Not Much Goin' On...

It’s been about a month and a half already, and this past week was the first week I have started feeling better… at least in the sense that I am not coughing as much.  But somewhere amidst all the coughing, I must have pulled a muscle or something because I have been sore for about two weeks already.  My chest hurts.  Last week it was a stabbing pain when I tried to breathe, cough, or sneeze.  I also experienced severe pain if I applied pressure to my rib cage by lying down on my back or stomach.  The stabbing pain/ discomfort is starting to subside a little bit.  But I am still very achy when I lie down and when I wake up in the morning.  I also feel very fatigued.  This past week was the first week I stopped taking all six medications my doctor had me on.  I am now just using the steroid inhaler once a day. 

And once again, Kitty has been with me through it all.  I feel bad, though, that she was unable to complete her first training class.  The first Saturday that she missed was June 15^th because I attended a wedding on that day.  Then the three or four Saturdays after that were the weekends I was sick and the class ended.  Believe it or not, we have not even been to Petsmart since the weekend before June 15^th!!!!  That is definitely a record for US.  We used to be there every week.  I feel bad that I even missed taking Kitty in for her latest vaccine.  I believe it is for Bordetella, more commonly known as kennel cough.  I definitely need to take her in for that this week. 

It has been really hot and humid here.  So, even taking Kitty for an occasional walk around the block seems to be a bit too much for her.  She has definitely grown accustomed to being an indoor dog.  When she gets tired of walking, she actually stops and sits down, and she will REFUSE to move.  So, I will have to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way home, while she pants from exhaustion.  We have only gone for walks about 3 random times this past month—on three days when I was actually feeling better.  Another time this past month I put her on the treadmill inside, and she actually lasted 20 minutes.  I’m sure she could’ve continued for a longer period of time, but I don’t like to push her too much since she’s so little.  But the reason I feel she could have endured a longer time is because each time I have tried putting her on the treadmill in the past, when she gets off the treadmill, she is still able to run around and play like usual.  She does not really seem tired in the least.  So, I am guessing when I try to take her for walks OUTSIDE, it is the heat that she cannot endure more so than the actual walk. 

I am sad that I cannot share more about any of her adventures this month, but her life (as well as mine) has been pretty uneventful lately… and will continue to be so until I feel 100% better.  In the meantime, we are both limited to the indoors.  But I am beginning to think maybe she doesn’t mind so much because when I arrived home from work this evening/morning, I walked into my bedroom… and there she was…  sitting at the foot of the bed.  Not lying down or curled up by my pillow like she normally is.  She was sitting up at the foot of the bed looking at the TV!  LOL.  It was so cute.  I walked into the room, and saw her sitting there.  She turned to look at me for a second, and then turned back to the TV.   And when I looked to see what she was looking at, there was a little puppet character on the screen—some show on the Disney channel.  I couldn’t help but wonder whether she was actually watching TV, or if it was just my imagination.  It’s just one of the many times, I really wish I could read her mind.  If she could talk, I imagine her casual expression and demeanor would say, “Oh, hey… I was just here hangin’ out waiting for you to come home.  So, how was your day?”