Operation Don't Let Angel Die

Ohai Y'all

I don't have a good excuse to why I have been a terrible blogger. Bit of a rut I guess. I'm thinking of topics I could write about. Do any of my lovely readers have and cripple questions and or topics you want me to cover?

Before I get down to business here, Nellie is still alive and well. She thanks you all for the ninja vibes.

Now... on to that title...

My Lhasa Apso Angel is fairly old, the vets think she's between 12 to 16 years old. She hadn't been feeling all that great this week. She has skin issues and it really seemed to be bothering her a lot, plus she was panting a lot... so we took her ass to the vet. Well... it turns out that her skin is the absolute least of her problems. Angel was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Crap. My poor little girl had to spend the night at the vet while they gave her all sorts of fun drugs to keep her... ya know... alive. Luckily for us we caught her heart disease relatively early so we can treat it. She needs special heart medications twice a day. This isn't the worst news in the world... but if you know Angel, you know that she does NOT take to taking medicine lightly. She's like a pill ninja. You can put a tiny pill in a pill pocket and she will eat around it. Try peanut butter you say? LOL... she eats the peanut butter and spits out the pill. Angel is a freaking genius. How do we outsmart the genius twice a day? Especially when one of her pills needs to be ground up into food. Angel might be a smart dog, but she has one weakness... "beggin' strips". Normally, she would not be allowed to have beggin' strips, they go against a diet for her skin. Why break her diet? We know it's not ideal, but getting Angel her heart medication is our new #1 priority for her. She will not take her medications unless her food is jam packed with beggin' strips or whatever mind-blowingly delicious foods we can get for her. An added bonus to the beggin' strips; they make her so happy. We've accepted that she doesn't exactly have a "long" life ahead of her. So we keep her going for a little while longer, and she gets her beloved beggin' strips. It's a win/win. Helen is also making out like a bandit, as she gets to sample all the treats that Angel gets (Helen does not have any dietary restrictions), she was in a bit of a food coma last night ;)

So now everyone in my house is adjusting to caring for an even higher needs dog. Finding ways to get her to take her medicine, taking her out to use the bathroom constantly, watching her for signs of worsening help problems. It'll take us a few days to adjust to everything, but it will soon become our normal. In the meantime Angel request ninja vibes and Helen requests treats.

I can has beggin strip?

Did someone say beggin strip? (Also, you can really tell she's blind in this pic)

Crippie's Tippie - It is your responsibility as a pet owner to keep your animal alive for as long as humanly possible.

P.S. - Yes, Crippie is insanely happy that Walking Dead is back on :3 

NHBPM - To Share or Not to Share

Ello!

Yesterday I opted to take my own advice and sleep instead of blog, got to sleep at decent hour :)

Now on the NHBPM blog prompt... I wasn't thrilled with today's choices, so I went and picked one from earlier in the month.

Disclosure post. How do you decide what to share? What do/don't you share?

Alrighty, this blog is about me and being a cripple. Thus I share things relevant to that topic. If something of use occurs with my health I'll post it. I do want this blog to be an accurate representation of what it can be like to have a disability. There are many aspects of being a cripple that are by no means glamorous. Whether its having 17 staples on your butt, not being able to open your cup to pee in at the doctor, or having a tampon shaped scar on your wrist... it's part of my reality. On the same note, even though I try not to blog when I'm in a bad mood, there are times when a massive Crippie Rant pops up. While I'm not always proud of what I say in those, they're pretty good examples of some common cripple frustrations. That's why I don't delete 'em.

What don't I share? I keep most of my life private. I don't discuss matters pertaining to my family. That's mainly for safety reasons. While I talk about work in a very vague sense, I NEVER go into great details (as much as I might want to) cause ya know... I don't wanna get fired.

There is one subject though that I will gladly give 110% full disclosure on... MY ANIMALS! Yup! Maybe it's because they're so freakin' adorable, or that they won't care if I post their pictures here, or that I don't have to worry about hurting their feelings. But I love my piggies and pooches to bits, so if something out of the ordinary happens to them (good, bad, whatever) I'll post about it. If I take a cute picture of Nellie sleeping, you bet your ass I will post it sooner or later. Speaking of animals, Angel's second anniversary is this Sunday :3. We must prepare some special noms for her.

I guess to summarize, I am a rather private person... that being said I'll post anything that I believe to be relevant to the blog, and lots of guinea pig pictures. Lots and lots of guinea pig pictures.

Crippie's Tippie - When possible, try not to be in an overly bad mood when blogging.

Sandy Land

Why Hello There!

Hurricane Sandy...  yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

I seriously hope that all you guys stay safe and sound over the next couple of days. I live in New York and will probably be on high alert from Sunday through Tuesday night. Well, this certainly explains why I've been in so much pain over the past few days... I CAN PREDICT HURRICANES... YAY ME!!!

But in all seriousness... this Hurricane has the potential to suuuuucccccccckkkkkkkk. Personally, I live on a road with tall trees very close power lines. Hurricane Irene took out one of our trees last year, and the freakin' Halloween snow storm took out some more of 'em. If y'all could sending "STAY WHERE YOU ARE" vibes to my remaining trees it would be greatly appreciated. 

I figured since we're dealing with the "storm of the century" I'd make a quick little checklist of things cripples, guinea pigs, and dogs need.

CRIPPLES

- YOUR MEDICATIONS

- Disposable heat or ice packs, hand warmers might also benefit 

- If need be, use glow in the dark tape to mark things in your house (canes, doorways, whatever) 

GUINEA PIGS

- Enclosed Hiding places (they need them for warmth)

- Fleece (also warmth)

- Food & Hay for at least a week. If you are running low, Oxbow brand pellets and hay are acceptable

- Disposable Hand warmers (if it gets insanely cold you can wrap one in a sock and put it in their cage)

- If possible, move pigs away from windows, etc

- Bedding, if you use fleece you might wanna pick up some extra because you might not be able to wash it. If you use carefresh I recommend Kaytee Clean and Cozy. 

DOGS

- Food 

- Coats (if necessary)

- Puppy pads, newspapers, extra paper towels, baggies, garbage bags... anything you might need in the event that it is too dangerous to walk your dog. 

There ya go, I like how most of my tips are for guinea pigs... lol. I really hope that nothing terrible happens to in this storm and that each and every one of my readers makes it through safely. I'm sending "PLEASE DON'T LET ANYTHING BAD HAPPEN" vibes to y'all.

Crippie's Tippie - Don't do anything stupid that might jeopardize your life over the next few days

Achy Breaky Hips

Oh Hello

I hope y'all are having a lovely week thus far. I didn't have work today, which was good because I was so damn achy today I could hardly move. Basically I stayed in bed with my heat pack all day. Even though Fanny is gone I still have tumors inside my hip sockets... and those also hurt like a mofo. I'm starting to feel better now, but I'm kinda peeved that my day was kinda consumed with pain. Freakin' weather. Oh well, at least the next few days look better.

Anyways, as promised to make up for yesterday's sucky post. Here's some pictures of Helen's Halloween costume. Just a quick pre-face... Helen actually enjoys wearing clothes, plus she gets cold very easily so they do serve some function. Last year she was a unicorn complete with Neil Patrick Harris riding her (Harold & Kumar joke). This year we opted for something a little... different. Any last guesses people?

If you guessed a pink hippo in a tutu... CONGRATULATIONS! You win a cookie. Clearly Helen is super excited about Halloween. I put the costume on her to take the pictures... and she fell asleep. Me thinks it's because it's a really snuggly fabric, guess she considers it to be a blankie. One of these days I'll try to get some photos of Helen the hippo when she's conscious.

If anyone is wondering, Helen is the only animal that has Halloween costumes. Angel does not like clothes nor do want to risk our lives to attempt to put anything on her. The pigs have their guinea bee costume, but I can only keep it on 'em for a few minutes tops. Apart from their general hatred of the costume, they'd probably pee on it if I left it on 'em for more than five minutes. And I just don't feel like washing pee out of a bee costume. In the end Helen enjoys clothes, so Helen wears clothes.

I should totally do a post one day dedicated to Helen's fashions, would anyone like that?

Crippie's Tippie - If your animal hates costumes, don't force 'em to wear one. 

My Dog Is A Psychic Now

Ohai!

As the title suggests, something very interesting happened tonight.

As most of y'all know, I have a blind dog named Helen. She barks whenever she hears noises that displease her. These noises can vary from knock on the door, people shouting, The Jersey Shore, Angel, strangers, the sound of a door opening etc. Helen also sleeps in my bed with me, she likes my pillows and she also takes pride in defending me from serial killers every night.

Anyways, tonight I heard noises which I thought where just my house settling, cause ya know, houses do that. Helen was NOT fond of these noises. Even though she was sleeping she would let out a little *grumble grumble* whenever she heard one. At first I would tell her "Helen, it's the house settling". The settling sounds continue sporadically for another hour or so. Each time Helen grumbles. These sounds were pretty damn faint. I kept looking at Helen like "Everyone else in the house is sleeping! What is wrong with you child?". Eventually these sounds got more and more frequent, and Helen was getting pissed at me. I'm still thinking Helen is an idiot until I hear a massive CRASH! I have bookshelves mounted to my wall. One fell down. Some rather heavy books came crashing down with it. I turned on my light to check out the damage, and even though Helen is blind I swear she was looking at me like "BITCH I TOLD YOU THAT WOULD HAPPEN!". Luckily no harm or damage was done. I guess my books were a little heavy.

Helen wouldn't stop judging me until I have her some treats. After she nommed on a few dog cookies, her smug little ass went back to bed. I'm now convinced that this little squirt is smarter than she looks.

I saved your life. YOU'RE WELCOME!  

BELLY RUBS OF GRATITUDE PLEASE! 

Crippie's Tippie - Don't put heavy books on wall mounted shelves

Helen's Tippie - LISTEN WHEN I'M BARKING AT THINGS! 

Awe, Temporarily Crippled Puppy

Ohai Everyone!

Crippie hopes all of her readers are having a lovely week this far. The weather is still kinda kicking my ass, but at least my allergy meds are keeping the whole "not being to breathe" thing at bay. Apart from the weather there isn't much new and or excited to report about... oh wait, Crippie forgot to mention that her dog is now the biggest cripple in the house.
On Sunday night our not blind dog Angel was perfectly fine. When we awoke Monday morning Angel was not using one of her front paws! She was hobbling around the house and wouldn't let us touch her paw, so clearly something was wrong. We took her to the vet and the vet figured that the probably sprained or twisted her lil' footie sometime during the night. She was given pain medicine and she'll be fine with a few days rest. Lucky for us Angel enjoys resting so that won't be a problem. Unlucky for us, Angel can't go up and down stairs for now so someone has to carry her. No big deal right? Lol, wrong. Angel was more than likely abused by prior owners and does not like being picked up... at all... ever... under any circumstances. To solve this fun little problem, my sister has to wear really thick gloves and a really thick jacket in order to pick Angel up (once she has her Angel tends to settle down, it's the whole picking up process that is tricky). Any tips for picking the dog up readers?
Since Angel's pain meds are keeping her comfortable and she'll be all better in a few days, I have absolutely no guilt in saying what I'm about to say. Crippie is getting a kick out of having a dog that limps around like she does. Her tails wags when I say "WHO'S MY LITTLE CRIPPLE... YOU ARE!!!" I also find it amusing how she has mastered the "My paw hurt... I deserve treats" look. She will limp towards you and stare at you while dangling her paw. Angel's alway's been smart that way, I guess she takes after her auntie ;)

My life is so hard, woe is me. Bacon would make it better though, yeaaaaaah, bacon

Crippie's Tippie - Injured doggies deserve more treats ;)

Angel's Tippie - Why just injured dogs? I deserve more treats anyway!

It's A Sunshine Day!

Hi Y'all

I don't know about you guys, but the weather today was AWESOME by Crippie. Mother Nature might be a bitch most of the time but this 70 degree day was totally awesome. Crippie actually got a lot accomplished today!
Since the weather was so awesome we decided to the dogs to the park! We didn't realize how windy it was so it was short lived trip to the park. The dogs had a blast in their quick 10 outing, I reckon that's all that matters.
After that Crippie drove to the pet store. Seemingly not a big deal, but I haven't driven there in years. It was almost like driving to a new place, and I didn't have a panic attack... YAY ME! Mini cripple rant... while at the pet store I could help but look at the guinea pigs... PET STORE OWNERS... TAKE CARE OF YOUR PETS. The piggies had no hay, crap bedding, were not properly taken care of, and most importantly SICK. I feel so horrible for those poor babies. I wish there was something I could do for them. If any of my readers are looking to obtain guinea pigs be very wary of pet stores, try your best to rescue a pig.
Once we finished our errands Crippie had her appointment with the pain management doctor. Since the heat pack has helped my pain levels for the time being we started forming a plan for what to do when I eventually get worse. She doesn't want me to immediately jump into an anti-depressant as a treatment, but there are some transitional medications that she would put me on. Crippie's doctor also suggested injections for pain relief. The thought of needles does not appeal to Crippie AT ALL. Have any of my readers tried shots for pain? Did they work? Were they really painful?
Annnnnnndddd after that we took a drive to the location of a potential freelance client. It was a completely foreign area to me and I was not comfortable driving there. So, Crippie and her mom are going to make some practice runs over the weekend until I am okay driving there.
Whew, what a busy day. Once I got home I fell asleep for a few hours. Crippie also rested with her piggies.

Frida Being Snuggly, she was making up for peeing on me earlier -_-

Mama Pig's Tushie!

Crippie's Tippie - When dealing with a lifelong condition, having a plan for when things get worse will make your life slightly easier and less stressful when that time comes

Frida's Tippie - Depending on where you live there are lots guinea pigs in shelters that need good homes.


P.S. Ever since a tumor split one of my finger nails I've been wearing nail polish to cover it. I recently found a "nail polish of the month club" if you will. If you want to check it out, it's HERE. If you join, use the code COLOR2012 and get your first month's order for a penny! You can always cancel after your first free month ;)

NHBPM- Crippie Ignores Yet Another Prompt!

Hey Y'all!

I've decided to ignore yet another prompt! Yay me! The prompt I'm ignoring today is... A comment as a blog post. Pick someone else’s post (from the past or from today) and write a comment to them. Write that comment as your blog post for today. Link back to them to let them know you were inspired. Yeah, I'm honestly too tired to write something meaningful. To be fair I'll post some links of cripple blogs that I enjoy and read whenever I get the chance...
http://www.dysautonomic.blogspot.com/ - awesome blog and very honest
http://notesoflifeandlove.blogspot.com/ - one of "my" cripples (by that I mean we both have MHE) blogs about her life and her stupidly adorable children... I'm serious, her kids are freakin' cute.
http://afternoonnapsociety.blogspot.com/ - informative and well written *snaps for smart bloggers*


So there, I kinda did what I was supposed to do... but I really just wanna show you pictures of Angel's "birthday" burger. We were gonna do a little deli platter thing but we opted for a burger again at the last minute. 

Do you have any food for me?

Is that a burger I see?

IT IS A BURGER

OMG DO WANT NOW

Can I have some more? Please?

Yes, to those wondering, that's what Crippie sounds like and yes, my sister photobombed the video. 

Crippie's Tippie- If you are looking for a dog, always look at shelters and local rescues first. There are plenty of little Angels who need good homes.

Angel's Tippie- GIVE ME MOAR BURGERS, PPPPLLLLLEEEEEAAASSSSSEEEE

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

Doctor Visits and Blind Puppies

Hello There!

I hope everybody has been enjoying their week. I've been pretty busy working. Thursdays are my days off so I did what any normal 22 year old would do on a day like this, I went to my pain management doctor for my bi-monthly checkup. The check-up went well, no complaints and no med changes, works for me. My doctor got to see my in my full out "it is raining and I can't move" mode and she was quite fascinated by it.
I think that having a nice doctor makes the whole "having to go to the doctor" experience suck a whole lot less. If my physician was a total asshole I would be pretty miserable about having to go. I mean, whenever I have to go to this doctor I have to walk into a building that is filled with sick, elderly people, thus making me feel sick and old. Answering all the initial questions like "how long have you this problem" and "where does it hurt" with answers like "all of my life" and "well... lets just say everything from the neck down hurts" can be very disheartening, especially when the nurse very awkwardly says "oh". Luckily my doctor is awesome, she treats me like a human, a young one at that. We had a dandy conversation about me finding employment and all fun stuff. All the other crap related to doctor's visits I can deal with, lord knows there are people who have far worse experiences. I cannot deal with a crappy doctor, I'd have to be pretty freakin' desperate before I let some jerk take care of me.

On a lighter note, my "niece" Helen is adjusting to life at my house rather nicely. She's getting very good at not smacking into walls. You can hardly tell she is blind sometimes. Naturally Auntie Crippie spoils Helen and gives her lots of treats and belly rubs. I figured you guys would want to behold the cuteness that is Helen, so here are some pictures of us chillin'

Crippie's Tippie- Finding a doctor that treats you like a person versus a patient sometimes makes all the difference in the world.

Working With A Disability: Day 3

Hi Everybody!

Today was my third day of work. It went pretty well. I wasn't terribly achy, I guess the whole "not raining" thing helps. It also looks like I am going to be working more days a week, but fewer hours each day, so my chronic fatigue is very happy.
Speaking of chronic fatigue, I've been trying to find ways of coping with it during work. As mentioned in the prior post, I tried noshing on "smarties" which seems to work rather nicely. Naturally if I nosh on smarties several times a day every week I won't have teeth next year. The simple solution to this is obtain a crap load of chewing gum. Chewing gum is actually a highly accepted way of dealing with fatigue, pain, and short attention spans. Today I also experimented with listening to music. Of course this depends on where you work, but all the designers where I work listen to their headphones. As long as I only use one earbud my boss doesn't mind. Listening to music really helped me focus today.
On a totally different note, anyone who has checked out my Tumblr, might have seen this little face...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the newest addition to my family, Helen. Helen is a three year old Shih Tzu who enjoys snuggles, food, and belly rubs. Helen is also blind (hence the name Helen) so she occasionally rams into a wall. Helen is technically my sister's dog so... I'M AN AUNTIE!

Crippie's Tippie- Don't let chronic fatigue get in the way of what you have to do, simple tricks can help you function pretty normally.