Yep, my little guy has beat the odds and turned 14 today..!! No question, he is showing his age; walks are slow these days. But he still insists on his walks, and still enjoys socializing with friends he meets along the way.
His birthday dinner consisted of a Lamb meal with a doggie-pepperoni stick as substitute for a candle.
Came across this photo the other day… bit of a blast from the past. Harry and I went into partnership to purchase this motorcycle. With it’s short wheel base and small motor, it was great for tooling around the city; not the best for open highway. As I understand it, the guy I eventually sold it to , took it on a road trip to Ottawa and burned out the motor before he got there..!!
Location: 2812 E. Victoria Ave, Thunder Bay, ON
Bike: Honda Custom 250
Helmet: Bottomless water kettle
Sunglasses: Serengeti
Rider: Harry Sorvisto
Background: 1977 Monte Carlo with full Landau
Camera: Praktica L2
It has been a slow progression towards Spring. December, January, and February saw one snowfall after another. February and March, days were either very wet or colder than it should be for this time of year. Ah, times they are a changin’.
It’s April 1st, drizzled all night last night, misty morning. Forecast is 10C and for a bit of sun later in the day. But hey, the daffodils are finally out..!!
Basty’s hind legs are getting quite weak. If he stands too long in one place, his bum sags until he sits. As long as he is moving, he is able to control his legs. This past week, I had to start putting booties on his back paws to protect against wounds above his nails; he scrapes the top of his rear paws as he walks. Watching him turn around in a short space is somewhat comical; his rear end inevitably falls over. Of course, it is not funny… his tumor is expressing itself, and eventually he will be paralyzed in the rear.
It is the hardest thing in the world… life is precious; it is what we value above all. When suffering is all that is left, we honor, love, and care for our friend by ending that suffering.
Short Story: In May of 2012, after a painful night in Peach Arch Emergency, I had a Laser Lithotripsy for Kidney Stones in the Left Kidney. Once a year for the past 5 years, I have had follow-up scans (X-ray and CT) to monitor residual fragments that never passed. In October 2016, another rather large stone was detected in the Right Kidney. In November, I underwent Shock Wave Lithotripsy to address that stone.
Although these procedures broke up the stones, for some reason I wasn’t passing the larger of the remaining stones (~5mm). I had at least one of that size in my Left Kidney and two in my Right. Late February, one of the larger stones in my Right started to pass, but got lodged in the Ureter, causing a partial blockage. This hurt..!!
Keeping the story short, over the next couple of weeks, I did manage to pass what appears to be all of the stones in both the right and left Kidneys (Feb 18 to Mar 9, 2017). Before and after CT scans indicated this to be true (and of course, I collected them).
Speculation: Why is it that these stones suddenly decided it was time to come out..? The only thing I can think of that was different is that I started to drink coffee again in mid-February. Did the coffee act to dilate the Ureter..? Hard to say. There has been research to show that in about 15% to 20% of patients, coffee has had a positive impact on stone prevention. But in my case, I already had the stones. I can’t help but wonder if coffee had an impact on my developing stones in the first place. It would have been at some point in 2010/2011 that I quite coffee cold turkey. Was it coincidence that a year or so later, I start having stone problems? At any rate, for now, I am stone free..!!
