Welcome to Issue #281
by Rachel Brandes
National Transfer Money To Your Son Day
Quote of the Week
“Put all excuses aside and remember this: You Are Capable.”
– Zig Ziglar, American Author
Random Photo of the Week
Great message to carry around the streets of this world. Photo by Rachel.
Mental Health Minute
Rachel found a great blog article on elliementalhealth.com and had to share. Even if you pick one of these 18 activities, you are already in a better position to help yourself. Hmm, Rachel does have a couple of unread books in her shelf, maybe that will be her pick this week.
RunDay FunDay
with
Salty Star Run Club
Last week’s Salty Star Run Club (SSRC) meet up was a collaboration between Vuori (a clothing shop at City Creek Mall) and SSRC. The route, a 4-mile run with the first two being an elevation gain.
The slowest pace group would be a 10:30 minute mile. Rachel knew she wouldn’t be able to keep that pace going uphill. She would do her best to keep up. She ended up being too slow and missing a green light that left her in the dust. Knowing she would never catch up, she improvised and headed up the route the club would be coming back on. That way, she ensured she would get to run back with some of the club members. It worked like a charm, and she still got in a great run.
There were far better photos and videos taken by the club, but none have been shared as of this issue’s publish time. More will be shared next week.
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
Dear Humans,
It has been a trying week here in Utah. My brother, the runt of our litter, has fallen ill. We are now two and a half years old, and he’s always had health issues, but never this badly. When Belichick isn’t doing well, the human is consumed.
I miss playing with my brother and don’t like to see the human so worried. I tried to give her extra attention during this rough time. Keep reading to learn about Belichick’s struggles, which unfortunately aren’t over but are hopefully trending in the right direction.
Much Love, Brady
Hello, Belichick here, I took a moment from hiding under the bed to share how my week has gone. It’s been a rough one but with the help of my human brother, Alec, and the amazing team at MedVet, I am being well taken care of.
If you were to pull up a list of what a cat in decline looks like, I have been checking a lot of the boxes. I became so lethargic, the human finally reached out to my human brother, Alec, for advice and help. He was able to get me in to see some professionals to rule out major issues,
Pictured above, I sure look cute with all of this food on my face, but in reality, this isn’t a good thing. I stopped grooming myself when not feeling well.
When I arrived, Alec checked my weight. I am down to 8 lbs. My human did not like this news. Next, I got to have a neurologic exam, an orthopedic exam, and finally an ultrasound of my belly. The neurologic exam was because I have become very unstable and uncoordinated. The orthopedic exam because when I try to jump on a ledge just twelve inches from the ground, I fall. The ultrasound because I have not been having regular bowel movements and checking my insides would give more insight to potential issues.
Neuro exam, negative, ortho exam, negative. Whew, at least we ruled out a couple of scary things. The ultrasound was an adventure, and I had to have my beautiful belly hair shaved. I did get some incredible drugs to tolerate the procedure, which proved to be entertaining for my human once we got home.
The ultrasound revealed nothing major. The mystery continues. There were a few oddities noted but nothing glaring. My human opted for supportive care for GI upset and we took home an appetite stimulant and something to help with my discomfort.
Pictured above, this is me on drugs. Look at those dilated pupils. When I got home, I starred at the tv for an hour and didn’t move once. My human kept videoing me, she was fascinated.
We will see how it goes. Day one home I was back to my normal self and even had a great bowel movement. That appetite stimulant had me eating more than Brady for once. The human loved that.
I have had a good weekend and seem to be more like myself. Maybe time did the trick or maybe it was a combination of low-fat foods and a stimulant that kicked me into gear. We will take it but won’t get too comfortable for now.
As the saga continues, I want to say thank you to everyone that helped me at MedVet. Everyone was very loving and kind and gave my human a sense of relief that I was in such good hands. Thank you to Dr. Trageser, Dr. Lee, Dr. Gorney, and techs Rita, Megan, Dejane, Lindsey, Nadia and of course my brother, Alec.
Much Love, Belichick
P.S. Enjoy these photos from my ultrasound experience. What a day.
