The Tanner Saga (WARNING: Graphic pictures)

 

Tanner getting lasered; what a badass!

Our story begins on a typical Tuesday morning. The lady of the house, A.K.A. the boys’ momma, was getting ready for work when she noticed one of her many dear boys limping. Tanner was walking across the counter, as was customary for this ungodly hour in the morning, but his left front leg wouldn’t support his weight in the usual fashion. The momma decided to check it out, even though she assumed he must have jumped oddly on it, or maybe had a piece of litter stuck in his paw.

You see, Tanner wasn’t the lightest of cats, and it would not be surprising for him to have twisted his ankle jumping from the counter. (Something he did all the time.) The boys’ momma grabbed her phone to pull up the flashlight since the dad of the cabin was still asleep and she didn’t want to disturb him for a little ankle pain. She walked over to where Tanner was eating on the shelf, and lightly grabbed his paw to see what was going on with it. She couldn’t feel anything protruding from the leg nor paw, but as she turned it toward the light she could see there was a fairly deep gash on the backside.

Luckily for Tanner, his momma works at a vet clinic, and was able to bring him with her to work. It was decided he would need stitches, but they would have to do it the next day so they’d be able to sedate him. (There is no way he would have let them do it awake, and he had already eaten so they couldn’t do it that day.)

She didn’t know how he could have done it, since they lived in such a small place and she didn’t think there was anywhere he could have hurt himself like that, and in that spot. The dad of the cabin found the culprit, however. There was an unused aquarium in the utility room that Tanner must have jumped on a million times. Apparently this was the final time, seeing as the broken glass and light bulb from above it were scattered inside. He must have sliced his wrist either jumping in or out of the aquarium. His dad got rid of it as soon as he found out though, even before the momma got home!

The next day, Tanner went unhappily back to work with his momma. His wound seemed all right and like it was trying to heal up. When they put him out and were able to shave around it, however, they realized it was still incredibly deep. They cleaned it out and he went in to surgery. While the doctor was working on sewing him up, she told his momma the cut was one millimeter away from his artery. ONE MILLIMETER FROM HIS ARTERY!!!! You could see the thin blue line that was his artery!! His momma definitely freaked out about that one. Tanner for sure used up one of his lives that day; he missed nerves, tendons, his artery, and only had a cut that needed two layers of stitches.

Tanner was able to go home later that day, although he had to stay the night in the kennel because he was still ‘drunk’ from the anesthesia. The next day he was released from that prison, and had made a sore on his nose from trying to get out of the kennel. (Something else his momma felt horrible about.) He was still ‘drunk’, but ate and drank some water and seemed to be doing just fine.

He was still limping yet doing well, but then Saturday night rolled around. His momma was holding him and noticed what felt like a mat on his left side. She had his dad grab a light and look at it while she was holding him. He said it looked like some type of cut, and they decided he must have had another cut from the aquarium that they had missed. His momma would bring him to her work on Monday.

Monday rolled around, and she took Tanner in to the vet clinic to have him looked at yet again. The doctor took a slight look and thought it seemed like more of a bite than a cut, and had her technician begin shaving the fur around it. It definitely looked red and infected, and they decided to keep shaving until they completely found the edges of the infected area. When all was said and done, his whole side was pretty much shaved and red from the bite. It had to be a brown recluse, that was the only thing that made sense. Poor Tanner was having quite the week!!

He got some more medicine, and later the next week some pain killer meds to help him hopefully feel even a bit better.

Now, let’s cut to today. Tanner is doing extremely well, his bite is beginning to peel around the edges and has completely necrosed, and he isn’t limping much anymore although he still holds his paw up when he’s siting somewhere. This all seems good, but then a couple days ago the dad noticed a lump between his shoulder blades. His momma took him back in once again to see what the doc had to say.

Luckily, she thinks it’s just a shot knot and that it’ll go away on its own. They just need to keep an eye on it, and bring him back in if it gets any worse, or hard and bigger. (Hard and smaller is okay though!)

So there you have it, ‘The Tanner Saga’. They say things come in three’s, so let’s hope the shot knot is the third and it isn’t anything more serious!! Because let me tell you, Tanner’s momma needs him.

His wrist wound.

After the stitches!

After coming home from the doctor.

A few hours after being home!

Still healing and peeling a little.

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Please check out Yonder Worlds, for S.R. Anand has been a huge inspiration for me to get back into writing, and back to all of you. ❤

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Who I Am

For those who don’t know, I am 23 years old and live in the Midwest USA. I recently had to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, for a few different reasons. The most pressing though, was that when I turn 25 (I think) I go off my dad’s insurance. Now, that  might not be too big of a deal, but since I’m a Type 1 Diabetic (for 19 years now) I definitely must have insurance. There is no way anyone can afford the outrageous cost for a Type 1 Diabetic to get the supplies that will keep them alive. I’ll save my rantings on that for another post.

Anyway, I needed to either have a job that would offer me good insurance, or else have a job where I can afford to pay for good insurance by that time. I decided to go with dog grooming, and am very happy that I did! However, I’m still not sure if it’ll be enough for insurance, but surprisingly that isn’t what I want this post to be about anyhow.

Yesterday I finished my first reading of a Philip K. Dick book by recommendation of Lucas. (Thank you amore!) Flow My Tears the Policeman Said is the one I had the pleasure of reading first. And my, how my mind did melt. I am putting everything he’s ever done on my list of must-reads. If you haven’t read him, you need to! (Although I’m probably the one late to the party) I started to read more about him as a person after finishing his work, which is what I normally do when a book/movie/actor/etc moves me. I learned that he had dealings with drugs, depression, other mental health issues. His ideas for the future, now over forty years ago, still hold up against time and could be our future even now. We definitely didn’t get there yet, but reading his book really made me think about the world.

We live in an age that no one has been in. Which is also true for the generations before us. (That we know of) What exactly are we doing with this time, and this knowledge, and technology we have? Are we bettering the world? Are we helping each other achieve goals, and move toward the future in unison? Are we trying to colonize other planets, and explore the universe? Why do we feel the need to be contained on one planet when there are too many to count right at our backdoor?

Yes, some people are trying to do good, and trying to help the world and their fellow man. But most of us are not. Is that just ‘the human condition’, or will we as humanity reach a point where we decide enough is enough and we change? When I was in first grade I wrote a story about the Rain Forest. At that time I wanted to go to the Rain Forests when I grew up and fight for the lives there that were being destroyed. The trees, the animals. Look up how many of our animals are endangered, or already extinct. It is disgusting. Only for the fact that it isn’t Nature who’s endangering them as the circle of life goes, but it’s us! WE are responsible. Even if you aren’t the one doing it, we’re living in a world where most of us don’t care, or don’t speak up about the things that are wrong because we’d rather ‘go with the flow’ and not stand out or make waves.

I have anxiety. It’s getting better, but is still very much there. I have decided though, that I’m not going to let it stand in my way. I’m going to go against the flow, and I am going to be me with MY thoughts and MY opinions. And they might differ from yours. And that’s okay. We don’t need to be the same, but we don’t need to fight about it either.

At work, The Groomer is everyone’s favorite person to hate. You know the one, I’m sure every workplace has somebody like that. She drinks, and comes to work drunk a lot. I’m not really sure why they let her stay, considering it is a HUGE risk and liability. I’ll write a different post about that though, I don’t want to get off topic. I’ve lived my life up to this point trying to please everyone, and trying to say or do what I think they want me to so they’ll like me or so we’ll get along perfectly. Since she broke her hand, she’s been out of the clinic quite a bit due to it swelling and her not being able to groom anyway. When she isn’t there, other staff members are excited and talk about how great it is she’s gone and how terrible she is. I’ll stand up there and nod along; not really inputting anything, but laughing when they do and whatnot else.

I was thinking about that the past couple days, and that isn’t me, nor is it who I want to be. I don’t want to be that person who laughs behind someone’s back, especially someone who has taught me everything I know about grooming, and who has had a difficult life. You don’t end up the way she is without having had many ordeals throughout the years. From now on, I refuse to be that person. If others want to talk and make fun of her, that’s on them. I will not stand for it, nor be around it anymore. Who cares if they think I’m dumb or like me less because of it? Not me. I’d rather be who I am, and proud of that person, than have to tell you all I’ve gone along with making fun of someone and feeling ashamed of that.

Going back to humanity, why is it so hard for us to help each other out? Today we went to the store, and there was a man sitting outside. He walks around town, we’ve seen him the past two years we’ve lived here. He’s homeless, and just has a backpack. Always out in the elements, rain or shine. Why do we shy away from, and move our gaze from people like that? Why is our first response not one of helping and comforting? I don’t have a lot of money, but I had three dollars in my wallet which I gave to him. He thanked me, and I said, “Happy Memorial Day”. He said, “Oh, is that today?” I told him no, tomorrow, and he smiled. “Peace and love to you” he told me as I walked away, and I turned back and smiled and told him same to you.

Three dollars may not be a lot to some, but it is to me, and I’m sure to him. Want to know something crazy though? The feeling I got having that momentary connection with him, knowing he could now get something cool to drink, or whatever it was he wanted most with that $3, made me feel better than anything I could have bought with it.

I’m still figuring out who I am. With any luck, I’ll still be figuring it out forty years from now. I don’t like a lot of things in this world. I don’t like the way most people treat each other, and the Earth. I’m frustrated with it all. But I also realize I can make MY world how I would like to see everyone’s. Not by writing a story, but by living it. Now that I’ve written that down it does sound a bit cheesy, but it’s true. I can be better to my fellow humans, and fellow flora and fauna surrounding me. I can continue to give to those in need, and donate to charities that try to help endangered animals and other important causes. I may not have a lot to give, but every single little bit counts. And I will like that person in me who gives, and who wants to see things get better, and who wants to be a part of that. In time, I may actually learn to like myself. And that would be grand.

 

Let’s Have a Serious Conversation: Alcohol

I have made it through 2015 being a blogger! I’m excited to continue into 2016 blogging, meeting new bloggers, and connecting even more with all of you. Thank you so much for making this possible, and for continuing to follow me through my life. 🙂

I’ve learned a lot through this past year of blogging, and I was thinking of trying to make a schedule for my blog. Of course if there’s something I’d like to blog about in between scheduled post days I will, but I think it’ll help me to have something to stick to. I will continue to do my Band Photo Weekend posts, and I was thinking about adding this “Let’s Have a Serious Conversation: Insert Topic” posts too. We’ll see how this one does and what you guys think! Once I know more of what hours I’ll be working at work once changes take place, I should be able to make a better schedule knowing what days I’ll be tired from work and whatnot. I’ll keep you posted!

Now, without further ado, let’s have that conversation! I think it’s a good topic, seeing as it’s now the New Year and we’re making resolutions and have probably indulged over New Year’s Eve. I’ll start out by telling you about me and alcohol.

I never really started drinking until I was about nineteen. During high school my best friend would, and I would be her DBS- Designated Baby Sitter. I didn’t mind, and honestly wasn’t too upset to not be drinking! Once I turned nineteen I did start drinking more though. I had a few times of being black-out drunk which is never fun the next day. Honestly, it’s a little scary realizing you were functioning, talking, dealing with people, and have no idea what you said or did.

The past couple years I would drink quite a bit. Some nights were fun, but lots of other nights I would pick fights with Lucas, say things I didn’t mean and never would have sober, broke things, and was physically abusive at times. Not only that, but as I realized what I had done, I would start to feel horrible. Many times I would end the night cutting myself, and quite a few times I was trying to kill myself. I’ve also been hospitalized once for alcohol poisoning. Clearly, alcohol and I do not get along.

Not only that, but being a Type 1 Diabetic I really need to watch myself and my blood sugars while drinking, which is something I clearly don’t do. I’ve decided a few times to quit drinking, but this time I’m serious. Which is another reason we’re having this conversation, so not only am I accountable to myself, but to all of you as well. When I’m drinking I try to sabotage my relationship, make very poor decisions, attempt suicide, have no accountability or care for if I have to work the next day, and have a terrible hangover the next day. What will I be missing out on? Nothing. I can have just as much fun being sober.

There are many people who deal with alcoholism, and it also runs in my family. Another great reason to cut it off early, while I’m 22, almost 23. Lucas’s dad, Randy, will have a beer or two on the weekend but that’s it. He used to drink quite a bit, but then one night of hard drinking he woke the next morning with AFIB and quit cold turkey. It’s scary stuff after enough years! His brother is in really poor health now, and is continuing to drink. Not only that, but he’s known multiple people who have died from alcohol.

Moderation is key to all things, and I’m not saying to not drink. Everyone has what works for them, and a couple of drinks can be fun now and then. I just know that I don’t know when to stop, and to be the best me that I can, and to keep healthy, that is to not drink at all. There’s Sparkling White Grape juice that I got for Christmas and New Years, and it’s delicious! It was like $3 at Dollar General, and I had just as much fun than if I’d been drinking. Probably even more so!

What is your take on alcohol? Do you drink, or are you making a New Year’s resolution to cut back or quit as well? Comment and let me know, let’s have a conversation about it!