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| Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. |
Sometimes, the results are better than you ever dare to hope.
Yesterday was Miika's first excursion out in the pasture, loose. She had on her, of course, a halter, a lead, and two pairs of watchful eyes. She also had Miskwaki, and his caretaking instincts kicked in immediately; he made sure she understood how to get back into the pen if she wanted, and kept her in view pretty much at all times. In return, she kept him in her line of sight constantly, and she handled the new-found freedom like a champ. They got to go out again this morning, early, for a few hours; it's best for their health when the dew is still on the grass. She let herself back in, and Miskwaki came with the inducement of a small amount of grain.
So our big fear — that once she realized she was loose, she would try to bolt — has proven unfounded. Only because, though, we waited all these months until we had built up sufficient mutual trust.
Better results on one other front, too, although I'm coming up against Day 3 tomorrow, and for me, that's usually where my body craps out on me. There is a traditional medicine that I used to use, but we ran out of it years ago, probably around the time we lost the house and had to move into the RV. I had forgotten how well it worked for me at the time; of course, I was also ten years younger, and did not have all the complicating factors that I have now (one of which is that the tumor in my throat has seemed to be spreading again, a new lump having emerged on Saturday on the right side of my neck where it meets the shoulder).
Anyway. Saturday, Wings got a call from a friend who said she had some medicine for us, if he could come and get it (she lives a decent way south of here). So he went up on Sunday and got it. None too soon; as bad as it probably sounds to people reading about it here, the reality has been far, far worse, and by Sunday afternoon, I was in so much pain I could barely walk. That's with the miniscule pain meds I'm permitted. I took a dose, and within an hour, the difference was more than measurable. I literally had not felt that good in years. I got by without the pain meds yesterday until early afternoon, and I did not need to take a potentiating half-dose of ibuprofen with it (which helps it take the edge off the full-body pain, but destroys my upper GI tract). I did not take a second dose of the traditional medicine yesterday, and today I've taken only a half-dose. And the swelling in my throat — three of the four lumps from the tumor (all save the first one) — has visibly decreased in size. This is more effective, so far, than everything else put together, and a reminder to me that, for us, our own traditional medicines often suit our particular bodies far better than so-called "Western" medicine. Will it hold? Who knows? With Western pharmaceuticals, my body's pattern is typically to respond for three days with decreasing effectiveness, and then come crashing down, never to work again. But for parts of three days now, I've been moderately functional in a way I have not been in more than two years now.
(The rest is all cut-and-paste, because I'm so far behind, and I have to get on to a bunch of other stuff right now.) I'm canceling all of my September medical appointments but one. It'll be the most expensive one, natch; there are factors that are cause for concern about my kidney function, and so I need to get those labs done at the end of the month, but everything else? Getting canceled. And there's a way in which I don't even mind all that much, because my pain and fatigue levels are so bad at the moment that I really don't feel like getting poked and prodded repeatedly week after week right now.
For those wondering about either the health issues, see here; with regard to the work being done, some of the details are here. We still have to get the plumber in to finish up, and I regard that as a bigger priority right now in practical terms, so whatever we take in sales-wise will have to go to that. This is all complicated by the fact that, for August, a record number/amount of my Patreon patrons' cards were declined, too, so that income is lower than usual (no, I don't know who and haven't checked; I'm not going to contact anyone who probably is already scrambling to juggle their own stuff, too).
Anyway. Back to the grind; so I need help to get all this done. Folks can help in several ways, and we really need the help now:
On the wishlist, there are two MAJOR priorities right now: the fly traps and the
And as I said, sales are ideal, of course; one or two of Wings's bigger pieces would cover the whole shot for this round of work. Patreon subscriptions are good, too. Either way, it's a trade for value. But I'm already feeling panicked at what we thought would be our schedule being so suddenly and thoroughly upended, and we'll take it however it comes at this point.
Please share everything, because I'm suddenly back behind the eight-ball on a whole additional front, and yeah, I'm scared about covering everything and surviving, too. Thanks.
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
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