This Sucks

[trayne91]

It started with -56 degrees here in December for the 2 weeks my son was home from college during Christmas. The furnace went out. 2 weeks after my dog of 11.4 years died in the living on the floor. Then the other dog stopped eating and we had to put him down 2 weeks later (4 weeks to the day, January 7th) 12.8 years old. The weather has not broken freezing in I don't know how long. I think we have the top 10 coldest winter if over 30 something years. Today was the first day above 32 I think since mid December.

We were using the stove to heat the house during this time because we now need a new furnace, but then the stove burnt out. So we had 3 electric heaters and then our biggest one went out, down to 2. Another one went out and we were down to 1. I went to Walmart and got another electric heater. I've been on electric heaters in -20 to 20 degree weather off and on for over 2 months (since the stove went out in January).

I have blankets over my windows and doorways. The dog vomited on the couch before he passed and we were sitting on the floor most of the time (we only have 1 chair in the living room now). The floor is concrete with pergo on top so it's freezing cold like a concrete basement floor. We moved a futon from a bedroom into the living room for seating and sleeping. I've been sleeping on that since my son was here in December in the middle of the living room and my husband sleeping in the chair with blankets over my windows and doors and doorways to other rooms to keep the heat in the living room and kitchen all winter. The bathroom is freezing. I sleep in a hat, 3 layers of clothes, etc. My pain has been through the roof.

So, why in 10 weeks do both my dogs die, we have the coldest winter on record, I have no furniture, no furnace, no stove, and my electric heaters go out, too. And I have to have fibro and it is killing me. And, no one gets it, either. I think someone is telling me to move. Is spring here yet? Ugh! My legs are aching!

 

[Siderea]

I live in North Dakota, and our winter has been pretty similar to yours, though from what friends tell me it's been even colder there than here in ND. We got down to -56 too, but I don't think it stayed as cold for as long as it did for you. So I know the pain of a TERRIBLE winter. I'm not from ND, though, and I don't know if I'll ever get used to this kind of cold. I've actually had 3 doctors tell me I need to move somewhere warmer, like Arizona, because the cold definitely hampers my ability to heal. Ugh.

I'm so incredibly sorry for your losses of your dogs! That is heartbreaking news. I also lost a beloved pet this winter. I adopted my cousin's cockatiel (I have two of my own, so she knew I could take care of her bird since she was spending too much time in the hospital to take care of him.) He was doing fairly well with me for the 3 years I had him, but in the last year he developed a tumor on his kidney. The tumor grew so large that it popped his right leg out of its hip socket. He was managing on his left leg, and kept a positive spirit. A few months later, he finally lost the use of his left leg for the same reason. The tumor just kept growing. The vet told us that there wasn't anything she could do to save him - even if the tumor was removed, he would be suffering. He was also 17 years old (most cockatiels don't live past 20, though I have one that is older than 20 and still happily alive.) So we tried to put him down. When I say tried, I mean he survived 3 attempts at humanely putting him down. I won't go into details. The poor guy wanted to live, despite the pain! So we let him live a few more days, but he wasn't eating or drinking much. He just laid on his chest on the bottom of the cage on a towel looking miserable. So my brother offered to try to put him down by drowning him. I let him do it because I didn't know what else to do, and I knew it would work. My father in law felt so bad for me that he build a coffin for my bird (he's a wood worker.) Even though it was the middle of winter and there was a foot of snow on the ground, he dug a grave for him too by pouring boiling water on the ground until it was loose enough to dig up. He held a service for him out in the -12 degree night. I'm forever thankful for that.

So yes, it's been a horrid winter. The cold sucks Fibro sucks. Losing loved ones sucks. I'm so sorry.

 

[Trellum]

Woah Trayne... that sounds like a really long chain of unfortunate incidents! So sorry to hear your dogs died t sucks your dog threw up on your couch before passing, and you guys didn't have a place to sit! I'm truly hoping things are getting better for you now, I heard the weather over there is changing for the better. So hopefully spring will be there soon and this awful winter will be just a really bad memory and nothing more I know there are times things seem to be going very wrong, but you just have to keep on pushing Plus they say sometimes things happen for a reason.

 

[trayne91]

Yep, the reason to move South. LOL

 

[mariposa]

My goodness, what a totally horrible time you've had, Trayne. I'm very sorry for everything you've had to go through, and especially the loss of your two dogs.

I see you wrote this on the 8th... has any of it gotten even a little bit better by now? (the weather, or your pain levels?)

 

[Cindy66]

Sorry for your horrible time! Hope things are better now.

 

[dorann]

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had such a terrible winter. I'm hoping that spring will soon be here to stay here and that you will be able to find some kind of relief. Sending virtual hugs to you.

 

[daleo717]

Wow that is a very bad string of bad luck. Yes please move soon to a better place. Life is like that sometimes, we can go through horrible years and times. There is hope and things will get better. Make a list and plan to get out of that place and to make your life better. Set some times and goals for the next 6 months ahead, and try and check off each one by one. I too have had very bad years in the past and it felt like I would never get out of the rut and despair, but the good news is I did and so can you. I will say a prayer for you and ask that you ask for God's help also. I now have a wonderful life compared to what it used to be. It took courage and hard work, but I made it. I hope that things change quickly and for the better for you. Take care and hang in there. Sending you blessing and love!

 

[TomRalphio]

Wow that is truly awful, and I'm really sorry about your dogs. I hope by now things are clearing up and getting better.

 

[trayne91]

Well, spring and warm weather are here. But, wow, do I feel awful. I had a nice string of low-pain days for a minute and then downhill. Spring has been one flare after another. Hurts to walk and the anxiety I have been getting in the car is terrible. Pushing through, but I thought once winter was over, it would get better. And it did a couple times. A couple times. Sheesh. The good news is the warmer weather - still. We got a new puppy who is growing like a weed and I am loving him so much. *smiles*. Son is home from college. Bad news - I walked on my birthday in April and I had something weird happen to my legs. Actually felt like my veins were pumping ice through them. Very cold in the blood vessels. Very weird. Next, these awful flares which I am blaming on the weather. And, I had a client move (I work on the internet), so my income is down. I had a new client call for a meeting this week (Yeah, new business), but the drive is an hour away and I am having a flare and the car anxiety. I don't even know if I can make it and know what I am talking about when I get there. Not sure if I should just cancel and try to find work closer to home or go for it since I need to replace the income from the client I lost. Ugh. Honestly, I think I need to cancel, but it would be the first time I would have to let fibro get the best of me, and admit I can't do some things on a bigger scale. I'm stalling because I don't want to. Guess, I just analyzed myself. Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm an optimistic person, always seeing the bright side of things, but sometimes I just want to vent... to someone or something.

 

[Trellum]

Hi trayne! How did it go? Did you have to cancel in the end? By the way, so sorry to hear you are not feeling any better. It's so hard to live with chronic pain, I truly hope you get better soon. For me the worst part is the anxiety, are you taking something to treat that? It's awful to live with that I'm glad to hear you got a new puppy and loving it more and more Having a pet to pamper is such a mood booster for me! Glad it is for you as well Best of luck with everything and please keep us posted!

 

[trayne91]

Yes, I cancelled the meeting. But, it was the best decision for me. Maybe not my pocketbook, but for me. Rheumy just called. I guess good news is my Sed Rate was in normal range, finally. I haven't seen the test posted online, so I'll verify when it is. Sometimes they say normal when things are flagged. Bad news is x-ray of my knees shows osteoarthritis. Now I got something else to research and learn about. Yes, our new baby pup makes all the difference in the world (even has white tear drops on back of his feet and a heart on his chest), and my son is home from college, so those things are especially nice.