Recently in Long Beach Category

Last Sunday, April 13, was incredibly hot - 95 degrees Fahrenheit.  I didn't want to take the dog out in the sun but he wanted to go out around noon.  What a mistake.  He got so overheated and tired after a block that we had to stop in the shade.  I ended up carrying him home.  Then he started wheezing and breathing really fast.  The next morning he looked and sounded terrible.  I rushed him to the vet in the morning.  Dr. Hegazy, a large, hairy Eastern European,  told me that Valentin's heart murmur, which registered a 3 out of 6 last November, had deteriorated to a 5 out of 6.  His pulse was about 120.  The diagnosis was congestive heart failure.  The heart's valves don't close completely and the lungs fill up with fluids, making it difficult to breathe. The doctor took 2 x-rays and sent me home with 2 kinds of pills.  Later on Valentin got worse and could hardly walk.  I thought that he would die that night. I put him on the bed and kept spoonfeeding him water.  I didn't sleep at all.  The next morning his heart was pounding super fast and he was panting very loudly, gasping for air like a fish out of water.  I rushed him back to the veterinarian's clinic. 

The doctor saw how bad Valentin looked and immediately started administering oxygen.  They drew blood.  Instead of waiting for the results of the blood test, the doctor gave Valentin some heart medication: enalapril and furosemide.  They are the same medications given to humans but in different doses.  I wondered if the medicine would do any good or if the doctor was trying to make it look like they were doing something.  That night I gave the dog his medicine, and cried my eyes out while monitoring and petting him.  The next morning I woke up and was planning on carrying Valentin downstairs to let him urinate but he started to stand up and walk about.  I was amazed.  He walked down the hall and outside on his own.  He was slow and a bit shaky but better than the day before. He walked 1/2 a block.  I gave him his medicine then waited for the clinic to open.

The doctor was happy to see that Valentin was much better and I was happy that Dr. Hegazy had given the appropriate treatment.  Each day he gets better and better. Now he's pretty much like he was before.  I just watch him closely and carry him if he gets tired.  He doesn't like to be babied too much though.  He lets me know when he's rested up and can start walking again. Today the pup wanted to walk to the marina but we couldn't get there due to the barriers put up for the Toyota Grand Prix.  We did walk quite a few blocks at any rate.

Dr. Hegazy called me to say that Valentin's red blood cell count is very low and his platelets are extremely low so I have to watch out for bleeding.  However, it's possible to make his bone marrow create more red blood cells if I take him in for some injections.  So next week I'll be taking him in for that.

A few of my coworkers were very concerned and understanding when I kept missing time from work every day.  I would go in for a few hours and then leave.  Someone asked me if I would have to take a second job in order to pay for the vet bills.  Amazingly, the bills only totaled $450.  That's not cheap but it's a lot cheaper than what I had expected.   Just about 2 weeks earlier, a coworker's friend paid $9,000 for treatment for her cat. Ouch.

I asked the nurse if I could still take Valentin to Peru, given the long flight (17 hours) and the high altitude (about 16,000 ft).  She thought it would be okay but said she'd talk it over with the vet.   Apparently, there are many animals that can live quite well with this condition as long as they are probably medicated.  I guess it's the same as for human beings.  I know plenty of people with heart problems who do quite well.  I'm glad.  I'm not ready to let go of my best friend.  I know he won't live forever but a while longer would be great, as long as he's comfortable. 

 

Long Beach is home to a very large Cambodian population. In April they will celebrate the New Year, the year of the Rat.  Throughout the month there will be various festivities, including a parade on April 6th.

I suppose that I will go see what's happening.  I think that I've forgotten every Khmer word I ever learned, with the exception of the numbers.  I remember all of the other languages I've learned.  Khmer just seems to be wiped from my memory, automatically archived into secret files I cannot access. I don't know if I'll ever be able to retrieve the information.

At least I have something to do next weekend.

The City of Long Beach is being transformed into a race course to accommodate the hugely successful annual Toyota Grand Prix event to be held in April .  I was so disappointed to see huge cement blocks topped off by metal fences a few weeks ago.  The city has to look ugly for 2 months for just 3 days of events.  Apparently, the local businesses earn a lot of money during those 3 days.  Unfortunately, those of us who live downtown have to suffer through the ugliness for months. 

The link to the race is: http://www.gplb.com/

Of course, if friends want to enjoy the entertainment, I'm here.

Last week, on Saturday, February 9th, I went to my hairdresser and said "I need something new. I'm thinking red and flippy."  So she cut my hair, which was about 2 inches past my shoulders, to the nape of my neck and dyed it a great red.  It was a huge change.  I had previously dyed it dark, dark brown.  What a great change. I have been receiving compliments from everyone:  strangers on the street, coworkers, acquaintances.  It feels good.

The red hair really compliments my fair skin and green eyes.  Actually, the red really makes everything "pop," as one coworker said.  I need every compliment I can get.  Don't we all?

I had a goofy photo taken at work that doesn't really show me well. I'll have to add another one here.

At the Travel and Adventure Show on Sunday I had the great privilege to be able to hear a great speaker who lives life to the fullest.  The speaker was Phil Keoghan, host of the TV show "The Amazing Race."  I had only caught a few episodes of one season so I wasn't too familiar with him.  However,  I came away from the event highly impressed with him and highly motivated to live life to the fullest.

Basically, he believes in No Opportunity Wasted.  Never miss a chance to fulfill a dream.  He writes down all of his wishes and actually accomplishes a great majority of them, maybe all of them.  He likes to get people to move outside their comfort zone so that they too can accomplish their dreams, despite their fears.

So life is NOW. I love it. 

The storms in California have been terrible this month.  All I can say is that Al Gore is right.  I suggest that everyone watch "An Inconvenient Truth" and read his book of the same name too.  The website is www.climatecrisis.net.  Global warming is causing storms to be much stronger, to release much more rain in a shorter period of time than is typically the case.  

At around 1:30 pm, after walking the dog, I decided to go shopping.  Just my luck, a very strong storm started just as I pulled out of the parking garage.  It was raining buckets so I tried to drive slowly.  On the freeway people were not exceeding 45 - 50 mph. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I hit a deep puddle on the freeway which caused a huge tidal wave to crash over the car.  I slammed on the brakes as much as possible but not completely because I didn't want to get rear-ended.  I could see a little light ahead so I was reasonably sure that I wasn't going to hit the car in front of me.  The cars all around slowed.  I could see that all of the drivers were really shaken.  So was I.  That was scary. Everyone slowed down even more and drove very cautiously from there on.  Just a little way up the road I saw two vehicles parked on the side; the drivers were exchanging numbers.  I'm sure they were hit by the same tidal wave and then hit each other.

No sooner had I arrived inside the store, soaking wet, that the rain stopped and the skies opened up.  The sun shone so brightly afterwards that the streets dried up quickly. By the time I got home, there were hardly any traces of the storm remaining.    

 

 

 

I like fresh air so I like to leave open the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony.  I'm on the 4th floor.  Today as I was leisurely reading the Los Angeles Times, as I always do on Sunday, I heard a slight bang.  I almost panicked as I immediately thought that Valentin was trying make a break for freedom. 

I ran to look and saw him walking around.  I know that he tried to jump up onto the ledge but couldn't fit because the bars stopped him.  I doubt he wanted to jump off.  I think he just wanted a better view. 

I took him for a walk right after that, to satisfy his need to see the sights.  Whew!