It's all Suzy

These cool rainy days have left Suzy and I snuggling by the fire.
Pulling the large fluffy dog, upon which Suzy is snuggling into,
in front of the fire place was entirely Suzy's doing.

This sweet little hooded shirt was my idea.
But don't worry, Suzy is quite proud to get her clothes on.

Below the rain has finally let up and the sun has come out.
We are enjoying a siesta in the "Lilly Garden".
Suzy has on a pink bandanna here, doesn't show up well in the photo.

Today we did some needed shopping at PetSmart.
Suzy is moving up a halter size (no more cute pink prints)
and also snagged a shirt which reads,
"How come the cat doesn't have to poop outside?".

A Summer Missed

I will try to do a short synopsis of how I spent my summer.

Lilly and I started out with plenty of together time and in June we were sharing our 4th or 5th bout of MRSA. Nothing like multiple open wounds to keep a person out of a public pool.
Having a constant infection did wonders for my other ailments as well. Lilly and I did 3 or 4 serious antibiotics rounds. We thought we were home free by the end of June - we both finished up free and clear at the end of the month.

Life was fun for about a week.

Rand then decided take a spin on the MRSA ride.
On a Monday, Rand started with a mysterious fever for a few days. Then his knee swelled up A LOT and doc said bursitis. The next morning (Friday) his leg, from mid calf to mid thigh was triple it's size and red. We ended up in an ortho doc's office and doc was able to draw a large amount of pus off of Rand's knee. I almost threw up. I am not nursing material.
That's how we found out it was MRSA.
By Monday Rand was hospitalized. This was very serious MRSA infection. He was at serious risk of losing life and/or limb.
Mid week they let him go home with a PIC Line and we got to administer IV antibiotics directly into his heart at home. This worked well until Saturday night. I reached over to touch him in bed (I was constantly checking him in bed) and he was burning up. I woke him up and discovered his temp was over 101*. I forced Rand to dress and rushed him to the hospital.
Emergency room tip - When you have MRSA, a pic line and a temp over 101* you get right in!
In 45 minutes time Rand's temp had risen to well over 103*. They removed his pic line and started running tests. The heart monitor showed the struggle in his body. Even I could tell things were going downhill with his heart. It was a long night. Rand was finally given a new PIC Line and a very new rarely used antibiotic. Finally his fever broke.
The doctors told me had I not detected his fever and brought him in, Randy probably would have died by morning.
He was off work over a month. Pretty devastating for a guy who has hone years witout a sick day.Almost every day off the week was filled with medical appointments for Rand.
He's back to his overworking schedule - against doc's orders. He was told to keep it light for a few weeks while he got his strength back.
And our finances are beginning to recover just in time for the medical bills to start showing up.

All this payed a toll on my body. Extra work load and over the top stress - I faked it for Rand's sake as long as I could. I was afraid to let him out of my sight for awhile. I finally relaxed and sat down and haven't got up since. I haven't found my footing yet.
My doctors wanted me back in therapy long term to cope with all of this and the fact that I lave lost so much ground medically this past year. Ground that can't be recovered. And to cope with the loneliness of being home alone.

I weighed everything out the doctors were telling me and took a chunk of my earnings from my 401k to pay for the therapy I chose. Therapy doesn't come cheap and insurance wasn't going to pay for My choice. Piss on them - I knew what I needed.

And a picture is worth a thousand words:

World's best therapist

Suzy Q - the Pug

Suzy Q is just what I needed. I'm finally off the couch and potty training! I'm playing and talking to her most of the day.
Suzy was 8 wks old when I acquired her. I researched all breeds and did a thorough watch of the local humane society for a few weeks- Meeting several dogs. What it came down to - Rand said I could get a dog, only if I was totally able to care for it by myself.

Thus a Pug was my perfect match.

Because of their short noses, they do not cool as effectively as other breeds and are susceptible to heat exhaustion and shouldn't be over exercised. (We are like twins!) They are "one person dogs" who love everybody. The main daily fixation for a pug is to be near the one that they love. And that is what I needed most of all.

Suzy is doing a great job potty training."The cat did it!"

As long as it is warm and dry out, she is good to go outside. Suzy dislikes going out when it is cool or rainy or there is too much dew on the grass. We are paper training inside as well. If she hates rain - she is really going to dislike snow.
It took Camper about three days to get over this new addition. They play quite a bit of the day and Camper has even toned up a bit.

And my two best girls love each other!