Hamlet Says...

Hamlet says, "THANKS for sending all the good wishes, and there's no place like your own bed!!!"

As you can see, Hamlet is home, and is still pretty woozy. However, in his grogginess he thinks he stills needs to follow me around the house. So, I'm trying to stay put so he will. But that's quite an incision, isn't it?? I think it looks a bit like a zipper--Ouch!!!!!

Update on Hamlet

Thank-you all for the good thoughts and wishes for Hamlet, it's needed and appreciated!

The surgeon, Dr. Walker (pictured here) called me last night and said that he had just gotten done with the surgery and that it went pretty well. He said Hamlet was very, very sleepy and stable. I woke up several times during the night thinking about him. I couldn't wait, so I called early this morning (before 5 AM) and talked to the Tech that said Hamlet had just eaten a little and had been taken out, but was of course slow and still a bit groggy. She told me that if all goes well today, he may be able to come home later this afternoon, but definitely by Saturday morning. All good signs--With the hurdle of the surgery now behind him, I'm hoping that the rest will be downhill!

Needed: Healing Energy & Positive Thoughts

This week was supposed to be a week where I could relax and do things around the house. I had grandioso plans. I have a few walls that need to be painted, and I have my flower gardens to clean out. Of course Kenzie was a thought as well. All your comments really helped. I decided that I would go ahead and see if we could "try her" here at our house. I was going to call Shirley and arrange to get her, but that little nagging voice kept telling me to wait...I stopped listening to that voice and decided to make the phone call, and I'm not kidding, just as I was going to make the call, the phone rang and it was my vet...

Hamlet as you may recall is a senior boy that came to us as a foster dog via the rescue last fall and we later adopted. He was left in a garage of a home that had been foreclosed on. You can read his story here: http://lifeatgoldenpines.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-addition.html

Hamlet had a rather large lipoma on his shoulder when he came to us--You can kind of see it on the above picture. For those who may not know, a lipoma is a benign fatty growth. We had it aspirated to see if there was anything suspicious about the lump, and there wasn't, it was just big...However, over the last couple of months its grown and gotten tighter within the tissue of his shoulder; and about 2 weeks ago, it became infected. We hoped that 2 antibiotics would do the trick to get rid of the infection but it hasn't. My vet felt that Hamlet needed to see a surgeon about having it removed. (She wasn't comfortable doing it because of its size and location) I really don't like the idea of putting any dog under anesthesia, let alone one that is 13-14 years old, but there's really not any other choice.

I took Hamlet for a consultation on Wednesday. The first surgeon (recommended by my vet) listened to all of my concerns reassured me that it could be done safely, and gave me a quote for a little more than $3000 (£1950) needless to say I was a bit overwhelmed by that amount. I called a 2nd surgeon who happens to be one that I know from my time as president of the rescue. Dr. Walker, did all of our orthopedic surgeries for the rescue, (including my boy Josh and Maguire) and gave a very generous discount. I took Hamlet to see him in hopes that "maybe" he would be a little less expensive. We had the same discussion as I did with the first surgeon, and then we discussed the money. I showed him what my quote was from the first office and he told me he would do it for half. Needless to say, I was again overwhelmed, but this time by generosity! He told me that because I'd taken in Hamlet and so many other dogs, he wanted too.

Hamlet's surgery is scheduled for this afternoon. It goes without saying that I am really worried about him having such a tricky surgery at his age. So, I hope you'll send healing energy and positive thoughts for him that all will go well.

Finally where does this leave us with Kenzie?? Right now in the same place, because Hamlet has to be a priority. But maybe, just maybe I'll make that phone call and that'll change...

Road Trip -- Part 2

Here are a few more photos from my trip to Lancaster. My friend Sid took me to a little town called "Bird in Hand" and we did a little shopping.
They had a really good farmers market with just about everything for every taste bud!
No matter where I am, I can always spot a Golden, even a chocolate one!! We went across the street to a bakery, but not before I snapped a picture of this sign that gave me a little grin. For those who don't know, "Intercourse" is a name of a town east of Lancaster. I read that the signs for the town gets stolen quite a bit...Your own joke can go here...I'm not really one to make "off-color" jokes... Back on topic...Everything looked delicious in the bakery!!
We also visited nearby nurseries where garden fever really got me! All these plants and all the possibilities!!
There were tables with rows and rows of vegetable seedlings. But I resisted, and didn't buy anything even though I really wanted too...
At the next green house, the plants were literally talking to me, and I could no longer resist. With really (!!) reasonable prices, I bought several plants that are now residing on my front porch until I can get them planted.

After eating and shopping and laughing for two days it was time to come back to Virginia. As I crossed the Susquehanna River, I felt totally refreshed!! My visit to Lancaster gave me some perspective on my troubles and reminded me of the value of a good friend! I can't wait for my next trip! On my way home I go right past Gettysburg, so I took a quick drive through and snapped a few pictures that I will end this post with....

Thanks as always for stopping by my blog!! G'night!!