Mo 11/30/20- Buddy's Comeback!!

 Mo 11/30/20- Buddy's Comeback!!

I awoke just before 7am and with great trepidation, I went into the living room. I was honestly afraid that he might have died in my chair during the night, but he was awake and alert. I gave him some Frisky canned food and he ate it all. I guess the thyroid medicine has finally cleared his system and we will be able to have some more time together. I am tentatively ecstatic!

Winter is here! Brisk north winds, mostly cloudy with temps only to about freezing. 

Then I watched 'THE INVISIBLE MAN' (HBO-Xfinity). A terrific remake of a moldy classic and the film can be seen as a textbook demonstration of the meaning of 'gaslighting'. Elisabeth Moss turns in another stunning performance, but not quite as unhinged or as extraordinary as 'HER SMELL'. 

I did THREE MILES ON THE TREADMILL and finished WHITNEY CUMMINGS/ SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO.

3PM: Phone call from Dr. Kirk at Brewer. I'm to call him back on Wednesday to find out if I should restart the pen gel medication. They do offer a service to take care of the body if he were to die at home. 

This is the email that I sent to Janny:

"What a weekend!

Because Buddy didn't eat or drink anything the entire weekend, I was afraid (terrified) that I'd wake up this morning and find him dead or that he'd be so weak that I'd have to take him in for the euthanasia procedure. But, this morning he was significantly more alert than yesterday and I was able to get him to eat and drink a little bit. I was cautiously ecstatic because maybe he has shaken off the side effects of the 'ear/thyroid' medicine, but time will tell.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Kirk at Brewer Animal Hospital. He's the guy that used to spend his lunch hours on the machines at FitClub and I used to see him during my own early afternoon workouts. He's a very nice guy and the senior vet at Brewer and he recommended that if Buddy can keep his food down, we'll try to restart the 'pen-gel' thyroid medicine with a different dosage. He said that some cats cannot tolerate the medicine, but it is the most widely used drug for hyperthyroidism.

This condition causes cats to burn through their food and although they eat a lot, they don't gain any weight. This describes Buddy to a 'T', however I just thought that his healthy appetite was a positive sign and the reason that he was thin was because he was so active. This was not exactly the case.

I am cautiously optimistic and I feel confident that the staff at Brewer know what they're doing. Dr. Kirk said that this is one of the most common diseases of elderly cats and they've had tons of experience dealing with it.

I suppose there would never be a 'good' time to deal with any of  this, but the pandemic is making things so much worse. I can't imagine quarantine without Buddy, but I have to remember that I've had almost fifteen wonderful years with him and nothing can make me forget that. And, if these were normal times I would have invited you and Joe over for a 'final visit', but I really don't want to risk exposing each other to COVID. However, this is not 'writ in stone' so if you feel we must take the risk, let me know.

And in other news....I have just a few pages to go to finish 'GUILTY AS SIN' by Tami Hoag (interrupted by Dr. Kirk's call). This was the sequel to 'NIGHT SINS' and although I wasn't wild about either novel, both were entertaining. And, on Saturday I watched the Netflix disc of 'FIVE EASY PIECES'. One of Jack Nicholson's early films and one of director Bob Rafelson's best work. Buddy slept on my lap during the entire film and that was the most uplifting two hours of the entire weekend.  

And, I've begun checking the sites for Christmas toys for the Brandenburg kids. I notice that there is now an entire line of educational toys designed for autistic kids.

I didn't find out about it until the week was almost over, but Xfinity allowed free access to some of their premium channels and I'm hoping to get in at least one more movie.  I watched 'THE INVISIBLE MAN' with Elisabeth Moss this morning and I really liked it. It wasn't like the corny original and this remake is more of a demonstration of 'the gaslight phenomenon' .  Gaslighting is when someone systematically tries to fake you into believing that you're losing your mind.

Well, that's it for now and better days are ahead....kw"

***Around 5pm I fed Buddy more Frisky canned food and he ate more than any other time since Friday. I'm hoping we can adjust the gel pen dosage later in the week and buy us both a little more time. 

2 MILES ON THE TREADMILL and began ROGAN'S talk with rock climber EMILY HARRINGTON.

In the tub with 'The Liar' ~STEPHEN FRY and listening to THE NIGHTHAWKS, NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS. 

I watched an episode of 'CRIME 360' (Amazon Prime). A young man is gunned down on a residential Cleveland, Ohio street. He and a buddy had been out drinking, their car stereo was too loud, and someone took offense and opened up with an AK47. Not only was a man killed, but numerous bullets went through the walls of several occupied houses on the street and many more could have died.

And then another episode of 'CRIME 360' (Amazon Prime).  A young Hispanic man from Cleveland, Ohio is shot and killed near a railroad underpass and then hidden 75 feet back inside a large sewer tunnel.  A seventeen year friend of the victim is charged with the crime and will be tried as an adult. 

This series will be dropped from Amazon Prime tomorrow, and it's too bad because 'CRIME 360' is one of the best True Crime series that I've ever seen.