Letterman

L1 just got his letterman's jacket on Friday.  As tradition would have it, he had to wear it on the first day he got it, despite the temperature outside being in the 80's.  He tried to leave it in his locker in the pool, but the coach saw it and called him back and told him he was not breaking tradition.  He looks pretty spiffy  in it if I do say so myself.

In other news, one of our cyclists in our group had a bad crash on Saturday morning and is in the neuro intensive care unit in Houston with a skull fracture, some bleeding and broken ribs. Please keep him in your prayers, his name is Dan. It is really scary to know how dangerous cycling can be, despite all the safety gear we wear to minimize it. He was wearing his helmet in case you were wondering.

My next triathlon is this coming Saturday in the Woodlands. I can't believe it is here already. Unfortunately, I am still nursing runner's knee right now from wearing the wrong shoes for my foot type in my first tri of the season. I am able to run, albeit with a brace, but I am not running as fast with the pain, and I am not too fast on a good day anyhow. Fortunately, it is still early in the season and this is just a training race for me. I still have 4 more races for the season and my 'A' race isn't until August. Hopefully, now with the right shoes and time, I will be healed by then.

It is definitely spring time around here. We are in the process of getting the pool cleaned up and ready and some much needed yard work done. The boys have one more grading period left for the year and they are all looking forward to summer. L1 is swimming his 11th year with the summer league and practice starts tomorrow and the time trials are just 2 weeks away. L2 and G have a few more select hockey games to play and should be done in May. It is about the time that A and the boys start heading up to the lake for the weekends. Hopefully, L1 and I will get more time up there this year. We really need more rain in the lake as it is down again over 3 feet right now. It really isn't very fun at a lake house if you don't have access to the water! We are starting to make some plans for the summer, but so far only know for sure we are going to a wedding in Colorado on July 4th!

Well, not much else to say on this lazy Sunday. I am headed to the track for a speed workout (almost an oxymoron in my case) and then to the Y for a swim. I had a nice 25 mile bike ride yesterday, except for the dang wind. This has been one windy bike season so far! Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Peace Out!

Tri-Vet

The Finish Line

Well, I am back and here is the post I promised all about the MS 150 weekend.  First off, as you may or may not know, the first day of the ride was cancelled.  There were torrential rains/thunderstorms from here all along the whole route on both Friday and Saturday.  Besides it being very dangerous to ride in t-storms, the campgrounds where we stay overnight were flooded.  In the 25 year history of the ride, never have they had to cancel any part of the ride.  The MS society was scrambling to figure out what to do with 13,000 cyclists who were here for a 2 day ride.  The weather for the second day was beautiful, so they had us start in La Grange, TX where we would normally start the second day.  The problem with starting there is that it is over a 2 hour drive from Houston.  I stayed all night with my brother/sister in laws since there was no place to sleep in La Grange the night before,  and we had to get up at 4:30 am, so we could leave by 5 am to get there and be ready to roll.  Todd drove us there and dropped Mary and I off at a hotel in La Grange where our team was starting. Then he drove on ahead to Austin to wait for us at the finish. The day looked very overcast and the air was very wet and a bit chilly feeling when we started.  Very quickly though, the clouds cleared and the sun came out and it was just beautiful!  The first half of the ride starts out of La Grange and heads into Buescher and Bastrop state parks.  They are very hilly and absolutely stunning.  This is always my most favorite part of the ride every year!  The hills are very up and down, and I was definitely standing on my pedals to power up the hills at times, but it's all worth it.  The second half of the day is not as exciting scenery wise and it was also hilly and all into head wind from lunch to Austin.  My speed definitely suffered from the combination.  Mary and I made it in to the finish together at about 2:30 pm.  It is so exciting to roll in with thousands of people lining the route to the finish and cheering for you!  All along the route there are lots of people cheering as well, and it is especially touching to me for those afflicted with MS to be out there cheering for us and thanking us for helping.  It is a great event, and even though it was a bummer that day one was cancelled, 11,000 people still rode the second day to make it a big success and a good time.  Here are some pictures of the day.

Here we are with some friends of ours who also ride every year. I am on the left and Mary is third from the left.


Here is one of the many people who entertain us from the side of the road along the route. This guy was really good!



This is the top of the highest hill on the ride (fondly called suicide hill). If you don't ride your brakes and you get into aero position, you can reach over 40 mph on the way down. My max speed was 35.5 mph, which is really fun, but kind of scary!



It can also be dangerous if you don't maintain some control, as evidenced by this emergency vehicle that was picking up a "rider down". I didn't see what happened, it was there when I got there. Thankfully, this was the only accident I saw the whole day. Normally, I see several on both days of the ride.





I couldn't really ask anyone to stop to take my picture on the hill, so I took this picture of myself.  This is one of my favorite pictures ever!  I just think it is so cool!



This is a small lake at the beginning of the route through Buescher SP.



An overlook in the park.



This is a picture taken just before leaving Bastrop SP. Almost the entire park ride is tree-lined like this.



Mary and I feeling good at one of the rest stops.



The finish line as we approach.



Victory stance in front of the capitol building in Austin (it's behind my bike!)!



Feeling fresh after a nice shower right on the street in Austin!



I got home about 10pm last night, so it was a long day. Other than being sun-burned on my left arm (facing the sun most of the day), I feel pretty good after some much needed sleep. I love doing this ride and if you donated to the MS society in support of me, thank you SO MUCH!

Off to bed for me now.

Peace-Out!
Tri-Vet

Total Randomness

Nothing much really happening here. I did take G for a very much needed and requested my him haircut yesterday. I love it when there are dramatically different before and after looks. So...here he is before you will remember from Easter.


And here he is sporting his new cool doo for you!




Now isn't he so cute? You know, now that you can see he has eyebrows and ears!

The MS 150 is this weekend, so countdown for all of you...2 more days till I do it, 4 more days till I blog about it and 5 more days till I stop talking about it already! At least till next year. Anyhoo, I was shopping for a pair of waterproof shoes that I can wear in the public shower (ewww!) and around the fairgrounds where we will camp in LaGrange. I found a cute pink pair of crocs, which are just perfect and while I was looking for my size, I looked over and saw these.



A pair of croc crocs! OMG, they are soooo cute! And since there is no way my boys would wear them, and they don't come in their size anyway, I bought them for my best friends little boy who just turned one in February! I can't wait to see him in them this summer!

In other randomness, does anyone else think that the judges being able to save someone on Idol is like taking the vote away from the people? Matt was saved tonight and so now two people will be going home next week. I think all they did was delay Matt going home for another week. It doesn't really matter anyway, because Adam is totally going to win.

And while I am complaining about reality shows, I want to complain about 60 Minutes running over EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. and so my DVR records half of it and thus only half of the Amazing Race. L1 and I like to watch that together, some of the rare time he still likes to hang out with his mom, and we have not seen one complete episode since before spring break!! GRRRRRR!

Well, I don't have any more random thoughts right now...and no organized ones either, so I guess that means I am ready for bed.

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

Weekend Update

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Hubby and L2 were still at the lake Easter morning, so L1, G and I went to church. I am so glad we went to the mid-morning service because about 10 minutes after we got home, there was a torrential downpour. L1 and I hid Easter eggs for G to hunt in the house! Actually, he had a lot of fun. There are some really good hiding places in a house, and we only used 2 rooms.

Here is a picture of the 3 of us after church. Sorry the quality is not that great. Not using a tripod requires some creativity and sometimes the photo quality suffers for it.


Here is L1 showing how much he still enjoys getting his Easter basket.


My (two out of three) handsome boys.




Mid-afternoon, L2 and hubby got home from the lake. They brought the dead unicycles home with them. I don't really think there is any hope of bringing them back to life, so they will be laid to rest by the curb for Wed. trash pick-up and their replacement should be here by next week.





And please just ignore the background mess that is my hubby's office.

The sun also broke out in the afternoon, so it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. After doing laundry and packing for the MS 150 next weekend, I was able to get in a nice 6 mile run. I must say, it gets easier and easier to do this mileage the more I do it. Now if only I would get faster too!

Dudley is 3 months old and has still not figured out that he is NOT a little puppy. Here he is sleeping "in" Jitter's bed.


Here he is sleeping (he sleeps a lot!)on a pile of towels in the laundry room. My foot is in the picture to give some perspective as to his size now. The spots all over him are water drops because he and Huck also think they are labs and I can't keep them out of the pool!



We are in puppy classes now too. He is the star pupil too because he is just so lazy laid back. There are 2 labs, a german shepherd, a pit bull and a jack russell in the class. He is the heaviest of them all (55 lbs last week), though not the tallest. But he will sit the longest and stay the longest because he just doesn't have the energy to do anything else.

So, that is the weekend update. All in all, a very nice relaxing weekend. Hope yours was equally blessed.

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

The holiday weekend so far...

L2 and hubby went to the lake this weekend. Those two are two peas in a pod...seriously. Anyhow, from the sounds of it, the weekend isn't going so well. Yesterday, the lake was white capping from the wind and the weather was cold, so they really weren't able to fish. Then today, I got a text from hubby saying that he ran over the unicycles with the suburban, and then, when they were out fishing, the boat motor caught on fire! Thank goodness, my ever safety conscious husband had a fire extinguisher on board. And thankfully, nobody was hurt. However, the fact that the motor was just rebuilt a few months ago to the tune of $2000 has just about put hubby over the edge! Do you ever just have those times, when you think, what else can possibly be destroyed and need to get fixed? or how much more money can I just keep throwing into repairing things? I mean, between our dogs destroying window sills (Huck) and window screens (Frankie) and L2 breaking a window in the upstairs on Wednesday and G breaking a window in the laundry room on Friday and then the unicycles being destroyed and then the newly repaired boat motor catching fire, and then on top of all that financial burden, the tax bill that is due in a few days...well, it is no wonder hubby is about to go over the edge!

One bright spot in an otherwise cloudy week, L2, being the fantastic angler that he is, did manage to get a good catch today, in between the unicycle mishap, and just before the boat motor caught on fire.



This kid seriously needs to be on Survivor as soon as he turns 18!

L1 has spent the weekend so far with friends and I have seen him a total of about 10 minutes I think. G has pretty much done the same, only he spends quite a bit of time here with his friends playing basketball and having air soft gun wars, oh, and of course wally-ball, which is how he broke the window. I had brunch and shopping with a dear friend yesterday, and today Mary, my sister-in-law, and I did a 62 mile bike ride in Katy. It was pretty windy, but not as bad as last weekend. Anyway, the last big ride before the MS 150 next weekend. I am praying for good weather and NO wind!!

Well, I must get myself to bed. It has been a long day and I would like to go to an early church service for Easter tomorrow.

One last picture for you to enjoy!

Vet Lessons 106-107

OK, so here are the other two cases that I ran out of time to show you yesterday.

Case #1 - yet another tumor

This case was a 13 yr old lab. The referring vet found a mass inside his cheek on his yearly physical exam. Upon further exam she discovered that his lymph node under his jaw on the same side as the mass was enlarged and hard. She asked me to remove the mass in the mouth, which really did not appear to be that bad (I thought it was probably benign) and biopsy the lymph node. I was very worried about the size and hardness of the lymph node so I removed the entire thing. When I was dissecting it out, I saw what looked like a deflated white balloon (like clowns use to make balloon animals) lying right over the lymph node. The lymph node in this area is right by the jugular vein and the carotid artery. I used careful blunt dissection (no sharp instruments)and removed the lymph node and when I looked in the hole left, the jugular vein was lying there huge, purple and inflated. That was what the balloon looking thing was it was just flattened out by the pressure of the enlarged lymph node. It was really cool and thank goodness I didn't cut it! Sorry I don't have a picture of it, but here is the lymph node after removal and sliced open.



Doesn't it look kind of like a brain? Anyway, it should be about 1/3 that size. We sent off the mass in the mouth and also the lymph node for histopath and it came back malignant amelanotic melanoma (bad) and of course, it had already spread to the lymph node as well. Because of the dogs age and other health issues, his owner chose no treatment, but just to keep him comfortable in hospice as long as possible. Clients often wonder if a dog really needs a physical every year, and this is a classic example of why it is a good idea. The vet totally found this tumor, the owner had no idea. You also have to remember that dogs age at a much faster rate than humans, so only having an exam once a year is like having an exam only once every 5-7 years as a human!

Case #2 - cherry eye (prolapse of the 3rd eyelid gland)

This is Roxie, a Boston Terrier. Isn't she the cutest thing? Oh, I just love this breed!


Anyway, notice the large red bulbs in the corners of her eyes? You may have to click on the picture to enlarge it to really appreciate them. These are glands that are located in the 3rd eyelids of dogs and cats. Did you know they had third eyelids? They are the white lids that come up from the bottom of the eye when they are sleeping. These glands can get inflammed and then prolapse (protrude up and out) and thus are called "cherry eyes" for their color and shape. Some breeds (cockers, bulldogs, pugs, bostons) are predisposed to this occurring, though it can happen in any breed. These glands are a contributor to tear production in the dog, so it is important to save them and not cut them out, which is the treatment some vets use. Notice how they are protruding even though Roxie is under anesthesia now.



The treatment I use is to make an incision in the third eyelid above and below the gland and then to pull the tissue over the top of the gland with suture and create a pocket for the gland. Here are Roxie's eyes when she is done with surgery. The glands are still present they are just tucked below in a pocket that will heal over the top of the gland, preventing it from popping back out.



OK class, that is all the pictures I have of the interesting cases I've had lately. I actually had many more cool cases, but I'm not always able to get pictures. But I try, just for you, cause they are just so fascinating...don't you think? Alright, so I am off to watch some American Idol and see who is going home and then I am off to bed.

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

Vet Lesson 103-105

Remember when I said I had all those really interesting surgeries lately? And then remember when I said I was going to post about them? And then I didn't, but then I said I was going to in a few days as soon as I got the pictures? And then, I still didn't? Well, guess what? Here they are finally. Now it is going to be primarily a pictorial lesson or three. With so many cases to show you, I don't have time to write about them all in great detail. But if you find any really interesting and you are just dying to know something about it, then just leave a question in the comments and I will try and answer it.

So, here we go:
Case #1 - intestinal foreign body
This is a case that I was called in to do on an emergency. It was a 4 yr old Golden Retriever that had eaten something it shouldn't have and it had an obstruction (meaning nothing could move through the intestinal track). The owners did not bring it in right away because it wasn't acting real sick at first and then it was a day or more before xrays showed the obstruction and the radiologist said it better have surgery very very soon or it was going to perforate. That means that the bowels would get a hole in them (from pressure of the foreign object plus infection) and then bowel contents would spill into the abdomen and cause peritonitis, which can be fatal. When I went in I found adhesions from a previous surgery the dog had for eating something it shouldn't have and then I found these.


Notice that all the loops of the intestines are all accordion like. Normally, loops of intestine are very long and loose and are normally a nice healthy pink. These intestines are a dark fiery purple red. The dark purple thing at the top of the picture is the normal spleen. The pink tubular thing just below that is normal intestine. The bowel got a perforation in it just from me picking it up and you can see spillage of contents at the bottom in a pool.

The dog had eaten what appeared to be a swifter mop head. I found part of it in the stomach and the other part way down the intestines and they were attached to each other by a string. Here are the two pieces that were attached together by the string.


I got all the foreign material out and closed the dog and we gave him anti-toxin medication and antibiotics, but unfortunately he still did not make it past 24 hours. This is a very good reason to watch the things your pet can chew on and if it does ingest something it shouldn't, you should watch it very closely for vomiting and diarrhea and take it to the vet quickly.

Case #2 - Retained baby teeth

Very often we see dogs with two sets of teeth. The baby teeth fail to fall out when the adult teeth erupt. This is called retained deciduous teeth, or retained baby teeth. It is very important to pull these teeth as they can adversely affect a dog's bite and also, they tend to build up tarter between the adult and baby teeth causing early periodontal disease. Here are a couple pictures of a dog with both sets of canine teeth and then a shot of after they have been pulled. You can already see debris building up between the teeth in the first picture.







Case #3 - corkscrew tail

Bulldogs have a curly tail, much like a pig. Most of the time they do not cause a problem, but occasionally, a tail will be recessed into the rear instead of hanging out. The area that is recessed retains moisture and debris and causes a chronic dermatitis that is quite foul smelling and uncomfortable for the dog. Here is one such case. Notice how irritated his bottom is?




The cure for this is complete surgical removal of the tail. This is the after photo. This dog healed up very very nicely and his owner was so happy that her house was not going to smell so bad anymore. I love doing surgeries like this that have a dramatically different before and after AND that make the owners so happy almost instantly!



OK class, that is enough for one night. I am off to bed. I have a continuing education lab I am taking tomorrow on fixing ruptured cruciates (knee ligament) with a new method. I am excited! I will try and post the other cases I have tomorrow.

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

NHS

L1 was inducted into NHS tonight. I was so proud of him. It is a very high honor, especially in Kingwood, where competition is so high. His father is out of town on business, so I went with camera in hand to represent! Just as he was being escorted to the stage I turned on the camera and....nothing, nada, dead. I suddenly notice that it feels kind of light. I turn it over and open the door...no batteries. L2 had taken a bunch of pictures of the dogs, the fence, himself, etc. over the weekend and he ran the batteries down. He took them out to recharge them and I never noticed when I picked the camera up. ARRGGGHHHHH! So, after the induction ceremony there was a little reception. I frantically searched around for another parent I knew and upon finding one, begged for a couple of batteries so I could at least get a few shots of my charming son and his certificate to commemorate the evening. Who am I kidding? I totally wanted them for my blog and here they are:

L1 and his spiffy certificate.


L1 and proud mama.


L1 and girlfriend S, who was also inducted into NHS.


Aren't they so cute?

So, that was my evening and now, I am ready to watch some Dancing with the Stars!

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

Just lounging around...

Kings on their thrones...


Dudley and Huck...otherwise known as me and medium me!

Lonestar Sprint Triathlon '09

My first triathlon of the season was today. It was the Lonestar triathlon in Galveston. Our friends, Kim and Jon, decided a few months ago to do it with me. This was their first sprint tri ever! Since they live closer to Galveston, I stayed all night at their house last night so we could get to the race early to pick up our packets and set up this morning. Usually, the night before a race I am a nervous wreck and I don't sleep very well, especially away from home. I don't know if it was because I was thinking more about helping them with their first race than being worried about my own, but I slept like a baby and I wasn't a nervous wreck before the race either. Anyway, we were up at 4:15 AM!!! We were at the race site by 5:50 am. Oh my, I really wish just once they held these later in the day for us night owls! The water temperature was announced as a "balmy 65 degrees"! Um, yeah, thank goodness for wet suits. The weather was great for the race, although the wind was brutal on the bike portion along the sea wall. I actually saw a lady get knocked completely over on her bike by a wind gust! Anyhow, I had a pretty good swim and was second out of the water in my division. On the bike, I was doing pretty well, and I was in second place in my division and coming back into the home stretch when I hit a pothole and dropped my Garmin (GPS/heart monitor). Since they cost a couple hundred bucks, I decided that I would have to sacrifice a better finish and go back and pick it up. So, I stopped, unclipped, ran back to get it out of the road, dodged a couple of bikers and got back on and clipped in. I don't know how much time that cost me and then to top it off, my run was not as good as last year. Gosh, if only I could run..."I could be a contender"! Anyway, I ended up with third place and a trophy! I lost 2nd place by 1 min and 10 secs.! Hmmm, wonder what would have happened if I hadn't dropped my Garmin? I was only out of 1st place by 2 mins. So, I guess overall, I am happy with my race, but I am definitely going to work harder on my running! Ugh! So, here are some pics of the day.

Melanie, Jon and Kim ready to race.



The happy "first timers" couple! Great finish you two!!

Me with my lonestar trophy!

I am off to bed now. I have a long bike ride to do tomorrow. I still have to get in the mileage to prepare for the MS 150 coming up in 2 weeks. I may sound like I am complaining...but really, I love it!!

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet

Hello again, Hello!

Wow, has this been a crazy couple of weeks. My sister and niece came last Thursday to do some college visits with L1 and I. We went to UofH on Friday and then Sam Houston State on Saturday. My niece is a senior and she has been accepted at both of those schools. None of us were pleased with U of H (sorry if you are a student/alum). The buildings seemed old and in need of repair. The dorm courtyards had debris all over the ground, as if the hurricane just happened, not over 6 months ago! It just isn't a very attractive campus at all.

All of us liked SHSU. It is in Huntsville and very close to the state park and forest land. The buildings all seemed very nice and so did all the students we met. Some of the dorms were older but in good repair and others seemed brand new almost. The professors seemed very fun and excited about their classes. My niece, who is from a small high school, liked it very much. It is one of the top two on her short list. L1 liked it, but since it has no swim team at all, he likely will not put it on his list.

Saturday afternoon, my dad and his wife Sandy arrived from Indiana. It was good to see them after 18 months! They spent 4 days here. We watched movies, went for a long hike, played games with the kids and ate. Dad and Sandy went to visit Moody Mansion in Galveston on Monday while the rest of us were at work/school. They said the island is getting pretty cleaned up but lots of businesses are still closed from Hurricane Ike. The mansion was in pretty good shape and only suffered some flooding on the basement level. They said all the businesses they did visit were very grateful for the business. Tuesday was their 30 year anniversary so we took them out to dinner to celebrate. Wednesday they headed up to my sisters house, east of Dallas, to visit for 4 days before heading back home. Here are a few pictures from their visit.






Dudley and I started puppy classes today! He is very good at the sit and the come, but kind of freaks out about the down. Here are some pictures of him on the way to class. By the way, he is 50.2 lbs. at 3 months old! OMG!! Huck wasn't over 50# till 4 1/2 months old!




And here is a picture of Huck. He is getting to be a big boy! He is such a good brother too! He is doing OK with his leg. He tries to put more weight on the good leg and his hock on the good leg has some swelling, but he still gets around pretty well.



I'm off to bed now. I have a busy day tomorrow before I head down to stay with my friends for my first triathlon of the season on Saturday. More about that tomorrow.

Peace Out!
Tri-Vet