Last Thursday, at the end of a week that included 2 chemo appointments and a consult with the nutritionist for Tigger, driving all over creation to get copies of MRIs and patient records for me, a consult with a back surgeon, and a quick trip to North Carolina, I was back at the vet for an acupuncture appointment for Tigger.
He’d responded really well to acupuncture just a couple of days earlier, so I had high hopes for a good result from this visit as well. Plus, this was the last thing I had to do before I could collapse onto the couch and not move again for many days in a row.
Unfortunately Tigger was operating under a completely different agenda, one titled, “Why no, as a matter of fact I am NOT going to relax and remain still for the next 15 minutes, good luck with that.” And thus began some of the longest minutes of my life.
It’s not like anything bad was happening. Tigger had just been confined for a few hours getting his treatment, so he wanted to be up and around and exploring. He was feeling just fine; it was Mama who was at her wit’s end. I’d pushed myself into the muscle weakness, shakes, sweats, and weepy exhaustion phase of fibro, and I was stressed out of my mind over the fact that Tigger wouldn’t eat and was losing more and more weight, WHICH IS WHY WE WERE THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, TIGGER, SO YOU COULD FINALLY FREAKING FEEL BETTER, AND IT IS NOT GOING TO HELP EITHER ONE OF US FOR YOU RAPPEL DOWN THE FRONT OF MY SHIRT. Ahem.
But the appointment finally came to and end, with Tigger even managing to retain one or two of the needles in their proper places, and then, hallelujah, hallelujah, it was time to go home.
When I was checking out I heard the lady in the line next to me discussing the pronunciation of her last name with the vet tech behind the desk. She gave the Italian pronunciation, then said, “In English it’s pronounced ‘Ferrigno’. Like the Incredible Hulk.”
I chimed in with a bright smile, happy to chat about ANYTHING other than vet stuff and eager to bond with a fellow animal lover. “Oh-that’s just what I thought!”
“Yeah,” she replied drily, looking me up and down. “That just shows your age.”
Why thank you, kind lady. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
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