Notes From Hell: Casa de la Enfermedad

Asst. Doug Regn, Dr. Lynn Beckmann, and woozy Lynda

For six years we have extolled the peace and the pleasure of living on Isla Mujeres, but these last two weeks have been a living hell. 

It all started with me taking our new adoptee, Sparky, to the free spay and neuter clinic a couple of weeks ago.  At one point in our lives both Lawrie and I were ambulance EMT's so I was interested in the procedure and decided to watch while Sparky was neutered. 


As it turned out he needed more than just a simple neutering as one of his testicles was still inside, and to save future complications it needed to be removed with a more intricate procedure.  I volunteered to hold a light to give Dr. Lynn Beckmann a better view of his insides.  I discovered I didn't have the fortitude to watch while my little buddy's intestines were probed and prodded, and then stitched up.  I had to take several small "sit down or fall down" breaks.  Dr. Beckmann was quite concerned that at any minute I was going to be her next patient.

Sparky - not feeling very well

Later in the day I took our recovering dog home and got him settled for the night.  Around eleven in the evening my heart flipped into erratic beats (atrial fibrillation) probably brought on by stress and perspiring in the hot weather.  Oh joy!  Early in the morning we pressed various family members and neighbours into animal babysitting duties, and headed into Cancun to get me sorted out.   After several hours at the Galenia Hospital, with an infusion of intravenous electrolytes plus magnesium my heartbeat reverted back to normal.  When I recounted my experience of watching Sparky be neutered, the cardiologist reacted in mock horror, placing his hands protectively over his genial area as he exclaimed: "Oh no, you should never watch a family member have that operation!"  

Sparky - swimming too soon after his operation

At this point I thought we were done with the drama.  Not true.  One should never, ever tempt the gods with that type of thinking.  Sparky developed a horrific case of diarrhea.  Oh double joy!  Between visits to the vet with "samples" and other assorted yucky stuff it was determined that he had an infection probably because I let him swim in the ocean too soon after his surgery.  Now he's on antibiotics for the next ten days, and steadily improving.

Chica - not doing very well

Good.  Now we can get back to normal.  Nope!  Chica, our six-year old cat started exhibiting signs of extreme mental confusion.  We suspected she might have a brain tumor and carted her off to the vet for blood tests.  The results indicate she has a liver problem that we think we have caught in time.  She is not eating or drinking much water so the treatment necessitates frequent intravenous re-hydration.   I have her isolated in the guestroom to try and give her a bit of rest from our other two pets.  Last night when the vet came to administer her next treatment she panicked and broke out through the bedroom screen door, leaping off the deck, ten feet down to the concrete patio.   Traitor that I am, I caught her and brought her back upstairs for her medications.  This morning she is limping, apparently her frantic leap to freedom has torn a muscle in her left front leg.  

Dr. Antonio Salas making a house call 

And it continues; Lawrie, who up until now has been healthy, woke up with symptoms of the flu, or food-poisoning, which given my lack of culinary talent could be the real culprit.  

He's feeling miserable, and former ambulance EMT's make terribly impatient patients!  The good thing is Dr. Salas makes house calls, and he stopped by to fix Lawrie up.


Finally, Tommy, my fifteen-year-old cat decided that since everyone else is getting extra attention he should express his displeasure for being ignored.  He vomited his breakfast - all over my toes.  

When will all this drama end?  And you all thought that we were having a nice two week rest from writing this blog, when in reality it has been a living hell. 

The Adventures of Thomas the Cat - bilingual

The one bright spot in the whole two weeks was the arrival of the printing sample of the children's book, The Adventures of Thomas the Cat, that Diego Medina and I have been working on since May of 2013.  As Diego said on FaceBook: "Ajustes menores por aquí, ajustes menores por allá... La muestra del libro ha llegado a nuestras manos, pronto estará disponible para su adquisición."   A little adjustment here, a little adjustment there ...The sample of the book is in our hands, will soon be available for purchase.   

Looking forward to a new and better week.  We want our calm, pleasant paradise back! 

Hasta Luego
Lynda & Lawrie