Baseball? No, the curveballs that life sometimes throws at you. You've probably been wondering where I've been. In fact, a few of you e-mailed me to see what was up since I haven't posted here in over a month. A lot has happened in the past 4 weeks, some fun and some not-so-fun. Here's a recap...
September 3 through 6 - We left for our two week trip to Hawaii. 
We had a layover in Phoenix and were able to meet my sweet stamping friend, Doris. We "met" online about 5 years ago but when we finally met in person, it felt like we had known each other forever. After visiting with Doris for about an hour, we boarded the plane for Honolulu where we spent 3 nights.
September 6 though 11 - We arrived in Kauai on September 6. We had a great time up until Thursday afternoon at around 2:30. My cell phone rang and it was my sister calling to let me know that she was at the vet with Greta. It turns out that the vet (different doctor at the same vets office) prescribed the wrong dose of amlodipine (blood pressure medicine) and it caused an irregular heartbeat and extremely low blood pressure. The vet recommended that my sister take Greta to Veterinary Specialty Services which is a 24 hour animal hospital. Well, the next morning, we talked to the cardiologist and she said that she didn't feel that the overdose was fatal and that it would just take time to work out of her system. We went ahead and went on an outing that day, although our hearts weren't in it. By Saturday morning, the vet wasn't positive that Greta would make it although she couldn't say for sure because she said that there isn't much information about cats and amlodipine overodse. Anyway, we decided to fly home and we were lucky enough to be able to get a flight from Kauai to Honolulu at 9:00pm and from Honolulu to Phoenix at 11:00pm and then on to St. Louis, arriving at about 1:45pm on Sunday. My sister picked us up at the airport and we went straight to the hospital to see Greta. She looked so tired and sad, definitely not like her usual self. We spoke to the vet and she was more optimistic that Greta would be ok even though they had her in a oxygen cage so that it would help her breath easier.
September 12 - My sister called around 10:30 to check on Greta and to let me know that she was going to the doctor with my mom and dad. Turns out, my mom had an infection in her foot so she was admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics. Greta remained in stable condition.
September 13 through 18 - We were still on "vacation" so we were at home and would visit Greta twice a day. We took her favorite food and snacks with us but she refused to eat. She would drink water and use the litter pan but food didn't interest her at all. On Thursday morning, the vet was not very optimistic that Greta would be ok. When we visited her that morning, she seemed really tired and weak but when we visited her late in the afternoon, she seemed much better. The roller coaster ride continued through Tuesday, with Sunday being the worst day. The vet had told us that morning that she didn't know if there was much more she could do for Greta. The were able to stabilize her blood sugar which had risen really high but she had fluid under her skin and also in her chest. The vet drained her chest fluid each morning since Monday and they just couldn't figure out what was causing it. She said that Greta didn't appear to be in pain but she just wasn't getting better. Our visit on Sunday morning was sad because we just didn't know if she'd ever come home again. Our visit on Sunday evening was much better. Greta seemed more alert and even meowed a few times.
September 19 and 20 - My mom went home from the hospital on Monday afternoon and is doing well. She's still on antibiotics and her foot is wrapped but she's happy to be home and is getting around fine. When we visited Greta after work on Monday, she seemed even more alert than 24 hours earlier. On Tuesday morning, the vet removed Greta's feeding tube (it was a tiny tube in her nose) and she actually ate food for us on Tuesday evening and was very alert.
September 21 - When I spoke to the vet this morning, she said that she felt that Greta could go home. There was very little fluid in her chest, not even enough to drain, and she was eating. We picked her up at around 4:30 that afternoon. Carrie, the veterinary tech, told us that everyone in ICU gave her a goodbye pat on the head and were going to miss her but they were so glad she was going home. Within the first 30 minutes of being home, Greta ate, drank and used the litter box. She definitely knew where she was and was happy to be home.
Greta has been getting better each day and seems to be almost back to her old self. She had a follow-up visit on the 26th and the vet said that she looks great and the ultrasound of her chest showed no fluid and her heart was back to normal. When Carrie brought her back into the room after the tests, she said that she had to stop by the ICU because everyone wanted to say Hi to her. :) We love the entire staff at VSS and are so grateful to Doctor Marshall and her team for taking such good care of our dear baby.
My sister made a blanket for Greta and she absolutely loves it! It's so soft and warm and comfy. Greta has spent many hours sound asleep on her blanket. Not only is the blanket comfy but it's also personalized! Lisa has a cool embroidery machine that makes all kinds of things. Here's a close-up of the embroidering...
So, that's a recap of the past 4 weeks. Now for the present; since the title of this post is "Curveballs", I just have to mention baseball...woohoo, the Cardinals are in the playoffs. They play the Phillies today at 4:07. Strange time! We'll be at the Fox Theater seeing Addams Family but I'll have my phone on and will be checking the score!
OK, since it seems like things have settled down a little now, I'll be back to regular blogging. I'll be sure to post more details of our Hawaii trip. Check back soon.
