Bartleby and I have been home for a couple of hours and we are doing okay.

I asked the hospital staff to make sure we had finished all of our paperwork before they brought him out to me because I was pretty sure I was going to lose it entirely...given last night's breakdown. (Thank you so much, Beth. You were a great help to me.)

At one point, the nurse paused and with a very serious face, asked, "Did the doctor prepare you for it looks like?" I said,"He said it would be ugly." She gave a heavy sigh and said, "It's worse." She was right.

The incisions go from around the top of the base of his tail, down his leg, a ragged 6 inches. (His legs are about 8 inches.) Another branch shoots out in a Y about 3 inches to the outside of his thigh. There is also a rubber tube, sticking out from the base of his thigh. It's raw and swollen and basically looks like he's been torn apart by lions.

My biggest challenge will be avoiding having to go back for further resuturing either due to infection or tears in the stitching. The doctor is pretty convinced that at least one of these is inevitable. I'm going to do my very best to avoid either!

The better news is, while he is crying all the time...both from pain and disorientation from the pain meds...Bartleby is eating and moving around with gusto. A little too much gusto for my nerves, truth to tell.

I'm, frankly, shocked by this.

Of course, the hardest part is yet to come, but somehow having a medication schedule and a list of things I need to do every day makes me feel a teeny bit more powerful.

With donations, I was able to buy a heated bed that is perfect for him. He's in it right now, getting the first good rest he's had in a while. Just the thought of being able to help him relax...which is the very best medicine...leads me to express my profound thanks, again, to everyone here who has been with us on this journey.

Thank you so much for your kindness, generosity and good wishes. We have a mountain ahead of us, but with your help, we are already part way up!

Just spoke with bonny, and here's a message from her:

I'm still kind of freaking out and staring at him like he's going to break, but things are as good as they can be right now.

She reiterated her gratitude and wonder at all the support, and Bartleby LOVES his new bed.

I know I've been pretty gray, barely lurking. Can I ask for some ~ma directed towards Florida. Seems my dad is having a pile of health scares. First he was supposed to go in Friday to get an advanced check on the prostrate... But due to the mini stroke he had Sunday, the docs think that procedure is a waste of time right now. And while running tests to see what might of caused the mini strke, they discovered one of his coronary arteries mostly blocked, so they prepped for emergency surgery to shove a stint in there and get him dosed up on Plavix. So hopefully that is ok, so they can focus on the ___ on the MRI of his brain. (dunno what it is...a mass... Gas... I dunno). Being on the opposite coast doesn't make it any easier. From the sounds of it, he's doing ok. The strokes effects wore off before the ambulance got there, so that's good. But still, a bit unnerving.

Dad is home from the hospital. The stint surgery went fine. Today they did some scan of the back of the heart for the cause of the stroke. Apparently there are 2 types of strokes, one from blood clot, one from (dad couldn't remember what it's called), and of course, he has the one he can't remember what it's called. Dunno when the results of today's test will be in, but he is apparently well enough to send home.

All in all, a crazy week for him. Apparently he was going to visit the audiologist on Monday to finally get some hearing aides, and then today was the day to get his prostrate probing exam, and instead he had everything but those two things done. Stroke. Stents. And tests galore! Fun times!

Thanks for all the ~ma and support!

(x-posting with Bitches)

I found out that a friend of mine , at age 38 had a brain aneurysm yesterday. Luckily , she was with friends that recognized something was seriously wrong. the doctors are pleased with her progress, but a little buffista ma ~~~ would be nice. for both her and her DH and her family. there are a lot of reasons that the words 'ever lovely' proceed her name.

It's probably nothing, but I'm at the ER to get some abdominal/back pain checked out. It may be another ovarian cyst or appendicitis; it may be random cramping that means nothing. Nothing-ma would be appreciated.

It's another ruptured ovarian cyst--this one luckily a lot less painful than the last. I have pain meds and am about to be discharged. Everything else came back normal. I have to follow up with my OB/GYN and will figure out next steps from there. Thanks for the -ma, all.

In this season of giving thanks, I cannot adequately express my appreciation for the incomparable generosity of the Buffistas.

I xposted in Bitches about Bartleby's progress, but the short of it is that, halfway through his recovery, he is doing better than could have been expected.

We had his drain removed today and found out that the biopsy showed NO CANCER CELLS. So, we are doing the happy dance around here.

If you are of a mind, you can see a photo of the uber-ugly wounds left by the surgery in my blog post about it. It makes clear how incredible it is that he's doing so well.

I humbly thank each and every Buffista who helped to finance this endeavor, helped me to keep my sanity, gave me advice on treatments and kept us in very kind thoughts and prayers.

May your Thanksgiving be as warm and bright as mine will be as a result of this beautiful community.

[I might be slightly away from the board, fighting monstrous paperwork, trying to write papers and understanding why my country thinks democracy is passé, but it doesn't mean I can't do other things in and for this community, dammit].

So, without further...

It's time for my annually-Christmas-announcement/reminder to Buffistas with religious affiliates. Stompies, if this should belong in Press (since I do plan this to continue as long as I am a part of this community), let me know and I'll repost it there.

For those of you who don't know: I live in Israel, and spend pretty much equal amount of time in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. I also know this board has religious people on it, or people with religious families and friends.

So if any of you of any faith would like something from here - the Old City, or anywhere else - for Christmas or any other occasion, it's really easy for me to get it and send it overseas. In fact, I'd LOVE to do this for you, given enough guidance and information (I am and was raised Jewish, and pretty much everything I know about Christianity came from popular culture TV). I'm even OK with rubbing objects against graves/approximated graves/holy locations, if that what turns you on.

Profile addy is good, and again - it's not a hassle. In fact, it's the opposite of it.

Happy holidays!