I Have an Amazing Husband

It has been mentioned (on more than one occasion,) that my marriage to Todd was not always the most pleasant.  There was a time that we both agreed that we wanted to get divorced; however, we decided to give it one last go before breaking our marriage vows.  We went to a counselor for a few months, learned a lot about one another and how we cope with many things, etc.  Since then, it has been pretty smooth sailing.  I strongly believe that every couple should go through pre-marriage counseling BEFORE getting married.

That being said, I want to let everyone out on the world wide web know that I have an amazing husband. 

Squiggy is deathly ill right now.  He is suffering from hypothermia (even though his house is 65 degrees,) along with a possible hip or back injury (the vet thinks he may have slipped and fallen on the ice.)  When we were giving him steroid shots, he was doing better.  He would stand up, and at least eat and drink if we gave it to him by hand.  Then, last weekend, he wouldn’t even get up.  He has been lying in the same position for several days now.  Some days, he wont even open his eyes to look at us.  Those are BAD days. 

The vet came on Wednesday for the second time to see what he could do.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t do much.  He stated that he was surprised that Squiggy was still alive.  Hypothermia will shut down the organs of an animal, and they don’t generally last a week and a half as Squiggy has.  Well, we knew we had one stubborn pig.  They don’t say someone is “pig-headed” for nothing!

Todd has been doing an awesome job of taking care of Squiggy. He has gone above and beyond…considering, he really doesn’t necessarily LOVE Squiggy as I do. 

I do not generally cry.  I am not one of those girls who cries about the littlest thing.  The last time I sobbed was this week due to Squiggy, but before that, it’s been over a year when Todd and I spoke of divorce.  The vet came out on Wednesday, and Todd was nursing Squiggy throughout the entire day.  Thursday, I got a text from Todd stating that Squiggy was doing worse.  His temperature kept dropping instead of going up.  He refused to even drink the Gatorade we were told to give him. 

I started doing research online, and I saw that dehydrated pigs do not live very long.  It was mentioned that a vet should come out to the house and possibly put an IV in Squiggy, or he should be put to sleep.  I called Todd (which is again, something I don’t normally do from work.)  I was crying and I told him I didn’t know what to do.  The thought of losing my precious pigger absolutely kills me.  PBP’s (pot bellied pigs) live up to the age of 19 or 20!  3 ½ is WAY TOO YOUNG for him to pass. And I also was thinking about the last time I saw him up and walking around, before he was sick.  He had too much life in him to be like this within two weeks.  It is very difficult for my brain to process.

Within a half hour, Todd texted me stating that Squiggy was drinking for him!  Within two hours, Squiggy drank a quart of Gatorade, which is equal to 600 calories.  Mind you, the pigster has not eaten anything in several days now, and would drink only a few sips when we fed him through the turkey baster.

Todd texted me stating that he had pretty much given up on saving Squiggy.  He didn’t know what else he could do.  He covered the pig in a heating blanket, had it set on high, have heat lamps on him, but Squiggy was not getting any better (nor was his temperature going up.)  Todd stated that it was hearing me cry over the phone that gave him the motivation to keep working on the pigger.  Within minutes, Squiggy was actually drinking from the turkey baster.  He was also able to take a couple of tablespoons of corn syrup from a wooden spoon.

When we got piggy, we were told not to give him too many sweets because he would refuse to eat anything else.  But we were informed by the vet to give him the Gatorade and corn syrup so that his glucose levels would increase, therefore making his metabolism work, and by his metabolism working, his body temperature should go up.  Also, the sugary drink and syrup gives him much-needed calories because he’s not eating.

1 quart of Gatorade is more than Squiggy has had to drink in 2 or 3 days.  As you can see, that is a huge accomplishment.

Yesterday when I got home from work, it was so nice outside.  I kept thinking that it’s a shame that Squiggy is sick, because he would have loved walking around the yard, eating grass and some treats that he and Lana had missed out in the yard last year (pumpkin parts, apple cores, etc.)  Hopefully, one day soon, he will be up and running again. 

PS – and how many women can say their husband spent all day nursing a pig AND had dinner on the table by the time she got home?  I’m one lucky girl.