Sick Bellies, Tingles & Exhaustion

We've had our hands full lately.

3 of the buns got sick within 4 days!

First it was Teela...

which was entirely my fault because I let her eat way to much grass.

Too much grass give bunnies sore tummies and gas...

but when do you know when too much is too much, that's the thing!!

Luckily, I was laying on the floor with her when I saw her stretching a certain way,

a way that usually means tummy aches

and when she wouldn't touch her dinner we knew she had gas

(buns can't really fart, or have a very very hard time to so any gas build-up is distressing for them)

so we were able to jump fast to the meds (1/4 tablet of gas-x often does the trick)

and she was back to normal in a few hours, phew!

 

 

Than Yuuji got stasis from too much stress the day after!

Finally we splurged and had air conditioning installed in our little hot house.

There was a house full of strangers here for 8 hours straight making a whole bunch of noise

and it was just too out of the ordinary for our little sweetheart.

I don't think he got any sleep that day and that mixed with the stress of all the noise

pushed him into stasis (sometimes it takes very little). He refused to eat that night,

than started pushing his tummy towards the ground, which is a sure tell sign of discomfort...

so it took a few hours again to get him eating again, thankfully we caught it early &

treated him with gas-x tablets, fresh squeezed pineapple juice and oral metoclopramide.

 Than Emmett got super bad stasis the next night,

most likely just because he's prone to it

and was one of the reasons why he was considered a special adoption...

and man when he gets it it's hard because he is not good with taking his medicines

and when it comes to force feedings of critical care etc he spits all the food out, ugh.

So we have to resort to metoclopramide injections, which is so stressful for us to administer.

At one point he was slumped on my chest, no energy, no will in his little precious body at all,

it was a drastic change in a normally hyper bunny who usually doesn't like to be touched...

I felt so so helpless and as I tryed so hard to push the panic & tears away

I just kept whispering in his sweet soft brown ear,

'Don't give up Minny....please please don't give up...Korra needs you and so do we baby...'

ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh!

 

 

Thankfully he didn't give up and hung in there as we cared for him for five full days.

The 3 of us barely slept, feedings were doubled because we were getting so little into him,

forced movement is always difficult because you feel like such a shit making them run and move

but it's important for their bellies to get some movement, it helps to restart the gut motility again...

It took all the tricks in our arsenal that's for sure.

Even though his eating was very slow to start, when he started begging to go in the yard,

we knew we were going to be just fine.

 

So all that bunny drama has exhausted us...

and the heat is exhausting us...

and summer projects all done and those still to be done are exhausting us...

and the pigeon who is seeming like the neediest thing on the planet is exhausting us!

So now it's our turn to got sick!

My hon's been in bed since last night

with a high fever and what seems like every ailment for both cold & flu!

and I feel that yuckiness setting in...I am trying to hold out

but you know, that tingle you get all over your body...

that prickly tingle that tell you something is coming and that it won't be pleasant!

I just hope I will be able to make it to my appointment for my knee mri tomorrow am!

 

Hope your all not stuck with any colds or flu in this hot August...and if you are, get well soon XO



When It Rains It Pours

There's something in the air this week, my goodness!

All I know is that we've been having a hell of a few days,
so has some of my family and a handful of friends including my best friend
who is as I type this just begun a long journey to see her ailing mom back home.

 

Here's what's been happening in a nutshell with us...

 

Jaks's had a lumpectomy last Friday...
since than we've been watching him with vigilance for we want no stitch-pulling to happen
(and bunnies and cones just don't mix from our experience)
  We're on top of his pain meds and antibiotic rounds.
Plus trying to be constant company for him so he knows he is not alone when he was feeling
so darn cruddy & obviously wondering what the hell just happened to him!
Though after the initial stiffness and soreness,
he seems more concerned about his shaved bald belly & not the cut!

On the SAME day of Jaks's surgery, Frenwyck completely stopped eating!
 

Closer inspection revealed front teeth that were way too long.

So we rushed him in to the doctors a couple hours after we brought Jaks home

(it was the first bunny vet appointment in 20 some years that I missed

because one of us had to stay home to watch a post-op Jaky).

We were hoping a quick teeth clipping would do the trick...

And yes, his front teeth were way to long but turns out he needed a whole dental procedure.

But they could only fit him in for the surgery the following Monday...

so it was a really long and stressed out weekend,

because, for us, any day where a bunny isn't eating feels sooo endless, scary & exhausting.

 

Poor guy had to be knocked out to have the front teeth taken care of but also his back molars

needed to be grinded down for they were also too long and were causing sores on his inner cheeks.

 

Poor babies.

 

 

He was suppose to go for a check-up and dental exam back in January...

I kept telling myself to book the appointment.  I guess I was preoccupied with Jaks's lump...

Which was odd for me because I usually pride myself on equally juggling 8 rabbits at the same time!

I know Lionheads are prone to dental troubles...ugh.

I should have know better & listened to my gut and booked him in way back in January.

Yep!  A whole lot of self-berating & beating up is now taking place!

(Emmett & Yuuji, being lionheads too, are promptly going in next week for their dental exams!)

 

On top of the teeth trouble Frenwyck was in full-blown g.i.stasis

(Which can quickly kill a bunny because it essentially means that their whole entire digestive system has come to a dead stop & sometimes you just can't get it going again)

He wouldn't eat or drink a thing for days so that involved force feeding of critical care every 4 hours,

pineapple juice feedings (the bromide in fresh pineapple can help to stimulate gut motility)

and medical promide injections behind the neck every 12 hours.

My arms, boobs and a chest are all bruised from his very strong little feet straining against me.

 

Now that he's had his teeth done, he's having a really hard time getting anything down.

But atleast now he's trying.  He's on pain-meds for the next few days (like Jaks)

apparently it will take a few days for the gum inflammation & soreness to go away.

It's hard seeing my baby want to eat but not being able to.

But atleast finally just today he started getting down mashed up soaked pellets.

He's still not eating enough though...but atleast Jaks is back to normal eating habits.

 

This has all been on top of sore bodies from sleeping on the floors with the little buddies

and on top of a 3 day super duper bad monster migraine.

Can I just say UGH...we're exhausted.

Am I allowed to admit that...somehow it feels like I am not!!!

I know it's because some 'real' parents have time and time again told me in their uppity way

"You don't know what stress is...if you had children you would know real stress...blah blah blah"!

But in my reality, my rabbits are my babies in every sense...and this has been real stress, period!



This Week

I've been finding the news so difficult to take these last couple weeks,
especially with the attack & murder of Cpl. Nathan Cirrilo at our parliament hill in Ottawa

& all the scary Ebola news...

so I've been diving into rabbit time & snuggles even more so lately.

Just laying on the floors hanging out with my babies is one of the best ways to settle my whole being.

 

So from that perspective...

from the floor with blankets & pillows. surrounded by bunnies in every room to hug & love,

with an Alice Hoffman constantly tucked under arm...and jazz tinkling & candles flickering....

The week was good and looked a little something like this....

 

 

 

It was good until Wednesday A.M. that is!
That's when Jaks stopped eating completely and went into g.i.stasis

(which fellow rabbit parents know is very serious & can quickly kill buns).

So medical bromide injections, Gas-X tablets, belly rubs, critical care feedings, forced movement,

very little sleep, etc were also our part of our week for 48 hours. 

 

Jaks is eating today though, so it's looking like he's on the mend, thank goodness.
He's the last of the original 'tough-nut' clan & the bridge to the new brigade.

 

Well it's time to turn off all the lights and hunker down with my guy & some take out,

It's time for our ritual Halloween 'Walking Dead' marathon.

Nightie night all & Happy weekend.

Sick Bunny...My Baby

My little orangey sunshine Teela hasn't been feeling too hot these past couple of days.

We think she was on the verge of g.i.stasis...which is very serious in bunnies...

(if your bunny isn't eating there is a problem that require immediate investigation & care).

 

BUT we think she's feeling much better...fingers crossed...I think I can start breathing again!

 

I cancelled any plans for this week, just in case I needed to stay home with her.

You know what's funny though (well not really funny but very sad!)

my staying home to be near my bunnies seems to irritate some people!

I never understand why!

I've actually heard through the gossip grapevine of so called 'friends' of mine putting me down,

saying I didn't have my priorities straight and all kinds of garbage like 'they are just rabbits'!

Needless to say, these people aren't friends of mine any longer...

because any friend of mine knows that these animals...these rabbits...they aren't just rabbits...

these precious beautiful souls are my babies, my family & my best pals.

 

 

A mother wouldn't leave a sick child alone would they?

That mama would want to be near that child incase it needs the tiniest littlest thing right?

Even if all I can do is lay on the floor &

check on every single poop that comes out of their cute little tush's

or keep an eye on how sick their eyes are looking or see how much sleep they are getting...

to be on hand to tempt their spirits back up with favorite treats...

to keep a vigilant eye to be able to report the tiniest thing to the vet incase that tiniest thing helps.

And really it just comes down to a deep rooted need to just be near them.

 

I actually have gotten to the point where I feel sorry for the people out there

who can't extend the compassion and love they feel for a human to animals.

After all love is love.

 

When one of my babies isn't feeling well, something in me just goes very still with fear.

Fear grips me and wrestles me down to the unsteady, cold, uncomfortable ground....

I want for all the world to take their ailments away from them and suffer them myself...

oh my goodness if only it were that easy!



Jinny

Sorry to be so absent these days.  I've not been on my computer nor in my studio much lately.
For we've been stressed....Our beautiful blue-grey Jin got really sick last week.

 

 

A rushed visit to an emergency appointment with x-rays and all the stressful bits

concluded in what looks like pretty serious pneumonia.

 

So we're diligently administering broad spectrum antibiotics twice daily for at least 2 weeks.

Keeping her nice and warm with ample company.

And of course her buddy Jaks is taking pretty good care of his girlie &

as sick as she's been she's still taking care of him!

Lots of fresh Oregano is being had too because apparently it's good to help rabbits fight colds.

 

We're tentatively optimistic that she's looking better than a few days ago BUT we know she's old

& that pneumonia is quite serious in buns, let alone ones that are upwards of 10 years old.

 

SO dear blogging peeps...send us our girl Jinny some healthful wishes and good healing mojo.  

Update

As I sit in constant vigil over our Jaks, I take a few minutes here and there to work on this new coloured pencil...I think I must dive into something for the sake of sanity and for the sake of my forever creatively itchy fingers and soul.  Coloured pencils fit the bill at the moment since they are so mobile and easy to pick up and drop when attention is needed elsewhere.

I thought I'd hop in with an update.
He's still with us...
we THINK he's taking small steps of improvement...
This is the 6th scary & exhausting day of this ailment...
but late last night in the wee hours of a new dawning day he started to poop
and this morning he started to nibble on his own, just abit and not nearly enough but the interest in food is a good sign and brought tears to our eyes...
He doesn't look half as sick as he is (well the first couple of days he looked bad).
I don't think he knows what danger he is in...
but this is a good thing because he's very active despite the awful wounds from the awful infection.
He's playing with Jinny & being his silly self and probably we are looking more tired than he is!
Going on days 6 of him not eating or pooing like he needs to be is just not good...
but we are not giving up and we're so impressed by this little rabbits strength.

So it's been antibiotic doses ever 12 hours...

He does have an infection despite our diligent cleaning twice daily
(tonight he'll get a nice warm soothing bath)...

It's force feedings of small herbivore critical care ever 4 hours...
Motility Injections ever 8 hours (which thankfully he doesn't feel at all)...

and a veggie slurry with fresh squeezed pineapple juice of our own making every few hours as well.
The bromide in the pineapple & the enzymes in the greens are very important

to help enhance and motivate motility....

It's lots of gentle tummy massages which Jonathan learnt how to do last year...

It's exercise sessions in the wide open basement living room, since movement is very important...

We at least don't have to worry about him being dehydrated for he's taking in lots of water on his own.

It's been a very rough few days...but yes, he's still with us, our sweet little Jak-a-boo.

I just won't handle it if my boy dies because of this...a skin infection gone horribly wrong

(again I can't afford details, it's still too raw)...

I know we take really good care of the buns, I know this but it was obviously not enough.  

I am here and present with them almost 365 days a year...I can't help but blame myself.

I had him in my arms just the day before all this started...he looked & acted completely normal.

I didn't realize what was going on underneath a patch of fur.

I didn't have reason to suspect anything but still I should have checked somehow...

my intuition or whatever six sense I should have had failed me and I feel like I've failed him.

...

In between mixed moments of despair and hope

and in between moments of humbling clarity and dazed exhaustion,

I am grateful for:

Jonathan, who is so so strong and who is taking care of me whiles we take care of our babe...

For my honey's amazing boss, who is supportive of Jonathan working from home during all this...

For a pile of Artful Blogging magazines giving me some needed eye candy...

For the healing of my left hand, after skinning it pretty badly last week!...

For a threatening bladder infection staying at bay, so far!!!...

For a reprieve from a long strain of really bad migraines...

For the hot showers at the end of these recent days...

For favourite old shows like The Cosby Show and Ally MacBeal giving us a chuckle now and than...

For pot after pot of peppermint tea and honeyed green teas...

For my juicer and the healthful fresh squeezed apple, carrot, ginger drinks we get from it...

For the rainy, cold and gloomy days which seem to companionably echo our current days...

For Ella Luna and Roo's patience as we do spend almost 24 hours tending to 'the others'...

For the soothing tinkling of my fish tank which lulls me to sleep when we do manage an hour or two...

And

For the fact that even amongst all this panic and upset, I can still find oodles to be grateful for...

Keep sending us those positive well wishes and good energies,

I am passing each and every one of them along to Jaks.

XO Mandy and Jonathan and Jaks and Jinster XO

A VERY sick Jaks...

Well it's not looking like we'll be getting back to a new studio season quite yet.

We've had a very very sick bunny since Thursday morning...

one day Jaks was perfectly fine and the next something was drastically wrong...

In short (and sparing everyone details) what happened was that he was bitten by a bug & developed

the worst skin infection we've ever seen.

It seemed to develop and spread over night on his back & bum

It all started under a little matt of fur that we didn't even notice until it had all gone horribly bad...

but after a rough 48 hours, we're tentatively hopeful that we're taking steps toward healing...

though now we're also dealing with a very difficult case of g.i. stasis because of what happened.

After 3 days apart, Jinny is now allowed to be with him and she's really helping to keep

his spirits up & is giving him lots of kisses and snuggles...

(this was Jaks last month...most of his fur on the back end & legs has had to be shaved off :C)

He's still not out of the woods by any means, with the g.i. stasis still present and danger of infection in the wounds...so do please send our sweet boy some extra good vibes and positive thoughts & hope...

And maybe perhaps some good mojo for us too.

It's been so scary & unlike any rabbit ailment we've seen in 15 years of having buns.

Well this is about all I can manage to write this evening.

I'll hop in again as soon as I can, hopefully with some good news.

Sick....

Hi there, I am popping in quickly to say I am sick....super sick, I haven't been sick like this in atleast 2 years...ugh...it's been over a week now and on top of a bad cold is a bad migraine constantly plaguing me and refusing to let up...ANYHOW that is why I disappeared on you for a bit there...sorry....I think I'll need a couple more days atleast before I am back in the swing of things....

In the meantime I leave you with a photo of one of my sweet stuffies on our upstairs rocker...in the evening when the sun goes down, it hits the dollie just like so and I love it...makes my toes tingly with happiness...even despite the sickies, ha ha....

I really wanted to say THANK SO MUCH to everyone whose been entering my September print giveaway.  This is only the 2nd giveaway I've ever done on this blog and the first time I think only 2 or 3 people entered! so this time the response is much better thanks...soooo many lovely comments as well, your all really making my day. 

For those of you who haven't entered and are interested, you can still enter...the info is right here....on my sidebar or just on the post below this one.

I hope none of you are suffering a cold like this & are having a lovely September...I am honestly very annoyed that I am so sick because September is one of my favourite months & I am not able to fully enjoy myself in it...but ya know I find it funny & sweet that even at 32 and even though I have a partner who takes incredible incredible care of me, even though he's sick at the same time, that there are still cravings to have my mom near, ha ha....I don't think that speaks of me being a suck but just reinforces what a good mom I have and the great care she gave me as a child....ahhh feeling much mom love today, ha ha...she & my dad sent over some delicious dinner last night...and even though we couldn't taste it much, it oozed that mommy-goodness which we both enjoyed, ha ha...Thanks Mom...

Be well all....see you soon.  XO M & the buns (Ella wants me to mention that she was a very brave & good girl at the doctors yesterday....more on that later).

Just a Quick Note for Today

All evening yesterday and all day today I've had a bad migraine so since I do have a new picture to show you, I am not up to taking the photos, transferring them etc. So please do pop back in tomorrow to see a new image which I am quite happy about. For today however let me share with you one of my favourite recent photos, which I took during one of our hikes up at our beautiful falls. Don't forget to comment and your name will be entered into the draw to win a print of "Sundance"...right now the draw jar is pathetically empty but thank you kindly to the few people who have taken the time and interest to enter so far... Until tomorrow, when I'll hopefully be feeling pain free and be able to write with more enthusiasm, I am truly wishing you all a wonderful day and Happy Creating. See you tomorrow!

Busy-ness & Belly Splotches

Hi Everyone, I can't believe I didn't post last Thursday! I don't know what happened to keep me from posting that day...but I must have been busy somehow! sorry about that. I am up to my ears trying to get my piece/s ready for the carousel exhibition and at this point I think I've succumbed to the fact that I will most likely only get one done...but I am hoping it's a magnificent one...let me show you the sketch for it...just as a sneak peek...

I was recently busy creating some new things for my studio...just this and that which is easier to get done outside in the garage when it's not -40 out. This is one of them, which I love. I have loved this old antique ladder for some time, so my honey sanded it down for me and reinforced it, I painted it white and voila, it makes a most perfect spot to hang my stars and greet any studio visitors through the studio door (which is hopefully the next house project, I have my eye on one perfect door and ohhh boy I hope I can manage to get it).

Here is another side project which I'll be playing with once the exhibition pieces are done.

Whiles our friends Judit and Ed were here we stopped by some yard sales in the next court over from ours and I was happy to purchase this mirror for only a buck...well actually Ed was the one who bought it for me, since my pockets were empty and my purse at home...thanks again Ed, I think I know already where it'll live once it's painted up. As much as I love colour in my images, I love white accents around our home, so I think the mirror will be coated in a nice glossy white paint..sometimes simplicity is the key.

So I am quite sick...I think I have a stomach flu or some kind of viral infestation (oh that sounds gross or bad doesn't it, ha ha!!!) I've been feeling awful for 3 days now and I have my usual tummy rash. It's weird, the last 5 or 6 years, this rash has started to show up and only when I am really sick with flu or cold. It's so cute though (and yes I can even find joy in a rash!) when I am laying in bed moaning and groaning (no no...I am pretty tough I think, ha ha) Jonathan will lift up my shirt to look at my rash and depending on it's severity I'll hear 'Oh boy you are really sick aren't you' and even that little bit of validation when your sick makes one feel better, ha ha!!!

So with that being said I am getting back to work to get as much done as I possibly can because the evenings are usually more turbulent than the days. I think I am going to drag all of my supplies and picture outside today, it's a beautiful day and the bunnies are out there and my honey is home from work early and he too is toiling away out there, so I think that's going to be the perfect place to be...plus the sun will soothe my slightly achy body. Wish me a speedy recovery and I'll see you again here tomorrow. Be Well.

p.s. Join me tommorow and you'll learn of a speacil giveaway from yours truly.