Wayne and Rebecca Madsen

We ditched the veteranarian we had. Partially this was because our cat's blood sugar registered levels were in the 200s -- which isn't healthy, but as good as a vet would want to get while relying on their own blood tests -- and also because he failed to note her elevated bacteria level in her bladder. So then, she got sick. Really sick.

Star wasn't eating and was emptying her stomach every three hours for two days. We went to a new vet who immediately gave her some fluids and a week's worth of antibiotics. Working with this guy has been cryptic and there have been moments we thought Star was gone for sure [like, he kept reminding us we were working one day at a time if we asked too many forward-looking questions -bec], but last night she started acting more like her normal self and has been eating (lightly) and has kept it down for the last day and a half.

The sickness was related to untreated diabetes. So yay for us. But Rebecca has been amazing at researching information and resources for us. We have received financial aid to pay for vet appointments [thanks to Diabetic Cats in Need]. We have a large shipment of equipment for treating her with insulin (I feel kind of dirty, like we got something on the black market).

Aderyn has had an interesting two weeks of nursery. Because Rebecca works in the other nursery and I teach Sunday School during the second hour, it makes for a failed activity to leave her in nursery: she screams and they take her right next door to where she knows her mommy is. Last week, we tried something new. We noticed that if a babysitter gives Aderyn her pacifier, then that person becomes her new best friend. So we gave the pacifier to the nursery leaders and told them to offer it to her after we leave. Amazingly, it works. It worked better than we had hoped. She lasts all the way through nursery, two weeks in a row, without complaint. Sure, dropping her off is like prying barnacles off a ship's hull, but it works.