Week 26: Everyone is getting sick

Vital statistics

waist: 37 inches
weight: 125 pounds
Aches & pains: sciatica, upper back pain, leg cramps, hips and knees. Swollen feet and hands. Right eye twitch which really bugs me.

It's 3:30 right now and I can't sleep because Finnegan has a bad cold with a high fever. Staying up with him gives me the chance to write a bit.

My body is changing again. I can feel an extra layer of back fat building up and it makes my shoulders broader and upper arms bigger. I guess it's because Finnegan is no longer breastfeeding and I'm storing up the extra calories.

My thighs and butt are getting bigger and I tend to waddle when I have to walk quickly, which isn't very often. Breathing is louder and more difficult, I have to take deep breaths often and I yarn a lot too.

Sleep is getting better with the aid of pillows under my belly and between my knees. In order to alleviate some back pain, I started wearing a belly support band to lift my growing girth. It really does help.

Physically, this week has been better partly because I've had a few days off from the studio due to bad weather. However, I've been working hard at home.

On Tuesday morning I noticed that Spoon had diarrhea and left some trails throughout the kitchen and living room. Doug cleaned it all up before breakfast with Finnegan and we started watching Spoon. After breakfast I went downstairs to get ready for the day when to my horror I found the downstairs carpet covered with a multitude of blood trails in the TV room and our bedroom. The smell was terrible, but the sight of it all was awful. It looked like a crime scene, I'm not kidding.

We immediately started calling the veterinarian clinics but, many of them were closed due to the severe weather we've been having lately. Fortunately, one in the neighborhood was open and we took Spoon in.

It turns out that he had a gastrointestinal bacterial infection which attacks the inner lining of the intestinal tract and causes bleeding. The veteranarian said that if it had gone on for another 12 hours, Spoon would not have a chance for recovery. I left Spoon at the pet hospital and went home to start cleaning the carpet.

Thank goodness for home carpet cleaners. It took about four hours to get all the stains out of the carpet, but the steam cleaner worked so well. I can't imagine what a professional cleaner would have charged me to do the job. It normally costs $300 for a carpet cleaning. It would probably be double or more for this job. The steam cleaner is one of my favorite domestic tools. My first favorite is the vacuum cleaner, but this week it's the carpet steam cleaner. We have cream colored carpets in our basement and they are clean again.

Fortunately, due to the skill of several veteranarians Spoon is on the mend and no longer losing blood. He's wearing a collar and taking medication for the next few days along with bland food to help his intestines. He's starting to display some feisty behavior again and that's a good sign.