We're still here...

Sorry it took a while to post again. I've started my Hep C treatment and have completed almost two weeks of it. I have some, but not all, of the side effects, but I've got a long ways to go (between 6 and 12 months.) I've been feeling VERY weak and just a few quick steps will send my heart racing. I'm so glad I had an echo cardiogram done before I started these drugs (Incivek, Peginterferon and Ribavarin.)

I've not been online very much, trying to get used to the new me (whatever that means!) On Monday I have to go for blood work to check my hemoglobin to be sure I'm not getting anemic (a very common side effect) and have my Incivek dosage adjusted if necessary. Incivek is the new drug that was just approved for use in 2012 and is designed to knock your immune system down so that the other two drugs can attack the virus and I've been told they have been very successful with this medication. Out of 20 patients at my doctor's office, only one had to abandon treatment because it was not effective.

Meanwhile, everything is status quo! Not much going on here. Romeow still enjoys walking on the leash and climbing trees:

He seems to be driving me more nuts than usual because when I can't take him out for our regular walk, he gets so frustrated and starts to act like a wild child (understandably) but when I'm feeling too tired to go, then we all have to just wait it out. I put him outside in his cage and Weezie on her leash so they can watch the neighborhood and get some fresh air. He's just spoiled rotten and doesn't know when he's got it made. He's almost eight months old now and still bites sometimes! (We're working on it!)

Look, how he has chewed up the outer edge of his basket. That rascal!

Weezie lounging with a squeaky toy!

Weezie continues to be a good, mellow girl and sleeps all day unless she's sitting outside watching people or we're walking around the lake. We still go to the Nursing Home together, but I have missed a couple of visits while starting this treatment. I told them to not write us off and we are coming back next week. Weezie makes up for the hyperness of Romeow, otherwise I would not be able to handle two over active pets right now. They just have to suffer with me through this. I still walk with them, but not as far and often as before. Thankfully this is only temporary. Next month I'm going to the eye doctor for my past due exam. Having visual problems is also a side effect of the medication, but it's reversible or else I would not sacrifice my vision for a Hep C cure.

I still think of my Gizzy boy every single day and miss him when ever I see his face. I just recently started to enjoy nature again and manage to walk around the lake without crying, but it still hurts and I suppose, it always will. My doctor put me on Zoloft, because depression is a very common side effect of the medications that I am taking. I don't feel any different, but as long as I don't harbor suicidal thoughts, then the medicine is working. (I never have had those thoughts before, but the medication is known to do that to people, so we just wanted to take precautions and put me on it during treatment.)

(I remember you every time I walk past this table, Gizzy, and see you sitting there in my mind's eye! You are sorely missed. Mama loves you forever and ever!)

Also, this year, I'm turning 60 on June 16 and I have posted a Birthday Wish on my Facebook account. It's a simple wish of wanting to help homeless animals. If anyone wants to participate and contribute, here is the link:

Causes - Doris Sturm's Birthday Wish

Wishing you all a most wonderful weekend and God bless you!

Happy Mother's Day 2009

This is my wish to all mothers and especially those whose children cannot be with them on this day...Happy Mother's Day and may your memories bring you joy and comfort! This is the handbag I knitted for my mother in Germany and when I called her this morning to wish her a Happy Mothers day, she said she received the bag and she really likes it. No matter how old my daughter gets, she'll always be my little girl to me. This is one of my favorite photos of us. It was taken back in 1997 at Mimi's Restaurant in California. I find great comfort in my little fur balls, to whom I'm a mom too. My dog, Gizzy and my cat, Middi. It's nice to be needed, even if only by a fur-baby ;-) My Middi is a very good and smart cat. She has to put up with a lot of nonsense from Gizzy and so far, she's been very tolerant of him. (Guess it's still better than starving outside) I took Gizzy to Bank's Lake in the afternoon to spent a few hours with my friend who runs the Outpost. We shared some ice cold watermelon and watched a fisherman catch and release a nice sized (pregnant) bass. I also bought Gizzy a new plush hand puppet at the Outpost, where they sell only animals that one would find at this National Wildlife Refuge. As you can see, he loves his new alligator! Earlier today, I received a surprise invitation to join my long-time friends in Valdosta for dinner. We all went to a nice little seafood restaurant (no, not the Red Lobster) that served us an assortment of tasty seafood and I enjoyed some fried green tomatoes. But best of all was the company. It was so nice seeing them again! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

My cat, Middi!

Since I talk so much about my dog, it's only fair to mention my cat, Middi, also, because she's a smart and brave cat who has earned her way into this house...and I secretly think she's partly responsible in keeping the bugs away that are ever so abundant in humid climates like Southern Georgia and Florida. She adopted me in spite of the dog, who absolutely hates cats. Thankfully, she's smart, streetwise and good natured, so that she can always find a way to avoid him. I also have the apartment rigged so that she has plenty of high spaces to sit on. Occasionally, he gets her cornered, but then I go over and pick him up so that she can make her getaway. She feels secure in knowing that I'm a team player. She loves to sleep on top of me and since Gizzy's not a lap dog, he doesn't seem to mind...unless when it's thundering and lightning outside and then he cries to sit on me. I named Middi for midnight, but I also call her Miss Middi Prickly-Claws because she has the sharpest, thorny needle claws that I have ever felt on a cat before. I take her to the Vet's for a trim every month or so because she won't let me do it. She turns into an absolute and perfect daemon that seems to grow ten legs equipped with sharp, scratchy claws. She scratches and bites with a vengeance and I'm just not in the mood for that. She is otherwise a sweet and loving cat and since I let her in, about eight months ago, this cat has morphed into a healthy, shiny coated, full-bodied beauty because when I first saw her, she was nothing but skin and bones, a total mess, but nothing that a couple of hundred dollars at the Vet's couldn't fix. (Here she looks disturbed over having to be my model and wear the cat collar that I crocheted. I like it, only she was NOT impressed.) After having been starved, Middi now has a healthy appetite (to the point of gluttony) and a strange fascination with danger because occasionally I see her sneaking into Gizzy's bed to take a nap (usually when he's asleep somewhere else or on top of the windowsill.) I have bought her a pretty pink bed, but she doesn't use it, so Gizzy took it over and now he has two. So what if it's pink? He's male enough to pull it off! Handsome boy - even in pink!