Doing our best with what we’ve got.

The last couple weeks have been a little crazy. After I posted about my SIL’s wedding I was sure I would finally be back blogging regularly and even had my list of posts I wanted to write ready to go with notes.

Between my health, the cat, heading back to work and trying to write for ThinkHero nothing has been going as planned. I don’t mind doing bullet point posts but only when the points are small and not all worthy of their own post.

I think one of the worst things we are dealing with is that Adam’s UI runs out next month. He’s in a union or he’d likely have found work by now. It has hit the point where we have no choice, he will have to leave the union or things will become dire. We’ve lived for almost seven years with no extended medical, I had it when I was still in corporate jobs but Adam wasn’t on it. Both of us having it for the period we did, with the medical problems we have or that have come up, it hasn’t even helped. For example, the most expensive of any of my medications is my allergy spray and it isn’t covered. Sure I need new lenses in my glasses but I’ll just keep having our medical stuff written off on our taxes like I always do.

I have returned to work as a PA on season 3 of Fringe. I’m feeling pretty good about myself having been called back for another season. Given this show films downtown as much as it does and because I’m back on my bike, getting to and from locations has just become about 80% easier. I’m still working on call / part time, but this works best for me. The longer I do this work the more I enjoy it, the work itself isn’t hard, it’s the hours that make the work hard, get used to those and you are good to go. And that is basically all I can say about that.

I’m feeling a tad overwhelmed because a lot of positive things seem to be coming in my direction, yet I’m terrified of my health, my depression, or my ‘I don’t deserve good things’ side of my brain taking over and fucking it all up. I invented self sabotage.

As mentioned I started writing for ThinkHero, I have gotten a few really good pieces up but my intent was to post more and now I’m paranoid I won’t be offering up enough to keep me on, to which my friends say “are you kidding me you are writing for free” to which I say – yes, but I said I was going to do such and such and now I’ve been sick and going for test after test after flippin’ test and go see this specialist and OH lets have a barium enema while we’re at it. That now means another four plus doctors have had their finger up my ass in the last month. I intentionally don’t even shave my INNER ass cheeks anymore. Fuck it, and I sport a 70′s bush too while I’m talking about pubes. Deal with it.

Not to mention:

My blood work has come back showing I have VERY low blood sugar and that I am hypoglycemic. This means I have to see another specialist because I do not as of yet have diabetes and part of the goal here is keeping it that way. Eating every three hours is a real new one for me. I’ve never had an eating disorder but I do not like food and I eat because I have to, not because I want to, making myself eat every three hours makes me feel like I’m going to barf, sucks it is already helping me feel better. No idea if it is affecting my moods because I have too much going on to look that deeply in upon myself yet. This explains A LOT of my complaints over the last few months, dizziness worse than my normal shitty balance falling over, I’m a clumsy pants nonsense, my over the top tiredness, low energy and dropping close to fifteen pounds off my already small frame. This was so odd for me because I’m used to losing weight when I’m depressed but aside from these complaints, mentally I’ve still been doing fairly well. We were chalking everything up to the stress of having no full time work since January but I was pretty sure it was more than that being pretty in-tune with when and why I’m losing or gaining weight.

Speaking of me MENTALLY my meds have been dropped again. I’m on the lowest amount of meds I’ve been in oh, shit maybe four years. There is only 25 mg between me and NO MORE Seroquel the least favourite of the three meds I take, I have MANY an argument or rather *words* with my psychiatrist about him putting me on Seroquel. I’ve stopped waiting for the ball to drop, and I’m really giving this feeling better stuff a go. As I’ve mentioned this doesn’t mean I don’t have BRUTALLY bad days where it is ALL I HAVE not to toss myself out in front of a bus, but I’m hanging onto the rails of the sanity train for dear life and I will keep riding it no matter how many people try and toss me off for as long as I can.

Now for the hardest news to share. Gus isn’t doing so good. When we went to Langley for the wedding we thought not hearing from my girlfriend was a good thing, turned out she didn’t want to ruin our weekend. We came home to find that Gus had attacked someone who had not only known her since 1996 but had sat her on numerous occasions some over two weeks long back when I used to be a travel agent. This has left us with some hard and shitty decisions that had to be made, because we can’t have Gus attacking our friends, we won’t be spending Christmas with our siblings, we won’t be able to see our friends in Tofino and probably the worst for my parents is we can’t go to Bali until…… … and I can’t risk going to Bali myself and missing my last month with her, she is having enough trouble with my having returned to work. She is also dropping weight at a rather drastic rate. So much so that we were going to take her in early for her six month check up. It is hard to believe it has already been a year since we had to put her on pain medication and up until about two months ago she was doing really well. Her blood work has all come back fine both times it has been taken, she doesn’t have any kidney or liver problems. We made the decision to wait until her check up in September. We get her weighed once a month when we pick up her medication and are being pressured to bring her in but here’s the deal; Having picked wee Gus when she was the runt of the litter and she wasn’t the last kitteh but she was the one I fell in love with even thinking she was a boy, I know her and I know that taking her in for blood tests in June instead of September is only going to have to have her pricked an extra time. Forget the cost, it has nothing to do with that, everyone knows we can’t afford this to happen right now but who is ever ready for this financially or mentally or fucking in any way. The fact remains that even though it is beyond heartbreaking when Gus goes to lay on the floor right now and her bones make a horrible sound as they hit the floor, she is happy, she has energy she is still feisty, she still sits with us, sleeps with us, she isn’t hiding. She is eating less, but she is drinking more. Gus has lived a great long life, she was my best little furry buddy and now she is our best furry little buddy and we are going to keep her comfortable as long as possible but not drag the inevitable out. She is dying of old age, plain and simple. It is really, really hard, I don’t know what I’m going to do without her. I don’t like to think that far ahead yet. It sneaks in sometimes, but I’m not ready.

  • http://gusgreeper.com gusgreeper

    @Amber wow, im really story to hear all that as well, thank you for sharing that with me and for your support.

    @Tawcan thank you, and me too this low weight stuff sucks. i can’t stand being this thin.

    @Phaedra much love to you in return, you know i more than appreciate your support and friendship.

    @Steve it means so much that you are there for me… and you know many reasons why.

    @akamonty thank you!! :)

    @Sarah yeah i know, there is no possible way we as humans ever can be. :(

    @Anth thank you, i greatly appreciate your support! :)

    @Lindsay ugh it is not fun. but at least i finally know what caused my weight to plummet. sorry to hear you are a fellow sufferer.
    HA, yes he was. I didn’t watch the show at all until i started working on it, and then i had only watched the episodes i had worked on but now im going back and watching them all. it’s a good show. :)

  • http://lindsaydee.wordpress.com Lindsay

    I don’t know a thing about Fringe except Pacey from Dawson’s Creek is on it right?

    So sorry to hear about Gus. Pets are family members and it’s always so hard to know that they are nearing the end of their line.

    Welcome to the wonderful world of low blood sugar! We rule! ;)

  • http://www.blog.anthonywittrock.com Anth (@texameradian)

    I am sorry to hear about Gus. She’s a great feline companion. I hope your blood sugar will rise to high and safe levels. I’m glad you are having a great experience working on Fringe this season, I look forward to watching it unfold on the tele. :)

  • sarah

    you’ll never be ready for that. xo

  • http://brain-soup.blogspot.com akaMonty

    Ugh, I’m so sorry for all the bad stuff. I know you’ll make it through though, you guys are tough and know how to deal with difficulties. xoxoxo
    Also HOORAY FOR FRINGE – I fucking love that show. :)

  • http://theemperorhasnotoque.blogspot.com/ steven schwartz

    I know you both are moving through a difficult place in your lives right now, and at moments you feel it may be too much to handle or you are saying no not any more shit we just cant take it.

    Since I have known you two I have seen and gotten to know fighters people who face and have been forced to face adversity that finds it’s way into your flight path. What I do know is you both will make it through the other side a stronger couple and even stronger individuals.

    Gus has her path, and will follow it, it may be hard to see and for others to physically feel but it is her path. As long as she is comfortable, happy and still wants to be around you guys, as well as not jumping out the window to attack random strangers than she is ok.

    again I love you both and Gus and you may not know it but I do get inspiration from your strength, ability to love and humor in the face of trouble and pain

  • http://www.phaeds.blogspot.com Phaedra

    I know you have a lot on your plate right now, and I also know your saboteur is lingering about – but you have the strength and the power to keep it at bay. You know this subconsciously, or you wouldn’t have successfully pulled the ballsy move that you did last week at work. Still so proud of you.

    I also know how tough it is with Gus – to watch her slow down in her later stage of life. You hit the nail on the head – she is happy – if only most could say that at the end stage of life. She is a lucky girl, she has much love, food, and nip pillows. I will bring more blueberries on my next visit.

    much love little buddy!

  • http://tawcan.wordpress.com Tawcan

    I hope your blood sugar will increase soon. Hopefully the specialist will help.

    That’s very sad hearing about Gus. It’s always hard to see someone you love going through that stag of life. :(

  • http://enigmatic.org Amber

    Oh Corinna =(

    I have been reading your Tweets about Gus and I KNOW how hard this is–having always had cats growing up and loving them in the most unconditional ways…it is so, so hard. I have not lost a cat since 2002 but it was HARD then, SO HARD, and at the time I just didn’t know what I’d do.

    A few weeks after that, I was given my current eldest cat, Jeffy. He saved me in so many ways. When he was only FOUR we found out he has chronic kidney disease, has basically no kidney function left, and will die far before his time. He is not a candidate for a kidney transplant because he is feisty as shit, and HATES DOCTORS. Can you blame the poor guy? In 2005 they told us he had 6 months to live, and instead of giving up we stopped taking him to the vet, got a holistic doctor and started feeding him a raw diet. He’s now 8.5 years old, FAT AS HELL and the healthiest any of us have ever seen him. As thrilled as we are, there is a constant sense of living on borrowed time. He is such a special cat and we know the time could come any day — and it will likely come fast, when it does. I don’t know what we’ll do when that happens. Jeffy is a force of nature and has a very special bond with my husband, and was the first cat I personally raised from kittenhood. It is going to be really really tough.

    All this is to say, *HUGS* to all of you. You have friends in SF who are thinking of you!