what a weird day this was.
My one-eye stray cat, Jack, (I guess he's not really a stray since I've taken him in) was diagnosed with diabetes Monday. The one thing I have never ever ever wanted to do is give shots - I hate needles as much as I hate snakes ....and that's A LOT! So what have I done for the last two days? Give a cat shots in the scruff of his neck. I take him back to the vet this a.m. so they can monitor his glucose something-or-other then off to work I go.
I'm trying to meet with some IT folks about fixing what can be classified as nothing less than a fire Marshall's nightmare - a mess of extension cords and six plugs (or as a co-worker too gleefully pointed out in that...that...that tone "do you mean a power strip"? The only thing she left off was "idiot" "Hillbilly" or "moron" I'm not sure which). They're all chained together providing power to a herd of computers, and I mean a herd! Waiting, waiting, waiting, need to get allergy shot while they're open, waiting, waiting, tired of waiting, running out of time - go for allergy shot.
Last week's shot gave me an immediate reaction which then touched off an anxiety attack. That was fun - nothing like blood pressure through the roof and a heart rate that would easily launch me into orbit. No jet propulsion necessary. My pressure went so high the nurse had trouble getting the BP cuff on and, by the time she took it off, bruises around my bicep - attractive! The reaction didn't last long (it was a new, stronger dose, that's why it happened - the anxiety just cuz a racing heart freaks me out) but it was in the back of my mind today. I made a vow that, no matter what, I wasn't freaking out.
Got the shot - the reaction took a while to set in, well after I'd left the office. And a little too late for me to freak out. I spent the rest of the day in a anti-histamine induced haze, short of breath, fighting sleep every time I sat down and real trouble stringing a sentence together.
Return to office - pile of mail on desk, IT folks walk in. No time to check mail, virtual or real. Trying to explain the situation on antihistamines takes twice as long with three times the effort. (just so you know, me and antihistamines aren't like antihistamines and other people - they knock me out, even the ones that aren't supposed to!)
Quickly eat something before next meeting.
Next meeting - a follow up from a workshop held recently. I had jotted down a few notes - mentioned one thing from the workshop and, either I didn't explain it well (wouldn't be weird even on a good day), or a certain committee member decided she'd just pick on somebody today and I was the closest fool. She was so damned hateful I just shut up and was thankful to be drugged. Otherwise I would have really taken offense to her pretension. As it was, she gets to take the blame if something goes wrong. Ya know, you can lead a horse to water......
Back to regular job, meetings going on all around me, quiet quiet quiet, all of a sudden, impromptu meeting in another room. Makes me late top pick up the cat from the vet. Get to vet where I learn that the insulin isn't working. Either he needs a different kind or I'm not giving the shots "deep enough". For crying out loud - ya want me to hit a bone? I had to leave the cat overnight.
I came home. I heard his little bell run to the back door when I slipped in the key. I opened the door but no Jack. It was my biggest wish. I didn't want a cat but he needed a home. Now I want him to meet me at the door every day. And I want people to stop being shitty to each other, including me. Is that so much to ask?
My one-eye stray cat, Jack, (I guess he's not really a stray since I've taken him in) was diagnosed with diabetes Monday. The one thing I have never ever ever wanted to do is give shots - I hate needles as much as I hate snakes ....and that's A LOT! So what have I done for the last two days? Give a cat shots in the scruff of his neck. I take him back to the vet this a.m. so they can monitor his glucose something-or-other then off to work I go.
I'm trying to meet with some IT folks about fixing what can be classified as nothing less than a fire Marshall's nightmare - a mess of extension cords and six plugs (or as a co-worker too gleefully pointed out in that...that...that tone "do you mean a power strip"? The only thing she left off was "idiot" "Hillbilly" or "moron" I'm not sure which). They're all chained together providing power to a herd of computers, and I mean a herd! Waiting, waiting, waiting, need to get allergy shot while they're open, waiting, waiting, tired of waiting, running out of time - go for allergy shot.
Last week's shot gave me an immediate reaction which then touched off an anxiety attack. That was fun - nothing like blood pressure through the roof and a heart rate that would easily launch me into orbit. No jet propulsion necessary. My pressure went so high the nurse had trouble getting the BP cuff on and, by the time she took it off, bruises around my bicep - attractive! The reaction didn't last long (it was a new, stronger dose, that's why it happened - the anxiety just cuz a racing heart freaks me out) but it was in the back of my mind today. I made a vow that, no matter what, I wasn't freaking out.
Got the shot - the reaction took a while to set in, well after I'd left the office. And a little too late for me to freak out. I spent the rest of the day in a anti-histamine induced haze, short of breath, fighting sleep every time I sat down and real trouble stringing a sentence together.
Return to office - pile of mail on desk, IT folks walk in. No time to check mail, virtual or real. Trying to explain the situation on antihistamines takes twice as long with three times the effort. (just so you know, me and antihistamines aren't like antihistamines and other people - they knock me out, even the ones that aren't supposed to!)
Quickly eat something before next meeting.
Next meeting - a follow up from a workshop held recently. I had jotted down a few notes - mentioned one thing from the workshop and, either I didn't explain it well (wouldn't be weird even on a good day), or a certain committee member decided she'd just pick on somebody today and I was the closest fool. She was so damned hateful I just shut up and was thankful to be drugged. Otherwise I would have really taken offense to her pretension. As it was, she gets to take the blame if something goes wrong. Ya know, you can lead a horse to water......
Back to regular job, meetings going on all around me, quiet quiet quiet, all of a sudden, impromptu meeting in another room. Makes me late top pick up the cat from the vet. Get to vet where I learn that the insulin isn't working. Either he needs a different kind or I'm not giving the shots "deep enough". For crying out loud - ya want me to hit a bone? I had to leave the cat overnight.
I came home. I heard his little bell run to the back door when I slipped in the key. I opened the door but no Jack. It was my biggest wish. I didn't want a cat but he needed a home. Now I want him to meet me at the door every day. And I want people to stop being shitty to each other, including me. Is that so much to ask?
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3 comments:
Aww, a one-eyed kitty. I came within an inch of adopting a blind kitten from a shelter in Bowling Green once. Brooklyn is declawed, so I figured that would be an even match. Sighted cat with no claws versus blind cat with claws. But by the time I got there, she had already been adopted...
And yes, asking people not to be shitty is to each other is too much to ask. ;)
What you got against diabetics? Huh? You some sort of pancreasist? "Oh, look at me. My pancreas works? La-de-da! I produce my own glucose regulating hormones. I'm SOOOO better than Jason!"
BAH!
The secret life of efficient, kind, heartfelt and lovely people. YDNS.
With Shooski, the cat who was diagnosed with diabetes rather late in her 18-year old life, we used an oral medication called glipazide which was mixed into a yummy "triple fish" compound which could only be prepared by Wheelers Pharmacy on Romany Road or by the old Pharmacy Shop in Southland. I don't know if the new Pharmacy Shop, located near the Co-op, does the compounding for pet medications. At any rate, she took the medication in her food rather successfully. Twice a day. A little treat of wet food. Of course, that changed the routine for all the cats, who, to this day, have to have a wet food treat twice a day. Shooski died two years ago, but Dotley and Abby continue with two-a-day treats. They'd DIE without that treat, they insist rather histrionically.
Get well, Jack.
Stay well, Kopana
Bless you, Sadie
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