Live from Odyssey to Harmony Feb 10-25, 2024 🚢🥳🍾🌊🏝️🐚☀️

[Denversail]

My plan for today was to head to the mall and do some shopping. I think that plan has gone out the window. I’ve held up pretty well to this point. It is Sunday morning and Wolf left for work around 5 am. At around 8 am I attempted to feed her. She has medication that needs to be taken with food. I tried treats, baby food, eggs, hot dogs, watermelon and peanut butter. Nothing worked. About half way through this effort I just started sobbing. She is dying and I can’t do anything about it. I don’t know that her death will be the outcome but it seems inevitable in this moment. All those emotions hit me all at once. You can basically see her entire skeleton.

 

I considered making myself a really strong drink. It is around 9 am and even I thought it was a little too early for that. So I settled on Mimosa’s.  Who doesn’t enjoy having a Mimosa on a Sunday morning?🍾🥂

[Denversail]

We are now 12 days out. I decided I was going to go into the office this morning. I would pump out as much work in the morning as I could and then come home and help deal with Wolf’s dog. The plan was simple. Dupable would pick up Wolf’s dog and drop her at the hospital to get her test. They said the process would take a few hours. We would then all go together early in the afternoon and hear the test results. 

 

As usual when Dupable is involved this simple plan went south pretty quick. She goes to drop the dog off and they ask if she is there to do her bloodwork again. Dupable starts to get worked up and says no she should be getting a liver function test. They try to explain to her that she will need both test. Dupable throws a fit. They end up putting her in a room (I assume she was causing a scene) and sending a doctor in to talk to her. The way Dupable describes it is the doctor basically said if her liver values aren’t improved there is really no point in taking the function test. If none of her medications are working the next steps are aggressive and expensive. So if we aren’t going to do those things the test just becomes informational. At this point in the story I’m just confused. I haven’t been to the hospital with them on most of their visits but it feels like we are being told different things each time. I still don’t know for sure if that is what is happening or if Dupable is just struggling to relay the information.

 

So by the time we are returning Wolf and I are unsure what kind of circus Dupable has created. When we get there they immediately told us that her lab results look the same. They have however already started the function test. They got the pre sample but they need her to eat to get the final sample for the test. They seemed to think they were going to give her an appetite stimulant and she would eat a decent amount of food. Not gonna happen. So after being there for over two hours trying to get her to eat I told them we were done for the day and want to take her home. 

 

Now they state that they don’t think she has anything terminal and her levels are all due to her not eating. At this point they are saying this because I’ve basically said tell us what is happening. Are we taking her home to die? All they give us is an appetite stimulant to give her at home. They have now decided her levels could all just be due to her not eating. They said any further treatment would require a specialists in internal medicine. If we can’t get her to start eating the specialist would put a feeding tube in her. So about 5K later and we are still at the symptom of she won’t eat. This is the first piece of information we shared with them.  😖

[Denversail]

She is now back home. I ordered kabobs for dinner and she inhaled a few pieces of steak. That was the one useful piece of advice they gave us. They were like toss all your rules out the window and give her all the things she wants that you would usually say no to. That seemed to work this time around or the stimulant worked. Who knows? 🤷‍♀️

 

I’m glad today is over. It was a bit of a roller coaster. My favorite part was when Dupable started explaining to the doctor how test results work. In Dupable’s opinion the doctor saying the test results are basically the same isn’t acceptable. She assertively informed the doctor that it is impossible for the results to be the same.  They either had to be higher or lower. 🙄

 

I think we are right back to where we were 17 days out. Will Wolf still make the trip? Will his dog recover? Will we be mourning two dogs? Same unknowns.

 

So we wait….

[Denversail]

So Dupable started going on and on about the cold weather again today. She also made some other comments that make me think she has been spending time on social media. 😮‍💨

 

I guess we will see. I realize we could end up in a storm and not enjoy the weather. This just seems like an unlikely pattern for the entire week. This is the Caribbean mon. 🏝️☀️🌊

Edited February 5 by Denversail

[Denversail]

We are ten days out and oh boy. I’m not really sure what I should say. I prefer the conversations when the parent is always wiser. I mean this just feels super awkward at this point. Dupable and I have basically been preparing for the dog to die. Wolf however for the last 3 or 4 days has been saying he thinks she is fine. We were concerned that he was in denial.

Wolf appears to have been right. She seems just fine. Before this episode she was eating 1/2 a cup of kibble per day. She ate 3/4 a cup of kibble today. She is on her 3rd day of appetite stimulant which we will stop after today. This is the first time she has eaten kibble in 3 weeks. This has made us super hopeful that we can carry out our original plans. 🤞

[GimmeOcean]

I'm way more invested in the dog story than the cruise. Hope everyone makes it & the dog is ok!

[Denversail]

We are 9 days out. Super uneventful day at least for me anyways. Dupable was all sorts of excited. So around 4 days ago I let Dupable know that I think her car is leaking oil. So yesterday she decided to take her car in. They tell her she needs to replace some rubber ring seal thingy. They keep the car overnight. She picked it up today and when she arrives at my house insist I must hear this story about picking up her car. Here is how our conversation goes..

 

Dupable: We go to pick up the car and I’m complaining about why we have to replace the ring at 75k miles. The service guy starts explaining how they use the best quality rubber. So Good Sport pipes in and ask which rubber is that? The service guy actually knows and responds with the gibberish of the rubber type. Good Sport says that is the cheapest rubber on the market. I’m so proud of Good Sport for standing up to them. He spoke right up! He didn’t put up with it! 😍

 

Her face is all excitement. She is a little out of breath. This appeared to be the end of the story. 

 

Me: So you got a discount?

 

Dupable: No. We stood up to them and didn’t let them push us around!

 

Wolf: Then you immediately handed them your credit card and paid the $500 bill?

 

Dupable: Well yeah. I needed my car back. 😤😂🤣😜

 

Like I said it was slow day in the entertainment department

[Denversail]

We are now 8 days out. The stress is starting to really set in. I’m super behind schedule. I have a 3 day weekend and then 5 days of work and then we leave early the next morning. I’ve already been informed I will be picked up at 7 am for the airport Sat morning. I still have laundry, shopping, figuring out my video stuff, packing, and other unrelated trip planning. I haven’t printed or at least saved over any of my travel docs. I have to leave a meal plan for the dogs. I also have to figure out all my bills for the month. My dog is also getting a dental on Thursday. So I have the next 3 days to knock about 80% of this off my to do list. 

[Denversail]

We are now 6 days out and I haven’t crossed much of my list. This is my way though. I now have 5 days of work in front of me. Plus a dog dental, bills to pay, packing, shopping, learning how to edit videos, and a meal plan for Wolf’s dog. 

[clochette]

The real question is how is the dog, is she still eating?  Really looking forward to your trip and I am sure many fun stories from your crew.

[Denversail]

This was my drive to breakfast today. 

[Denversail]

The dog’s recent meals have consisted of Teriyaki chicken, chimichanga, and cheesesteak. She really loved that cheesesteak. She ate more of that sandwich than I did. She still isn’t eating enough though and hasn’t been very consistent. I’m not sure we will ever be able to get her back on kibble. 

She really needs to get some fat on those bones. 

[scubaslayer]

3 hours ago, Denversail said:

In Dupable’s opinion the doctor saying the test results are basically the same isn’t acceptable. She assertively informed the doctor that it is impossible for the results to be the same.  They either had to be higher or lower. 🙄

 

Ok, I work in a human hospital lab and I swear I have had that argument so many times. Except in my case it is doctors and nurses arguing that the results have to change.

I am way to invested in this story now. I hope everything calms down for your family.

[Denversail]

We are now all caught up. This point forward we are basically live. We have 5 days left until we leave. It is starting to feel like we are all going to make the trip. A lot can happen in 5 days. 😬

[Denversail]

I received an email from my credit card company this morning. They informed me that they are aware of my travel plans. They hope I enjoy my trip and they have put a travel notice on my account.  They told me not to worry and I should be able to continue spending money without interruption. 👀

[Denversail]

So let’s talk ducks. So many ducks. Of course Dupable was lurking on social media and caught wind of this phenomenon and had to participate. She promptly bought a duck kit and prepared a bunch of ducks for the trip. She was not going to miss out on what I can only describe as duck mania. I think we will have more ducks cruising than people.

[Denversail]

I’ve been a bit of a zombie this morning. I don’t think there is enough caffeine on the planet to snap me out of my walking coma. 

[Denversail]

I decided that some lunch might help. Spicy chicken ramen. I know two things in this moment. 
 

1. I’m unlikely to eat all this without my shirt enjoying some.

2. My next two pees will look like Mountain Dew. Every time with this place. Food coloring maybe?

[Denversail]

Dupable and Good Sport are out getting Chiefs gear for the game Sunday. I meant to pick up something up for myself at lunch but you guessed it I procrastinated. Wolf has already stated anything we get for him will just go straight in the trash. I doubt he really would mind wearing it. He just gets satisfaction in thwarting Dupable’s plans. He already told her she isn’t allowed to hide ducks when he is with her.

 

No I’m not a big football fan but I am a Swiftie. So go Chiefs!

[Denversail]

Came home to Wolf’s dog all hyped up. She did a sprint to outside. Then bolted upstairs to her room. I think she thought maybe Wolf was up there. She was acting hungry and hadn’t eaten today. I tried some cheese but could only get her to eat one bite. We don’t have much food here currently so I decided to maker some eggs. She hasn’t been willing to eat them lately but I thought I would try. She might look like she is about dig in but she isn’t. That was just the end of her growl at my other dog. 
 

So my dog got the eggs. She whined at me for a few minutes until I figured out she just wanted her blanket by me so she could snuggle. Wolf brought her home a steak last night. Mr. IT is the chef in these parts. She will have to wait for him to come home and cook it for her. 

[Denversail]

So our family text blew up early this afternoon. The topic was the alias Dupable. I don’t know how most family text are but ours goes from silent to explosion. So at this point Dupable requests a name change. The family has all sorts of opinions on what it should be.
 

The first round of voting went with GO GO Gadget. Now this has a bit of a history. About 20 years ago we were playing cards and Dupable could never reach the cards. She has short arms. So my sister-in-law blurts out GO GO GADGET ARMS. Let’s just say it stuck. 

[Denversail]

So Dupable (name change still being discussed) called with disappointing news. No Chiefs gear to be found. Too late to get it delivered. This means I also won’t be finding any. I told her I would check the stores downtown tomorrow when I go to the office but I’m not hopeful. What a bummer. 

[Denversail]

8 hours ago, scubaslayer said:

 

Ok, I work in a human hospital lab and I swear I have had that argument so many times. Except in my case it is doctors and nurses arguing that the results have to change.

I am way to invested in this story now. I hope everything calms down for your family.

Go figure, Dupable is a retired nurse. 🤣

[Denversail]

A little kibble appetizer while she waits for her steak. 👏👏👏

[Denversail]

So one of the suggestions was Amazing Duck. A nod to the ducks she was bringing. I thought this was a decent name. Dupable shot it down while insisting she isn’t a duck.