Moanday, Monday

It's Moanday! Usually Monday is no big deal to me. Just another day in another week. Today, however . . . . well let it suffice today that if this is any indication of what the rest of my week is going to be like, I may have to seriously consider getting in my car and running far, far away from home! MWHITW and our friend Arthur (pronounced ahtha - he's a teensy weensy bit - OK he's a LOT British) left at 6AM bound for Kentucky with a load of stuff to put in storage and to finish up the plumbing on our friends' new house. I was a little worried because their trip up I75 was going to take them directly into the path of severe storms. All is well, though. They ran into a little bit of rain. Nothing severe, though, and shortly after they crossed the Georgia line the storms stopped. (Insert heavy sigh of relief and a big Praise the Lord). Alrighty then! They sent part of my work through early. Great! I can get a jump start on things. So, with both furry animals outside enjoying the beautiful weather, I sat down to type. 5 patients worth of dictation later I heard the most pathetic, heart wrenching howl/screech/yelp. I looked out the window and saw the big dog on the ground. Long story short . . . I'm home alone with a 65 pound dog who has possibly had a stroke and is having seizures, a 10 pound doxie who wanted nothing more than for her big buddy to get up and play and not a neighbor in site. I was finally able to get to the phone and call my handsome, talented son who hopped in his trusty steed (a.k.a. the Kia Sportage) and was here in less than 10 minutes. Now the fact that he was here in less than 1o minutes would usually give me grounds for a lecture because he lives 10 miles away with at least 5 stoplights and a long stretch of town where the speed limit is only 40 between us. However, under the circumstances, I was just so glad to see him I'll save that lecture for another day. We were able to roll Buck on to his blanket and lift him into the back of my car just before the downpour came. I rode in the back with him and wonderful son drove us to the vet's office. Fortunately the rain stopped just as we pulled into the parking lot and we were able to get the big, furry one inside. His temperature was over 104, which in doggy degrees is about 4 degrees high. He was totally unresponsive. They took him immediately to the bath tub and bathed him in cool water in an effort to lower his temperature as quickly and safely as possible. The vet said they were going to give him IV fluids, run a battery of tests and observe him at least over night. When we left him (which was really a hard thing to do) he was still unresponsive. A phone call from the vet a while ago wasn't all that encouraging either. His blood sugar was 40, his liver enzymes are extremely high and he's still having mini seizures. They've got him on IV glucose and fluids and Valium (can you pass some of that Valium to me, please?). She didn't sound very hopeful. He has been a part of our family for 12 years - the same length of time we have lived in this house. I have a feeling this is going to be a really, really, really long night.