i can't believe we made it

thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts and wishes for Mr. Head. i was able to take him home with an indwelling IV catheter for antibiotic administration. he is doing a bit better since he got home, energy-wise, though his appetite still sucks. his bile grew E coli that is sensitive to the antibiotics we chose and his blood work yesterday was somewhat improved. hopefully, his appetite and strength will return now that the bacteria is being beaten back.

on the downside, Elise (my other cat) developed vomiting and anorexia one day after Mr. Head got sick. she had normal bloods the day before so i think it is stress/anxiety-induced. she is over the vomiting but still not eating well. if she doesn't turn today, i may have to drop in a feeding tube to try and stave off a life-threatening condition that strikes cats with sudden anorexia.

things here are strained - my two kitties lives are literally hanging in the balance after all - but we are plugging along. we got the abstract in in time Friday, so now that is in someone else's court. looking back, i still don't understand how we made it.

i met with the statistician Friday morning (while the intern was at a routine doctor's appointment) to go through the study design and hypotheses. she crunched through the database while i worked on clinics and was able to get results back to us around 3pm.

in the meantime, the intern involved in the study had to be rushed to a human emergency room for epinephrine and benadryl after eating something with nuts in it. he returned shaky and weak but still committed to getting the abstract in before he went home to collapse. we slogged through the stats (while i worried about him passing out) and managed to finish the abstract around 6pm. a couple of proofs by colleagues and in with a few hours to spare.

again i must say there has been phat spinning and knitting. (one of my students has been bringing in 'Ghetto Slang' flashcards.) but i have to go and coddle the kitties some more so pictures will have to wait. to tide you over though, here are some of the holiday knitting pix:



and a little spinning: