More Sunshine health news. Again, cut for people who aren't up for this, but, things aren't too bad. Could be better, though.
Her sneezing seems to be on the increase. And her raspy breath, the wet noise that sounds like a percolator, is back. We called the vet to ask for advice and the best guess she --- or anyone --- has is to try increasing the new diuretic she's on and see if that clears out the system. This is to be done for a couple days only, before going back to her regular dose. We're worried about overtaxing her kidneys. And none of this is on-label use for the diuretic; rabbit heart disease is just not a studied thing.
She got her first double dose this afternoon. It's hard to tell whether it's making a difference yet, but then, it took about a half-week for us to realize the big difference when she first started on this. And, when it started to make a difference, it made a huge difference.
Still, boy, two weeks ago we were saying how much we'd want to just have another two weeks with her, and we got that, just as promised. If we only had one more week after this? ... Fine, so it's greedy. We want as much time with her as we can get. We bought a week's vegetables for her, all the same.
A thought I have to remember to bring up to the vet, when we talk next. One problem with diuretics, in humans at least and probably in animals too, is that the body builds up a tolerance to them. That's why we switched off lasix to torasemide. I wonder if, when we can't use torasemide anymore, there'd be any value in switching back to lasix. It might only work for a week but I'd love another week with her.
Meanwhile she has been much more aggressive about biting my (socked) foot if I don't start petting her head fast enough for her tastes. That's a good moment whatever is going on.
Right after the State Championship we had the farewell to ACE, who headed back to Texas to be with his family and, so far as I'm aware, made it successfully, though he hopes to be back again someday. Here's some pictures saying goodbye:
Who's that creeping over ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyhugger's shoulder on the banner back there? That's right, it's ``Uncle'' Gary Stern, founder of both the 80s and the modern Stern Pinball and, to be fair, a really good candidate for ``most historically important pinball figure of the last 40 years''.
Getting in a last couple games of Rush with ACE.
I had my camera resting on the long table where everyone was hanging out and realized that was a fun shot, so, here it is. I don't know whose cell phone that is on the left near bunnyhugger as hers is much smaller but fatter.
And a hip shot from the upstairs bar looking at one of the five banks of pinball machines in, I think, a great angle.
ACE looking forlorn at a future that involves, sad to say, not being a regular here anymore. Story goes he doesn't remember any of this because there was rather a bit to drink that night.
Trivia: In the 1850s the Vermont Emigration Association coaxed two hundred families to move from the state to settle New Rutland, Illinois. Source: The Story of American Railroads, Stewart H Holbrook.
Currently Reading: Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Strips Volume 8, Hijinks from The Horn of Plenty, Walt Kelly. Editors Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds.
