Alas, some good news.

Lovely, lovely asters at Farm Kitchen, WA

First and foremost: Bird has had a reprieve. I know it's only temporary, as she's still very sick and there's not much more I can do for her (even per the vet's advice)... but I didn't have her euthanized yesterday. I appreciate your sympathy, those of you who have given me your condolences. She may have days, she may have a week or so - whatever time I get with her, I'm grateful for it. I spent a lot of time with her over the past three days, just holding her and cuddling her. She got lots of healthy snacks and plenty of loving. I would never forgive myself if I let her go too soon. I'm considering the idea of letting her die at home - that really just depends upon how she looks and seems to me. As it stands right now, she's still eating and drinking, gnawing on her cuttle bone and playing with her toys. Not with the gusto she used to have, no, but she's still getting some joy out of life. I'll keep you posted.

Next news item: I have a job for an additional seven months! YAY!!! I can't begin to describe what excellent news this is. I am so pleased. My boss told me this morning that he'll be able to fund me until the end of October; beyond that, it's up to the vagaries of the funding world, which is one of the reasons I'm getting out of science. For now, anyway - I can foresee a future wherein I may be able to do both nursing and science. At any rate, I am beyond thrilled. I was already beginning to miss my coworkers terribly - I honestly love all of them, which is a rare thing to be able to say. It's also pretty exciting to know I'll have a decent income at least until October. That'll leave 14 months of nursing school, which is a much smaller gap than 21 months.

News item the last: I will be keeping my underwear on for Thursday's dreaded knee hacking. It's true, folks - the going practice is that you're completely naked beneath your miserable hospital johnny. To say I was rather horrified to discover this matter would be an underestimation of the fact. I insisted that the intake nurse call my doctor's office, who called the OR, who called the intake nurse back to say that yes, I can keep the undies on. Whew. It's not that anyone cares what's under the johnny - it's just a sense of vulnerability on my part. It's bad enough that I'll be unconscious in the midst of a bunch of strangers - who knew I would turn out to be such a control freak? it's kind of hilarious discovering this about myself - but it would be somehow worse to be skivvy-free under the drape. It's my knee, for crying out loud! What, are they expecting to have to do some sort of emergency urinary catheterization or something? As it turns out, the underwear clause is in place due to the variety of hygiene practices - or lack thereof - that patients might observe. To my mind, if the patient is so unhygienic, you would want that piece of cloth in place. I'm not party to the rule-setting, though. I'm just glad I'm keeping them on. And so... the surgery is a go for Thursday morning. I'm far more nervous than is necessary, which surprises me. I'm generally a very calm person. I still have to decide what form of anesthesia I'm going to get - my choices are spinal block with IV sedation, or general anesthesia. I'm inclined to choose the former, but I'll listen to what the anesthesiologist says. I think.

I got crutch training lessons yesterday too, in addition to all the other stuff (bloodwork, EKG, chest film). I'm afraid to say crutches look like a lot more fun than they actually are. I'm glad I have strong arms. Let's hope my natural lack of grace won't see me tumbling down stairs and breaking my head. That would be bad.

Well, to work with me - at the job I have for 9 more months! More later.

Ta.