It was cancer

The vet called me a few days after Tucker's surgery and confirmed with me that it was a cancerous tumor that she removed. Thankfully the type of cancer that Tucker had does not spread and as long as the margins are clear he will be considered cancer free.

In one month he will go back to find out if for sure his margins are clear or not. I'm anxious for that day and hope that I can take Tucker to get a little tiny ice cream cone to celebrate.

My Foot In My Mouth?

This past Sunday my husband and I went to watch our son Austin play in one of his college golf meets, and his girlfriend of two years came along with us. I felt great that day and it was a beautiful warm sunny day, and we had a great time. For mid September we couldn't have asked for anything better. Halfway through the meet, my tongue was burning, as if I just tried to drink something hot and burned my tongue. Weird, but whatever. 

When the meet was over we decided to drive through somewhere to get something to eat before we took our 3hr drive back home. My tongue still feel burnt, so I asked my husband to stop at a convenience store so I could get a small container of ice cream to eat. While he was in the store I decide to look in the mirror at my tongue, and I was shocked to find it was swollen in the center and deep deep red. Within 30 minutes I started to feel little blisters inside my cheeks, soon followed by more on the roof of my mouth, on my tongue, and even inside my lips. My husband was concerned I was having a severe allergic reaction, but I was able to breathe just fine so we continued on home. My mouth resembles this picture, but I actually have even more sores.

The next day it was still just as bad so I figured I better call the doctor and was diagnosed with hand foot and mouth disease. I remember hearing about that when my children were little and someone in school was diagnosed with it. But did adults really get it? In my case, yes they do. 

I immediately called my son and his girlfriend in case they developed any symptoms. Poor Jay is so worried about getting it, he won't even touch the remote after I have until I wipe it down with a disinfecting wipe. I assured him it was safe because I havent licked the remote recently. LOL

Because it is very contagious, I am to be basically be quarantined for up to a week. Thank goodness for iPads and Internet or I just might go crazy.... Although some would argue that already there. Ha ha

Tucker's Surgery

A friend of mine once told me that while you may have many dogs in your lifetime that you love very much, you are rarely granted more than one "heart" dog. I thought she was crazy about that, until Tucker came into my life.

We adopted Tucker in April 2008. He was rescued from a puppy mill that was raided and he was covered in fleas and matted fur, which had to be shaved completely down. He also had two large infected gashes on his hips from rusty wires in his cage. He was 14 months old and because he hadn't had a whole lot of human interaction, I expected him to be shy and fearful. Boy was I wrong! He came bouncing into our house and made fast friends with our other dogs and has been the happiest little guy ever since.

In September 2008 I experienced my first taste of what  chronic fatigue syndrome would be like. Shortly after that I experienced my first pains of fibromyalgia. For the next year and a half I was bedrest while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with me. During those darkest hard days Tucker never left my side, not even to eat. He still is that way to this day. He can tell when I'm having a good day, or a bad day, or a very very bad day. On those are very bad days he sticks to me like glue. He will lay with his head on my pillow right next to me with his paw on my shoulder, or his head is on my shoulder. When I cry he will try to lick away my tears. Since Jay has to work so much, I really feel blessed to have Tucker there to help me not feel so lonely.

Unfortunately due to his early life, his body was not allowed to grow and develop as strong as it should have. He has many problems with his back and hips and neck, and has to had to be in a vet specialty hospital overnight a few times when his pain gets so bad and the spasms won't stop.

Now it is again my turn to take care of Tucker with the same care that he takes care of me. He had to have surgery yesterday on his leg to remove a growth. He has had other growths and "old man warts", and our vet has never been concerned about any of them. This growth however is different. The vet called this growth both suspicious and concerning. 

                                       

We will hopefully find out the results as to whether his growth is cancerous or not by Friday. Until then I will cuddle him and keep him company just as my "heart dog" does for me.

                                     

If You Wax Them, They Will Come

A very dear friend of mine has a daughter getting married soon. We have known this young lady since she was 10 years old and she is like another daughter to me. She was in both of my daughters weddings and they are taking part in hers as well. Since I have been through wedding planning twice already, I know the craziness and the chaos that ensues, and I told her I would help her in anyway I could.

Her daughter likes to have a glass of wine occasionally and wanted wine bottles as part of the centerpieces on the tables. She likes the look of bottles in movies such as Lady and the Tramp where wax has dripped down the bottles, and wanted to have that look duplicated. That's where I enter in.

For the past few days as my time and body would allow, I have been dripping wax down the sides of wine bottles. It's actually been very therapeutic and relaxing. I hope my other daughter enjoys them as much as I have enjoyed doing them for her.

Sad To The Bone

I experienced something new today, extreme, deep sadness for someone I had never even met. I don't know what the person looks like, where they live, or even what their name is. The only thing I do know is it a female and she has died.

The reason I'm so sad for this woman is because what I know of her niece Lily, and what Lily has said. I met Lily in a weight loss forum, and we really honestly don't have anything in common, other than the fact that we both struggle with our weight.

Lily talked about this woman, her aunt, and how much she loved her, and how close she was with her. She also talked about how extremely sad she was to know that her aunt was gone and she would never see her again. That is when I became sad, very, deeply sad.

Why? Because of the fact that the niece is an atheist, and very open and vocal about it.  I can only imagine the utter sadness and emptiness there must be when you feel you will never have a reunion with that person you just lost. A few months ago I lost an aunt who succumbed to a very long, hard fought battle with breast cancer. While I was just as sad as Lily over the loss of my aunt, I was able to have peace knowing that someday I will see her again. Thanks to Jesus dying on the cross, we are assured of that fact.

I have been praying for Lily, and I will continue to do so. I hope that someday her eyes and her heart are opened to the joyous news that she can be saved and she can indeed see her aunt again.