Waiting for biopsy results.

After a worrying day for Furry Mama, the vet called to let her know that the endoscopy had gone well, and that there was no blockage of any kind. Therefore, the good news was that Pepper would not need any surgery to remove a mass or a foreign object. However, the specialist who undertook the camera survey, had found that Pepper's intestine, stomach, larynx, nasopharynx and trachea were all very inflamed. They believe that the inflammation seen in his airways, and the gagging that had caused Freda Fretter to get him referred in the first place, "might actually correspond to regurgitation, secondary to gastroenteritis." They took biopsies, the results of which should be available early next week. 

Naturally that statement totally freaked out Hormonal Hannah.

"Biopsies? Sorry, but I suffer from anxiety and depression, and my anxiety has just shot up, how worried should I be?"

"You really don't need to worry at this stage."

'So at what stage should I start worrying?' thought Hannah, who had totally focussed on the vet's final words. "What are you thinking that it might be then?"

"It's possible that it's some form of autoimmune disease, but we won't know until we get the results of the tests that we took."

But the good news was that Furry Mama and Calum could go and collect Pepper that evening. So, yesterday they drove once more to Newmarket to pick the lad up at 6.00pm. At 6.15pm, the extremely busy vet, literally ran across the car park to them, as Baggy's heart sank when she realised that Pepper wasn't with him. But she didn't need to worry, the vet just wanted to explain a little more about their findings, and to collect Pepper's collar and lead from Furry Mama.

"He's a sweet dog, and he's been ever so good. I'll just go and get him."

"You might want to hang on tight! Because when he spots us, you might get launched!"

Pepper didn't disappoint in that regard, he spotted Furry Mama and Calum from fifty yards away, and started to haul the vet, who (being young and fit), happily ran with him. It was as well that the Pooch hadn't had surgery, because he was so excited to be with his mum and dad, that he was literally leaping in the air, trying to kiss Baggy and Calum on their faces, virtually falling over his own paws in his glee.

It was gone 9.30pm by the time they arrived home, and Furry Mama was relieved when Pepper ate some food for the first time in three days. Baggy on the other hand blew her healthy eating with a much needed comfort-pizza, and two delicious custard tarts. 

Today, Furry Mama was determined to make the Pooch feel normal once more, so in spite of the pouring rain, Furry Mama and Calum took him to the beach for a swim and a ball chasing session. As Grotty Groom and Cal wanted to ride later, they decided to wear their jodphurs to the beach. This was a mistake - it was blooming freezing! But at least this meant that the beach was pretty much deserted.

It was a lovely walk, but by the time they got home, Baggy just couldn't get warm, and in the end put the heating on (feeling terribly guilty about it because it is officially summer). The Domestic Goddess decided to try to warm Baggy up with a cup of tea. She needed to get some more milk out of the fridge in the garage, when this happened...

... it hailed! Hard! And for quite a while, so that Baggy decided to run back into the house through it. Stupid mistake - she just could  not get warm and decided to snuggle up under a throw on the sofa, instead of letting Grotty go to the yard.

This was a shame, as today is the fifteenth anniversary of Wesley's "Gotcha Day". It's a further shame, as Calum also then received a phone call from his boss, asking him to return to work on Monday. Obviously, this is necessary, but Clever Bird's first thought was that once again, Grotty might have to stop riding Wesley as she won't have Calum and Joey for support.

But with Baggy's new outlook, Grotty has decided that this weekend, she will ride Wesley, without Joey in the school, and see what happens!

Baggy is going to have to keep the gang exceptionally busy, or Hannah is likely to slip into a decline when Calum is no longer at home. She's got so used to seeing him every day, that not seeing him for five days out of seven once more, is not going to be easy; especially if the news about Pepper is bad. So, Grotty and Furry Mama are going to be key to keeping Hannah happy...

Baggy's current state!

Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.

Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 3.
Tears: Of relief.
Overall days: Okay.

Note to readers: For the avoidance of any doubt, every character in this blog is Baggy! No Baggy was harmed in its writing, although some of them get pretty confused!