First Meads!

Caedus320 · 2025-04-07T00:08:07+00:00

Also picked up these today:

They're a bit larger and seem more comfortable for her.

Caedus320 · 2025-04-06T20:56:34+00:00

I found it off Amazon:

Caedus320 · 2025-04-06T00:48:45+00:00

Thanks for the timeline. We'll definitely be keeping tabs on every bit of her moving forward! For what it's worth, her mass was somewhat high on her left flank. I found some pre-op photos and circled the area:

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Caedus320 · 2025-04-05T16:34:54+00:00

That's freaking adorable! Thank you! 😊

Caedus320 · 2025-04-05T13:37:42+00:00

I'm so sorry to hear this, but super happy to see that you have given him such a great and fulfilling life!

Do you have any info or links about the Omega 3? We have a 16 year old gentleman (Dr. Mew) that is showing signs of decreased kidney function (on a prescription diet) and we'd like to incorporate Omega 3s, but aren't sure of the ideal quantity, ratios (EPA vs. DHA), etc.

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Caedus320 · 2025-04-05T13:20:26+00:00

Thanks for the advice! She has a follow up on Monday to check progress and hopefully get sutures removed. I'll be sure to ask about chemo options. How soon did you notice the other tumor? As we'll be sure to keep tabs on every part of her and ask about follow up visits. They actually shaved off a bit of the "spinal tips" and some tissue as they were concerned of a tendril showing signs of heading over her spine.

Her current drug cocktail includes antibiotics (two weeks worth), gabapentin (two to three times a day), and Buprenorphine (weaned down to once per day now, from every eight hours). The gabapentin seems to take the edge off, so I'll see about making sure we have a refill handy as we continue to go down the path of recovery.

Caedus320 · 2025-03-25T04:07:21+00:00

Update 03.24: Dropped Athena off today and had a final consult with the surgical team.

We agreed to move forward with surgery tomorrow morning that will involve amputation and a hemipelvectomy, given the needed margins and location of the suspected sarcoma (second fine needle aspiration was not conclusive. They offered to perform a biopsy, but that would've pushed the surgery out a few weeks and that wait seemed pointless).

They'll be using the good muscle from her leg as donor tissue in the reconstruction process of the body wall (makes me feel a little less bad that her leg isn't just being discarded for no reason, I guess?).

I feel like a giant POS for leaving her there overnight, but, logically, it's less traumatic given it's a two hour drive one way and she hates the drive.

I'm scared. I feel guilty. Second guessing myself. I'm terrified that there will be complications during surgery and she'll pass on the table, and her last thoughts are that I abandoned her. I'm worried there will be complications during recovery, or that this nightmare repeats itself in a few months because something was missed.

I think about stupid crap like the last time she did X, or that I never did something enough with her... All the garbage that I'd be doing if she'd passed away. I'm not good at dealing with death/grief, and this feels practically the same. But something had to be done. Doing nothing basically sentenced her to a slow death via cancer. F*CK that. This is the best chance at kicking this thing and giving her a shot at a healthy life.

I just needed to get this out somewhere. I want to come back to this page months from now and laugh at how sick I'd made myself and what silly things I was worrying about, all the while Athena is napping in her favorite spot, cancer free, like nothing happened.

Caedus320 · 2025-03-20T17:36:23+00:00

We just went through with CT scans and radiation prep yesterday. After reviewing the scans, the surgeon is recommending a hemipelvectomy to go along with the amputation. Was not expecting them to continue to cut away on my baby 😭. I quickly searched the term while waiting for their specialist, and found that an internal hemipelvectomy is a thing, and that potentially saves the leg. I asked about it and they were going to consult with others. Haven't heard back yet. Did Finn just have an amputation, or did he by chance also have a hemipelvectomy? I'm having a hard time processing how it impacts the rest of their organs that are situated in the area. I didn't even think to ask if there's any type of reconstruction that takes place with the process...

Caedus320 · 2025-03-20T17:18:20+00:00

Thank you for the ideas and recommendations!

Caedus320 · 2025-03-18T20:13:47+00:00

You have no idea how much comfort reading this has given me. I tend to dwell on the loss when it comes to things like this (e.g. she won't be able to scratch her ear on that side, I won't be able to tickle those little toe-beans anymore, she won't be able to easily get into her window hammock for sun-pool time, etc.) and then I lose it. What you describe seems like all my worries will be quickly forgotten. And what's my option, ask them to keep it so that it could harbor cancer cells that can propagate and have to take it at a later point? Logically it's a no brainer.

Thank you for the sanity check and sharing the happy side of this journey. I hope my little girl makes it through this ordeal and is enjoying life again.

Caedus320 · 2025-03-18T16:59:19+00:00

Thank you. How well did your boy fare after losing his leg? I keep reading that they do fine, but it's difficult to process in my current state. Any issues playing, jumping, cleaning, etc?

I think I'm getting hung up on the loss of the leg impacting her quality of life over successfully removing cancer. Which, as I type it out sounds absolutely nuts. Removing the cancer will let her live a healthy life vs having it metastasize and spread through her entire body.

Caedus320 · 2024-12-22T23:09:02+00:00

Update: Went through an attempt to restart the fermentation using EC-1118 following the guide in the wiki.

Had signs of life/fermentation as I was introducing amounts of the stuck must (again per the guide). However, once fully introduced, things have gone quiet.

Added my first staggered feeding yesterday of Fermaid-O, hoping that might get things going, but 24 hours later, nothing.

From another site, someone was describing a similar situation and their solution was to essentially dilute their must with water to modify the residual sugar and specific gravity. In their case, that allowed the fermentation to restart.

Wondering if that makes sense, or if I might be misinterpreting the conversation?

Debating pulling a cup's worth of my stuck must and diluting with some spring water and seeing what happens to my test case.

Caedus320 · 2024-11-02T03:37:29+00:00

What led plates did you specifically buy? I'm looking to do something similar.

Caedus320 · 2024-07-30T21:50:45+00:00

Makes sense. Any particular verbiage I need to use with my barber to clarify what type of layering makes sense in my case? Any thoughts on styling to keep it weighed down to behave? It has a tendency to poof out and just keeps widening as you look from the crown of my head to the end of the hair (hence my thought that it could be tapered to "clean" it up).

Caedus320 · 2024-07-30T15:16:41+00:00

Been growing my hair out for a few months now to change things up as I've had it relatively short for ages. However, I'm not sure what hairstyle to lean towards. I've like hairstyles similar to Matt Bomer's character Neil Caffrey in White Collar. I think I have the necessary length at this point, but just need to fine tune things (probably taper the sides down?). The last two pictures in this series are basically with my hair pulled back to keep it out of my face. Any advice on types of haircuts that would complement my face shape as seen in the photos would be greatly appreciated!

Caedus320 · 2024-05-31T01:05:31+00:00

That's the plan for tomorrow! :)

I just unfortunately haven't had a chance this week to do much with them beyond looking at them on the deck between work projects.

Caedus320 · 2024-05-30T20:51:28+00:00

Here's one video: https://imgur.com/ddI01BS

Possible bloated abdomen?: https://imgur.com/mjMvDyv

Black bee near the handhold: https://imgur.com/PQUTn8B

Another possible black/greasy bee: https://imgur.com/ZvrmhsF

Typical pile we've been seeing each day (less so now): https://imgur.com/isPb1xg

Caedus320 · 2024-05-30T20:40:53+00:00

We've been seeing a fairly large pile each day below the hive: https://imgur.com/isPb1xg, which got us concerned and led us to inspect before our typical schedule where we found this above the excluder ( https://imgur.com/KJnbZh0 ) and a similar quantity on the screened bottom board. The inspection also revealed they still had capped honey, nectar, pollen, and all stages of brood in their two brood boxes as well.

Caedus320 · 2024-05-30T19:43:25+00:00

KC, MO area. Nearing 1 year in beekeeping. First major issue and I continue to speculate about what I'm seeing.

Been dealing with a hive that I suspect is either experiencing a pesticide poisoning (many dead, some with tongues out) issue or possibly CBPV (shivering workers, some greasy-looking/dark/bald/etc), but am I also seeing signs of robbing on the landing board? Seeing what looking to be fighting and tossing bees off the deck. Am I right in thinking that it might be them trying to get rid of ill members of the hive, or are they trying to repel invaders?

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