Because have I mentioned that Kenya’s pregnancy has acquired, uh, complications? Actually, I strongly, strongly suspect that the uterine infection that killed all but one of her puppies last year never really cleared up all the way. Because it defies belief that she would by chance have another infection this year. Anyway, I caught it early because I was paranoid and started running white cell counts two weeks ago. So, yes, infection; but Kenya is on antibiotics that my reproductive vet swears are safe, and as of this morning, her puppies — she has four — are all alive and their heart rates are all good, so they don’t appear to be in distress.
Yet, anyway.
She’s due on the 21st, which also happens to be the day before my birthday. I certainly know what I want for my birthday! I have no intention of letting Kenya go all the way to term, though. I’m sure I will be running more ultrasounds between now and then, but I definitely will be taking the puppies by section no later than the 19th, and maybe the 18th — even if there is no overt signs of trouble. Because though I am praying there will be no SIGNS of trouble, I am pretty damn sure trouble is lurking.
So wish me luck, please!
Now: does this sort of thing interfere with getting actual work done? (I am revising a ms now, or will be in a minute.) No, not really. If I was watching the puppies fade day by day, that would be different, but having just seen this morning that they look all right, I’m good for the next couple of days.
You know what does interfere with getting work done, though? The three hours out of my life that I have to spend driving to and from the reproductive vet. An extra hour today because he was doing an emergency c-section for someone else this morning (and they got two live puppies out of three, so it could have been worse).
I am listening to Pratchett’s WINTERSMITH for these trips. This is the third Tiffany Aching story. Tiffany has been acting like rather an idiot so far in this one, but I have quite a lot of trust in Pratchett, so I’m enjoying the story now and expect to enjoy it more as it really gets going.
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Will keep fingers crossed for you and Kenya and the pups. Hope everything goes well!
Thanks! I’m trying not to obsess about this too much in public (that is, here). In my real life, I’m obsessing about it plenty. You know what my stock response is right now to the rote query: “How are you?” It’s: “I don’t know; ask me in March!” By then, either puppies will not only be born but thriving — or they won’t.
Interestingly, that one time when I had a biopsy because I might have had lymphoma? (I didn’t.) At that point, when people said: “How are you doing?” I said: “Fine! You?”
I’m sure this difference says something deep and meaningful about me, but I’m not sure what that is.
Wishing you and Kenya a stable, easy couple weeks, and dry weather for safe drives to the vet.
I don’t know about you, but *I* wouldn’t want to advertise possible major illness unless I knew for sure about it, and people were very close friends. I’d probably have responded to the general greeting ‘Fine!’ too. Pet health worries are different.
Yeah, that’s it. I thoiught about it a bit off and on and concluded: there is NO WAY I would want people knowing something like that. Let them find out about it when my obituary was published, that’d be about right. Pet things really are different.