Birthday Trip 2010!

Now that our big boy Coodie is feeling a lot better, I want to go back to Labor Day weekend and my birthday trip to Ogunquit! We have taken this trip almost every year we have been together because my birthday used to fall on the holiday weekend but in the past 2 years, it has been the week before. That's okay, though. It just means my birthday celebration last longer...I'm all about dragging it out.

This year, we found a new favorite place for dinner. Oarweed is a restaurant on Perkins Cove with a direct view of the water. We were told they had one of the best lobster rolls (which was more of a lobster sandwich) in town and Ryan was really craving one so we headed over there. I can't stomach shellfish although I have tried (an allergy perhaps?) but I do enjoy fresh fish so I was also happy with my broiled haddock. We had a seat outside overlooking the ocean and a nice walk back to the hotel along Marginal Way in the dark....very dark but pretty cool listening to the waves crash.

The view from Marginal Way during the day.

We also went swimming...brrrrr. I have extremely sensitive skin and eczema so the salt water is like heaven even though it felt like dipping in a large vat of ice.

We also found a new tapas bar called "Tapas and Tinis"...yum! Above, I am pictured with my Lemonade Stand martini Ryan's delish rum punch. Below is the tapas we ordered of homemade pita chips and guacamole.

I so love the ocean so we also spent a lot of time walking along the beach, through town and along Marginal Way. After dinner one night, we stopped in to the bakery and picked up some cookies and milk and had our treats on the adirondack chairs overlooking the water (the photo above was the view).... ahhhhhh... Can I go back now? Thanks for another relaxing and fun trip, babe!

Not so relieved....

Apparently I was a bit premature on my last post titled "Relief". Yesterday afternoon, Coodie started yowling and hissing and his belly was sensitive to the touch. We remembered the signs and took him directly to the emergency vet center. Since Coodie's regular vet is not open on the weekends, we have to take him to the animal er.


The signs we remember were from back in April when he had a bladder stone that blocked his urinary tract which also blocked him from urinating. When this happened, he was hospitalized for 2 nights while he was sedated and catheterized. He was sent home with special prescription food which was to help in avoiding future stones.


Fast forward to a few weeks ago when he was ill from a stomach bug....our big guy was x-rayed. They found out that he still had the bladder stone from April and when out vet started reading the records, we found out that the doctor at the emergency vet clinic pushed the stone back into his bladder so it has been bouncing around for the past 5 months just waiting to find it's way back to his urethra.


There we were (yesterday) at the er again with a new doctor. She states..."if this were my cat, I would want the stone out of there..." Heck, yes we do and we did! We had NO idea that the stone was pushed back in and were under the assumption that it had been removed back in April. This new vet had a more natural, holistic and preventative approach and it is so unfortunate we had not met her months or even years ago.


She was able to push the stone back in to his bladder, cut into his bladder and remove it. The stone is now on it's way to the midwest somewhere to be analyzed. Once we find out what type of stone it is, we can figure out what the game plan is for the remaining stones in his kidney (yes, he has them there as well but they are not nearly as dangerous as the one was in his bladder).



Coodie's shaved belly and incision area.

So, we have Coodie back home with a fully shaved belly with a 6cm incision. He is a little drugged but otherwise doing very well happily sitting by the back slider. We just really feel so bad that he has been through so much lately and this last bout may have been the original vet's fault... which is not a good feeling. We are hopeful that his prognosis will be excellent once we get the stone results back and he will have a long and happy life with us as he is such an important member of our family.
Coodie eating (above) with his IV bandage still on his front right leg. Below, he is sitting in his favorite spot upon his return from the ER - by the back slider watching the birds. He is a little drugged up but doing quite well considering!