When we got to the vet's there was a lot of confusion as to who had appointments and who was a walk-in. Not today, I kept thinking. Not the day that is so crucial in Tierna's life. Turns out there was a walk-in, myself with Tierna, and another lady that just had the wrong day (or so I think was the problem) all with exotics that needed Tierna's doctor! Panic!

Finally, Tierna was called up, and I asked what sort of bedding she'd need for recovery before they took her away. I was so brave in the actual lobby, but inside I was shivering like a lost puppy in a rain storm. We got to the car, and I just cried.

I was told that I would get a call from Dr. Borut with the results of the surgery sometime during the day. That meant staying offline. As a result, I was a nervous wreck all day. I just kept wanting to call to find out. Finally, I called Ryan and told him how nervous I was feeling. He was calm, but had lots of work to get done.

He suggested that I just call the vets to find out why they hadn't called (by 4 pm) already. So I did.

A receptionist answered and then checked on Tierna. She said she was doing fine and she was currently napping. I hung up and just let myself cry. I was so relieved that it was tears of joy. Reluctant tears of joy, but that's what they were.

During the waiting time, I had cleaned Tierna's cage, but couldn't continue because I kept thinking that it might be the last time I clean her cage. I kept thinking about what happened with Sally (Dave's rat). She didn't make it through the night after her tumor removal.

I tried to function the rest of the day, but the house felt so empty. Maxine was even a little weird about being around me. It was such a lonely day. I wondered if I made the right decision for my littlest girl.

I went to dinner that night and when I got home, I found a message on my answering machine from Dr. Borut. He said that the tumor was attached to muscle, but he was able to remove it safely. He said at the time he called (around 7 pm) that she was awake and mobile. He also said that we could pick her up in the afternoon of the 18th.

I had been originally told that she could be taken home the next morning, but maybe her surgery got bumped back later in the day because of all the confusion with multiple patients needing immediate care from Dr. Borut. They like to keep the patient for observation for 24 hours in their incubators. (Like she's a chicken.. hehe).

So, Ryan tells me that he will get home a little early so we can pick her up before they close. I sit around the house on Wednesday because I'm just too damn anxious to do anything else. I have Tierna's cage all cleaned (and disinfected too) awaiting her arrival.

The whole day seems so slow. There are knots in my stomach because I just want to see her again. I want to see in person that she's okay. Finally, Ryan gets home about 7:30 pm (about 30 minutes later than expected, I might add) and off we go.

Stuck behind s l o w traffic, we get there just before closing. There is talk about how everyone loves little Tierna. The receptionist calls the people in the back and says that Tierna's mom is waiting for her. :)

Then the receptionist tells me that Tierna may be in the hospital's brochure.

"What?" I ask.

"The people around here like her so much that she might be included in the brochure for the hospital. She's so well-behaved and pretty, too."

I am shocked by this news. There is a chance that she might become a local celebrity! :) It seems like the staff really like her and her demeanor is so great with strangers that she left a lasting impression on everyone. :) She's such a good girl, I just didn't know how well she'd be after surgery, but it appears like she's made herself some new friends.

She is finally taken out to see me. I open her Tiffani's box and there she is. She has almost half her side and belly shaven and there is an incision over an inch long that is stapled shut. Other than that, she is acting normal and she's excited to see me. I had been worried that she would be mad at me, but she wasn't in the least.

She kept reaching up to sniff my fingers and she licked them once or twice. Some other humans wanted to see what was in the box and they were talking about how pretty she was and what a long tail she had. People just like her. She's something special, that's for sure.

After finding out how to treat her upon her homecoming, Ryan and I leave. I'm feeling kinda queasy since I haven't had dinner yet and I was seeing staples in my baby girl. The staples have to be removed in 12 days (which is actually 10 days from now - and she doesn't need to be put under to get them removed).

So, last night, after I'd eaten, I watched her a bit. She just wanted some attention, so I went to reach in and grab her out of her cage and hold her. She didn't want to wait that long, and jumped up onto the side of her aquarium (which isn't that far of a jump from her Pepsi box, but still a significant enough one since she slammed her staples against the edge and it made a weird noise). She's still adjusting to her different body shape and soreness, but she's still trying to act normal. It's got to be confusing for her.

Today, I was watching her and she didn't react at all to me walking by her cage. I figured she was just tired, but when I took the lid off her cage, and she still didn't react, I started to get concerned. She lifted her head slowly and then she started moving like her normal self. She wanted to be picked up. So I did.

I brought her to the couch and she crawled under the blanket like she normally does, but she went clear to the other end of the couch and came out the other side of the blanket. She laid on the couch, with her belly flat on it, and her legs just lazily about her body. I have NEVER seen her do this before, so I leaned in close to see if she was breathing fine and to see if there was something that I missed.

About this time, Maxine decides I haven't looked at her in a minute or more, so she needs to put her face in mine. In the process she jumps up right in front of Tierna, who doesn't even flinch with the cat intrusion. Maxine seems curious. She's never experienced Tierna like this. Tierna isn't attacking her so Maxine noses in further. I shoo her away.

I decide that the couch is not a good place for Tierna and put her back in her cage. I set her on top of her new hammock (which is fleece and VERY soft). She just resituates her legs, but otherwise doesn't move from how I set her down. I am getting more and more concerned. I decide to see if she will do ANYTHING normal, so I get out a dried piece of papaya (a treat I give her for "cuddle buddy" or getting her nails trimmed). She snatches it away from me.

Ahh... a good sign.

And then, she just jumps down off the hammock and nibbles the treat. She drops it in the bedding and picks up a piece of bedding to chew on instead! What?! Tierna, what are you doing?

I take the bedding away from her hands and she just stares dumbfounded. She gets back up on her hammock (or I put her there. I can't remember now. It all happened so fast). She goes to lift her back right leg (the opposite side of the surgery site) to scratch herself, presumably. She holds it suspended from the hammock, above a comfortable level until it starts shaking. Her muscle is fatiguing and she's not doing anything about it. She seems really dazed and isn't really aware of what's going on.

I call the vet's back (for a second time because I hadn't received a call back in about 3 hours). I get a note put on Dr. Borut's desk so he will call me back soon (he's the only doctor there today).

In about 15 minutes, I get a call. It's Dr. Borut asking what's going on with Tierna. I talk to him about what's been happening. He asks if she's been eating and drinking normally. Yes, she has, so it's not really a concern that her behavior is less than normal. She is probably really sore and she keeps overdoing it here and there. He wants to make sure the area she's in is a calm place and that she's warm enough.

I tell him about her eating bedding. He suggests changing her bedding back to her normal pine bedding if there are no splinters or too much dust in it. (The paper bedding is far dustier than her pine bedding ever has been). I tell him that she has two beds that she can rest on off the bedding, so he feels that switching back to what she's familiar with is okay. (He said that she could be getting an upset stomach from eating the bedding).

He tells me that she was on newspaper in the incubator and she made herself a little tent out of it. He was impressed at how well crafted it was, that he said "it looked like some origami structure." I told him that she is a very good interior decorator and she will put things how she likes them before doing anything else. He seems to really like her and is glad she's doing good. He reassured me that if she's eating and drinking normally, that she is probably fine.

I'm glad he made the time to give me that origami information even though he was the only doctor on duty. It makes me feel that much better about having him as Tierna's doctor (and someday Maxine's as well).

Carisa