It has been five days since Bode’s seizure and so far no recurrence. It hasn’t been easy for him to get up and down since his arthritis got worse last winter, so being tipsy from the barbiturate complicates things. He had problems jumping when we first met, so he had probably been dealing with arthritis for some time. He is eating well, and even went out for a short walk two days ago. He is napping a lot, but for an older dog that is to be expected. Still remembering the welcome sound of toenails clicking on the kitchen tiles when he got up on Sunday after we returned from the vet emergency clinic.
Hate to sound like whining, but after going to Pittsburgh on Saturday and Sunday (100 miles round trip) without incident, on Monday afternoon with mild weather, no ice, and clear visibility, someone sideswiped my parked car and dented and scratched the driver side passenger door. This is the third time my parked car has been hit since I moved here, only the person who broke the mirror left a note and paid for the damage.
Something that apparently didn’t get taken into consideration when fossil fueled automobiles were adopted for our transportation infrastructure (treating public transit like Cinderella) was that a lot of otherwise fine people shouldn’t be driving. They didn’t choose to have seizure disorders, failing vision, frailty from aging, or inability to deal with the stress of driving. Driving is inherently dangerous anyway. I lost a good friend in a single vehicle accident two weeks ago. One of the tragedies of our society is that we accept unquestioningly the collateral damage. Even if only one person is at fault, many others can suffer consequences.
When I used to go on camping trips for several days or more, the first sensation when returning home (which was often Champaign-Urbana IL) was the pervasive odor of gasoline and exhaust fumes. Not sure how effective the climate talks will be, but perhaps unpopular changes in life styles in developed countries will yield unexpected benefits. After all, who thinks of a child wheezing with asthma when they turn the key in the ignition?
