June 20, 2017

White Dog wanted to go along. "Sweet Girl, we are going to the vet with Yo. You HATE the vet's office." She looked at me and said, "Their air conditioning is always cold AND they have tile floors!" I shook my head that only YoYoMa was going and she went to sulk behind the chair.

Dr. Julia was already waiting in the exam room when we came in. "Let's look at this boy in person, there are lots of things I want to check," she said as Steve lifted our handsome Boy onto the table and she began to raise it.

"He is feeling good," she said as she squeezed and lifted lips and poked around. "That is a good thing." Rosie drew blood to test his Red Blood Cell count and also to run an extended health panel. "Let's not let anything sneak up on us," Dr. Julia said. Rosie went off to spin for the RBC number after she helped take a pressure reading on Yo's bad eye.

"His eye looks good but the pressure is still pretty high," was the result and Dr. Julia prescribed drops to be administered. She is sensitive to the costs of all the medications Yo is on and said, "last time I looked these drops were NOT expensive," but sardonically smiled, "of course THAT was a week or so ago and with pharmaceutical prices these days who knows, it could be $600." I LOVE our vet for her real life wit but promised if it were $600 that I would be giving her a call.

We chatted a bit about Paws To People and the idea that autoimmune diseases may be linked to the environment as we waited to get the hematocrit number. "I know I am seeing more cases than ever before," she said pointing at YoYoMa who was resting on the padded table. "Right now I have four patients with the same issues as this boy."

Rosie poked her head in and quietly said, "Thirty-four." Not only did our room erupt in whoops but we heard others in the back join our glee. Cindy (who lost HER dog not so long ago to IMHA) ran in and hugged YoYoMa.

"THIRTY-FOUR!" I kissed Yo on the nose. "Please send that message to ALL the ninja red blood cells, Baby Boy," I whispered. "Keep going! You are awesome."

"One week," Dr. Julia said anticipating my next question. "And I will call on Thursday with test results of extended CBC." Steve carried Yo out to the car so he did not have to walk on the hot sidewalk.

"Don't tell the others," Steve said as we pulled into the Sonic. "This is for you, Buddy. How about an ice cream?"

Except it was SO hot that Sonic had stopped serving ice cream because the freezer could not keep the mix firm. But YoYoMa did not seem to mind the cheeseburger he got instead.