Canines, Camino and caring for our community

Thank you all so much for your feedback on my last post
It never ceases to amaze me the support I get from you all
In April I will celebrate 3 years blogging
3 years of being part of this fantastic community
3 years of getting to know some of the loveliest people I have ever met
Starting this blog is one of the better decisions I have made in recent years
Writing here every day has saved my life over and over again
And I have found that I have a real love of writing
Documenting that last 3 years has been amazing
Sometimes I read back over my archive
And it's so great to have all the ups and downs of the last 3 years down on paper
I often read back on an event that has slipped my mind
Or things that I have just forgotten
It's so nice to be able to read a detailed account of my journey thus far

And of course you
I won't mention all your names
You know who you are
You are my dear friends
Confidants
Supporters
Fellow soldiers in the fight against our demons
I have never met you
And may never
I don't even know what a lot of your look like
Or your real names
But I don't have to
You all know more about me than a lot of my family
You have been an important and integral part of my story
A key part of my recovery
All of you have have been a piece in the puzzle that is my life
Thank you for that

Anyway
Back to the business of scale disposal
I have decided what to do with my scale
But unfortunately I won't get to do it today
As the weather here is brutal
I opened the blinds this morning
To see sheets of rain blowing horizontally
Myself and Lea went for a walk
And the wind was so strong I had to hold on to a fence at one point
So I think I will leave my plan until tomorrow
I won't tell you what I am planning to do
I will keep it as a surprise

In other news
I feel like I am on the road back to being myself
I am taking my meds properly
And that has made a huge difference
I feel compis mentis
I feel emotionally and physically stable
And in regards of my ED
Well I have stopped weighing
And that feels amazing
I am no longer an emotional yo yo
My mood and self esteem depending on a number
I feel hopeful and positive
Obviously things are not perfect
But I feel I am getting through it as best I can

I'm sure I mentioned it here before
But for a long time I have wanted to do the Camino
The the Camino is a walk/pilgrimage that is done in Spain
Today, tens of thousands^[18] of Christian pilgrims and many others set out each year from their front doorsteps or from popular starting points across Europe, to make their way to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, some by bicycle, and a few travel as some of their medieval counterparts did, on horseback or by donkey (for example, the British author and humourist Tim Moore). In addition to those undertaking a religious pilgrimage, many are hikers who walk the route for other reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of weeks of walking in a foreign land. Also, many consider the experience a spiritual adventure to remove themselves from the bustle of modern life. It serves as a retreat for many modern "pilgrims".
(Wikipedia)

Ever since I first heard about it a few years ago
I have wanted to do it
Or at least do part of it
But up until now
I haven't been physically well enough to do it
But now I feel that I am 
So my Mother, my sister and I are planning to do it in September
Not all of it as it is 700km long
We are going to do about 120km
In the space of a week
I am so looking forward to this
It gives me a goal to work towards
And something to look forward to
I also need to save about 500 Euros for the trip
So I do need to discipline myself
I have bought a looked money box
Locked it and given the key to my sister
And my  aim is to save 25 Euros a week
Not easy for a shopoholic like me
But I will do my best
I find that if I have something on the horizon to look forward to 
I feel a lot better in myself
Sometimes time can stretch ahead of me
And it can be quite overwhelming  and daunting if there are no punctuation marks

I am also looking for things to keep me occupied
Something to focus on
A reason to get up in the morning
I think I am going to sign up for another yoga class
And am on the look out for another writing course
Starting a course scares me some
As I am notorious for starting things
And not finishing them
But I think if I find something I am interested in
I am more like to complete it

Honey update
After our visit to the vet yesterday
Honey's eye seemed to deteriorate
It's gone very cloudy again
And looks very sore and wet
So I think I will bring her back to vet Monday or Tuesday
I feel so sorry for my little Honey
She is so confused as to why she is wearing the buster collar
And this setback has really knocked the wind out of her sails
We are all spoiling her
And looking after her as best we can
Making sure she is as comfortable as possible
I am hoping and praying that she makes a good recovery

So that's it for today my friends
I hope you have a lovely weekend
See you on the next post........

Vote!

So I am getting really sick at looking at my scale in the corner of my room
You know that I threw one scale in to the lake
But there was another one lurking in my house
And somehow it found a home in my bedroom
For a while there I was weighing every day
And it was driving me as mad as a box frogs
So I stopped weighing
And now feel strong enough to get rid of it for good
Here's where you come in
I have a few different options of how to dispose of it
I could throw it in to the lake again
Throw it in to the sea
Run it over with my car
Or smash it with a hammer
My Mum thinks I should give it to a charity shop
But I want to do something symbolic
What do you think?
Which option do you like the sound of?
Or maybe you have another idea
Vote now!
The lines will be open until 9am tomorrow morning
Please don't vote after that time as your vote won't be counted
But you may still be charged

Vote 1 for scale in the lake
Vote 2 for scale in the sea
Vote 3 for running it over with my car
Vote 4 for smashing scale with hammer

Good luck!!

Sea view vet

Honey had her follow up appointment with the vet today

We bundled Leaand Honey in to the car first thing this morning and set off

I was hoping we could take the buster collar off today

As she is so awkward with it on

Constantly banging in to things

And generally being quite uncomfortable

We arrived at the vet

And I was glad to see that it was the same vet we saw on Monday

We headed in to the surgery

And I lifted Honey up on to the table

No mean feat given that she weighs 16kg

Straight away the vet said there was a massive improvement 

The swelling and redness have gone right down

She is opening her eye now

And she is in better form all around

To be on the safe side

The vet told us to keep the collar on for another week

When we will return for another follow up appointment

She also gave me another five days of tablets

I left the vet happy that Honey is on the mend

And €90 lighter

I don't mind the cost though

I'd pay anything to get Honey well and healthy

Here are some photos from today.....

This morning on her favourite chair

Scratching her little ears

In the vets with my sister

This is the animal scales
I was tempted to stand on it
But resisted

Not forgetting Lea who has been so patient this week

Shout out!

Honey continues to improve every day
Yesterday morning when I opened the utility room door
She bounded out to greet me
And even went for a little walk
My Dad came down yesterday afternoon
And Honey was so delighted to see him
And her eye looks much better
The swelling has gone right down
The redness is gone
And you can actually see her eye now

But then I got a real fright
As when I looked at her
It looked like her eye was bleeding profusely
It was literally dripping from her eye
I wiped it with a cotton ball
And it wasn't blood
It was a black tar like substance
I was very concerned
So I rang my vet
Who said that this is normal
And it's all part of the healing process
I was so relieved
My Mum says that it is the 'poison' and the 'badness' coming out of her eye
I think she is right

After that I kept a close eye on Honey
Wiping her eye every so often
The buster collar is driving her bananas
But hopefully it can come off tomorrow
She has been thoroughly spoiled the last few days
Everyone has been so worried about
Because she is a big part of this family
And an important part
I for one would be lost without her

In other news
My ED behaviours have improved some
I'm not purging as much
But it is still there
Being the bane of my life that it always is
My Dad commented yesterday
That I look like I have lost more weight
I don't know if I have
As I have stopped weighing myself
I had to stop
It was becoming obsessive
I feel quite comfortable in my skin at the moment
I don't love my body
But I don't hate it either
I swing between being able to accept it
And absolutely hating
It can change from to the other depending on my mood

One thing that has really helped this week
Is the fact that my meds are being dispensed daily
Now I have no opportunity to mess around with them
And I feel more stable and grounded
More clear headed
I really needed to get back on track
And I am

I guess the last few weeks were a learning curve
I learned that a slip doesn't have to turn in to a relapse
That not doing everything perfect it ok
I've learned that recovery is a roller coaster
That it's ok to make mistakes
Everyone does
And that is where I learn

I met my friend this morning for a walk
We had a great chat
Compared Christmases
She also has addiction issues and an ED
So it's great  to be able to talk so someone who gets it
My family is great
But they don't really get it

So it is now 2015
My goals are to continue to not smoke
To save a bit of money every week
To do part of the Camino before the year is out
And to keep on top of my recovery

By the way
This is a shout out
A girl called Beatrice emailed me yesterday
I am so sorry Beatrice
But I deleted your email by mistake
Could you send it again
As I really want to reply to you

Progress Report

Nurse Ruby here 

Reporting for duty

Today I have one patient 

Name: Honey

Age: 9

Species: Canine

Ailment: Eye infection

Honey presented with a very blood shot and swollen

It was so swollen 

I couldn't even see the pupil of the eye

And it was clear she was in a lot of pain

Honey was prescribed antibiotics, pain killers and anti inflammatory tablets

To be taken over the course of a week

She also has to wear a buster collar until the eye clears up

Honey was not in great form for the last few days

She spent a lot of time in her bed 

And the meds seem to be really taking it out of her

Today

I am delighted to report that she is in better form

She is up on her feet

She's eating

And she even barked at next doors dog

Meds are going well too

She is taking them without too much fuss

So I am optimistic that she will make a full recovery

On another note

I applied to be a foster mum to dogs that need it

I am so looking forward to this

I've wanted to do this for ages

I'll keep you updated

 

Here is Honey today

Poor little Honey

Honey is not much better today

In fact she is utterly miserable

And the fact she is wearing a buster collar is not helping matters

She keeps trying to scratch her sore eye

I really and truly feel sorry for her

Her eye is still very red and swollen

We felt so sorry for her last night

That we let her in to the living room

Usually they stay in the kitchen and utility room

We brought her bed in

And she lay between my sister and I

Getting up every so often

And snoring quietly

When I went to get them up this morning

Honey didn't move an inch

Usually she bounds out to greet me

She is really not herself

Then I had to give her the medication the vet gave us

She wouldn't take it on its own

So I wrapped the tablet in s bit of ham

But she still wouldn't take it

I went to the shops and bought some roast beef

Hoping that would tempt her

It took a while

But the meds eventually went down

I guess all I can do is keep an eye on her

And give her plenty of TLC

I'm hopeful that she will make a full recovery

And we will look after her as best we can

Honey

I don't know if I mentioned it or not
But Honey has been having an issue with her eye lately
At first we noticed there was a little cloud on her left eye
We brought her to the vet
But the vet wasn't sure what it is
So she prescribed drops
And told us to wait and see how she got on
It's didn't seem to be bothering Honey
Or effecting her eye sight
But even so
We kept a close eye on her

Then yesterday we were playing fetch in the kitchen
Honey was running around as usual
Having a great time
When all of a sudden
She let a little high pitched yelp out of her
She ran in to the corner behind the chair
And looked really sheepish
From then on
I kept a close eye on her
She seemed to be keeping her left eye tightly closed
And it was starting to weep
She stayed in behind the chair for ages
And was holding her head in a funny way
I was starting to get worried at this stage
And unfortunately it was a Sunday
So we had to wait until the following morning to bring her

This morning I got up early to check her
She was wiping her eye with her little paw
And she seemed to be in a lot of distress
I couldn't get a close look at her eye
As she had it closed very tightly
But I could see that it was red and swelling up
I bundled her and Lea in to the car
And off we set

I had to nip to the doctors first
That went fine
I am still on daily dispensing
Except on Saturday when I get a double dose
That is just fine with me
At least it will keep me out of trouble for now
I picked up my meds in the chemist
And then headed for the vet

We arrived at the vet at about 10am
They know us by this stage
So they greeted Honey warmly
While we were waiting
We weighed Honey
She has out on a little over Christmas
But haven't we all
Then we were called in to the surgery

I lifted Honey up on the table
And the vet took a look at her poor eye
She pulled back the eyelid to expose huge swelling in the white part of her eye
So much so you couldn't actually make out the pupil of her eye
I actually gasped when I saw it
As I didn't think it was that bad
And looking at it closely
I could see that the outside of her eye was all swollen and red too
Poor little Honey Bunny
I felt so sorry for her

By now Honey was not impressed with being poked at
And she began to growl at the vet
So we had to put a muzzle on her
The vet thought that her eye might be infected also
Because of the redness and the discharge
She prescribed pain killers
Antibiotics
And anti inflammatory tablets
And Honey also has to now wear a buster collar
You know the one that looks like a lampshade?
Honey is not happy about this
I think she feels pretty humiliated
So will keep a close eye on her this week
And she has to go back to the vet on Friday
Before we left
The vet gave Honey some injections to get her started

I collected the meds (which always cost a small fortune)
But I don't mind
Anything for my dogs
Their health is first and foremost in my mind
Honey banged and bumped her way back to the car
The poor little thing
I really feel for her

Now she is home
And she seems to be a bit brighter
She is eating
And walking around
And bullying Lea
So I am glad to see that she is coming back to herself
I truly hope that she makes a  full recovery
And goes back to being the Honey Bunny that I know and  love