My Mosaic

@tyme I’ve just dropped my mum off at the emergency department. Had to bundle daughter up.

Ohhhh no @Bow

I hope she's better soon and doesn't need to wait too long. Is is very very unwell from gastro? Maybe dehydrated?

Yeah pretty much @tyme she took a tablet for heartburn cause that’s been part of this gastro bug…. It was horrible. But this pill helped me heaps…. But looked like mum had an allergic reaction. I suggested she call healthdirect, which she did and they made an appointment for a video call with an after hours gp. Didn’t know that was a service? Didn’t have to wait long, gp was lovely. But yeah, gp told her to go straight to ED, mostly cause of dehydration and her diabetes. Low blood pressure and high heart rate sealed the deal.

daughter is back in bed. She’s had some meds cause she has a temp. Suppose to go to vacation care tomorrow.

suppose to see my psych in the morning. Probably have to cancel.

Wow... @Bow . Talk about 'eventful'!

I'm so glad you were there to help out. Your mum sounds so unwell. Because of the culmination of everything, I hope she gets seen to quickly at the hospital.

You must feel so tired now. Do you have to pick her up from hospital too? (I guess it depends on when she will be done?)

Yep feels like it’s been a pretty eventful evening @tyme

we approached the ED and both said .. oh there’s only a few people! There has been lots of people complaining of FB the last couple of nights about how busy and overcrowded the ED has been. So yeah hopefully she will get seen quickly and treated quickly too.

she’ll catch a taxi home if it’s during the night. Otherwise I can pick her up later on in the morning.

and yep, I’m tired. I’ve taken my meds and going to go crawl into bed shortly. Daughter may be in in the middle of the night. Gotta put all the animals to bed first

Actually, I haven't heard you talk about your pets that much. I remember you have a cat? Do you have a dog too? I can picture a light brown pet but can't remember if it was a cat or dog @Bow

I hope your daughter is okay. My niece is in my bed. She's been sleeping with me during the holidays. She's got a rash all over her body. Don't know what it's from. She wakes up scratching.

As if I have time to deal with kids in the middle of the night?! Last night she woke and said her body was all itchy. I sort of remember saying to her "So what? What do you want me to do about it? Deal with it." I was half asleep so who knows what I said?

Can you see I'm not a mother lol??

We have 2 cats and a dog @tyme The dog is mums, she’s a pugapoo (pug poodle cross). Lulu is her name and she’s a bit of pain! Barks way too much. Chews stuff she shouldn’t! And I swear she’s knows as soon as you sit down she’ll wanna go outside!
The 2 cats are mine. A ginger boy called Jaffa and a tabby boy called Groot. I got Groot as a foster cat, but he is the sweetest lil boy. I feel in love and couldn’t imagine letting him go so I had to adopt him.
Jaffa has been really sick lately. He had surgery a month or so ago for a blocked bladder/ urinary tract. But his just had on going issues. The vet said his an anxious cat, and anxiety in cats can manifest as urinary issues. So he was put on kitty prozak or as @Jynx called it purrzak. I need to decide what to do with him. It’s taking up a lot of mental energy. It’s as if he has become a bit incontinent. He hisssses and growls. He hides. I’ve had to close my bedroom door and lock both cats out of my room cause he kept peeing on my bed. I just can’t keep taking him back to the vet. It costs a fortune. It makes me sad. Love my cats.

My daughter doesn’t get sick much. Often if mum and I get sick, it seems to skip her. She must have a good immune system which surprises me cause she eats terribly! She’s so fussy! Will only eat carrots and cauliflower. And apples. She usually just gets sick with a cough- and that’s the only time she uses her puffers and fevers. So I think that’s what she has at the moment. Hopefully she’s better real soon. Sucks when she is sick during the holidays!

Oh it’s hard when kids wake you in the middle of the night! My daughter doesn’t come down and wake me often. Her room is next to my mums and then mine is kinda on the other side of the house and down a split level. So she often just wakes my mum, or my mum will hear her. But I’m half asleep when she does wake me and I’m like what!? Sometimes she’s just had a bad dream and needs a quick hug.

mum came home in the middle of the night. Not sure how she is cause she is still asleep.
cancelled my psych appointment and my daughters day at vacation care.

@Bow oh noooo sounds like it's taking even more time to adjust than you thought!! Poor darlin, he giving you lots of grief I imagine. It's hard hey!! I have 'lost it' with my cats before, got a bit angry, then immediately felt horrible cos how would they even understand? But it can be such a huge mental load hey.

Oh noooo D is sick during hols? Devastating!! Lots of couch time eh?

Having many thoughts of having to have him put to sleep @Jynx 🥺 I feel utterly terrible when I think about it. His really not well though. I haven’t seen him all day. There is a cupboard in their room that they squeeze to get into. I can only assume that he is in there. I feel like a terrible pet owner. But I’ve really struggled every time I’ve needed to make the decision to take him back to the vet. It’s just one of them adulting things that is just too hard to make. I really don’t know what to do.

lotsa couch time for d today. Her temp is back up this afternoon. Doesn’t wanna drink. Not hungry. She’s on the couch with the iPad at the moment. Whinge and complained all afternoon that she was bored though and didn’t wanna do any of the things that I suggested. 😩

@Bow A tough choice, to be sure. I don't have an easy answer for you, only that I think these sorts of situations are ones where there is no 'right' answer, and that if the ability to provide a comfy end of life is outside of your capacity, then putting him to sleep is a completely valid and humane option. And like, the amount of extra time/energy/effort required to provide that kind of care would be a LOT, even for someone who isn't also juggling their mental ill health, childcaring duties, etc etc.

No one who is actually a 'terrible pet owner' would be so overwhelmed by this. The fact is, it's very clear that you want only for him to be cared for and not in pain - and sometimes the awful truth is that the rainbow bridge is the best answer.

Maybe a pros and cons list could help you to see the picture more clearly, help you make a plan?