The Recovery

Poor little gimpy Buddy did get to come home the night of his surgery but I am not sure it was the right decision.

If you have ever been under anesthesia you know how confusing it is when you wake up. You are sore but aren't sure where you are, you are missing a few hours and you aren't in the same place you were when you felt the cold fluid in your veins.

Now imagine you are a dog and already confused and there was not a familiar face in the waiting room so you try to get up and figure things out but you are too floppy and your foot won't work.

When they brought Buddy out to me his tongue was still hanging out of his mouth and he couldn't hold his head up. It was so sweet how he just rested against me to hold himself up and would look up at me confused and sore. Poor guy.

He had a really terrible night at home the first night, pacing trying to wake up and crying every time he would put his foot down. By morning he was alert enough to stand upright and keep his foot off the ground and was able to get around a lot better.

He has started to wag his numbin again and this afternoon he pounced his squeeky guy. I am slowly getting my dog back!

He goes to that special place every few hours when his pain meds are fresh but for the most part he is fairing well and being a good sport.

This is how his day went yesterday:

This little piggy...

Do you have any idea how much I adore my mutt? I mean, I really, really love him. He has been by my side longer than E has and he is my best, hairiest buddy. We have seen the world together and I really love his little dog body.

I write a blog post about him once a week but don't publish them because that is creepy and I fear no one would ever come here to read again.

Right now my buddy is having his little left pinky amputated and I am having a really hard time. When we left him at the vet this morning, I cried and the nice nurse told me it would be ok and they are open 24 hours so we can visit him any time if we need to.

E explained to aforementioned nurse that Buddy is really sensitive so please watch him closely for pain. Her response was, "Of course he is, he is a Boston." I felt ok about leaving him after that.

About 6 months ago, we came home from a week long trip and he had this mass that had grown, just in that week, on his front driver's side foot. Heather assisted in the dog-body-surgery to remove it and the pathology report came back with encouraging but expensive news.

Good news: It wasn't cancer, it was a Neurofibrosarcoma, which simply put, is a kind of tumor that grows around the nerves and pinches them. It is painful and fast growing but on his foot is not fatal and rarely spreads to the lungs or heart. It did explain a little about his neurosis of not wanting to walk on bark or gravel with his delicate feet. But honestly, I think it has more to do with his sensitive sensibilities than his nerves.

Expensive News: It was going to grow back. Because of the spindly nature of the tissue, they couldn't get all the diseased cells and it grows fast.

A few weeks ago, the dog boy started showing signs of this growth coming back. He got lethargic (I mean more than his usual 20 hours of sleep, snoring, licking walls, staring at corners and acting dead) he was limping a little and wasn't eating. Again, more than his usual 2-3 day binge dieting.

We took him to a specialist (I need to say that I think it is ridiculous there is a dog nerve specialist but I am also grateful he chose this totally over the top profession) who recommended that we have the toe amputated so they can get all the diseased tissue out.

We have been dreading this surgery for 3 weeks and put it off as long as we could but the growth is visibly larger and it was time. When I think about this ordeal Kimball is going through it makes me cry.

I can't explain to him why he has to be at strange hospital where he doesn't know anyone. Why they are going to hurt him and why he has to spend the night, in pain, in a metal box without his heating pad or his people to keep him warm. I can't tell him why his little dog shoe is going to hurt or why he can't jump off the bed for a few weeks or why he might be a little tippy once the bandaid comes off.

And the cone, the cone is so terrible. Poor guy hits the sides of the dog door trying to get through and you laugh a little because he is confused but it hurts my heart.

I am holding off calling the dogspital to check on him but I really, really want to.

I am worried he won't find our matching pins in our feet that endearing either.

Hang in there, Buddy. We will not judge and will mock you as little as we can. You are a good, brave, buddy.

Cheers, to our friends

We had a spectacular weekend in Napa celebrating the marriage of Jared Young and Randi Kaye.

Remind me to move there when I buy my vineyard.

What an amazing event and for two people I adore and what a great turn out of more people I adore.

Way back when, when we toured with 42nd Street we had such an impressive group of people. I have never worked on a show where the whole team had such good chemistry and most of the group has stayed close so there was quite the turn out this weekend. It was such a comfort that no one has changed but everyone's lives have taken them in crazy directions.

There were a few things that struck me about the wedding that I wanted to write down so I wouldn't forget:

-The number of people that came from all over the world was incredible. I want to raise a child that affects the world they come in contact the way these two have. That way when events like this arise, they can be surrounded by family and friends the way this group rallied around Jared and Randi. It was truly like nothing I have ever seen.

-Randi's dad was making a little speech and he said something to the effect of: "We are about commitment. We are about family, friends and a commitment to those things..."

I am sure it doesn't sound as powerful being read on my blog but after watching this community of people pour their support over their little Jewish girl marrying a little Mormon boy, it was moving to hear the resolve in his voice. This clan would be there for Randi and they were extending that commitment to Jared and his family in a very public declaration.

-They were married under a Chuppah which signifies the home the couple will build together. The four posts that hold it up, represent the idea that marriage cannot be done alone, it needs the support of the people around you. The fabric on the Chuppah was taken from Randi's mother's wedding dress. How lovely.

-The parents of the bride also gave the couple a rug which they stood on to be married. This way they can have the spot where they made their commitment to one another, in their home.

-There was also a Flash Mob at the dinner but that was too awesome to describe so I will wait until video surfaces and post that.

I will post pictures once they materialize for those who love to look in on other's lives, like I do. Then you can be jealous of how spectacularly beautiful Randi is and envious we were able to attend such a great event.

More to come...