Mar 14th - Outfit #13 - Good News!

For all of you dear, sweet readers, thank you for your good vibes! Thanks to those of you who have emailed and commented about your own dear furry friends. I was thinking of all of you, out there thinking of us and our dear Inigo today. I felt it, and it meant a lot to me. 

The very good news: Inigo is still with us! We were very much afraid that this would be his final day. He has been having more trouble with his breathing the last couple of days, but today we went in to see the specialist (thank you, Dr. Mason!) who did an ultrasound on him. It was not a tumour, but a build-up of fluid on his lungs from a malfunctioning heart. If he were a human, he would need a heart transplant.

The vet did a "chest tap" where they suck out a lot of the fluid that accumulates in the chest cavity to relieve the pressure on his heart (and alleviate his breathing). He is on a diuretic to help drain more excess fluid on his lungs, and a dilation medication for his heart to help it work better. 

We were with him for the ultrasound, then waiting at home until he was done the draining procedure. He is still a bit stoned from the sedative, but he's moving around much more alertly, breathing easier and purring like a buzz-saw. We hadn't realized how much he had slowed down until we saw him acting like his old self again.

The not-as-good news: This isn't permanent. The fluid will likely come back, and he will have to stay on the dilation medication for his heart. He may have to have a chest tap every month to 6 weeks (it's not a painful procedure; much like the insertion of an IV and they freeze it locally) to drain off re-accumulated fluid. We will be watching him closely, believe me!

We may have him for another month, or 6 months, even up to a year. He may still die if his heart fails, maybe while playing with Vizzini. But, man, that's how I'd want to go - just drop dead doing what you love. 

His pictures are blurry because he wouldn't stay put!

So there you go - I know many of you have been waiting to hear, so sorry for the delay in getting this update up.

*deep breath* 

I don't talk about it all the time, but many of you know that I have always struggled with my weight. I lost 50 lbs in 2006/2007 and I'm coming up on 5 years of maintaining that loss. I currently work as a leader for Weight Watchers (the WW I often refer to), and still attend weekly meetings (when I can) as a member.

Please check out the fabulous Kristen's blog "Low Fat Dressing" for her interview with me (and others!) about our success in losing weight and keeping it off. Thank you, Kristen! You rock!

I love that the title is "They Walk Among Us" - it reminds me that we shouldn't assume that just because someone isn't visibly unhealthy or overweight that we don't struggle. I do - every day. It's been really tough this week due to all this stress over Inigo.

On to fashion! 

I was a bit of a wreck for the 4 hours I was at work today, but this is what I wore:

I couldn't even muster up a smile this morning - there's Inigo on the backpack in the background.

This is my olive cardigan (last worn here, second outfit) over my sheer leopard shirt which I wore last here - the same shirt as featured in "Rated X-Ray: Sheer Fashion Gets Around" on the Huffington Post in the slideshow. Wendy, you rock! Thank you for using my picture!

I have a black cami (not in the capsule) underneath to help tie in the other black accents in the outfit.

This is the second wear of the vintage 80s red suede skirt:

Inigo always has to look at the camera

I last wore it here. I discovered an awkward flaw to it: when I sit down the zipper bursts wide open at the back! I can slide the zipper down and back up and it does up again, but good thing this cardigan was long!

The shoes are my fabulous Coffee Sumatra Fluevogs (last seen here).


Cardigan (Kersh), blouse (Planet, consignment), cami (InWear), skirt (Danier Leather, vintage 80s, thrifted), shoes (Coffee Sumatra Fluevogs), belt (Gap), necklace (Plum).

When I took this picture this morning, I thought it would be the last picture I would have with my lovely boy:

I have never been so happy to be wrong.

Here are my two boys just minutes ago. Vizzini is very solicitous and is looking after his brother.

Inigo looks so perky and happy. This is such a relief, even if it's not a permanent cure. We all have our time on this earth; this is a good reminder of how very short life can be.

Again, to all of you: thank you for your good wishes and kind thoughts. It has meant a lot to me to know that so many people cared.