Caring for my chickens whilst I'm away (OT)

I have prepared my friend Stephen that he needs to look after a few of my
chickens and the geese. He told me to take my Lakenfelder cock with his 3
hens today. He wasn't ready with the cleaning out, and even had a broody
hen sitting in there :-(

I cannot explain quite how it tired me out to help him get it all ready. It
took two hours, and I could hardly stand up after 30 minutes.

They are now installed.

Tomorrow we have to prepare for a cock plus two, he has the worst temper in
the world ever. I would go so far as to say he is dangerous.
He has a hut prepared for him and his two hens but I have told Stephen not
to trust him.

He also has to find a place for a cock plus one hen, and two spare cocks
that can't live together.
It's all arranged :-)

Now I have sorted out my birds and cats are safe and cared for while I am in
hospital and recovering, I shall only post until I go in hospital, which is
next Monday 16th.
I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt *so*
much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an epidural as
well as general anaesthic? Eeek.
There is only a few days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Tweed

Christina Websell wrote:
I have prepared my friend Stephen that he needs to look after a few
of my
chickens and the geese. He told me to take my Lakenfelder cock with
his 3
hens today. He wasn't ready with the cleaning out, and even had a
broody
hen sitting in there :-(

I cannot explain quite how it tired me out to help him get it all
ready. It
took two hours, and I could hardly stand up after 30 minutes.

They are now installed.

Tomorrow we have to prepare for a cock plus two, he has the worst
temper in
the world ever. I would go so far as to say he is dangerous.
He has a hut prepared for him and his two hens but I have told
Stephen not
to trust him.

He also has to find a place for a cock plus one hen, and two spare
cocks
that can't live together.
It's all arranged :-)

Now I have sorted out my birds and cats are safe and cared for while
I am in
hospital and recovering, I shall only post until I go in hospital,
which is
next Monday 16th.
I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt
*so*
much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an
epidural as
well as general anaesthic? Eeek.
There is only a few days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt
down.

Tweed

Strength, lovely Christina. I know it's scary, and I know you are
frightened. Positive energy, positive thoughts (I *know* you are
positive it will hurt, I pray it will not be unbearable). Chin up, and
all that.

Smokie Darling (Annie)

We are each of us tested. It is how we respond to our tests that shows
our measure.

On 2005-05-11, Christina Websell penned:

I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt
*so* much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an
epidural as well as general anaesthic? Eeek. There is only a few
days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Tweed

Of course you're scared. If you weren't scared, I think we'd all
worry that you were in shock or otherwise incapable of comprehending
your situation.

Tweed, there's a lot of love in this newsgroup pouring out to you
right now. You have wonderful friends who are willing to take care of
your pets and livestock. You mean a great deal to many people. I
know you can do it. I know you can go to that hospital and get the
surgery so that you have a chance of reuniting with your cats, your
birds, and your friends.

There are tears in my eyes right now. I believe in you, Christina. I
believe in you, and I can't tell you that it won't hurt, or that
everything will magically be better, but I do know that I want to open
up this newsgroup and read your posts for as long as possible. I
appreciate your point of view, your stories about all your pets, and I
love reading Boyfriend and Kitty FC's posts. Without you, how would
we ever get to hear Boyfriend's lovely accent? We wouldn't. So, you
see, we need you.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

snip chook preparations

Glad you've got everything organised.

I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt *so*
much, I know it.
Or why would they tell me I am going to have an epidural as
well as general anaesthic?

Well,thats no way to talk, is it? Of course its going to hurt if you *think*
its going to hurt.

Did you ever stop to think that the epidural may be for entirely non-pain
related purposes? It may well have to do with relaxing the area so it
doesn't go into spasms, or so that automatic responses don't occur. An
epidural *also* reduces bloodpressure when giving birth and has alot of
other beneficial effects in the birth process *besides* the pain relief, and
I can well imagine that they use the same techniques they do in child birth
as they do for a hysterectomy, its is after all, dealing with the uterus and
surrounds.

If you are under general anaesthetic, you would't feel a thing anyway, so my
best guess is that the epidural isn't for pain reasons (its redundant after
all), its so that the area "behaves itself" during surgery.

There is only a few days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Its perfectly normal that you are getting nervous. I would be too. But you
will be well cared for, and modern pain relief practices mean you really
won't feel much more than discomfort (Hey, I had a 4.225 kg lump removed
from my uterus. I called him Cary, but the principle is the same).

Yowie

in article , Monique Y. Mudama at
wrote on 5/11/05 6:57 PM:

On 2005-05-11, Christina Websell penned:

I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt
*so* much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an
epidural as well as general anaesthic? Eeek. There is only a few
days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Tweed

Of course you're scared. If you weren't scared, I think we'd all
worry that you were in shock or otherwise incapable of comprehending
your situation.

Tweed, there's a lot of love in this newsgroup pouring out to you
right now. You have wonderful friends who are willing to take care of
your pets and livestock. You mean a great deal to many people. I
know you can do it. I know you can go to that hospital and get the
surgery so that you have a chance of reuniting with your cats, your
birds, and your friends.

There are tears in my eyes right now. I believe in you, Christina. I
believe in you, and I can't tell you that it won't hurt, or that
everything will magically be better, but I do know that I want to open
up this newsgroup and read your posts for as long as possible. I
appreciate your point of view, your stories about all your pets, and I
love reading Boyfriend and Kitty FC's posts. Without you, how would
we ever get to hear Boyfriend's lovely accent? We wouldn't. So, you
see, we need you.

What she said. Perfectly how I feel too.

In article , "Christina Websell"
wrote:

I have prepared my friend Stephen that he needs to look after a few of my
chickens and the geese. He told me to take my Lakenfelder cock with his 3
hens today. He wasn't ready with the cleaning out, and even had a broody
hen sitting in there :-(

I cannot explain quite how it tired me out to help him get it all ready.
It
took two hours, and I could hardly stand up after 30 minutes.

They are now installed.

Tomorrow we have to prepare for a cock plus two, he has the worst temper
in
the world ever. I would go so far as to say he is dangerous.
He has a hut prepared for him and his two hens but I have told Stephen
not
to trust him.

He also has to find a place for a cock plus one hen, and two spare cocks
that can't live together.
It's all arranged :-)

Now I have sorted out my birds and cats are safe and cared for while I am
in
hospital and recovering, I shall only post until I go in hospital, which
is
next Monday 16th.
I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt
*so*
much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an epidural
as
well as general anaesthic? Eeek.



There is only a few days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Without knowing the specifics of your case, I could see many reasons to
have an epidural and general. When doing abdominal surgery, sometimes
extra anesthetic and/or muscle paralyzers are needed to relax the
muscles of the intestines themselves. I've known surgeons who described
a patient in deep anesthesia, but with rock-tense intestines -- the main
surgery had to wait until they could be drugged into submission.

The epidural might also be used to give you some long-acting regional
anesthesia that would help postoperative pain. That's a fairly new
technique for pain control.

Don't assume that the type of anesthesia has much to do with the drugs
used to control pain while you are awake. Chemically, most work in very
different ways. As I've mentioned, there has to be deep anesthesia for
anything in the abdomen -- this is muscle control, not an issue of pain.

In talking with them before surgery, try to see if you can get a
patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) machine ordered. That should give
you much more of a sense of control. I'm assuming the machine is called
the same thing in the UK.

PCA does two things. First, it gives a steady intravenous drip of a
constant concentration of morphine or pethidine. Getting a continuous
low dose gives MUCH better pain control with less side effects than a
dose every so many hours, because you have to overload the patient at
the start of the dose period so it will last until the next dose.
Second, you will have a button to press that will give you a small
booster dose, immediately, when YOU feel you need it. The booster is
limited so it's impossible to give yourself an overdose.

Many patients on PCA use less narcotics than with conventional dosing,
because the anxiety about "when will they bring the next dose" just
doesn't happen.

If they don't have PCA -- and I think I saw research papers about their
using them -- discuss the need for regular doses with the nurses and
doctors, and mention following the principles of Dame Cicely Saunders.

{{{Tweed}}}

"Yowie" wrote in message
...
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

snip chook preparations

Glad you've got everything organised.

I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt
*so*
much, I know it.
Or why would they tell me I am going to have an epidural as
well as general anaesthic?

Well,thats no way to talk, is it? Of course its going to hurt if you
*think*
its going to hurt.

Whether I think it or not this is going to hurt.

Did you ever stop to think that the epidural may be for entirely non-pain
related purposes? It may well have to do with relaxing the area so it
doesn't go into spasms, or so that automatic responses don't occur. An
epidural *also* reduces bloodpressure when giving birth and has alot of
other beneficial effects in the birth process *besides* the pain relief,
and
I can well imagine that they use the same techniques they do in child
birth
as they do for a hysterectomy, its is after all, dealing with the uterus
and
surrounds.

If you are under general anaesthetic, you would't feel a thing anyway, so
my
best guess is that the epidural isn't for pain reasons (its redundant
after
all), its so that the area "behaves itself" during surgery.

Hmmm. Maybe.

There is only a few days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Its perfectly normal that you are getting nervous. I would be too. But you
will be well cared for, and modern pain relief practices mean you really
won't feel much more than discomfort (Hey, I had a 4.225 kg lump removed
from my uterus. I called him Cary, but the principle is the same).

Yowie

Not quite, Yowie. Cary was not malignant or life-threatening and mine is.
Totally different scenario and the principle is not the same at all.
I am fighting for my life here. I had recent experience of modern pain
relief practice and it wasn't adequate.
One night in hospital I lay awake, and even the seams of my clothes seemed
to burn me but I could have no pain relief because I got it three hours
before and I should wait four hours.
Which is stupid.
Doing everything by the book doesn't work, getting blanket meds every four
hours, regardless if your situation is useless. I met with the pharmacist
yesterday and told her of my concerns about pain control when I was in the
hosp last time. She said that she would write on my drug chart that I was
to get pain relief as soon as I needed it.
Just the same as before when the doctors assured me I would never have to be
in pain because they had written in my drug chart what I should have.
Which was great, and just what they should do. Pity that the nurses didn't
have time to give it to me though..

Tweed

On Thu, 12 May 2005 00:20:15 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

I have prepared my friend Stephen that he needs to look after a few of my
chickens and the geese. He told me to take my Lakenfelder cock with his 3
hens today. He wasn't ready with the cleaning out, and even had a broody
hen sitting in there :-(

I cannot explain quite how it tired me out to help him get it all ready. It
took two hours, and I could hardly stand up after 30 minutes.

They are now installed.

Tomorrow we have to prepare for a cock plus two, he has the worst temper in
the world ever. I would go so far as to say he is dangerous.
He has a hut prepared for him and his two hens but I have told Stephen not
to trust him.

He also has to find a place for a cock plus one hen, and two spare cocks
that can't live together.
It's all arranged :-)

Now I have sorted out my birds and cats are safe and cared for while I am in
hospital and recovering, I shall only post until I go in hospital, which is
next Monday 16th.
I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt *so*
much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an epidural as
well as general anaesthic? Eeek.
There is only a few days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

((((Tweed)))) Hang in there, you've got purrs and prayers coming to
you from all over
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2005-05-11, Christina Websell penned:

I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt
*so* much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an
epidural as well as general anaesthic? Eeek. There is only a few
days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Tweed


Of course you're scared. If you weren't scared, I think we'd all
worry that you were in shock or otherwise incapable of comprehending
your situation.

Tweed, there's a lot of love in this newsgroup pouring out to you
right now. You have wonderful friends who are willing to take care of
your pets and livestock. You mean a great deal to many people. I
know you can do it. I know you can go to that hospital and get the
surgery so that you have a chance of reuniting with your cats, your
birds, and your friends.

There are tears in my eyes right now. I believe in you, Christina. I
believe in you, and I can't tell you that it won't hurt, or that
everything will magically be better, but I do know that I want to open
up this newsgroup and read your posts for as long as possible. I
appreciate your point of view, your stories about all your pets, and I
love reading Boyfriend and Kitty FC's posts. Without you, how would
we ever get to hear Boyfriend's lovely accent? We wouldn't. So, you
see, we need you.



Wot She said. Thanks Monique, you expressed it perfectly.

Pam S.

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
I have prepared my friend Stephen that he needs to look after a few of my
chickens and the geese. He told me to take my Lakenfelder cock with his 3
hens today. He wasn't ready with the cleaning out, and even had a broody
hen sitting in there :-(

I cannot explain quite how it tired me out to help him get it all ready.
It took two hours, and I could hardly stand up after 30 minutes.

They are now installed.

Tomorrow we have to prepare for a cock plus two, he has the worst temper
in the world ever. I would go so far as to say he is dangerous.
He has a hut prepared for him and his two hens but I have told Stephen not
to trust him.

He also has to find a place for a cock plus one hen, and two spare cocks
that can't live together.
It's all arranged :-)

Now I have sorted out my birds and cats are safe and cared for while I am
in hospital and recovering, I shall only post until I go in hospital,
which is next Monday 16th.
I am extremely scared about this radical surgery. It's going to hurt *so*
much, I know it. Or why would they tell me I am going to have an epidural
as well as general anaesthic? Eeek.
There is only a few days to go, and my courage is beginning to melt down.

Tweed
Our strongest purrs on the way for a successful surgery, Tweed.
Sam, closely supervised by Mistletoe