Chipmunk love, or I like to look at poop

I sneaked off to get my blog done earlier than normal. I am watching the episode of Evolve that should have been shown last Tuesday. It is indeed good. This will take me a while, as I can only type during commercials. I just saw another commercial with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. I actually find them very entertaining for some reason. This was one with a stuffed giraffe. I don't know why they amuse me, really, but they do--maybe it's a nerd factor that appeals to me. Mark just got home from work a bit ago. He finished the jambalaya and corn bread that I made (way too much of) today and is gathering up recycling. L. is cleaning up her craft area after some more creating, so I thought I could get some blogging done. M. actually got some time to do his blog while at work today (work blog, work time--I know!!! Novel idea!), so if I get mine done, we may have a little time to visit tonight before he passes out from a long, cold, wet work day.

We had some friends over last night for a cookout, although the rainy weather did not allow us to hang out on the patio, M. was able to grill up the veggie burgers. I made WAY too much food, and those leftovers, along with the fact that I made enough jambalaya to feed an army, mean that I'm trying to pass food on to everyone I see. Anyway, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed our visit immensely. Lynn and Rick are AR friends (that probably goes without saying though), and like most AR people, are brilliant and compassionate--a combination M & I look for in friends.

This morning, right after L. came home from spending the night at Grandma & Grandpas (for our date night) Hunter came over, as usual. I jumped in the shower, and the kids were playing downstairs. By the time I got out of the shower, the kids came running up to tell me that they had a sick rat that they found in our driveway. During the time I was in the shower--less than 20 minutes, they had picked her up, wrapped her up, brought her in, gotten the phone book out and called a bunch of vets in Janesville and Madison. As far as I know, L. doesn't know how to use the phone book, so that was H's doing. They had gotten the small animal 'recovery' cage out and ready for her, and L. had been holding her close to her heart to warm her and comfort with her heartbeat. I was pretty impressed, although I would have preferred that they didn't just start making a bunch of phone calls without me present or having talked to me. I'll deal with that later, though.

It was pouring rain, cold, and she was completely drenched and lying on her side in our driveway. By this time, though, she had dried enough for the kids to tell me that she was a chipmunk, not a rat. L. told me she had done a full assessment of her body and found no external wounds, no damaged limbs--nothing apparent that would explain what was wrong with her. She was very cold, barely breathing, and I told the kids that she most likely wouldn't live for more than an hour, so their job was to keep her warm, safe, and comfortable. L. was doing so well with her 'triage' work that I let her continue to lead. Several times I checked and really thought she had passed as her breathing was so minimal and she wasn't responding to anything. L. kept her warm and on her chest for a few hours. I was chopping and preparing food in the kitchen and she was sending H. with updates as to her status: "60 beats per minute, breathing more deeply, opened left eye, moved head". I got these updates every few minutes. Then they said she seemed to be awake and had peed. I was completely shocked, as I attributed her prior movements to be pre-death seizures/contractions. I checked her again, and she had gone back to sleep, but this was definitely sleep and differed from her unconscious state. Then H. came running into the kitchen with a paper towel with poop on it to show me. She woke up again and pooped. L. explained that she sent it in to me because she knows that I, "like to look at the poops". Fast forward to right now, and she's still with us. She is awake at the moment, though she doesn't stay awake for very long at a time. She is moving around. I have given her droppers of sugar water, and she has lots of food available to her. She hasn't yet eaten on her own, but continues to improve. She is most definitely still unwell. I have never seen one go from the state in which she started to this much better and am completely puzzled as to what is going on. I will get her in to see the vet tomorrow.

Because I was here alone with the kids and a sick chippy, I ended up in a bind. I had started the jambalaya already, when I realized that I was completely out of cayenne pepper, which is a very necessary ingredient. Dej came home at just the right time and agreed to run to Basics to pick up the cayenne pepper (and some vitamins while she was there), transport the papers for my buying club, and fill my car up with gas. She has never driven my car before, and I have never given her my debit card before. She surprised me by agreeing to do all that, as I knew she had plans later. She agreed, did a good job, returned home safely with all the right stuff, and helped me out in a HUGE way! It's a great day when both of my children prove themselves to be responsible, helpful, caring people!

L. is done and in need of attention, so I'm done blogging. Today ended up being completely different from what I had planned. I certainly wasn't very productive. Who knew a little chippy would find us and rewrite our plans for today! We're so glad she found us and we've gotten to spend some time with her, but I'm hoping to have her back outside within a few days. I'm very proud of L. & H. that they took the initiative to help a distressed being without stopping to think about it. L. did a great job 'managing' her first rescue. She's really paid attention through the years!

I know the pics aren't great, but I was trying to be non-invasive and to not frighten her with the flash.