery list (2pm) but equipment had to be cleaned and then cool down so I didn't make it into surgery until 4pm. I ended up having to wake up in a ward as Day Procedures Unit was shutting before I had had a chance to eat anything.

We ended up getting home at 9:30pm. I was happy to hit my head on my pillow that is for sure. As I understand it the surgery took 1 hour and they made three incisions. A scope was also used to locate the ganglion. It was removed which I am most pleased about. Doing the surgery this way means a little longer recovery time but at least there should not be any stiffness in my wrist in the future. I am back to typing with both hands this morning but still can't do alot of things.

I am rather fortunate to have Russell home for the week. He has been my hands and doing a fantastic job at that as well. Oh and the dinners, just Divine...

While my wrist is still very swollen and the cuts are still open the internal stitching will all hopefully heal soon. I am driving into Warwick tomorrow so hopefully will be ok. In the meantime, Panadine Forte is a great friend of mine that is helping me though the ouchy bits.

Cheers Damaris

Poor Lorray...

Lorray this morning, still a little bloated on the left side but getting there...

Yesterday was rather eventful. We were supposed to have a nice day at home fixing the chookhouse fence when I went and checked on my bovines... Sausage was fine, so was Lavender (well as well as she can be with only three weeks to go in her pregnancy...)

Went and looked at Lorray and I got the shock of my life. She had not been eating, was throwing up a bit all the time and was frequently urinating as well as pooing. Her left side of the stomach was blown up like a balloon. It was still spongy but not looking good at all.

AHHHHHH Bloat!!!! NOOOOO. Was all I could think of at the time. Went inside and did more research and sure enough it was what she had... Have to act fast as they can die within a couple of hours of it getting severe. At this point I gave her the last of the medicine from another lot of bloat that she was treated for (but was actually pregnant, yes rather embarrassed about that one still but the vet surely should have known if I didn't???) That didn't work either as she was busy trying to kick the sides of herself and was not eating or drinking at all. She ballooned just a bit more.

Called the vet and they came out straight away. Still 1/2 hour from Warwick but they got there and passed a tube down her nose into the stomach. Air came out which was great to hear. The wind off course also picked up at that stage so made dealing with her a little more difficult. The vet then gave her a drench through the tube straight into the stomach to start working which was a great thing to do. She also got a shot of Penicillin and I have to give her another two shots over the next two days. That should be fun... Not!!!

I have to now give her more of the drench on her lucerne hay every day for three days and the shots as well. She is gonna love me after all this is over but within an hour of the vet leaving, she started looking better. This morning her tummy is still up a little bit but nothing like she was. During the night she also passed proper consistency poo and there were bigger wet spots around as well. Gums are also looking good still. Vet was happy all around and didn't have to put in a cannula which I was rather happy about as that usually has other problems associated with it later when it comes time for healing of the wound.

Total cost of the experience: $281.00 But so worth it as she is ok and getting better each hour. I have her in the cow yard for the next few days and can't use her milk for 72 hours after the last penicillin shot tomorrow but it is a small price to pay... Poor thing.

The other thing that the vet has said that due to there actually not having been any chance in feed that she seems prone to bloat. This is not good. Allot of material that I read over time says to cull those animals and I will certainly not do that but it has made me think of other options.

At this point I am very undecided what we are doing about the cows. Sausage is constantly getting into the orchard and the veggie gardens. Even my flower beds are not safe from him. Nothing stops this little guy. With the new calf due in three weeks that will only double my trouble I believe. They are costing us a fortune in replacement trees and shrubs like I never thought would be possible. Just something that I am thinking of. Though I love to have that time with Lorray when I milk her and watching their antics in the paddock. Lots more thinking to do on that one. But what if I can find someone that will let me buy a share in a cow and I can still have my raw milk. But what if I can find the right butcher to only buy grass fed beef... Will see...

Cheers Damaris