Tuesday was a very busy day for us! We had to go to Columbia to run an errand, have a doctor appointment, and while we were there, we wanted to use an old gift card to Red Lobster which isn’t close by us anymore.
But first there was the matter of Hestia to take care of. She needed xrays and bloodwork done. So I dropped her off at the vet in the morning so they could do those things while we were gone all day, and then pick her up when we got back.
It was raining all the way down to Columbia, and we found the bank we needed to visit quickly. Tamara was excellent at doing probate stuff and got everything done she needed to!
Next we headed to Red Lobster. We had a GREAT time there, and Brad took loads of pictures of us as we waited for our food and even ate biscuits! The restaurant was really uncrowded so we were able to eat mask free which was awesome!
Brad and Tamara split a feast meal which had SO much food. They both had leftovers. I had a bunch of biscuits and a shrimp duo with brussels sprouts. Felix was OK during the meal, though he kept trying to move around. It was a bit difficult. I could tell he was not used to working and resenting it a bit, so I let him say hi to our server once she noticed he was there.
Below are pictures of us at Red Lobster
We had some time after Red Lobster, so I called the vet. They think Hestia tweaked her back, probably from jumping off the couch. So Hestia will no longer be allowed on the couch unless someone is holding her. We will take away the dog stairs so she can’t get up there, and Felix and Alice will have to be lifted on and off the couch. Bummer for them, but we can’t risk Hestia. The ramp to the bed is OK, though, since she always uses it, so she can still be on the bed.
She said Hestia also has spondylosis which are growths on her spine and lower back, and arthritis and hip dysplasia in the hip that was dislocated a year and a half ago. That could be causing her pain as well. Her low red blood cell count at the urgent vet was not repeated with our vet’s testing, so we don’t have to worry about that. She is definitely getting a little too skinny, so is getting an extra scoop of food a day for a while to see if we can fatten her up.
In the meantime, Hestia is on painkillers and crate rest for the next 2-4 weeks. Unfortunately we’ll be out of town for a bit during that time and Hestia will be boarded. The boarding room is 4 ft by 4 ft and my vet said that is small enough to be OK for Hestia so long as she isn’t able to jump. I already called the facility and there are no steps she will be using and they’ll limit her time in the dog yard so that she doesn’t have a chance to run or use her back too much.
Hestia has to come back in 4 weeks to see how she’s doing. If she’s not in pain anymore, it was just a pulled muscle or something in her back, and we can stop the painkillers and just stop her doing any jumping. If she still has some pain, then her pain is due to her spondylosis and arthritis, and she’ll need to be on painkillers for the rest of her life. Which means bloodwork every 3 months… Fun. So I hope this is just a tweak, which it seems to be as she already seems lots better with the painkillers and crate rest.
The phone call with the vet took exactly as much spare time as we had before we needed to drive over to my rheumatologist appointment.
Tam waited outside, and Brad and I went in. Brad took lots of pictures with funny prism lenses while we were waiting. We had a great time talking with the nurse, and let her pet Felix, too! I had to take my valium, and Brad got a picture of that, too. The doctor was good, but it is our last time seeing her, as she is retiring.
Below are the pictures Brad took in the office.
I am staying on the same medicine for my rheumatoid arthritis, but am supposed to take tylenol or celebrex an hour before I vacuum (one of the few things that makes my hands hurt). She said there’s not much they can do for my hip pain, so I just need to try to not push too hard and get in too much pain. She also suggested liquid tylenol as it goes into the system faster when I’m having a pain spike.
Then we headed back to pick up Hestia and the waiting room there was so full! One of the dogs there chewed through his leash twice, so that was interesting. They were so swamped! I was glad I had called and talked to the vet earlier so all I had to do was pick up Hestia and pay. I also had to pay for her next round of allergy shots, too. Fun fun.
When we got home, Alice was so happy to see us! It was a long outing, but we did have fun, and had some good health information from my doctor and Hestia’s vet. We got errands accomplished, and an old gift card used. So it was good all around.