From the Mail Bag

It has been quite a week here at the Three Cat's Ranch. We've all been at loose ends waiting on pins and needles for the tide to turn on Mike. He is much better as I write this, and we are hopeful that he will be able to leave the hospital on Monday. That will not be the end of this road, however. Chances are, he will be on a liquid diet for some time, and he may still be facing a surgery. I'm going to give you a more detailed update toward the end of this post, along with my personal Public Service Announcement about what caused this illness. But for now, I want to tell you about all the fun items I received in the mail this week. And, believe me, it was sure nice to get a little surprise in the mailbox each day with the rest of what's been going on.

First, I received my October doll quilt from my partner Patty. Isn't this pretty? It took me a bit to see all twelve points in the star. I love the fabrics she used.

Here's the fabric from the back along with a little sunglasses case. If you look closely at the sunglasses case, you can see that it has two pockets. Patty uses this little case to hold two rotary cutters. What a great idea! Thank you, Patty.

Then, I was just blown away to receive this little guy from Nancy who blogs at Yellow Mound Quilts. Nancy knows that I am partial to sock monkeys (I mean, haven't I said so enough times on my blog?), and said she couldn't resist stitching him out for me.

This little guy arrived on a day when the news about Mike was particularly bleak, and I think it was the only time I smiled all day. Thank you so much, Nancy, for your thoughtful gift.

Then yesterday, I received this nice pack of Aurifil thread, which was my prize for being voted the Best Pet-Themed Quilt in the Pets on Quilts show a few months ago. Thank you to Lilypad Quilting for hosting the event, and thanks to all of you who voted for Smitty and Gracie's quilt. As you know, I love thread as much as I love fabric, and I'm thinking these colors look good enough to eat. I won't though. I'll use them for sewing.

Finally (and I do mean finally), my new iPhone arrived a few days ago. It took positively forEVER to come. I chose the white one, and apparently the white ones are sought after. It took more than a month from ordering to receive it. And also, finally, I was able to take possession of the case for it. Do you remember my poll? Well, I was absolutely amazed at the number of you who chimed in to help me pick a case. The "Cats in Love" case actually won the poll, and I ordered it. But then weeks went by with no shipping notification. Finally, I received a note from Zazzle saying the case was unavailable, and I would need to choose something else. Since the Yin and Yang Cats was the second choice in the poll, I ended up with that one.

If you know anything about Zazzle, it's a site where things are ordered first and then manufactured. It seems the Cats in Love was discontinued for some reason. Zazzle made good by offering me a discount on my second choice and I ended up spending half as much. I'm happy, and I like the Yin and Yang Cats. And thanks to all of you for helping me make up my mind.

So that brings me to the medical portion of this post. And I'll just start off by saying that Gracie has been missing her favorite human. She so wanted to give him some nose rubs a couple of nights ago that she snapped this selfie and texted it to him.

Yes, it seems that Gracie (whose brain is mainly fluff), is well-versed in the art of selfies and texting. I think she's the one who runs the battery on my phone dead. Anyway, all of that to say that I feel a need to give you some details about Mike's illness. It all came about rather strangely, and so I want to pass along this information because I think there is an important message for all of us in this.

Mike has an infection known as clostridium difficile (commonly, c diff). You may be aware of the developing crisis over so-called superbugs that are developing because of the overuse of antibiotics. C. diff is just one such bug. It seems that many of us harbor this particular bug in our guts, but usually, it is kept in check by the other bacteria that live within us. Certain antibiotics kill off the protective bugs, and that allows C. diff to take hold, releasing toxins and making some folks very sick (more information here).

So, in Mike's case, this all started as a simple tooth extraction on October 8th. At a routine visit, his dentist discovered a crack in a tooth. It was recommended that the tooth be extracted and that he begin the process for a dental implant. Nothing unusual there. (I had my own dental implant a couple of years ago with no problems whatsoever.) While the tooth was being extracted, Mike was started on an IV drip of clindamycin and then given a prescription for oral clindamycin when he left the office. He did just as he was told. The problem is that clindamycin is one of the worst offenders for causing c diff infections, and that is exactly what happened in Mike's case. 

Now, I'm not an epidemiologist or an infectious disease specialist, but after this experience, Mike will certainly never take clindamycin again if there is an alternative drug available. I too will avoid it in the future, if possible, and will encourage my sons to do the same. I'm bringing this up just to raise awareness of the risks we all face from overuse of antibiotics. And to be clear, I'm not saying the dentist did anything inappropriate in Mike's case. Still, we must all be good stewards of these life-saving medications by taking them only as directed, taking them only when necessary, and finishing any course of antibiotics that we start. We can also hold our doctors accountable by making sure that antibiotics are only used when nothing else will do. With this particular drug, it seems all too risky for causing this potentially life-threatening infection, and so it would be worth inquiring about potential side effects whenever an antibiotic is prescribed for any reason. 

Okay, stepping down off my soapbox now. Don't any of you get sick.

To close, I want to thank all of you for your supportive and concerned messages over the past week. We aren't yet out of the woods, but things are definitely looking better. It has been a long and lonely week, but your many messages of healing thoughts and prayers have buoyed my spirits, and that has meant a great deal to me. Thank you for being such good friends.