Thursday, February 6 through Thursday, February 20, 2025: Medical Appointments, Sick Dogs, PB Training, and Francesco's Tucson Visit

Thursday, Dr. Brian Renegar was making rounds in Palm Creek. He came to our trailer to administer bordetella shots for Kelsey and Jamie.

 

That afternoon, Tom had an appointment with Dr. Pandey, a neurologist. Tom has been having sleep issues that has impacted his daily quality of life. Dr. Pandey is ordering a sleep study for Tom. He is also prescribing a medicine that might help Tom stay more alert during the day.

 

Friday morning, I had a one hour pickleball training session with Jean Peterson. Three other ladies were involved ---  Janet, Sharon, and Di.

 

Kelsey has had diarrhea for 36 hours. This situation was not improving.  I texted Dr. Renegar a photo of her chocolate colored secretion. 

 

Dr. Renegar said that Kelsey had giardia. Giardia is a parasitic infection in a dog's intestines. I took Kelsey to Brian's home in Robson Ranch at noon for treatment. He gave her a shot and provided me with medicine to administer for several days.

Saturday morning, Jamie threw up and then he started to have diarrhea. I called Casa Grande Animal Hospital. A stool sample would take 24 hours to get the results. The receptionist gave me a list of Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG) offices in the Phoenix area. I selected the closest in Chandler. Tom and I gathered Kelsey and Jamie and headed to Chandler. Our dogs were assigned to Dr. Kate Garner.

The group was very thorough. They ruled out Parvo and Giardia. Both Kelsey and Jamie received fluids, as they were dehydrated. We went home various medicines and supplements.

Sunday, February 9, was the 59th Super Bowl in New Orleans. Tom and I watched the game on our trailer television. The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles won 40-22.

Monday morning, the dogs diarrhea situation has not improved. I gave Jamie an Imodium anti-diarrhea treatment twice on Sunday and twice on Monday. I added Kelsey to the mix on Monday. Kelsey and Jamie ate no food on Monday. They still have diarrhea. Jamie threw up Monday night. Kelsey threw up Tuesday morning. It is time to refer them back to Casa Grande Animal Hospital. I called and got them into the "drop off" program. Tom and I dropped them off at 9:45 a.m.

Jamie now weighs 57 pounds. Kelsey weighs 38 pounds. I so hope that we find out what is causing this issue. 

After dropping off the dogs, I filled my truck with gasoline. It was a nice price of $2.73 per gallon.

Tom and Jon had lunch together in Old Town Casa Grande at the Cook-E-Jar Restaurant. I couldn't go, because I had a phone appointment with Christoper Rudd, my new Sleep Doctor. On Tom and Jon's way back, they went to an Open House at a park model on Oasis --- in the non-pet section of Palm Creek. The home had an awesome view of the golf course.

While at Casa Grande Animal Hospital, Kelsey and Jamie received fluids through an IV Catheter.. Both of them were severely dehydrated. Tom and I went back to the animal hospital at 5:30 p.m. We met with Dr. Cayley Childress. She explained that they were prescribing a very strong anti-diarrhea drug. Thanks goodness!

Kelsey and Jamie did not provide poop for a fecal examination. That evening, Kelsey had diarrhea --- so I was able to take the sample to the animal hospital Wednesday morning.

 

February 12 was a full moon evening. This full moon is called the Snow Moon. Very nice!

 

I had an 11:45a.m. appointment to have a dip manicure at NailIt Salon. Sandy, one of the owners, gave me a dip french manicure.

Kelsey and Jamie needed their nails clipped. I called Pawfect Mobile Grooming. Giovanni had appointments in Palm Creek Resort. He came to our site at around 4:15 p.m.

Thursday morning, Tom drove to Florence to see Dr. Andri Olafsson. This appointment was a follow-up to his January 31 hernia surgery. The doctor said that everything looked good. Excellent!

Friday, I had two "taking care of me" appointments. Miranda Palmer at Bloom Salon was my first one. She does a great job with my color and cut routine.

 

The second appointment was a pedicure at NailIt Salon.

 

Saturday afternoon, the Palm Creek Lawn Bowling Club had a "Brats and Dogs" Social following a Novice Tournament. The food was delicious --- I even had two brats!

 

There is a couple from southern Utah who have been vacationing in a Park Model across the street from our site. I initially met Glenda and Bill several days ago.

 

Glenda approached me today and asked if I knew Kent and Allison Couch. Yes! Kent was the controller at Zion Lodge for a number of years. I worked at Zion Lodge in 2003-5. Apparently, Glenda, Bill, Kent, and Allison all attend the same church in St. George, Utah. I texted a photo of me and Glenda to Kent. Small world!

 

The dogs were scheduled to be dropped off at Paw Ranch Sunday at noon. They will be staying there for five nights.

 

Fernando and Owner Lou take such great care of Kelsey and Jamie. They have their own kennel. Since Kelsey is almost blind, their kennel this stay has a light in the back area. How thoughtful!

 

Kelsey and Jamie also have several parks and gardens to explore.

 

I have my first cataract surgery in Mesa on Monday morning. My arrival time is 7:30 am. So, I booked a nearby hotel for Sunday evening. Tom and I drove to the hotel in Mesa and we had dinner at Vito's Pizza & Italian Restaurant in Gilbert. We had to wait 45 minutes for a table. So, we had several cocktails in the bar.

 

Our dinner at Vito's was excellent. Tom had veal piccata and I had seafood risotto. We topped it off with a bread pudding dessert. Yummy!

 

Monday morning, there was a beautiful sunrise.

 

Tom and I arrived at the Surgical Center at 7:15 a.m.

 

I was surprised at how crowded the waiting area was. Of course, every patient needs a designated driver. Apparently, there were two doctors performing cataract surgery that morning.

 

 

 

My surgeon, Dr. Aaron Amacher, stopped by my pre-op room to say hello to me before the surgery. This surgery is only eight minutes long. I was out of the Surgical Center by 10:00 a.m. All went very well.

 

Tom and I drove back to Palm Creek. I have a clear eye patch to wear for at least 24 hours. I also have 

to wear it every night for a week

Jon dropped by our trailer for an hour --- before some evening pickleball. He showed Tom how to find the close captioned option for movies and series on our V-Box.

 

We are so fortunate having Jon here at Palm Creek. I always enjoy capturing the father/son duo in a photo!

Tuesday, I had my cataract surgery one-day follow-up with Dr. Tracy Hutchings in Chandler. Tom and I left early so that we could have lunch before the 12:55 p.m. appointment. We went to a restaurant called the Pitta Souvli Mediterranean Grille. We sat out in the patio and enjoyed lamb pita sandwiches. The food was delicious!

 

 

 

Dr. Hutchings said that my right eye looked good. I was given a list of things I could do as my eye healed. The paperwork also included things that I should avoid. Dr. Hutchings let me take a photo of her and her golden retriever dog.

 

After the appointment in Chandler, Tom drove us to Tucson. We had a two night stay at the Hotel McCoy. The property was originally built in the mid 1950s and it beautifully restored in 2018.

 

Tom and I were given two tokens for a free drink on the patio. The receptionist was also the bartender.

 

It was a lovely Tucson late afternoon, as we sat by the pool.

 

For an early dinner, we went to Mariscos Chihuahua --- a highly rated seafood Mexican restaurant that was nearby our hotel.

 

A highlight was a dozen oysters!

 

Early the next morning, I went to the hotel lobby for coffee. The stay included oatmeal for breakfast with loads of toppings.

It was a great time of day to take a photo of the hotel entrance.

 

The purpose of our visit to Tucson was to see my Italian foreign exchange son, Francesco. He was attending a radiology conference at a nearby resort. We picked him up at 9:30 a.m.

 

Our first stop was the Sonora Desert Museum. We arrived in time to take a docent lead "Desert Discovery Tour" at 10:30 a.m. Jim was our docent. He connected with Francesco because he was married to a woman from Rome for twenty years.

 

Francesco is a champion of doing "selfies." Here are the three of us.

 

On the tour, we saw a number of mammals. One was a cougar.

 

Another was a Mexican Wolf.

 

The next stop was Saguaro National Park in Western Tucson. Francesco and I had to get a photo with an awesome Saguaro cactus.

Our last stop was "Old Tucson." The site used to be where all of the old westerns were shot for motion pictures. It is now a quasi-amusement park. We didn't have time to visit the park, but we did have time for a Francesco and Becky photo opportunity.

That evening, we met for dinner at El Charro Original Cafe. Francesco and his friend, Jorgio, joined us for a delicious dinner. Jorgio is a radiologist from Milan.

 

Early Thursday morning, I had a malady. I was throwing up and I had diarrhea. I canceled the scheduled breakfast with long-time friends, Barbara and Clark Gates. Fortunately, I was able to rest all day --- once we got back to Palm Creek Resort.