Hi, all.
I've been "walkabout" again for several months, and I'm sorry for that. In some senses, a lot has happened, and in other respects, not much has changed.
I'm in wait-and-see mode with my disability application. My fibro has gotten worse, but has stabilized. In other words, I'm worse than I was, but I've been the same for a while now. Insomnia is a HUGE problem for me right now, though, so I have three or four different sleep remedies that I keep in rotation. (I only take them when I have to get up the next morning or when I'm really restless.) Other than that, my health is pretty good.
I had to put down my favorite kitty cat last night, Toranaga (Tori.) It was a shock, and it was all very sudden. A few days ago, he stopped eating. I thought he was just having trouble adjusting to his thyroid medication. He looked really bad a few nights ago, so I took him to the emergency vet out here. He stayed a couple of days, and they did blood work. His blood work was fine, so I figured maybe they could get him eating again, and they gave him fluids. Then the vet recommended an ultrasound, "just to make sure there' s nothing else going on." WELL...Come to find out he had lymphosarcoma! I lost another cat to that back in June, as you all probably remember. In Tori's case, it was much worse. His lymph nodes were "very enlarged," and he WAS in pain.
When he did not start eating again, D and I made the decision that the best thing we could do--the most compassionate--was to let him go. It was really, really hard, and my heart is broken, but he is no longer suffering. I opted to have him cremated, and they will be sending me his ashes. He was my Heart Kitty.
I have picked up a part time (under the table) job helping out at a cat rescue. I basically just feed, water, and clean up after the cats. I love them all. On a VOLUNTEER basis, I help out with the laundry, I take photos of the cats and post them to instagram, and I have offered to help out with fundraising and social media. It's a really good rescue, and I really like the two ladies who run it. Their adoption numbers are very good, and the cats are all very happy cats, which is always a good sign.
My job in DC will be phasing me out.
They are aware that I am becoming more disabled, and they are concerned about my safety on the commute between DC and WV, so they are looking for someone local (and probably cheaper.) Once they find someone, I will train that person, and then they will move me to remote projects--piece work--and I guess eventually just phase me out completely. There's no timeline. I'm not really mad. I can advertise for other clients, once I have a timeline, and I actually kind of want my time back, anyway. Between that and my work with the cat rescue, I get really worn out.
D and I are making more friends out here, so we're settling in a little better. We tend to have something going on every week now, socially. We hosted a holiday party on the 23rd and had about 17 people over. It was great!
That's all I have for now. I have some work to do for my DC client, but I've been missing the forum, so I thought I'd drop in and say "hi!"
Jen M, WV