One Grand Disc Golf Tour

11-30-09

Monday morning.  I made a call as soon as I could to a vet that was recommended to me by my room mate’s sister who deals with cats a LOT.  That vet then referred me to another vet who happened to be nearby and, to my great relief, quoted the same feeding tube operation at less than half of what the “specialist” had charged and wanted to again.

I took him in.  This is Hogan’s last chance.

As they did the surgery, I visited Home Depot for supplies for our rent-a-course program, then played some holes at a very nearby course, practicing my sidearm throws instead of falling back on the backhand.

Hogan was shaking when I picked him up from the vet, which I learned is normal since the anesthesia tends to make the body temperature drop.  But when he became more awake he was having trouble breathing.  We had to undress his surgical gauze and rewrap it looser.  His bandages were literally choking him.

The hose was the same as before but they gave me a chincy little rubber stopper that requires a lot of twisting and squeezing, hence torqueing on the feeding tube, to lodge it into place.

Once Hogan started to breathe properly I took him back to my room, plopped into the easy chair and stroked him for a while until he was calm.  Then I went ahead and tried to feed him and he immediately started squirming uncontrollably.  I took a break and tried it again later…same thing.

It would seem that the tube hasn’t been inserted correctly because I can’t get any food down the tube before he goes nuts.  I’m absolutely beside myself right now.  My poor little friend is going through an absolute nightmare.  Partially because I thought he had more quality time to spend with us and partly because I couldn’t really afford to pay the people who apparently would have performed the operation properly.

It is bad enough that he has to deal with a cancerous tumor on his tongue, but he also has to deal with an owner who isn’t ready to let him go, and a series of veterinary people who have botched up nearly every step of the way.

And now as I move in closer to him his breathing is congested, which was not the case just last night.  What the hell?  I had hoped that I might be able to make the last days of his life pleasant and comfortable, but instead he’s enduring so much more than I had ever expected.    I’m so thankful that he’s finally found a deep sleep this evening.  Tomorrow, I fear may be another tough day.

Tomorrow:  Veterinarian’s office 9:00 AM.

11-28-09

(May be some repeated matter…but if you’re bored enough to be reading this in the first place…it probably doesn’t matter.)

I was to meet my partner and his family out at the DeBary course but when I got up to feed the cat I discovered that the mesh sweater they had given me to secure Hogan’s feeding hose, had, in fact pulled it out when Hogan’s claws got stuck in it.

I called the specialist and took him in. They wanted to put a different hole in him for the tube and charge me nearly $700 to reinsert it. Problem is that he could pull that hose back out tomorrow…then what?

Hogan was gaining weight and had some energy going into this week. I was starting to feel as if the long hours of nursing him back to health was actually working… even though they say it’s very aggressive and there’s absolutely NOTHING that can be done. Yet, it certainly looked as if his condition was improving. He is using his tongue again. His eyes were brighter. And he had more strength.

I had to resolve to NOT put the tube back in and try to feed him orally again, which is messy and very likely, painful for him. Since it is the weekend I can’t get any tests done. I won’t be able to get half the amount of food and herbs down his throat that we can do through the tube. The real problem is water. I can get him to take food, but he will only take a small amount of water. I’m afraid that by Monday, all of the progress will have been lost. I guess it will soon be lost no matter what, but I’m having an incredibly difficult time accepting that.

Hogan is the most gentle soul I’ve ever met. I don’t recall him spitting or attacking anyone or anything (except other cats…everyone has a vice) I have several minutes of video footage of Hogan sitting about 2 feet away from a squirrel, the little bushy tail was twitching like crazy, and Hogan just sat there. When Hogan made a motion to stand up, the squirrel squawked at him and Hogan just sat right back down. It is so boring that it is actually interesting.

There are so many stories of Hogan’s relaxed attitude and how he completely trusted me. Which is why this decision is sooooo hard. I could have (maybe should have) put him down this AM at the vet office but not when he is still so obviously alert and interested in the things around him.

The real deciding factor is that I have pain medicine for him and he doesn’t seen to be in too much pain. But it is obvious that he is weak from not getting enough nutrition.

My roomie’s sister is a cat lady (without the “crazy” part) and has gathered some names of people who might be able to help me with either prolonging his life or peacefully ending it.

I got an email from the 13+ time co-op freestyle champ saying that a guy running an Ultimate tourney (in Alaska?) wants to get freestylers to play Ulti-style…using freestyle skills to manipulate and advance the disc in an Ultimate type of game. I’ve talked about this being the next step towards Tron-hood. Too bad I’m such a lump right now. I’d looooooove to do that. But we may need our own Washington Generals who know what we’re going to do and make us look good by allowing a few razzle dazzle choreographed plays ala Harlem Globetrotters.

Tomorrow:
May go to Mt. Dora to finalize our rent-a-course layout and get it approved so we can submit our sign artwork to the printer. Othewise, it’ll probably be more cat care. But I’ve gotta start hitting the gym. I’ve been on my ass for too long.

11-26-09
Hey Gang,
Happy TG day!

Despite how much Hogan HATES the van, he did GREAT on the drive home.  I took him out of his carrier at a rest stop and put a big pillow on top of my cooler and he just laid there for the rest of the drive.  I was hoping but didn’t expect it.

About the only disappointment I’ve ever had with Hogan is that, once he found out that I had MORE than one mini disc, he decided that he no longer needed to complete the 2nd part of “fetch” and actually bring it back.  He’d go after it, sure.  But, “hey the big guy has more.  He’ll throw another one”  And there endeth my career as a kitty discer.

That said he has never spit, bit or scratched me unless I was rough-housing and deserved it.  I don’t want to go off like a little sissy girl about my kitty.  But that’s sort of how I feel.  He’s the most “irie” soul I’ve ever met.  Unlike myself, he hardly gets annoyed with anything. 

I’ve been diligent about keeping up with the feedings and herbs etc.  I took him back to the vet because the nozzle on the feeding tube split.  She told me that he had gained some weight, which is good.  His eyes are brighter, which is good.  He couldn’t keep still today while I tried to feed him, which is good… because you need energy to be impatient.  Energy is good.  And although he’s not currently having much luck, he’s trying to use his tongue again.

Meanwhile, I’ve become little more than a kitty cushion for hours at a time.

On to other things…

The Seminole clinics went well.  I will be going back down in January to finalize recommendations for a course site and start working on the layout.  Hopefully, there will be other reservations to follow.

Meanwhile, the first week of December, we should be installing the 2nd of our Have Course-Will Travel rent-a-course projects about 35 minutes NW of town.  Chad, my partner, has been working on the website and other literature and we are about to launch a campaign of mailings to try to get some design projects coming in.

The biggest problem is that we have gotten parks folks to put courses in but we haven’t figured out why they think they can do a sufficient job of design and install without even having someone who plays involved in designing or building it.  It is the single most confounding issue I see in course design.

The manufacturers have the ability to stop it COLD by selling courses only when they’ve been designed by someone who has some chops or at least checked out by someone who can understand the nuts & bolts.  But I understand that this would create headaches that they don’t want or need.  Meanwhile, people such as myself are left with the burden of convincing parks people that there IS something to know about installing a course other than dropping baskets and tees in the ground.

So, I do not live or die by my skills as a designer/builder but as a salesman.
On to other things…
I finally made good on my threat to go back to karate class.  The expected muscle & tendon stiffness isn’t so bad.  But I may have thrashed my left wrist blocking a kick during sparring.  I’ll ice down again tonight, but tomorrow, I think I may have to make an appointment for an X-ray.

Meanwhile classes are ridiculously expensive.  $100 for a month (roughly 8 classes) plus uniforms & pads (which I already have but must replace anyway)

On to other things…
Oh wait, there are no other things.  I’m trying to get back into karate primarily to get in shape.  Correction,  I’ve got an OK shape, it’s my condition that needs work.  My first big test will be Jan 2-3 in LA at Jam Camp.
I was accepted as an instructor, which is pretty exciting.  I’m going to give a clinic with minis and also helping with the disc doggers who want to improve their skills so that their K-9 has a good partner.

A loooong time Frisbee player from Daytona currently owns the world champion K9 and offered to get me started with dogs.  It is a consideration, but I won’t do anything until Hogan’s predicament is no longer an issue.

For the 10 or so that keep checking in here…thanks.  You can find me on Facebook.  I highly recommend my photo album… “discers separated at birth?”  If you ain’t laughin at it…you ain’t livin.

Tomorrow: may take the boy in to get his tube tied.  More work on WCDGD letters and getting my original slide show digitized so I can show it on the computer or through a digital projector rather than the archaic slide projector.   Oh, and Chad’s band has their first gig tomorrow.  I’ll be the old guy in the back drinking Bosco, pretending the music isn’t too loud.

11-20-09

I drove back down to south Florida to do some disc golf clinics today and tomorrow.

We started off this AM with some seniors from the SemTribe.  I showed them a few putting styles then we did a few “Ring-of-Fire” rounds.  Then I took them to a short tee and showed them the backhand and the sidearm.

During the round one of the ladies had thrown her disc next to a hedge.  She tried so hard on her subsequent shot that she over-rotated and fell backward into the hedge.  At first it was a very scary moment but she started laughing so hard that she couldn’t get up.  Soon the other ladies in her group were also cracking up to the point that they couldn’t even help her up.  So I had to pull her out of the hedge for play to continue…eventually.

Later in the day we had the opposite end of the spectrum…little kids…like maybe 10 or so.
Apparently the most difficult part of the game is to grasp the simple concept that the farthest away is out combined with “don’t walk in front of the person who is up next”.  I could have just recorded myself on the first hole and just replayed it 437 times… Who is farthest out?  Don’t walk in front of him while he’s throwing!  Please come back behind the thrower…blah blah blah!

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that my cat was sick.  Well, after my regular vet failed to figure out what the *&^%$#@! Was wrong after 3 visits in as many weeks, I took him to a holistic vet who figured it out right away.  Tumor on the tongue.  I had to feed my cat baby food through a syringe for a week to try to build him back up enough to be able to withstand anesthesia so he could have a biopsy and they also inserted a feeding tube in the side of his neck into his esophagus.  So now the syringe is going into the tube instead of trying to get him to take it in his mouth.

I just got the biopsy report back last night and it is the worst possible outcome.  The most aggressive form of cancer on the back of his tongue.  So shy of removing his entire tongue he doesn’t stand a chance.  Besides, while I was screwing around with that other vet, this cancer may have moved into his lung and shoulder.  They give him about a month.

Meanwhile, he is very labor intensive.  I have to prepare 40 ml of prescription wet food with water to loosen it up enough to go through the syringe and into the tube.  I have to do this 4 times a day…every 6 hours.

Plus, I have herbs out the wazoo, that also have to go into water and that should be done in between.  This would explain why I haven’t been posting much.  Not a lot of time to myself.  All of that said, all I have to do is come near him and his motor is purring as if he’s ready to smoke some catnip.

I will probably post a few things about him in the near future as he nears his end of days.  He has unquestionably been my best and most certainly favorite pet ever.  There could never be another like him and I’m not taking it well at all.

Tomorrow:  Look at some land for a possible future course in the reservation, another clinic in the early afternoon.  I’ll probably pack up and drive home afterward.

11-07-09

I had a gig tonight in South FL.

When I booked the gig a year and a day ago, I was in great shape and working at Diz occasionally.  Then the economy dropped out, I was placed in the “inactive” roster.  Later in the year, I herniated a disc and spent a couple of months mostly in bed.

You wouldn’t know it by my disc golf standings for this year but it has taken a lot of work to get moving again.  I was whiggin’ about the show for a couple of reasons… Physical…could I still pull it off? and mental…could I even remember what it was that I was trying to pull off?

The show was better than expected but not as good as I had hoped.  Retirement communities are NOT the place to gauge a show.  Hard to believe that most of those people were only 10-20 years older than me.  More if you go by maturity.

Hogan, my cat has been sicker than…well…a dog. He’s always complaining about being hungry but he barely eats.  Won’t drink water unless it is from the toilet.  When he does eat he basically just throws the food around so that it just surrounds the bowl.  I’ve taken him to the vet 3 times and they have not a friggin clue.

3:30AM time for bed.

Tomorrow: Disc Golf Clinic at Turkey Lake park for some City of Orlando volunteers.