Alivia was recently diagnosed with Cushing's - Alivia has passed

Mary Beth:
Hope you are having a better work week now that you are away from that jerk. I am hoping your Max is doing better. I am so sorry you are going thru this and having to go to work on top of it all. Blessings
Patti

Just stopping to say love you and I still care.:):)

Hope you are having a better week if that is possible. Cuddles to Maxwell.

Thanks everyone.

When I had knee surgery in December I would lay on the couch with a heating pad and Alivia would snuggle up on it with me. If the heating pad was turned off and laying on the couch, Ali would lay on it. When she realized it was not as warm as it was supposed to be, she would stand up and dig on it, trying to turn it on. Then I would turn it on for her. She was a smart little one and had me trained very well. :p For some reason, the heating pad never worked after Ali passed. Weird. Even though my knee surgery was a complete failure, it was a blessing in disguise. I got to spend a lot more time snuggling with Ali those last few months than I would have if I'd been working.

I look at the tiny urn that contains Ali's ashes and still can't believe she is gone. I miss her so much. I have good hours and bad hours. I still cannot talk about her without crying. I guess after 16 years with her, it will take awhile to get used to not having her with me.

Maxwell is doing okay. Still reserved for him, but he is a great comfort to me. We are healing...slowly.

I am really glad you got that extra special time with Alivia while recuperating. Sofa snuggles are the best!
Nothing wrong with a few tears. I'd cry too. You miss your best friend.
hugs
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Mary Beth,
don't feel guilty or afraid to lavish Max with love. I'm sure that Alivia wouldn't mind.

It's in our nature and theirs to love. Hugs.

Mary Beth:
I just wanted you to know I am thinking of you and dear Max. I hope things are alright with both of you. I know your heart is broken and will be for a long time. Just try to get through it a day at a time, and love that boy Max. Blessings
Patti

I dont know if we ever heal completely, as Marianne so beautifully wrote on my thread. Some days are easier than others and I know you are right about Koko and Maxwell. When Maxwell seems especially quiet, could you ask someone to visit him? When my daughter's cat almost died and was going through a difficult recovery, we would go visit him when he was having a bad day. So now she returns the favor and will come with our youngest granddaughter to visit Koko when he is having a sad day.

I am concerned about your knee and why you say the surgery was a failure. Bailey's mom Susan on Everything Else went throught 2 knee surgeries but maybe they were different than yours. I know the road to recovery was long and she went through a few physical therapists as one hurt her. She even walked with a walker for some time. I will ask her to come and visit you and maybe you can compare notes. It is like my arm, I was really upset that it has been three months with eight PT visits and I thought I would be further along but the surgeon said he thinks I am doing well:rolleyes::rolleyes::(:( I sure dont think I am. I still cant do certain movements without bad pain but apparently I am going to have to work through that pain even though the therapist said I should not do that.

My computer has been acting up so tech support deleted my spell check option. Sorry for all the errors.:o:o:o:o

It is Sunday. Oh well, back to the old grind tomorrow:(:(:(

Thanks for checking in everyone.

Yes, some days are better than others, I think for both Max and me. The snow has completely melted - finally! But, with that, my back yard needs a really good cleaning. Twice in the last three days, Max has come in very happy and very covered in poop! :eek: Of course the first time, was right before we were going to go to bed. Stayed up much later than planned to bathe him!! This is new for him and hopefully not going to be continuing!! I am wondering if he is finding Alivia's scent, as he seems very pleased with himself?! That is until his butt (and the rest of him) ends up in the laundry tub!

When Max seems especially sad, I try to take him for a car ride to the pet store. That usually perks him up for awhile. But, he definitely needs more exercise. My daughter said he is starting to look like a sausage! :o

Unfortunately, Addy, I am certain the knee surgery did not work. I've had follow up x-rays and the surgeon already told me. Years ago, I was a passenger in a car accident and injured my knee. I had multiple surgeries and was told eventually it would need replaced. Then I totaled my car a year ago and hurt the same knee. I went through injections, therapy, etc. and the surgery in December was to repair a torn meniscus and clean out the joint. The surgeon said it was much worse than he anticipated and in hindsight, he would have skipped that particular surgery as my knee is bone on bone and the only thing that will help with the pain and function is a full knee replacement. That will require 3-5 days in the hospital and then probably additional time in rehab because I live alone and my house is 3 stories (4 if you count the basement where the laundry room is!). I have been avoiding that mainly because of Alivia - I just couldn't leave her. Now I need to be sure Max is okay. I have a very good friend that Max loves so he might be able to go to her house or she may come stay here with him (she's done that before for me). He has never been in a kennel, so at his age, that is not even an option. I would also prefer to wait until the weather was nicer, but I am not sure how much longer I can put it off as the pain is getting REALLY bad. I am also not even sure they would do it right now until they determine what the nodule in my lung is. I see the ortho in about 2 weeks and have a follow up lung CT scan in May. I am falling apart. :(

2014 HAS to get better, right??? :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by addy;

......I am concerned about your knee and why you say the surgery was a failure. Bailey's mom Susan on Everything Else went throught 2 knee surgeries but maybe they were different than yours. I know the road to recovery was long and she went through a few physical therapists as one hurt her. She even walked with a walker for some time. I will ask her to come and visit you and maybe you can compare notes. .......

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...and here I am!!!:D
I am sorry about Alivia. I haven't been following your thread, but I just read the most recent 5 or six pages. Take that former boss of yours and hit him over the head with a baseball bat. How incredibly insensitive. :mad: I had an incident similar to that where someone asked how old the dog was that had died and when I responded "17" he replied...."Oh, well, it was time."

I am the self proclaimed "knee expert." I have had two partial knee replacements, three full knee replacements and numerous arthroscopic surgeries. I started out bone on bone. I know knee pain. I know pt. I know good pt. I know bad pt. My right knee was done and has basically been a walk in the park (comparatively.) My left knee was done and was never "right" plus I had a bad fall a little over a year ago which twisted the prosthetic totally out of its placement so that it had to be redone completely, which turned out to kind of be a blessing. I know about needing to take pain medication long term and I know about getting off pain medication safely.

My status at the moment is pretty good. I need to improve my strength, which will be a lifelong project. The strong my leg muscles are, the better my knees can work. I can go up and down stairs with little problem. I basically have very little pain, I just have some crunching going on inside my left knee which I am told is scar tissue. Arthroscopic surgery might help alleviate some of that, but I am not going to go through that unless it becomes unbearable. It sounds worse than it hurts. Lifelong exercising of my legs is a permanent condition. I do still have some difficulty getting up out of a seated position.

I would be most happy to answer any questions you might have. I can tell you firmly that the longer you put off replacement, the more damage you are doing to what you have left in there. That means less of a success for your surgery. It also takes generally three months or more to schedule this surgery, there is such high demand for it. I know someone who is waiting for it and she can't even get on the wait list.....the wait list is booked out as far as the system will book, so she is on a cancellation list for now.:(

Let me know how I can help. I know the pain you must be in with this.
-Susan

Thank you Susan:):):):)

See Mary Beth, Susan has been through it all so feel free to pick her brain if you need to:):):)

I thought it was so cute Maxwell liked being a "stinker".

hugs and more hugs