Mom, are you there? I have a lot of important announcements to make.
Hello, Miss Shana!
Mom, it’s time for yet another fascinating and exciting Hpathy Quiz! But first to get a few announcements out of the way: April is not only, apparently, Passover and Earth Day but my birthday as well. I’ll be 32 on April 22nd and the ezine would probably be out by then, right?
Right! Did you say 32? I was 32 when I met Mr. Lewis—your father. Here we are now in 1979:
Are you trying to say I have a lot of catching up to do?
Um………..yes!
I’m excited for my birthday week because on April 26th, Hulu is releasing “The Bon Jovi Story”:
Oy vey! I should have known!
Now, I should explain that this “present”, so to speak, is a new documentary about Bon Jovi that tells the story of the band’s career where the remaining band members participated for authenticity.
Dear God! Shana, don’t look now, but, I seriously doubt that anyone cares!
Richie Sambora’s abrupt departure from the band is something that I’ve never heard discussed. It’s also the band’s 40th anniversary this year which is why the documentary is so momentous.
If you say so.
Bon Jovi also has a new album coming out in June. And by the way, Mom, just so you know, my cousin Jon is much cooler than you are.
I don’t see it.
I believe we also were supposed to announce (because we forgot) that Walter Becker of Steely Dan passed away.
You’re right, Shana! We talked about Steely Dan last month when we mentioned that Michael McDonald, formerly of Steely Dan, was back touring with the Doobie Brothers. Let’s go now to our Maryland correspondent, Jon Gillespie, for the inside story. Jon, are you there?
Hey, Elaine! Walter Becker died 7 years ago.
D’oh!
What a great guitarist! I’m not too familiar with his career other than Steely Dan…
OK, I will try to explain it then. Steely Dan consisted mainly of its two founders, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, see below:
They met at Bard College.
Walter was basically a jazz guitarist with lots of rock overtones….. Fusion at its best! Just listen to the guitar solo in the song, “Bodhisattva”… so tasteful, technical, and impressive!
I am nothing if not tasteful.
A huge part of Steely Dan.
What was striking about Steely Dan was their indefinability. Were they a jazz group? A rock ‘n’ roll group? A rhythm and blues group? Who knew? They were simply one of a kind! If you listen to this one (“Peg”) from 1977, besides Donald Fagen being on lead vocals and Walter Becker on lead guitar, you can actually hear Michael McDonald as the high voice in the background (but it may be a little confusing because the video shows 3 girls singing in the background? But trust me, they’re just lip-syncing!)
And now, onto the…
Hpathy Quiz!!!!!
Who’s in the Quiz this month, Mom?
A Guinea Pig.
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Hello Elaine,
Hello Laurie!
My Guinea pig is on the older side. She isn’t feeling well and there is no place I can take her before Monday.
She is not drinking (but is eating). So she is not urinating very much. Urine appears dark (brownish).
Sleeping and other activities seem normal. When resting she seems to be almost trembling.
I am suspecting bladder stones as those are very common in Guinea Pigs.
I ended up giving her Calc-carb 30C. I am not noticing any change. Maybe the focus should be the thirstlessness? Do you have a suggestion for what to try?
I know she is very old and it could just be her time. I honestly had just hoped to find her gone one day. I am very sad. She was supposed to be my daughter’s pet, but I have been her sole caretaker for over 7 years.
The urine has an odor that is foul. Sort of smells like when urine sits somewhere a long time.
I cleaned her cage around 4:00 and she has not urinated since. She has been lying in her cage now since a little after that. No longer coming out. She is not accepting water.
I just went to check on her. She seems distressed. She is moving around but is acting scared and trying to hide. Her breathing is increased quite a lot. She is going to die isn’t she?
I will follow up with you whatever happens.
Thank you,
Laurie
Laurie, I think the remedy is __________.
Last night I couldn’t tell anything. This morning she came to me and I was able to get her to let me give her about a teaspoon of water from a syringe. She ate her veggies as normal. I washed them right before and left them very wet. I ended up succussing the remedy 10 times and dropping some on her lettuce.
A few hours later, there may be a bit more urine in the cage. Still dark. It’s really hard to tell.
I am going to try and get her to take more water now and offer more veggies. She is still very active in eating and seems to be awake and alert more today than she has been of late. I am encouraged a bit since I cannot really tell all that much. I guess my thinking that we are making progress would be increased urine that appeared more normal (not so dark) and her drinking on her own again. So a ways to go, but her letting me give her any water at all was a relief.
Laurie, the urine is bound to be dark if she’s not drinking.
She just let me give her some more. I found new syringes. She ate a little lettuce, but left a lot which is very unusual and is sitting in her hay now. She still looks anxious. She is grinding her teeth which is a sign she is in pain. Breathing still fast. I only have the 30c.
When was her last dose?
It’s been about 25 minutes. She is back in her cloth tube. She is still breathing fast, but seems calmer. She doesnt have the wide eyes and isn’t trying to hide. She just is sitting there resting.
Calm is what we’re looking for! You can always plus the bottle 3 times and give another dose if you think she’s at a stand-still or relapsing.
Sorry for the late update. Things are about the same I think. She is calm. She is eating, but not drinking. Earlier I managed to get a little water into her in a syringe.
I am feeding a lot of veggies that I rinse in water and leave them dripping when I give them.
She is peeing a little and it is lighter in color and no odor, so that is good.
And you call this “no change”? This is a big change! When odors return to normal? We always rejoice when bad odors are gone. And the change in color away from brown? A very good sign! What about the accelerated breathing? Teeth-grinding?
I did repeat the remedy once – she seemed a little anxious.
And did the anxiety stop after repeating? What happened after the dose?
You’re right, she is doing better. I’m sorry I’ve had a long day and I have been so worried about her. I do still wish she would just drink. She always drank water just fine.
She was always eating well. She is rather enjoying all the veggies I imagine. Last night I think the odor was gone. I’ve been keeping her cage immaculate so I could tell if she was “going”. I literally picked up the bedding that she urinated on to see and it smelled normal. The color was somewhat lighter last night, but much more so today.
She has been calm the remainder of the day. I am encouraged also when I check on her and she is up and about and lively.
OK, this is all very encouraging!
So here’s something. I have not had to give Molly anymore __________. She still wasn’t drinking but otherwise seemed to be doing well. Then out of the blue, yesterday, the water level in the bottle was down! I checked to make sure it wasn’t leaking. Tonight it was down even further so I had to refill it!
Wow! Well, that about totally wraps it up!
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OK, everyone! What remedy did Molly need? Write to me at [email protected] and let me know. The answer will be in next month’s ezine.
Bye-bye!
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Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom
Elaine takes online cases. Write to her at [email protected]
Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com
