Starting late last year, Hazel Nut has had much trouble keeping food and water down, to the point of losing weight and dehydration. Possibly being connected to the neurological issue that baffled the vets a while back, she now has megaesophagus and the only thing that seems to work is Viagara — and sitting her up to eat. It’s also cost a fortune in tests and meds (antifungal and antivirals for her chest). Merry calls her a “lemon”, but we’re grateful we have the money at this time.
So this is the new norm for me. I spend an hour in the morning feeding her in the “Bailey chair” I made for her (pink, of course). Then spend about an hour with Hilda so she gets out of her crate. She still needs CONSTANT supervision. On occasion, I have them play with each other, and even spend an afternoon or two on the back deck while the weather holds between early Spring and second Winter. Sometimes the competition for a toy is too much, and other times it’s parallel play time. Then I try to get some work done and feed Hazel again for an hour in the late afternoon before Mer gets home. Between that and some very dreary days, I’ve found it hard to focus.
At least I get some triple-tasking done while feeding Hazel — listening to an audiobook while catching us up on dishes is a huge plus. Sometimes it’s having Mer on the line while she’s driving home — a welcome ongoing tradition these days. But all this does make my schedule difficult to work around, planning some things on days Mer is home.
The most positive thing is that it’s brought me closer to Hazel. Besides the feeding, she’s in my office a lot and sleeps with us most of the time. It’s not a bad life at all.