Just a short note: We're back home again, after going down to Las Vegas to get the rest of the stuff from the house, we are now back home. It was a long and not always comfortable uHaul ride..
More later.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Beautiful Fall Day
I just uploaded some new pictures of our little valley here, because the colors are just beautiful. I don't remember living in such a colorful place in a LONG time. Certainly not California, which has two colors: Brown and green. Colorado certainly had nice colors, but i don't remember much of them, especially not in Denver (I do have some fond memories of turning aspen).
These pictures are pretty much what we see out of our living room/dining room window (though the pictures were taken from the patio/balcony (adjacent to the dining room).
The pictures can be found on our photo album page here.
These pictures are pretty much what we see out of our living room/dining room window (though the pictures were taken from the patio/balcony (adjacent to the dining room).
The pictures can be found on our photo album page here.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A Very Long Day - Part 2: Midnight, PTC, Soccer
Previously: "A Very Long Day - Part 1"
While Jan was resting from his fall, I spoke with the vet about midnight (11am). Jan and I discussed our options, taking into account all the information we had on Midnight, her diagnosis(s), age, health, preferences and tried not to be selfish at the expense of our beloved friend. Many tears, and a couple of choked up phone calls later, the vet gave her the injection while we held her in our arms (2pm). The kids came home from school and we shared tears, regrets and memories of our beloved cat (345pm).
Parent Teacher Conferences (PTC) started at 430pm. Yes, same day. All the teachers sat around the edges of the large common room (where the kids eat lunch) and the parents took turns chatting with each teacher as they came available. It worked amazingly well. In summary, the teachers seem to genuinely care about the kids. Many of the teachers love our kids and believe they will be successful in their classes. Each of them have things to work on...organization topping both lists : ) I sent an email with the PTC results/grades to those I thought would be interested.
We rushed home at 715pm to pick up the kids, heat up some baked beans and head for the End of the Season Soccer Potluck at 730. Amazingly, we were on time :) The beauty of a small town:) Due to some unkind words he had received during the homecoming assembly, Jamie had not wanted to attend the event; but we didn't give him a choice. A couple of players & mothers had gone out of their way to call and come by to be sure Jamie was invited. As we walked in the door, Auri disappeared to hang with her friends. Jamie was more of a butterfly flittering here and there, returning to stay by us, only to leave again. Over the course of the evening, Jamie received a Letter in soccer (YEA!!!), a CD of pics, a photo collage of him playing on the team and a Frenchtown Soccer Sweatshirt (which we can take down and have his name put on). As they gave out awards for the best players, all-conference, most improved etc.... Jamie leaned over and wispered, " I'm going to play next year." It was a good night. :)
As we finally collapsed (gently in Jan's case :) into bed, it was hard to believe that it was only One Very Long day.
A Very Long Day - Part 1: Jan's Fall
Some days are just longer then others and yesterday was one of the longest days of my life. I swear that by the time we went to bed, it felt like we had lived through several days.
It all started with a loud CRASH, followed by an eerie moaning of obvious pain. I flew out of bed and found my own little nightmare. Jan had gotten up to go to the bathroom around 5 am, felt a little lightheaded, slipped on the rug, tried to catch himself (in the dark bathroom) and landed hard hitting the tub and toilet on his way down. I helped him to a sitting position. He was delirious. "Jan, Look at me." He did not know me, or anything else, he could not focus his eyes or follow a thought, "Do you know where you are?"....."Where I are?".... He started sweating profusely, skin clammy, pulse thready, he kept trying to get up, I made him stay on the floor. The phones were all downstairs. The kids were asleep, three floors down. "Shit" I waited for him to sit calmly and ran downstairs for the phone. I was going to call my neighbor to help me (he is a pharmacist), but I knew Jan would need x-rays so, I called 911 instead. They were on the way, I toweled Jan off and stayed with him. After 10 min (can we say eternity??) from the initial crash, Jan was suddenly back with me. Like a flip of a switch, he recognized me. "Do you know your name?" "Jan (his voice sounded like he thought I was out of my mind)" "Do you know my name?" "Sara" I started to tear up. "Do you know where you are?" "the bathroom" He thought I was crazy. I told him that he did not know the answers to those questions a few minutes ago, that he had fallen. He had no memory of the fall. I told him that 911 was on it's way and that I felt he needed to go the hospital to be checked. He stayed on the floor, while 911 showed up. I ran down to let them in and let them by Kizsie (our rott) who is still on house arrest since her surgery. Emergency personal stayed for about 40min (including waiting for the ambulance to arrive from Missoula) and then loaded him up and took him to the hosp. Auri woke up from the dogs barking and the flashing lights. I gave her instructions for the morning, leaving her responsible for the animals, her brother and getting to school on the bus and flew to the hospital (ok technically I was in my car). CAT scan, xray.... diagnosis: Concussion, poss fracture ribs (x-ray inconclusive), no major head injury, no punctured organs, lots of soft tissue injury. He has an abrasion on his cheek, a small cut on his hip, and multiple aches and pains, but he is otherwise ok.....whew. We were back home by 845am.
It all started with a loud CRASH, followed by an eerie moaning of obvious pain. I flew out of bed and found my own little nightmare. Jan had gotten up to go to the bathroom around 5 am, felt a little lightheaded, slipped on the rug, tried to catch himself (in the dark bathroom) and landed hard hitting the tub and toilet on his way down. I helped him to a sitting position. He was delirious. "Jan, Look at me." He did not know me, or anything else, he could not focus his eyes or follow a thought, "Do you know where you are?"....."Where I are?".... He started sweating profusely, skin clammy, pulse thready, he kept trying to get up, I made him stay on the floor. The phones were all downstairs. The kids were asleep, three floors down. "Shit" I waited for him to sit calmly and ran downstairs for the phone. I was going to call my neighbor to help me (he is a pharmacist), but I knew Jan would need x-rays so, I called 911 instead. They were on the way, I toweled Jan off and stayed with him. After 10 min (can we say eternity??) from the initial crash, Jan was suddenly back with me. Like a flip of a switch, he recognized me. "Do you know your name?" "Jan (his voice sounded like he thought I was out of my mind)" "Do you know my name?" "Sara" I started to tear up. "Do you know where you are?" "the bathroom" He thought I was crazy. I told him that he did not know the answers to those questions a few minutes ago, that he had fallen. He had no memory of the fall. I told him that 911 was on it's way and that I felt he needed to go the hospital to be checked. He stayed on the floor, while 911 showed up. I ran down to let them in and let them by Kizsie (our rott) who is still on house arrest since her surgery. Emergency personal stayed for about 40min (including waiting for the ambulance to arrive from Missoula) and then loaded him up and took him to the hosp. Auri woke up from the dogs barking and the flashing lights. I gave her instructions for the morning, leaving her responsible for the animals, her brother and getting to school on the bus and flew to the hospital (ok technically I was in my car). CAT scan, xray.... diagnosis: Concussion, poss fracture ribs (x-ray inconclusive), no major head injury, no punctured organs, lots of soft tissue injury. He has an abrasion on his cheek, a small cut on his hip, and multiple aches and pains, but he is otherwise ok.....whew. We were back home by 845am.
Goodbye Midnight
We had Midnight, my cat of 17+ years, put to sleep yesterday. On monday night, I noticed she wasn't doing so well. She wasn't really eating, walking around very little, and basically just laying in dark corners. We'd noticed some other signs in the preceding days, and I kinda got scared. She weighed next to nothing (5 pounds, I'm told, which is down 2 from her usual 7 pounds).
So we took her in to the vet first thing tuesday morning, and left her there to run some tests and see what's going on. To be honest, I was surprised that she was still with us tuesday morning. That's how bad she seemed to me. Heck, when we got to the vet, I wouldn't have been surprised to find her passed away in the cat carrier.
They tell us they gave her IV water and glucose, as she was dehydrated (I tried to get her to drink, to no avail). We waited all day for the vet to call us with some news or results, but they never did, which kinda pissed us off. We finally got a hold of a night-shift vet at the hospital, who told us what the chart seemed to indicate: kidney failure, as well as liver failure. Both of those basically lead to the cat not eating or drinking.
Wednesday we finally talked to the doctor in charge of midnight, and the prognosis was pretty much what we figured. It's not like you can cure liver and kidney failure. To extend her life, we could do an IV therapy and see if that kick starts the kidney again (chances not good), as well as take her home and do months (or weeks) of subcutaneous fluids. I did that for one of Val's cats a few years ago, and it was no fun for the cat or us, and the cat just wasted away slowly anyway. I didn't want to put midnight through any of that.
In addition, we could try to force-feed her to see if the liver comes back. Chances there are equally slim. Also, she's had irritable bowel disease all her life, meaning that anytime she eats more than a few bites, she generally throws it all back up. So force-feeding combined with that didn't sound the least bit appealing.
Plus we didn't want her to hate us the last part of her life, constantly being force-fed and needles for subcutaneous fluids stuck in her. I've done some of that when she was younger (she had an episode of diabetes, so I had to give her insulin shots every day), and everyone's given medicine to a pet, i.e. shoving a pill or dropper down her throat. Anyone who's done that knows that the pet learns very quickly what's coming and generally disapproves, to say the least. I didn't want to have to do that to her in her last days.
Also, consider that midnight always hated other cats and dogs (darn prima donna..), and now she was stuck in a noisy animal hospital. I didn't really want to leave her there either, nor could I really bring her home to let her "waste away" at home. That ain't right, either.
So with a VERY heavy heart, we had a neighbor drive us to the vet (neither sara nor I figured we'd be in any shape to drive home afterwards), and had her put to sleep.
I know it was the best thing to do, but it still breaks my heart. I've had midnight for a very long time. You kinda grow attached. I'll miss her.
So we took her in to the vet first thing tuesday morning, and left her there to run some tests and see what's going on. To be honest, I was surprised that she was still with us tuesday morning. That's how bad she seemed to me. Heck, when we got to the vet, I wouldn't have been surprised to find her passed away in the cat carrier.
They tell us they gave her IV water and glucose, as she was dehydrated (I tried to get her to drink, to no avail). We waited all day for the vet to call us with some news or results, but they never did, which kinda pissed us off. We finally got a hold of a night-shift vet at the hospital, who told us what the chart seemed to indicate: kidney failure, as well as liver failure. Both of those basically lead to the cat not eating or drinking.
Wednesday we finally talked to the doctor in charge of midnight, and the prognosis was pretty much what we figured. It's not like you can cure liver and kidney failure. To extend her life, we could do an IV therapy and see if that kick starts the kidney again (chances not good), as well as take her home and do months (or weeks) of subcutaneous fluids. I did that for one of Val's cats a few years ago, and it was no fun for the cat or us, and the cat just wasted away slowly anyway. I didn't want to put midnight through any of that.
In addition, we could try to force-feed her to see if the liver comes back. Chances there are equally slim. Also, she's had irritable bowel disease all her life, meaning that anytime she eats more than a few bites, she generally throws it all back up. So force-feeding combined with that didn't sound the least bit appealing.
Plus we didn't want her to hate us the last part of her life, constantly being force-fed and needles for subcutaneous fluids stuck in her. I've done some of that when she was younger (she had an episode of diabetes, so I had to give her insulin shots every day), and everyone's given medicine to a pet, i.e. shoving a pill or dropper down her throat. Anyone who's done that knows that the pet learns very quickly what's coming and generally disapproves, to say the least. I didn't want to have to do that to her in her last days.
Also, consider that midnight always hated other cats and dogs (darn prima donna..), and now she was stuck in a noisy animal hospital. I didn't really want to leave her there either, nor could I really bring her home to let her "waste away" at home. That ain't right, either.
So with a VERY heavy heart, we had a neighbor drive us to the vet (neither sara nor I figured we'd be in any shape to drive home afterwards), and had her put to sleep.
I know it was the best thing to do, but it still breaks my heart. I've had midnight for a very long time. You kinda grow attached. I'll miss her.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Homecoming and all
Well Auri went to the Homecoming dance last night with some girlfriends! She had a great time, stating it was "AWESOME!" She has made a nice group of friends and seems to be doing well. She has decided to join the school band and start playing the tuba again! I know I was surprised too! Most importantly, Auri has made it into the school play "Annie" (the musical) she will play the part of Ms Greer (one of Warbucks servants). The play will be Thurs Nov 29 thru Sat Dec 1.
Jamie is still mega-migraine free; Although he states that he has had little headaches off and on. He chose to stay home and "chill" instead of going to the dance last night. He is still working on his makeup work. There seems to be some confusion there....I will be speaking to the teachers this week. Parent- teacher conferences are Weds & Thurs. The soccer season is either finished or they may have a last game next week (divisionals). Jamie remains ineligible so he won't be able to get back on the team this year. Odds are that will probably affect him receiving a letter (i.e. letterman's jacket) this year...bummer. But, worse is that it decreases his bonding with the friends he made on the team :(
I think we will have to do something about that aspect, maybe the coach needs a manager like Auri does in Volleyball... I wish I had thought of that earlier! Maybe I will talk to him about having a little weekend movie party over here...
Kizzie (the dog) is recovering well from her ACL repair and remains on house arrest :) She gets very sad when we put the "lamp shade" collar on her and refuses to lift up her head (as if it weighed 20 lb. instead of a few ounces).
Everything else seems to be progressing well. There is always so much to do around here.... I will probably go find a part time nursing job to help with the bills. I looked into substitute teaching, and may follow thru with it, bit the pay is around $60 a day...that breaks down to $7.50 an hour. Nursing pays much less here then Vegas, of course, but I am sure I can at least double that wage. I am going to start rebuilding my massage skills and practice, starting with the kids and Jan (they are happy about that :).
Jan and I will be going to Vegas Oct 16 to pack up the rest of our stuff, load up the Uhaul and head back to Montana before the snows arrive (or at least before it gets bad). Grandpa Brew will come up and stay here with the kids Tues/Weds so that they can go to school, then take them back to Idaho for a few days till we pick them up on our way through. (No school Thurs/Fri).
Jamie is still mega-migraine free; Although he states that he has had little headaches off and on. He chose to stay home and "chill" instead of going to the dance last night. He is still working on his makeup work. There seems to be some confusion there....I will be speaking to the teachers this week. Parent- teacher conferences are Weds & Thurs. The soccer season is either finished or they may have a last game next week (divisionals). Jamie remains ineligible so he won't be able to get back on the team this year. Odds are that will probably affect him receiving a letter (i.e. letterman's jacket) this year...bummer. But, worse is that it decreases his bonding with the friends he made on the team :(
I think we will have to do something about that aspect, maybe the coach needs a manager like Auri does in Volleyball... I wish I had thought of that earlier! Maybe I will talk to him about having a little weekend movie party over here...
Kizzie (the dog) is recovering well from her ACL repair and remains on house arrest :) She gets very sad when we put the "lamp shade" collar on her and refuses to lift up her head (as if it weighed 20 lb. instead of a few ounces).
Everything else seems to be progressing well. There is always so much to do around here.... I will probably go find a part time nursing job to help with the bills. I looked into substitute teaching, and may follow thru with it, bit the pay is around $60 a day...that breaks down to $7.50 an hour. Nursing pays much less here then Vegas, of course, but I am sure I can at least double that wage. I am going to start rebuilding my massage skills and practice, starting with the kids and Jan (they are happy about that :).
Jan and I will be going to Vegas Oct 16 to pack up the rest of our stuff, load up the Uhaul and head back to Montana before the snows arrive (or at least before it gets bad). Grandpa Brew will come up and stay here with the kids Tues/Weds so that they can go to school, then take them back to Idaho for a few days till we pick them up on our way through. (No school Thurs/Fri).
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Kid update
Well, it has been another interesting week in the Vilhuber home :)
On the bright side, Jamie has not had a headache in the week!!!! Yeah. He did however, have the flu (vomiting/diarrhea) on Monday and therefore missed school-again :( His teachers seem to be working with him and the special ed paraprofessional is great! I have received word that since we restated the slim fast break his behavior has improved significantly in his last period class. His first & second period classes state that they have not seen any behavior issues so far this year :) He is trying hard and doing well. We went to the chiropractor this week. Jamie has been complaining of neck, back and ankle pain. The doctor did scans along the spine to check for inflammation and muscle tension to help assess problem areas related to spinal/nervous systems. Jamie adjusted easily (MD is quite gentle and effective) and immediately stated he felt better (and his posture was notable better).
Auri is behind in a few classes and is working on getting the work she missed with volleyball turned in. She missed Tuesday as she was not feeling well (general yuckiness) She has skipped practices this week to focus on school work and so that we could go to the chiropractor after school. She has been complaining of neck and back pain and the doctors scans concurred. She was easily adjusted and states she feels much better.
I have been emailing the teachers and staying on top of the kids to do their work. The have a system similar to the ones in Vegas to follow school progress. It is called the PASS system. Bob, I can send you the website/ID & password; so that you can follow their grades if you like.
Kizzie is back from surgery today. Her ACL was repaired successfully :) Now she has 2 months of recovery. She is currently on house arrest with an Elizabethan collar to prevent her licking her wound open (I'm sure you all remember that she is a compulsive licker!) She is a bit depressed about the collar, but that's life. We have to ice her leg 2-3x a day and passive ROM 2-3 times a day. She will probably require some PT as she has not walked on her leg in a month and she is not using now either... we shall see...
The animals are enjoying Montana as much as we are.... we keep receiving 'gifts' from the cats... mice, bats, huge caterpillars, birds etc. Dogs and cats both love bounding through the tall grass :). Jan and I went riding yesterday and had a great time! Sypreme and I enjoyed our first trot and canter, it was great! We did have to walk them down a hill (side of mountain) that we went up as they were to upset to go down by themselves (it didn't help that it was a burned out area and we had to be careful of the holes where roots had burned out underground.) The rest of the ride was great.. too bad we can't go everyday :)
We are trying to plan a trip to Vegas to pack and haul the rest of our stuff up here. Aiming for 2-3rd week of October (to beat the snow and take advantage of "no school" days)
On the bright side, Jamie has not had a headache in the week!!!! Yeah. He did however, have the flu (vomiting/diarrhea) on Monday and therefore missed school-again :( His teachers seem to be working with him and the special ed paraprofessional is great! I have received word that since we restated the slim fast break his behavior has improved significantly in his last period class. His first & second period classes state that they have not seen any behavior issues so far this year :) He is trying hard and doing well. We went to the chiropractor this week. Jamie has been complaining of neck, back and ankle pain. The doctor did scans along the spine to check for inflammation and muscle tension to help assess problem areas related to spinal/nervous systems. Jamie adjusted easily (MD is quite gentle and effective) and immediately stated he felt better (and his posture was notable better).
Auri is behind in a few classes and is working on getting the work she missed with volleyball turned in. She missed Tuesday as she was not feeling well (general yuckiness) She has skipped practices this week to focus on school work and so that we could go to the chiropractor after school. She has been complaining of neck and back pain and the doctors scans concurred. She was easily adjusted and states she feels much better.
I have been emailing the teachers and staying on top of the kids to do their work. The have a system similar to the ones in Vegas to follow school progress. It is called the PASS system. Bob, I can send you the website/ID & password; so that you can follow their grades if you like.
Kizzie is back from surgery today. Her ACL was repaired successfully :) Now she has 2 months of recovery. She is currently on house arrest with an Elizabethan collar to prevent her licking her wound open (I'm sure you all remember that she is a compulsive licker!) She is a bit depressed about the collar, but that's life. We have to ice her leg 2-3x a day and passive ROM 2-3 times a day. She will probably require some PT as she has not walked on her leg in a month and she is not using now either... we shall see...
The animals are enjoying Montana as much as we are.... we keep receiving 'gifts' from the cats... mice, bats, huge caterpillars, birds etc. Dogs and cats both love bounding through the tall grass :). Jan and I went riding yesterday and had a great time! Sypreme and I enjoyed our first trot and canter, it was great! We did have to walk them down a hill (side of mountain) that we went up as they were to upset to go down by themselves (it didn't help that it was a burned out area and we had to be careful of the holes where roots had burned out underground.) The rest of the ride was great.. too bad we can't go everyday :)
We are trying to plan a trip to Vegas to pack and haul the rest of our stuff up here. Aiming for 2-3rd week of October (to beat the snow and take advantage of "no school" days)
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