I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and spent some time with their families. I spent the majority of my day with my family. My mom and dad are in their mid-eighties and don’t get around as much as they used to. Today is one of the few days that I allow myself not to be too concerned with what and how much I eat. Christmas is another holiday that I do this. The rest of the year is spent watching how much carbs I consume. Tomorrow is a new day and I’ll get back on my diet then.
Living with a nineteen-year-old cat is like something I’ve never experienced before. Every day there’s something new with him. He’s part of the family so we feel that we have to deal with all of his issues, and I do mean issues.
Clyde has health issues. He has an enlarged heart; thyroid problems and he has high blood pressure. He’s on three different types of meds three times a day. Recently, he’s developed a weak bladder. When he goes into a deep sleep his bladder leaks wherever he’s lying. He has taken over our bed and we have to keep the bed covered with a tarp during the day to keep us from having to change the sheets. He sleeps 98% of the time. The only time he gets up is to go to the kitchen to eat. He’ll go to the bathroom and sit on the floor until someone walks in there and helps him on the counter so that he can drink from the faucet.
He is very vocal. He lets us know when his towel is wet so we can go change it. He has a routine, and he knows when it’s time for his meds because right after his meds he gets a hand-full of treats. He loves his treats. Taking the meds, not so much. In the above picture, he had just had his meds along with a hand-full of treats. He’s thinking that he didn’t have enough treats and wants more.
I’ve heard cats living up to 21 years. Knowing him, he’ll live long past that. He’s an ornery, old, grumpy cat.
I’m tired and I’m giving up. Let’s face it. Without it I’m screwed. I love to eat the wrong things and I can’t do the right exercises with my health the way it is and the situation is getting worse. Life is just too short to spend the rest of my life in a constant state of disappointment about my weight. For years now I’ve fought with the idea to have some sort of weight-loss surgery thinking that I didn’t pay someone to get this fat so I’m not going to pay someone to get rid of it. Two weeks ago, I made the phone call to hopefully get the ball rolling. I made an appointment to sit through a virtual seminar. The first thing that they asked us to do was to make sure my insurance would cover the surgery. Before the seminar, I made a few phone calls and found out that Medicare does cover the surgery IF you meet certain qualifications. I talked to a nice lady and she asked me several questions. Some of the qualifications included were obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and BMI over 30. Unfortunately, I met all the above. I”ll just have to pay 20 percent of the bill. But there is a hitch. I have a stomach ulcer. In some cases, they will not do the surgery on a patient with a stomach ulcer.
On December 4th, I have two appointments. One to see my gastrologist and then to see the weight-loss surgeon. Hopefully, the gastrologist will give me the go-ahead to have the surgery. I’ll keep everyone updated.
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