Playing Nurse. . .

Well, my boyz are getting healed up. Bailey, my black Scottish Terrier, has finished his meds for his bronchitis. I don't think he is feeling up to par and there still is the mystery of losing his hair on his back. The vet ran numerous tests and so far everything has come back normal except for his liver enzymes. She believes the liver involvement may signal the start of Cushing's Disease, but we cannot yet do tests for it because he has been on steroids for his lungs. Since he nearly died a year ago from pneumonia, she treated the lung problem aggressively because he likely has scarring from the pneumonia. He has to be off the steroids two weeks before we can test for Cushing's. I am afraid he may be suffering from this because his symptoms point that way, but we will wait for confirmation.

Neal is still recovering from his surgery. He has about two dozen staples in his tummy. He gets those out on Wednesday. He has never bothered them and is doing well recuperating. He is eating well and everything seems to be working like it should. The lesions from his liver were biopsied and while they were not malignant, there are lots of them and those will contribute to problems with liver function. Also the ducts in his liver appear to be inflammed. His liver levels show the same elevations as Bailey's, but since both are 13, that is probably not unusual. We may be looking at the same disorder in him as Bailey, with the added problem of the lesions. The vet thinks perhaps a change in diet will help him and aid in preserving liver function.

We are leaving here on Monday, February 9, for Kerrville and the RV.net Sweetheart Rally. It will be nice to be on the road again. . . this is the longest stretch we have sat anywhere, but it has certainly been pleasant. We have enjoyed being here behind Mom and Dad and having them close by. We will just be gone to Kerrville for two weeks, then we will be back here. The rally is only 5 days, but we are going to take a few days to get there and a few days to get back, taking some back roads, so that should be fun.

When we return to Mission, we will be checking in with the vet and following up on Bailey and Neal and their problem livers.

I finished up my physical therapy last week and the doctor released me. I have a lot of good stretches to do that have helped me strengthen my torn muscle and improve my back flexibility. Hopefully I can stick with the program and continue healing.

I have several solar lights, etc., in the rock yard in front of the motorhome. I have tried to take nighttime pictures of them and they don't come out very good, but you can get the general idea. The blue ball is a solar Chinese lantern Jocelyn gave me. It glows a light blue and is really beautiful at night. The tulips on the ground are solar lights and they blink on and off.

Till next time. . .

Dale