Lovely Frida

Hey Guys,

I don't know how to even start this post, so I'm just gonna say it. Frida got sick over the weekend and she passed away early this morning. To say that I'm devastated is a vast understatement.

We originally got guinea pigs for my sister. We intended on getting two, BUT there were three babies. My mom picked out baby Emma first, because she was s'darn cute. My sister had the choice between picking Nellie and Frida and she chose Nellie. Thus Mama and Frida were left at the pet store. I didn't mind at the time because believe it or not I didn't want any pets, at all. Well, over the next couple of months I realized how awesome piggies were, so when we spotted Mama Pig and Frida still in the store a few months later we happily scooped them up. 

Nellie was my sister's pig, Emma was my mother's, Mama Pig was my Grandmother's and Frida was mine. I named her Frida after my favorite artist, Frida Kahlo. The black stripe over her eye reminded me of her unibrow. FUN FACT: I was originally going to name her Zora, because the black markings on her face kinda reminded of Zorro's mask. She didn't look like a Zora and she became Frida. Anyway, as soon as Frida got home she snuggled up with me, she was extraordinarily content, then I touched in a spot where she didn't want to be touched and she bit me. In other words, she was always a cuddly, vicious little butthead. 

Frida was always above the other pigs, literally, as she would use the faces of her cagemates as step-ladders. Need a carrot? Just step on Mama Pig's face! Need lettuce? Just step on Mama Pig's face! Want to see out of the cage? Just step on Mama Pig's face! Need to make sure you are fed before Mama Pig? Yup, you guessed it... FACE. Mama Pig usually forgave her though, I mean how could you not forgive that face.

Don't let the cuteness fool you, she was an asshole at times. She used to nip and occasionally bite people frequently. Guests were urged to approach Frida with caution and children were NOT allowed to touch her. People admired her from afar. In her younger days Frida was the reason she and Mama were not housed with Emma and Nellie. The one time I had Frida and Emma together for a playdate Frida almost bit Emma's leg off (And Emma could hold her own in a fight). Over the years though she learned that she could love piggies other than Mama.

Once they were combined into a cage, Mama Pig, Nellie and Frida became best buddies. Frida and Nellie hardly fought and having a new friend made Frida so much happier. She was a changed piggie! No more were the days of constantly yelling "GET OFF OF HER FACE FRIDA! SHE'S YOUR MOTHER!" Frida was now a kind, snuggly, no bite-y pig. She didn't even mind when I added Maggie into their mix. I thought that Maggie and Frida would kill each other but surprisingly they became fast friends. Maggie was even seen giving Frida kisses last night. Nellie would snuggle up to Frida whenever I put her back in the cage after giving her medicine. 

Frida loved food. I mean she LOVED it. And it showed, she developed quite an impressive double chin which she used as a comfy pillow. If you pushed all of her fur up she kinda looked like a lion, and her head would almost be in the shape of a perfect circle. 

She was funny, for a guinea pig she had very specific tastes when it came to music. She loved Lady Gaga, particularly the song "Pokerface". I played it for her last night on my phone, she perked up and relaxed. She was also a champion tinkler. God help you if her butt wasn't on the towel. One time she shot pee clear across my sofa, the entire couch had to be washed. 

She enjoyed a good nap

A good grooming

And a good snuggle

She let you know when she was going to keeeeeeeeeeel you

Even if she was going to kill you, she'd forgive you if bribed her with food and or tummy rubs.

Frida would have turned 5 in October. She is predeceased by her sister Emma and mother Mama Pig. Frida is survived by sister Nellie, roomie Maggie, loud neighbor across the room Aggie, those giant creatures who stayed with her last night Helen and Angel, and her humans all of whom miss her greatly. Goodnight Frida, I hope you have an unlimited supply of peppers, watermelon, and faces to step on. You were the best guinea pig anyone could ask for. Mommy misses you so much and I'll never forget you.

Viva Frida

Crippie's Tippie - Don't take your pets for granted, their time with you is far too short :(

The Jitter Bugs

Ohai

The Aggie Update - Yup, Aggie is gonna have her own update for the next week or so. Aggie had her first ever vet visit this morning. She did very well and the vet confirmed my diagnoses. Aggie scratched her cornea, she might have even punctured her eye a little. We have to give her eye drops every eight hours (around the clock), antibiotics twice a day, and pain medicine one a day as needed. She doesn't appear to be in any sort of pain, but... SHE SCRATCHED HER DAMN EYE!!! That has to hurt. I dunno, I have not noticed any behavioral changes in her. Apart from the cloudy eye I can't tell anything is wrong. Even though I probably said this many times last night, I'll say it again... IF YOUR PIG IS SICK, TAKE THEM TO THE VET!!! Aggie's eye could have gotten horribly infected if left untreated.

Moving on, I have some news regarding Fanny. For those of you who might not remember, Fanny is a grapefruit sized tumor on the back of my hips. Fanny is literally a pain in my ass, mainly because she is pressing against my sciatic nerve. FANNY IS COMING OUT PEOPLES! Fanny's coming out party will take place on September 18th. This will be my 11th surgery and I'm honestly for the most part excited. Fanny hurts like a mofo and I really want her out. Also I'll be able to make soooooooooooo many "This Is Spinal Tap" jokes! It will go to 11 people!

People frequently ask me if I am nervous about having surgeries. From here to the 16th the answer is no. I've had 10 surgeries already so I'm pretty much used to it. Granted, this surgery will be a same-day procedure and it shouldn't be terribly invasive (compared to other surgeries I've had). If this was a massive "REPLACE ALL THE HIPS" surgery I'd be singing a different tune.

If you asked me this question the day before the surgery my answer will be "yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh". Since I've had 10 surgeries already I know what to expect, both good and bad. I know what it feels like to wake up from sedation, and I realllllyyyyy don't like that feeling. I hate being in the recovery room. I hate getting an IV. I hate everything about the day of surgery. Yeah, I definitely get the pre-surgery jitters. Usually I get a case of the shakes, with the occasional bout of feeling nauseous. I am so predictable with this pattern, I usually take valium the day before to calm me down, and to help prevent some of the sickness. For my last surgery I was prescribed a patch that would alleviate most of the nausea, and it definitely helped... to a degree. I usually get sick no matter what.

Hopefully my my hatred of Fanny will overpower my hatred of surgery. I have to remember that I will be in the hospital for about 12 hours. September 18th might suck... but ultimately it will be a party. I will be celebrating that the bane of my existence for the past 5 or so years will be removed.

Also, Frida wanted me to remind you all that the Artist of her namesake would have turned 105 today. VIVA FRIDA! Yes... Crippie collects Frida Kahlos :)

Crippie's Tippie - If you are like me and freak out right before a surgery... drugs are your friend

The Five People You Meet At Dinner

Ohai,

Thanks for all the supportive comments y'all... Crippie can not even begin to tell you how much I appreciate them. From what I'm hearing neurontin is a helluva drug. Crippie is on a two week trial of it to see if it works, if I have a rough time I'll stop taking it. Although I am seeing an upside to the tiredness... if I time my medications right I get sleepy at a decent hour. Maybe my sleep schedule will improve!

Moving on, Crippie found a nifty HAWMC blog prompt. 5 Dinner Guests. Who are 5 people you’d love to have dinner with (living or deceased) and why? Okay, Crippie thought long and hard about this... figured I'd make a "Kick-Ass Cripple Table"

THE KICK-ASS CRIPPLE TABLE

1 - Frida Kahlo - She is my all time favorite artist and she was a kick-ass cripple. FUN FACT: when she had her leg amputated she wore jingle bells around the fake leg to draw attention to it! Also, I think my Frida might enjoy meeting the person who inspired her name.

2 - Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan (I know they're two people, but Anne would need to translate for Helen) - Helen Keller has always inspired me, she was able to do some much in spite of what most would consider extremely limiting disabilities. Also, our Helen would probably enjoy meeting the person who inspired her name. 

3 - Stephen Hawking - Stephen Hawking kicks ass on so many levels. I find his theories about space fascinating. Crippie can't forget the fact that this dude has been living with ALS for DECADES, if that doesn't make you awesome I don't know what does.

4 - King Tut - I would love to have a cane battle with King Tut (he walked with a cane because of serious leg problems)

5 - Michael J. Fox - He's probably one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to staying positive and optimistic. I would seriously love to actually talk to him.

I think that will make for a splendid cripple-filled dinner don't you? What other cripples would you add to this list?

Oh, and as promised, here are pictures of me and Helen to make up for yesterday's post. Helen thought I was a pillow, luckily photobooth was there to capture the hilarity!

Hmm... Auntie Crippie isn't very comfy. I NEED A PLACE TO SLEEP!

This is kinda comfy... but I can do better

Perfect

Crippie's Tippie - Be verrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy careful when taking several heavy duty medications, bad things can happen if you don't follow instructions or time them properly.

NHBPM- Branding "Crippie"

Aloha!

Statement #3 was the lie, apart from the episode where Marsha gets pelted in the face with the football, I really don't care for the Brady Bunch. Moving on to a more interesting prompt, today's is... My personal brand. As a Health Activist, you are a front-facing leader. What do you imagine you look like to your readers? What qualities do you possess. It’s ok to toot your own horn today – you have full permission to indulge. And don’t hold back.
Ideally I'd like to appear as awesome smart, quirky, funny, optimistic, ginger and a cripple. Realistically this is what I think people see when they imagine me

If there are any rage comic readers on this blog that agree with that image... PLEASE COMMENT. I really want to know if I'm right in this assumption. So yeah, I think people see me as quirky, nerdy, optimistic (almost annoyingly optimistic), ginger cripple. I tried to take some photobooth pictures of how I "want" to appear as an activist/blogger but this is what I ended up with...

Yeaaaahhhh... I ended up with a weird blend of serious and funny which works for me, and yes Frida Kahlo is photobombing those pictures. Ultimately that's what I try to brand myself as. Crippie is a blogger/activist who uses humor and optimism to get through tough times. That's me in a nutshell right there. 

So what do you guys think? Am I in the general ballpark here? Am I a totally dallusional asshole? 

Crippie's Tippie- As far as general blog branding goes, I think having a nickname helps you be more memorable in the reader's eyes. 

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J