There 's nothing worse than seeing my fur baby sick, and Friday morning, I had to see her very sick. She was sicker than I had ever seen her. As expected, she made it through the illness, and is doing much better, though she now has an infection in her left eye. Luckily it's not a very bad infection, though it is unfortunate the she developed this infection while I am visiting my mother, without her eye drops. Oh well, this kind of thing happens, I suppose, and we are seeing the vet tomorrow morning.
Poor Cadie, she was sleeping soundly last Thursday night when all of a sudden the peace was broken. The worst of her sick day went on for about an hour, her stomach settled out after that, but she still looked terribly tired and drawn, which isn't all the surprising given what she'd been through. She flopped down on the couch and barely moved her head. I looked at her just wishing she could talk, so she could tell me where it hurts, and what was wrong with her. Unfortunately I couldn't stay home with her that day. But Cadie and I are both very lucky to have Aunt C working at the end of our street, so she popped up to check in on Cadie at noon.
It was great Aunt C called me to tell me that my dog was doing better, she was tired, but frisky, interested in food and visiting. I was most heartened to hear that Cadie had refused to come back in, because she was enjoying the cool grass and fresh air so much.
It's funny, in an awful kind of way, to think that our pets, perhaps even children or aging parents challenge us to handle things from which we normally shy away. As well paired as Cadie and I are, she has a tendency toward eye problems (this is her third eye infection) while I am totally creeped out by having to touch eye balls. I'm so freaked out by eye balls that during my first aid class--while looking at the picture of a pencil sticking straight up into an eye, I put my hand up and asked what a trained first aid person should do if they genuinely can't provide assistance to someone because their injury freaks them out too much. I was told to suck it up, and that when you are in the moment you won't remember your hang ups. I didn't believe them at the time. I know people who are terrified of needles, and then find themselves having to administer insulin shots to their pets. I have a friend who is creeped out by vomiting, she can't even listen to someone vomit, she is now the mother of 2 small children, and she still calls me to calm her down if she has to be with her children while their sick. It's so weird to think about what we can do if we have to. What's a person to do? if Cadie needs me to rub salve in her eyes, then that's what I have to do, just as my friends have to sit with their children and inject insulin. We do what we have to do, and somehow, as responsible care givers we dig deep and manage to muddle through.
So, Cadie and I have survived her first really serious illness, none the worse for the wear, but stronger and ready to face our next scary health crisis.
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