Kirby 12.29.09

Kirby the Cat moved on to the Rainbow Bridge on Tuesday morning, December 29th. It was about as sad a day as they come.

Kirby was originally Hubby's cat. Hubby and his kids adopted Kirby from a Humane Society when Kirby was just a baby kitten. The runt of the litter, in fact.

The adoption came during a tough time for Hubby. He was in the middle of a nasty custody fight which he was fighting tooth and nail. The kids were still little; Kirby helped fill Hubby's house with love and activity when the kids weren't there. Kirby would also provide a lot of comfort on the really bad days, when there was a court hearing, or some ridiculous demand from his ex would arrive in the form of a letter via US Mail. And, of course, Kirby would just be gentle, loving Kirby every other hour of every other day, bringing a lot of smiles, purrs and happiness in to Hubby's life.

We were just dating when Hubby adopted Kirby. I had my own cats and lived in a different house. When Hubby and I decided to move in together, we knew we were blending families: human and fur.

My cat Callie fell in love with Kirby pretty quickly. The two became fast friends. They would hang out together a lot and just sort of "be".

My other cat, Gorby, was definitely the alpha male in the house. He and Kirby did not get along so well for a long time. They finally got to a point where Gorby tolerated Kirby and then gradually got to appreciate each other.

In fact, it was Kirby that would keep Gorby company when Gorby was sick with the cancer that finally took him 16-months ago.

When Gorby died, my heart was fully broken. I didn't think I could ever reach that level of grief again.

I was wrong.

Kirby got sick very suddenly. He developed a strange hacking cough that got progressively worse over Christmas weekend. Finally, late on Sunday night, his breathing was very labored and we rushed him to the University of Minnesota Small Animal Hospital.

At first, the doctor thought it might be heart failure or cancer. They put Kirby in to an oxygen cage, which helped his breathing while the doctors ran tests through the night.

Monday morning, results were inconclusive, although both heart failure and cancer were ruled out.

Kirby was doing okay in the oxygen cage, but would begin gasping for air within about a minute when taken out.

More tests.

The only thing that came up as a possibility was something called "lipoid pneumonia". It is extremely rare. So rare that no one at the U had seen it in a live cat, only in one's passed away. Still, they were not positive that this was the problem.

We had a chance to visit Kirby on Monday night. We could put our hands in to the oxygen cage to pet him via a couple of port holes.

The doctor suggested trying a heavy dose of steroids to try to reduce the inflammation around his lungs. If the steroids were going to work, we'd see an improvement in about 24-hours. Hubby thought it was worth the effort, Kirby got the shot and we went home to wait.

The next morning, very early, we got a call from the doctor. The news came that the steroids had not helped and, in fact, Kirby was doing much worse. His carbon dioxide level had increased significantly. His lungs were just not strong enough to expel the air out, which created a build up.

The vet did not think that Kirby could keep up the effort of breathing for much longer.

With very heavy hearts, Hubby and I drove to the U and got to spend our last few minutes with Kirby. Then, Warren made one of the hardest decisions he's ever had to make in his life.

As peaceful as Kirby's passing was, it does not erase the fact that our house and our souls are just a bit more empty this New Year's Eve. That horrible ache I felt when Gorby died is back and it feels just as bad now as it did then.

Callie seems to be missing her friend too. She is sleeping upstairs on the couch that the two of them frequently shared.

I'm just hoping that Kirby has found Gorby at the Rainbow Bridge and that the two of them are sharing a little snooze and maybe some catnip and a really good tin of canned cat food.

Rest in peace, Kirby. We love you and miss you a lot.

Bittersweet and Sweet: Pigman 1/2 Iron Recap

Bittersweet:
Still reeling from having to euthanize Gorby on Monday night. Sad, crabby and eating every thing in sight. (I'm an emotional eater, in case you haven't figured that out...)

I did receive a curious call from the U last night. The doctor how had performed the initial necropsy yesterday called to ask if Gorby had been euthanized or if he had died on his own. She said the report didn't reflect what had happened.

I told her that we had to euthanize him and then asked her how extensive the tumors were in his midsection. She said they were multiple tumors all over his midsection and that the rate at which they reoccurred was "astonishing". She said that I made the right decision for him, which helps, but doesn't make the decision or the loss any less painful.

Anyway...

Sweet: Pigman 1/2 Iron Recap:

For those of you who like the "short version" .

Did I have fun? Yes

Was it hard? Parts of it

Will I do a 1/2 iron distance event again? You bet!
The stats:

Swim 1.2 miles: 49:18

T1: 5:02

Bike 56 miles: 3:45:51

T2: 4:28

Run 13.1 miles: 2:55:40

Total: 7:40:17

Long, drawn out version with PHOTOS!
I drove down to Cedar Rapids my good friends: Marcia and Marty L. Marcia has been training partner of mine and Nat's for many years and a veteran of many triathlons and marathons.

In fact, many of my running friends say ""MMMDI (Marcia Made Me Do It) because she gets us involved and excited about participating in lots of crazy events and activities. Marty is newer to this whole marathon thing, but has two under his belt: Marine Corp and Grandma's.

We met Natalie at the 'official' hotel, where many other triathletes were getting settled in to their rooms, getting their bikes check by Gear West, picking up their race packets and milling about.

The first thing Nat said to me was "We have the cheapest bikes here".

This is pretty much what all the other bikes looked like:

This is what our bikes looked like:
Actually, Nat has a very nice bike, complete with Aerobars. I have a great hybrid from Marin (the Fairfax). It is light weight, comfortable and gets me where I need to go. I'm just much slower getting there...

None the less, we felt woefully under equipped. And the race wasn't until the next day...

We wanted to check out the actual race area and get in to the lake for a test swim. This was a recommendation from our coach Greg. He also told us to check out the bike route, which turned out to be a very smart idea.

The start of the race is about 13 miles outside of Cedar Rapids -- Palo, Iowa. We got to the park and found a few other athletes checking out the lake and transition area.

Race officials were marking the swim route and the buoys look to be a L O N G way out, covering a L O T of the lake. More panic.

We got in the water and did a couple of quick laps, which helped relieve my anxiety quite a bit.

Once I got in to the rhythm of the swim, I thought: "Okay, I've spent a lot of time training this summer; I've put in the time and the effort. I just have to remember to put one foot in front of the other; take one stroke at a time and I'll be fine".

Driving the bike course was also helpful, because the map of the course was NOT very helpful. We got lost a couple of times, but made mental notes of the right turns; the location of hills and "rumbles" on the road.

Both Nat and I got very quiet during our course drive.

"Damn. Fifty-six miles IS a long way...."

We made our way back to the hotel, picked up Marcia (who had been volunteering at the check-in desk) and Marty and went to Olive Garden for dinner.

Marcia had prepared goodie bags for us filled with lots of fun treats, including Goldfish, sunblock, and funny glasses:

After dinner, it was time for bed.

The alarm went off early -- 4:15 am.


Nat and I got every all our stuff ready and caught a little bit of the Olympics. I think NBC was covering the popular sport of Four Square at 4:00 am....Here is a shot of Nat eating the first of many energy bars for the day watching the rousing game between Albania and Turks/Caicos...


Finally, we were ready to go, and I took this self portrait. Mostly "just in case" so that if I didn't survive, Hubby would have a photo of me:











We got to the event, set up our transition area and freaked out.


Marcia volunteered to do body marking:
And then it was time to start.

Nat and I signed up as Athena's, so we were in the 2nd wave. The Elites went in to the water at 7:30 am; we went in at 7:31 am.

The water was cool enough that we could wear wetsuits. That extra buoyancy really adds confidence! I felt really great in the water and did the ENTIRE swim without taking a break. That is a triathlon first for me. I was very surprised when I looked at my watch and it indicated that I took 49 minutes to cover 1.2 miles. I was very pleased.

Transition 1 took a couple minutes longer than usual. The day was going to be very hot and sunny and I needed to make sure that I had some sunscreen protection.

Finally got out on the bike course and had to walk through a couple of early mental challenges. "Man, it is going to be a really long day out here."

"Geeze, I don't really want to do all these HILLS".

"I should quit!"

But, I didn't! I just kept pedalling. Up and down; Up and Down; UP and down: UP and down

Marcia and Marty were driving the course to find us at various spots to provide cheers, water, ice and comic relief. At one point, they both were wearing the glasses/nose combo, which was hysterical. It was great to see them out there.

As tough as the hills were, I really had good energy along the course and at the end. I ate fig newtons (from Target -- deelicous, by the by), some Clif Shots, and Gatorade Endurance Formula with some Carbo Pro mixed in.

I was very surprised and very pleased that I didn't bonk at all nutritiously out there on the course.

The bike portion took me 3:45:51. I was much slower than I thought I'd be, but I contribute that to the hills and the Barbie bike...

Run: Okay, so it is now 11:50 am on a cloudless, hot August day in Iowa, where there is lots of corn, hogs and soybeans, but not many Maples or Oaks...

No shade on the run course.

No kidding.

I knew that I'd finish the race. There was no doubt. I decided that I was going to really just "have a day" out there and not kill myself for time. I was so happy with my swim and so happy that I wasn't about to keel over from hunger that what ever time that 1/2 marathon was going to take was fine with me.

So I "ran". Meaning I ran some but walked a lot. In my defense, there were a ton of people walking the course. I think the sun wore out a lot of us.

The course was very well organized with a water stop at every mile. Each was stocked with adequate water, Powerade, pretzels, animal crackers, oranges, bananas and ICE.

Wonderful, fantastic, refreshing ice. Ahhhhh....

I was amazed at how fast the miles clicked by, even though I was really taking my time.

I finally saw Natalie again right after mile 4 for me; about mile 8 for her. She looked great. She was taking her sweet time out on the run course as well. We chatted for a moment and then moved on.

Marcia and Marty were again out on the course. By now, they were the "new best friends" of many of the athletes on the course, since so many of us saw them at so many places. There aren't many spectators out along the course so I think a lot of participants were very happy to see Marcia and Marty multiple times during the event.

The last three miles of the run are uphill as you go back in to the park. That was the only real tough, tough spot out on the course. I found Marcia one more time, with about a mile to go. She hung with me until I turned that final corner and then I took off for the finish.

Crossed the line and felt unbelievably happy, proud and accomplished.

I found Natalie, who was also just beaming. (A grimy, sweaty beam, but beaming nonetheless).

We all hung around the finish area for a while and then got ready to go back to the hotel.

Cathy Yndestad, a triathlete from Apple Valley, came in first for women at the event. She is an amazing athlete.

The win at Pigman was her 11th win out of 12 starts THIS YEAR.

She was leaving as we were leaving and I went over to introduce myself and to tell her congrats. She was very gracious to all of us and heartily congratulated Nat and I on our accomplishment.

The nicest thing she said to us was that it was a tough day and a tough course. That made Nat and I feel like we were champions, even if we did ride Barbie Bikes.

Marcia and Marty took lots of photos too. When I get copies, I'll post some, and promise to not write as much...

Gorby

I finished Pigman 1/2 Iron tri yesterday. Nat and I did a great job and had a lot of fun. Our very good friends Marcia and Marty were in Iowa with us and provided the best support triathletes could ever want.

I'll post a full race report with photos in a few days. I just am not up to it today.

I drove back to Minneapolis today to sadness.

Over the weekend, before I left for Iowa, we noticed that there were wet spots on the bed where Gorby had been spending his days.

We thought a first that we had spilled some water, but Hubby noticed on Saturday night the Gorby was "dribbling". He was starting to lose his ability to control his bladder.

His appetite had not picked up much -- even with the prednisone and was continuing to lose weight.

When I got home today, I called the Vet at the U and we determined the cutting his dose of prednisone might help.

I felt relieved with that diagnosis -- until he tried to get off the bed.

Gorby couldn't really stand well, his back legs collapsed several times under him. He made his way in to the kitchen and plopped down on the floor.

Kirby and Lefty, two of our other cats, came to stand guard over Gorby, but this was clearly the sign that I had to have that enough was enough and I had to help my friend get to the Rainbow Bridge.

Hubby came home. We called the U and told them we were coming in.

We got Gorby in to his carrier and took the very long, sad ride to the clinic.

The people at the U and the set up has always been impressive to me. They have a very comfortable space for both the humans and the animals to say goodbye.

We took our time with Gorby; he purred and we cuddled.

Then when we were all ready, the very nice vet with the very hard job injected the medicine to stop Gorby's heart while I held him close to me and I sobbed my heart out.

I got to hold him for a while longer and then the vet took clay impressions of his paws for me.

I'll get him back in a few weeks after his autopsy (necropsy) and cremation.

I just hope that I was the very best support to him that he could ever expect.

Updates: Cat, Toe, Training - cha cha cha

Several updates today.



I'll start with the easiest:

Training:

I did a ROCKING swim yesterday with friends and fellow triathletes Marcia, Gary and Dave. We went to one of Marcia's fav places, Little Long Lake, which is a nice sized, clean lake just outside of Minneapolis. Gas boats and "large" boats are not allowed on the lake, so if there is any boaters, they are in small motorized fishing boats, canoes or kayaks.


The lake is secluded enough that there are not pesky policemen waiting to bust you with a $125.00 ticket for open water swimming. It is not so secluded that there were several other triathletes doing practice swims, so we were definitely not alone in the water.

We swam from the boat launch to a dock, to the other side of the lake, where we encountered about 25 campers, who looked to be about 12 or 13 years old and who were getting ready to go on to the lake for a little canoe adventure. I'm sure we looked like creatures of the sea emerging to attack the camp when we came out of the water.


I did not wear my wetsuit in preparation for the possibility of the lake at Pigman being too warm to allow us to us them. Usually, I depend on the wetsuit for that extra buoyancy in the water.

Yesterday, though I felt very good in the water without it. Hurray. Progress!

Toe:

You might recall Nat's "toe of woe" story from June where she ripped off her big toe nail while trying to put her bike rack on her car.



It took her several weeks to scab over and now she has this cute little bacon strip looking thing where her nail used to be. Looks oh, so chic. (See pics on her blog).

Well, never to be one to let my friends suffer alone, I had my own toe incident recently.

Actually, the actual "incident" happened in July at the Richfield long pool. I was helping to put the lane lines in the water for one of our practice swims and a rung from the line slipped under my big toe nail. Someone pulled up on the line and SNAP went my toe nail.

Hurt and bled like a muthafocker.


What I didn't realize until last Sunday, is that when it went SNAP, it really snapped the nail at the nail bed. I was taking off nail polish and realized I could lift the entire toe nail off my toe, except at one tiny corner where it was still attached to the nail bed.

yeech.


I could see that I had a new nail forming under the old one, so I just clipped the old one off. My new nail does not look like bacon, but it sure does look strange next to the others.


So Nat and I are TOE-ins. (Say it quick; should sound sorta like TWINS).






Cat:

You are probably sick of hearing about Gorby, but it is what it is. He had a recheck with an oncologist at the U this morning and the news was not good at all.

Tumors are back (surgery was a little over three weeks ago). This is a very aggressive cancer indeed.

The Vet, a very, very nice man, outlined a range of treatments including chemo, feeding tubes, blah, blah, blah to doing nothing but making Gorby comfortable.

The chemo course does not really do a lot for him -- it may extend his time a little. It may not.

The "do-nothing" course is also a crap shoot. We don't know how long it may be (or may not be) until he loses his appetite all together, is in pain (or not), is no longer having any quality of life.

Very sad news.


Hubby came with me this morning, and that was very helpful to have the extra support and pair of ears.

Right now, this moment, I'm leaning towards some minor medication to help relieve inflammation and to just let him enjoy what ever time he has left, spoiling him rotten.

I really don't like my friends (furry or otherwise) suffer alone.


And this absolutely breaks my heart.

Urban Wildland --

I got back from SFO, safe and sound. The trip was successful work-wise, Hubby-wise and training-wise.

I had that awesome hillwork out (see previous post) and also got a swim workout in. No, not in the bay, but in a pool at Club One. My hotel had discounted guest passes, so I took advantage of that.

The pool was small (only 3 lanes and 25 yards long), but I got in 2000 yards in a little less than an hour. I've been very, very spoiled by the 50 meter swims at Richfield this summer. Going back to 25 yards is "weird".

The shorter lengths also means I'll have to spend lots more time in the lake before Pigman, which is ONLY 14 days away. In fact, in two weeks, I'll be on the bike course of the event right about now....

Urban Wildland 1/2 Marathon was yesterday. It was my third time running the race.

Urban Wildland is a very well organized, pretty race. It starts at the Richfield Pool park (more officially known as Veterans Park), winds through a couple of nature preserves, through some nice neighborhoods, where the folks come out to cheer, and then finishes back at the park.

Last year I PRd at Urban (2:16:47 -- 10:24 per mile) This year, no PR.

Two of my friends, Cheryl and Carla, also ran the race yesterday. We all started together, but quickly started to do our own thing.

I ran really well to mile 11. I got there at 1:59 on my watch, which equates a 10:49 pace. I was doing my 7 minute run/1 minute walk thing and was feeling pretty darn good.

At mile 11, it was as if someone deflated the "feel good" balloon. It took me about 26 minutes to cover the last 2.1 miles. (Pitiful).

Finish time 2:25:02, or 11:04 per mile. Sigh.

The good news is this was my third best 1/2 marathon time....I also had a very FUN time, so that is good. I also have officially "covered the distance" for Pigman, so I know I can do it.

Cheryl and Carla also did really well yesterday, so it was a successful day for all.

So now, I move in to the last week of all out training for Pigman. Natalie and I were supposed to bike this morning, but it was raining so we decided to do our own workouts. We will hook up at some point this week to hammer out a swim or bike or run.

---
Cat Update: Thanks to Sabrina and Ginna for doing such a great job cat sitting. All the cats are doing well, although Gorby's status remains a mystery to me.

He seems a bit thinner and, although still eating, is not eating with the same voracity he was just last week. I'm supposed to get more information this week from the Vet -- so I'll have more info to make decisions and / or have a better understanding of what's to come.

Hill Work in the Mecca of Hills

Fast and furious business trip this week to San Francisco.

The trip was planned long before Gorby was diagnosed with cancer. I feel a little guilty for leaving, but work is work, and Gorby is doing remarkably well. And, I've got some ACE cat sitters taking care of the house and the critters.

THANK YOU GINNA AND SABRINA!

One really nice thing is that Hubby had to be here too for work so, although we traveled separately and arrived and will depart on different days, we do get to hang out a bit here.

My training plan is "suffering" a bit here, as I don't have a bike here. (Yes, I know I could rent one, but....)

My coach, Greg, did write out my training plan to accommodate my travels: yesterday called for hill work.

I did a nice warm up going from the hotel down to the Ferry Building, over past Fisherman's Wharf to the beach where other triathletes do their open water swims.

I continued past the beach and went out on the breakwater. Turned around and started hill repeats at the entrance of Fort Mason.

The entrance is open to pedestrians and bikers only, so I didn't have to worry about anyone trying to recreate the "Karl-Malden-Michael-Douglas ARE the Streets of San Francisco" thing.

WOW. Talk about a hill for repeats! Zowie!

Up and down; up and down; upanddown; upanddown; updown. You get the drill.

After my run, Hubby and I went Circa for dinner. The head chef is one of the folks that was on Top Chef - Chicago last season. Food was very good (salmon and brown rice for me; sea bass and garlic mashed potatoes for Hubby). We split a slice of really SUPER DELICIOUS key lime cheesecake for dessert.

Hubby is on his way back home now; I leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

I have a swim workout planned for later today. No, not in the bay (call me "Weenie"), but a nice pool at a health club near the hotel.

Gorby Home; Back to Training

Gorby came home on Saturday -- one day after surgery.

He was doing so well postoperatively (vitals were good; he was eating and drinking) that they let him come home.

It is great to have him back in the house. He is moving slowly, but doing all the right cat stuff -- eating, drinking, using the box and, best of all, purring.

I'll have a full biopsy report in about a week. I am not expecting any miracles.

I will talk to the oncologist about what to expect. My current plans are to spoil that cat as best as I can.

Thanks to you all who posted thoughtful comments. I know he is just a cat, but he is my cat and he means a lot to me.

----

Back to training --

I did a brick workout on Saturday with my good friends Marcia and Gary. We swam at Lake Nokomis for about 25 minutes and then went on a 25 mile bike ride.

Gary is an avid cyclist and lead us on a great route that went through Minneapolis, St. Paul and some of the near by suburbs. We rode on beautiful trails, near the Mississippi River and through some great parks.

My training plan scheduled for Sunday was a 3-hour bike ride. I liked the route Gary showed us so much that I pretty much repeated it, adding some additional miles to get to 3-hours. According to mapmyrun.com, I went just about 35 miles.



My only problem yesterday was a crash that happened on one of the bridges over the river.

I went riding later in the day, when the weekend warriors were out. Many families were taking advantage of the nice day. I was on a bridge heading back in to Minneapolis from Mendota Heights and there was a dad riding with a daughter going the opposite way. Behind him was his son (about 8 years old), who's attention was on the river, not the path.

He was veering over to the middle of the path and I had no where to go. He didn't hear me call out to him, "Heads UP!"

His handlebars clipped my handlebars and we both went flying down.

Fortunately, neither of us was hurt (no blood), but his hand hurt and my hip is tender today.

The boy apologized profusely -- I did too. The dad was not mad (hurrah) and we all survived.

Made me very leery of bridges for the rest of my ride, though.

-----

The next couple of weeks will be filled with lots of intense workouts. I'm okay with that. It will help me keep my mind off of other things.

Out of Surgery but not out of Woods

Gorby is out of surgery.

Did "well" -- tumor is removed. He is still sleeping off the anethesia.

Doc said the tumor was large, but no evidence that it had invaded the bowel (good).

Lymph nodes are "huge" (not so good). Partly because they were near a blood source and partly because of the cancer.

If the sutures hold and he starts to heal quickly, he could be home by Sunday/Monday.

Then we take it one day at a time.

Running; Cat Update

No clever title for my post today.

Just a couple quick updates:

Gorby is in surgery as I write this. The U found a donor cat to supply blood if needed. The blood thing is a big deal -- found a bunch of info on it via my friend "The Google".

Most interesting info was found here.

I should know his status in a couple of hours by the latest.

Sigh...

In the mix of all of this, my training has really taken a back seat. Too tired; too exhausted (which are two different things if you think about it...); too drained.

But, unfortunately, that countdown timer to the right of my blog doesn't stand still just because I have a sick cat and Pigman is coming up soon.

I actually got my tush out of bed this morning and went for a run.

I had a great run. Felt really good, felt like I was running at a good pace, didn't take any walk breaks between my house and all around Lake Calhoun.

I walked through a small parkway for about a block on the way home and then ran the rest of the way. Covered 4.29 miles in less than 45 minutes, putting my pace at slightly less than 10:29/mile.

I'm happy with this because my running has been very ragged this year. Today felt really good.

It has also been tough keeping my appetite under control. The good news is that I'm not raiding the candy jar. I'm just not being as diligent about points right now.

What can I say?

I'll post when I have more news about Gorby.

Gorby at the U; waiting for surgery...

Quick update: Gorby is at the U waiting to have the tumor removed.

The procedure falls under the Palliative Care umbrella.

For those of you non-medicals (like me yesterday), Palliative Care is any form of medical are or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than halting of delaying progression of the disease or providing a cure.

In other words, we are taking the possibility of an intestine problem (perforation, constriction or obstruction) off the table by taking the tumor out, but are not getting rid of the cancer.

Apparently that is not an actual possibility.

Very hard news to take, especially since the cat "looks" so healthy.

The surgery was scheduled for this morning, but there is a shortage of cat blood in Minnesota! (Can you believe this????)

They have to try to shore up supplies before they can do the procedure, which will probably be tomorrow.

When the Vet called me to tell me this today, she said that the "donor cats" aren't due to donate, but that another Vet Tech had cats that were already screened, so they are going to try to use them today.

(I have have visions of cats reclining on chairs, donating blood and then eating liver pate cookies and drinking mouse juice afterwards to help get their strength back....)

Anyway, my current thought is that if the surgery doesn't happen tomorrow, it is a sign from God/Buddah/Allah/Jehovah/Mother Earth/Krishha or who ever that it shouldn't happen and we should just bag it.

At least that is my thought at 3:28 pm today.

Today is a bummer day...

I take Gorby back to the U today for a "surgical consult" with Team One to determine the course of action regarding his intestinal tumor.

I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place:

If I do nothing, the tumor will grow and cancer will spread OR the tumor will grow and either obstruct, perforate or constrict his intestine, which, along with the cancer, presents a whole new set of problems.

I've got a list of questions a mile long to ask and reask Team One about the procedures, the recovery process, the recovery success, etc.

Depending on all the answers, Gorby will either spend the night there and have surgery tomorrow or come home with me, untreated.

Gorby, during all of this, just keeps trucking. Eating like a horse; drinking; "eliminatining"; looking for attenting and getting lots of love.

I was going to post a picture, but the Blogger template is a little weird today, and I don't see the icon to upload photos.

I'll leave you with this: =^..^=

My Name In Lights and "Stuff"

There it is! My name in lights! First place in my category. Yee ha.




First things first:


This "stuff" with Gorby (see post from July 11th) is very wearing. I've talked with the vet at the U; my regular Vet; my sisters, Hubby, friends, etc. All "roads of advice" point to really the only option, which is a crappy one:




Get the cat in for surgery to remove the tumor as soon as possible. Won't cure him, but will (hopefully) stop the chance of a perforated bowel or obstruction or blockage, which may be even more horrible than just having cancer. Then, continue to make decisions as more info is revealed.
I'm trying to get an appointment for this week, as much as I dread it.


Thought I'd post a couple of pictures of him taken today as we sat out in the backyard enjoying the summer. He doesn't look sick does he?










Other photos to post today are some shots from LifeTime:



Jill Goodwin, another Goody Girl from Columbus, participated yesterday at LTF. We both were wearing our Goody uniforms, so we found each other. Hubby took a picture of us:






Here I am rocking out of T1.


Finally, my time on the Podium.... that was kind of fun, I have to admit.

Unlike other years, they didn't have the trophy at the event.
They said they would mail me my award.

Wonder if they could just award me a cancer-free cat?

"Master Spreadsheet"

LifeTime Fitness tri is tomorrow. I'm excited and "ready" -- I think.

I have a larger issue occupying my brain today, though.

I'm a cat person. Hubby and I have four of them -- Lefty, Callie, Kirby and Gorby. We love those fur balls of wonderfulness.

Gorby and Callie were my cats; Kirby, Hubby's and Lefty is "ours". We adopted him after we were married.

When I adopted Gorby, he came to live with me and my first cat, Dinki.

Dinki came in to my life in 1977. I was going in to my sophomore year at Wisconsin and was moving in to my first "off campus" apartment. She was abandoned by her former owners and was hanging out near the porch of the apartment.

I took her in, we shared a lot of tuna (I was following the Weight Watchers program then as well...) and that was that. She stayed with me until she died, 22 years later.

Gorby came to live with Dinki and I during a very difficult stretch of time for me. My father had passed away and a very good friend of mine, Marlene, had been killed in an accident while we were on a trip to Chicago.

Yes, we. I was with her when she was hit by the car.

So it was a particularly bleak time in my life then when I went to the Humane Society and found Gorby. He was a very welcomed and loved addition to my life.

So I have a l o n g history with these animals. And, as any animal lover will tell you, they have a way of wiggling in to our hearts as true members of the family.

Gorby developed a mast cell tumor on the top of his head about a year ago. Typically, these tumors are not a big problem for felines.

I saw my vet and then took him to the University of Minnesota Veterniary Teaching Hospital -- an amazing place. Because of some additional issues with Gorby (a heart murmur and a bout of kidney disease), I opted to not have the tumor removed. It wasn't bothering him and there was no evidence of any other issues.

About two weeks ago, I took him back to the U for a recheck. The tumor had grown and I wanted to see what my options are. The doctor said the tumor was really not an issue, but went on to find a mass in his belly during the exam.

Gorby had an ultrasound on Wednesday and it revealed a large tumor, which is wrapping itself around his intestine. His lymph nodes were also enlarged. The Vet took some samples and I got the lab results yesterday.

The news is not good.

The cancer is "aggressive" and the prognosis is not positive.

At a minimum, he'll have to have the tumor removed. (If not, either the cancer will kill him, or the tumor will eventually get so large it will constrict his intestine or block it or rupture.)

The Vet said that surgery and chemo won't cure him -- but could give him 5 to 15 months. I am still waiting to find out more information from an oncologist about what treatment options are available, along with the risks, ramifications and issues treatment will bring.

I hate this part of owning a pet.

So what does this have to do with a "Master Spreadsheet"?

The year that my Dad was sick was obviously very stressful. It is hard to watch some one you love start to fail and everyone in the family was very worried about him.

I went to the bank one day to take money out of the ATM machine. I put my card in and when to punch my code in to the key pad and I could not remember my PIN. The same PIN I had had for many years.

No recollection. No hint. No clue. No nothing. That piece of data was permanently erased from my brain at that second, never to return again.

Yesterday, while waiting for the Vet to call me with results, I was composing an email to our Management group about reporting some information back to me for a project. I included an Excel spreadsheet that they could use to report their data.

I was trying to explain that they could use the spreadsheet I attached to the email for their data and then they could return it to me and I'd enter the info in to the......

Ummmmm........

Ahhh...........

"What do you call that again?"

The BIG spreadsheet? No..... The MAIN spreadsheet? No..... The one that is on the Web???? Noooo....

For the life of me, I could not remember what the dohicky was called.

I knew then that the same stress and preoccupation had returned.

Bleah.

At least my memory bank retrieved the word by the end of the afternoon.

The MASTER spreadsheet....

Doesn't really help with Gorby's health issue, nor does it help me understand the Master Plan...