Having gone to bed at around 11pm Tikva eeped to go out at ~1am... and ~3am as she had the trots. So I stayed up [grateful for the quiz games] and sure enough she eeped again at ~5am... by which time I gave up after she came in and tried to get some more zzz's and managed maybe an hour until she eeped yet again although her poo did not appear to be not that loose but still not normal. She did not want to go back to bed although on the earlier occasions had quite happily rushed to her crate, waiting for her little bikki, just to curl up in her blankie nest on the couch and made it quite clear that she did not want me to touch her and no, she did not want a bikki or her morning small chew. No breakfast wanted either when it was due, and the mention of a banana was also ignored. OK Tikva, when you want something just ask - which she did a while later when I opened the refrigerator and she smelled bananas, which was A Good Thing as the "Gentle Digest" capsule [it is for minor diarrhoea] I wanted to give her needed to be in something like a piece of banana. Nom nom nom, where is the rest? So she had a whole banana, not that it was very big, and I think... I hope... that her poos will be back to normal. No breakfast though and I will only give her a very light meal this evening. If she does ask for something before then I will give her a small piece of toast - I only get whole-grain but that will probably be better than white, even if I had it. And she is now curled up in her nest again while I desperately need to go back to bed - but as long as she is OK I think maybe I can stop worrying... ...maybe.
Sorry Tikki is not well, I hope it is just a passing indiscretion. I don't remember worrying as much about my daughter, as I do about the hounds, but of course, they are not able to tell us how bad they feel.
Tikki had half a slice of dry toast, bit by bit as I did not want her eating too quickly, and an hour or so later burped up some clear froth - on the couch of course! But she has done a normal poo so hopefully will not disturb me in the night again, although I will, of course, get up if needs be. After all I had to get up to feed her during the night when she was so tiny, and had done it enough times with Pereg before her, but I thought those days, or rather broken nights were behind me now. As for worrying about my children... what with my daughter first being hospitalised when she was just five weeks old and when she was over that problem her diabolical hips were diagnosed - and health problem with my son, followed by him falling 15 metres through the synagogue hall ceiling... ...I used to wonder how people produced healthy children!
It was a Shabbat afternoon - the first Shabbat after he had come out of hospital [that in itself is a long story although not as long as my daughter's year in hospital and all her major surgeries] and there was a special lunch for children after the morning service, in the Synagogue hall. Following their lunch was an afternoon club run by Bnei Akiva - a youth group. My daughter was ten-years old and it was maybe a week before my son's eighth birthday. A week previously there had been a something-or-other which used the stage in the hall, and someone [the blank blank caretaker] had not locked the doors either side of the stage. And off one of those doors was a ladder leading to the roof space and someone [guess who] had not fixed whatever it was so that the ladder was inaccessible. And at the top of that ladder was a trapdoor which lead into the roof space so that the lights could be changed, or something. And someone [no guesses needed] had not locked the trap door. So... small son, egged on by two older boys [probably about my daughter's age] was dared to go up the ladder, followed by the boys in question, and then dared to go into the dark roof space. And he did and fell through half-inch thick ceiling tiles. Head first. However, being rather thin and lightweight his bodyweight turned him as he fell and he landed on his shoulder. Fractured his shoulder, his right forearm [horribly bent], minor skull fractures, a fractured lower jaw, damaged his right kidney - I do not remember what else. But the little s0d was playing football eight weeks later. Do Not Ask How - because according to the hospital he should have been dead. There is a funny follow up to the nighmare of that first evening. A few years later I had to go to the breast clinic and the consultant had been the nephrologist who had been called out to looked at my son's kidney Xrays. He looked at me and all of a sudden said "I remember you - it was your little boy who fell through the Synagogue ceiling".
There were some wonderful times even when things seemed to be bad though, and I treasure the good things as there were some really special ones. My daughter's fourth birthday was spent in hospital after she had had the plate removed from her left femur [The Royal National Hospital in Stanmore, Middlesex where she had spent nearly a year from the age of 13 months] and the teachers [for the long-stay children] and the nurses and nursery nurses threw one of their special birthday parties. So try to imagine the children playing "The farmer's in his dell" with all the beds pushed into some sort of ring and the children either on traction or, like my daughter, still getting over yet more surgery - having their beds pushed forward as each one was chosen. Absolutely utter chaos but oh such fun. Cakes, balloons, a proper birthday party.
Tikva has eaten! She asked for her evening meal nearly an hour later according to the clock but as the clocks have gone back it was actually two hours later than she had usually had it. Keeping to light rations I mixed her vitamins and supplements with a packet of baby food [peas, apples and quinoa as those are the ones I have in stock - must get some others for emergencies], and then some of the dried de-hydrated raw food which I keep also as emergency rations and/or to give to the Pension should she need to be kenneled and which can be re-hydrated as necessary - and Tikki was quite happy with it. If she had still had diarrhoea and not had a normal poo earlier, I would have cooked some plain white rice and steamed some white fish for her, but I am happier giving her what I know is more nutritious. She is curled up in her nest again and seems quite content, so hopefully whatever it was has now gone. And maybe, just maybe, she will sleep through the night. Oh my little Tikki Tikva I love you so very much and I worry when you are not 100%.
Well Tikva only eeped to go out once during the night and after sniffing around to make her mind up where to go, did a small poo - then a bit more sniffing and another small one. Not diarrhoea more like the consistency of toothpaste. I wanted to give her another Gentle Digest capsule but she spat out the piece of banana I had hidden it in and refused any more just in case... Tikki refusing banana?! So I put some of the re-hydrated raw food in her bowl with a capsule in it - and she managed to scoff all the food but left the little capsule. Maybe I should have opened it and sprinkled it on? Although probably she did not need it. She asked for proper food about an hour ago so I gave her a very small chunk of turkey neck which was chombled with happiness. I just wish I knew what had caused the trots in the first place but of course Tikki could not tell me even if she knew.
The bone in the turkey neck should help to make her poops more solid. It sounds as if she is on the mend.
The good thing though Carole was that she eeped to be let out during the night, and waited until I opened her crate and then got through into the salon to let her out. She really did need to poo but was able to hold it until she was outside, and did not seem to be in distress at any time. Nir was just here to fix my door lock as it would not lock, and Tikki was all over him again as usual! While he was here I took the opportunity of asking him to lift up the frame which has the slats that my mattress goes on, so I could get a duvet out of the cupboard space at the bottom. Hopefully I will not need it for a while yet but better to have it out and aired before I do. I think that I either collect duvets or they breed somehow, because I seem to have more than I thought I had.
