Friday, May 29, 2009

filling the hole in whole


It is not Al Gore's ozone hole. But there has been a hole at Casa Algodón while the good Professor Jiggs was recuperating in Manzanillo.


And from his bill, I assume he was putting room service to liberal use.


I will cut to the chase. Everyone wants to know if Jiggs's hard tumor is cancer or not. It looks as if it is not.


But that does not take Jiggs out of the woods and put him in a pool cabana. The fatty tumors are pushing one hip out of alignment.


The veterinarian wants Jiggs to drop a few pounds to see if the tumors can be reduced in size. (Jiggs will now join me in dieting.) We go back to Manzanillo in two weeks (15 days for those of you who live north of the border).


Right now, everything is fine. Jiggs is supposed to take walks. Tonight, he just did not want to go. I can see what is about to happen. He walks for the veterinarian. For me, he is simply going to be spoiled.


That is the good news for the day.


Before I left for Manzanillo, I decided to see my doctor to establish a baseline for my blood pressure and blood sugar. I was positive that my blood pressure would be well within normal limits. After all, it was almost normal when I left Salem -- before I lost those pesky 30 pounds.


My doctor was surprised at the first reading. She took a second. The readings were elevated -- to the extent that it looked as if I had not been taking my medication. I had.


She scheduled lab tests for Friday and a follow-up appointment on Saturday.


Good grief! For a month I have been worried about Jiggs -- while my health seems to be declining.


Of course, the two are related. Now that I can stop worrying (for awhile) about the dog, maybe my conditions will slip under the radar again.


My goal of getting off all medication may have been just a bit premature.


But I am not going to let that get in the way of this glorious weekend -- finding a hole in my life duly filled.

21 comments:

Mic said...

HURRAH!!! Professor Jiggs is home. He does look alot happier....and I'm sure your health will improve shortly as well with him there to watch over you.

Steve Cotton said...

Mic -- And that will be a fair bargain.

norm said...

When you stated that you did not eat for 24 hours a few posts back,I said to myself, oh no, his sugar! My sugar does better with small meals more often. I still eat like a horse but I spread it out over the course of the day. The thing about sugar is that it does not go away, it can be managed but it is something that will take years off your life in most cases.
Life is not fair.
Good news about the pooch.

Islagringo said...

I'm so pleased that Jiggs has gotten another reprieve! He's almost like a cat in that regard. I wonder if the heat, which can be very taxing, has anything to do with your blood pressure? Stay calm, stay cool.

Anonymous said...

Jiggs looks wonderful and how cheeky that he decided to test you on his first night home. Hopefully the cooler mornings will be more to his liking and you two can enjoy walks together as he checks out his new surroundings. That should help with your health issues, too. Hope the elevated blood pressure is just a result of your worry and concern for your four legged friend. Enjoy the weekend in your quaint Mexican village. I miss Melaque!

Julian from SC said...

In a battle of wills who is going to win?? I think you need to come to some kind of understanding with your friend Jiggs. *grin* It is both for his good and now yours that you go for these walks.


I'm still trying to figure how you lost all that weight so quickly. I quit smoking two and 1/2 years ago and still have 15 pounds to get back off. It is really hard!!!


Good luck on your tests!

Julian

Calypso said...

You might be getting the hang of this retirement thing now that you seem to be including Friday with the weekend.

When you get to 'every day is Saturday' you will be there ;-)

GlorV1 said...

It's a good day and YAY!! I'm happy that Mr. Jiggs is where he belongs again. He looks great, rested and definitely happy. You could wet a towel and wear it over your shoulders if it is too hot, that might help a little, same for jiggs. You just have to keep wetting them. Hope your tests go okay Steve and you should throw a welcome home party. :D He looks great.

BoBo's Mom said...

Great news about the tumor. It must be so nice to have him home again. I have to say again I REALLY like his new haircut. He looks great. I am considering giving BoBo the same cut for summer. Jiggs may have started a trend....

peachland said...

welcome home Jiggs,nice to see you!
Steve that was a big day for both of you,by the end of it Jiggs was probably wrung out as much as you and wanted to relax.Same for you between stress and heat very taxing.

have you ever had nopales cactus to eat?A Mexican lady told me it has medicinal properties,I looked it up and seems it does,lowers cholesterol and levels blood sugars.The trick is to eat it raw as the properties are in the pectin which leave when cooked.Soooooooo at the juice stands they make this lovely drink called verde,very refreshing, citrus celery cilantro & nopales.also the nopales can be tossed in a salad,maybe you have seen them chopped up in small bags in the market?

enjoy your day with jiggs take care

Carole said...

Awww, Jiggsy! Cute as a button!

Chrissy y Keith said...

Well, Jigg's probably thinks "hey, whats in it for me" if you can find some calm water and a doggy life jacket, swimming would take alot of stress off his joints and build his muscle mass and keep him cooler.

Chrissy y Keith said...

Coastecomate has some smooth water days and is pretty close by.

Tancho said...

Think of the difference in Jigg's check out tab down here as apposed to the one you would have had in Salem. That should bring your blood pressure down real quick!

Joe S. said...

Steve, you have alot of company with non-obedient BP, etc. including yours truly. Your MD's response is excellent and you're in sunny Mexico, you'll get it under control.

1st Mate said...

Steve - He looks good, I'm so glad he's home. I've seen how dogs will behave with the vet and then at home; you'd think he'll never walk again, and the vet will have him trotting obediently along.

I put in a vote for nopale also -- it doesn't have a strong taste, it goes well in salad. This is the perfect time for salads, and smaller portions since they'll keep you cooler. And lots of water, remember you're not used to the dehydrating effects of the Mexican sun.

Theresa in Mèrida said...

I like nopales on the grill. I like the green juice a lot! Speaking of things that I like, I think Jiggs looks good in his new 'do, but he looks very different too. Maybe you need to hire a supermodel to walk him?
regards,
Theresa

Brenda Maas said...

Glad Jiggs is home, he is looking good. Also glad the tumor is not cancerous.
I second the motion for the nopales, they are really supposed to help.
Stay cool.

Steve Cotton said...

Norm -- I am back to a normal eating schedule, and carefully watching what goes into my meals. My lab tests today showed my glucose at 86. Of course, that was just one reading. But my cholesterol is in normal limits, and my triglycerides were halved -- though still too high. If I can get the blood pressure back into normal, I am going to feel quite smug -- until the next crisis.

Islandgringo -- Jiggs has many gato-like qualities. His survivability is testament to that. Without doubt, my concern for him has had an effect on my blood pressure.

Anonymous -- Your prediction was correct. Jiggs and I took a full morning walk. And tonight he did a half-block. I will try him again later in the evening when it cools off.

Julian -- I lost the weight the same way I put it on. For some reason, in late 2008, I started eating triple portions of everything. And I ate candy -- something I generally do not like. The result is the expected weight loss. The rate of loss has slowed, but I am still going to strip more fat off.

Calypso -- If it were not for the calendar on my computer, I am not certain I would know one day from the other.

Gloria -- In his new "rat cut," he stays cool without any external help. He was shivering a bit last night -- at 74 degrees. He is now a Mexico dog.

BoBo's Mom -- Jiggs is happy to start any trend. It has taken me a bit to adjust to my new "lab." He seems to be perfectly happy with it huimself.

Peachland -- You are being too generous to Jiggs. As much as I love him, I know that almost every event is going to be a battle of wills. Tonight, he did the short walk routine again. But this morning he wanted a full walk. We will survive. And I will look into nopal. There are several small "commercial" cactus gardens in town, and I see it in the store and on tables along the streets. Recipes abound online.

Carole -- Cute he is -- and knows it!

Chrissy -- I will discuss the idea with Jiggs's vet. It sounds good to me, but the vet was quite adamant that I not get a small wading pool for Jiggs. It would be great to spend some time in the water with him. The waves at La Manzanilla may also be good for him.

Constantino -- In this instance, I suspect the bills would be very similar.

Joe -- Just something else in this world that I cannot immediately control.

1st Mate -- I guess that is why some people become veterinarians and others become accountants. I am going to pick up some nopal this weekend. As for water, I have always drank a lot of it. And it always helps when I try to lose weight; I just increase the water intake.

Brenda -- Jiggs sends his best wishes.

Steve Cotton said...

Theresa -- Jiggs would not need a supermodel; he would perform for a catalog model. He is undopubtedly keeping his eye out for a likely perro chick.

Anonymous said...

Steve-have you thought of taking Jiggs for a walk along the Malecon on the far end of the beach? You would probably have to drive him there but it is a nice walk out to the end (or not) and you could also check out that end of the beach for taking him in the water. That is where we used to take our old boy (who seemed to have many of Jiggs' traits-he, too was a character). He would gladly fetch a ball and do a little swimming every day even though water wasn't his favourite thing. There is a good restaurant there, too (if it is still open at this time of the year).