You may have already tried this, but just in case . . . Be sure to call each provider and ask if they have a discount if you pay in full at once. Both our major hospitals here give automatic discounts of 30% just for asking. No haggling, just automatic! (((hugs)))

Absolutely agree with this. My family is "upper income" . . . we take our kids on fancy vacations, and we take fancy vacations just me and my spouse, too. We also have a one-income family when I could earn a pretty good salary if I went out and got a job . . . because we prioritize time together, homeschooling, etc, that having me as a SAHM helps us do. Dh has always taken time with our family as a priority, even when we were flat broke and we take a huge financial hit for every day he takes off . . . I have many friends who are similarly "upper income" and also have one spouse full time at home, spending heaps of time with the family including homeschooling, etc. In fact, it's being in the "upper income" bracket that allows many families the luxury of having one parent home full time. Just because one or both partners have the ability to earn 60-200/hr instead of 12-20/hr and thus can be "upper income" doesn't mean they prioritize family time any less than a family with lower earnings. Indeed, we have taken many of our biggest financial risks (educational and business debt, etc.) in order to maximize our income *for the purpose of* "buying" time with our family. Similarly, we work hard to be frugal and save for the future so that we'll be able to spend time with our adult children and future grand kids . . . And, we encourage our adult kids to consider income-potential for careers/education because we have found that having money can buy you time. If a spouse (or both spouses) is (are) able to be a high earner(s), that can equate to being able to work less, work PT, have one partner at home. etc. I have numerous friends who have very-high-income potential (MDs, vets, lawyers, dentists, etc.) who have chosen to totally quit work to focus on their family and/or are able to work fewer hours and/or take positions with better flexibility/etc . . . in order to buy them time with their families. My mom and dad were high earners. So is my only aunt. They each have/do prioritize time with family as their highest priority. I've known plenty of low wage earners, too, and, from what I've seen, they value family just as much as high earners, but struggle much more to balance their time with their loved ones with the critical need to provide basics for those loved ones. I think the negative assumptions about those with more wealth than you happen to have . . . are really sad and ugly, and no less sad and ugly than when those with more wealth assume that those with less aren't as hard working or as caring . . . It's just class-warfare ugliness. And utterly false and hurtful to everyone involved. I had one situation recently where someone expressed (repeatedly) some very negative assumptions/suspicions about my motivations with respect to my actions towards their family/child. (Anyone who read my thread a while back about whether to call CPS can rightly guess the situation that I'm referencing.) While I utterly understand the hurt and anger the person felt due to my actions, I was/am flabbergasted that anyone who could *think I might* have hateful / malicious motivations in my actions towards their family . . . would want their child and themselves to continue to have *any interactions with me whatsoever*. Personally, if I even suspected that some adult had malevolent impulses towards me or my family, I'd cease all interactions with them to the greatest degree possible. (And surely not continue to send my kid to spend time with the person whose motives I suspected could be malevolent.) Given the delicate situation involved and the fragile nature of the child involved, I have decided to simply swallow the negative feelings and accept the risks involved for myself and my family, in order to do what I feel is in the best interest of a very vulnerable child. . . so I retain contact with the family, while carefully protecting my own child and family from any associated risks -- to my best ability. If it were any other situation (where I wasn't concerned for the safety of a child), I wouldn't be willing to be "friends" with this person at all. As it is, I just accept the negative impacts on myself/my family as worth it due to my commitment to continue to do what is reasonably within my power to help the child and family. In a situation like Quill has described, where it was just another good family who didn't *need* my continued friendship . . . I would GREATLY prefer to cease all contact and never hear from them again. It's not right or decent to act as a "friend" to a family whose motives and values you judge to be so repellant. So, anyway, Quill, I'd encourage you to cut all contact with this family since you clearly suspect them of being really shitty people. If you're right, and they're shitty people, then you should remove your young son from their influence. If you're wrong, and you're wrongly ascribing them ugly motives and/or ugly values, then you owe it to them to remove your hateful attitudes from their lives (and especially from exposing their child to your feelings, which are going to come across one way or another, no matter what you think). Seems like a no brainer to find ways to end this friendship. . . . . . unless you think you might see things differently in some days/weeks of recovery from whatever stressors are making you have a hard time right now. In which case, take some time out casually, nurture yourself, give and receive plenty of (((hugs))) . . .and I hope tomorrow is a better day.

So, well, do you think your kids are "entitled" because they feel that it's ordinary and expected to be fed everyday? To have a washing machine in their own house? To be able to access education? To have high speed internet and a computer at home? To be able to access medical care when needed? To have a bed of their own? Or even a room of their own? Probably not, despite the fact that the large majority of human beings on this planet don't get all those things and would feel they were incredibly lucky to have them . . . And we truly are incredibly fortunate to have these things (and I recognize that not all of our boardies can rely on all those things, either!) Feeling entitled to certain things isn't always wrong. Feeling appreciation for what we have is nearly always a good character trait. Even though I want my kids to feel "entitled" to medical care, food, housing, and education . . .(and I'd like the entire world to be able to feel entitled to these things, but I can't assure that for the world, although I can assure it for my pre-independent-adult kids), I still work to teach them to appreciate the blessing we have due to where we were born, the color of our skin, the support we have received from our ancestors, the genetic and environmental advantages we've lucked in to . . . My kids generally have had very blessed lives. So have I. So has my dh. We've had and have many good fortunes. I don't think any of us feel entitled to stuff we haven't earned (excluding those things we think are fundamental human rights). I think we feel entitled to what is our own (say, controlling my body and mind, managing the money I have in the bank, etc.) . . . but not "entitled" to that which is not by rights our own. I don't feel entitled to "stuff" until/unless I've bought and paid for it. And, meanwhile, I still feel greatly appreciative of the good fortunes I've had and feel a responsibility to share that good fortune with others (i.e., pay high taxes for schools we don't use and would love to do the same to provide health care for all, etc.) . .. as I recognize that we've long benefited from the way society works and our ancestry/etc (i.e., institutional privilege due to our color/class/nation/etc.) . . . and so I want to do what I can to open those doors and tear down the barriers that blocks others from accessing what I/we got just due to our parentage/color/educational, financial, and social advantages/etc . . . I don't think having access to a computer at home or an endless supply of food in the pantry/fridge, etc, etc, makes a child grow up feeling "entitled" in a bad way. There are plenty of people who are relatively unaffluent but still raise kids who end up being entitled ass-hats. (I.e., the adult kids who feel entitled to their parent's money/support . . . these kids seem to evolve in EVERY socioeconomic situation . . . likewise, other kids grow up in every socioeconomic situation feeling appreciative and respectful, not entitled). So, anyway, I don't think the quantity of "stuff" in a kid's life destins them to feeling entitled vs feeling appreciative. I think it's a much more complex character issue. There are *always* people with MORE than us and ALWAYS people with less. Learning to appreciate your good fortunes and respect others are character issues, not affluence issues, IMHO. (That said, I do think there's some serious truth in it being harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle . . . as I do think having great wealth does seem to correlate strongly with people being awful human beings . . . )

If you really believe you'd have more money at home if you did NOT work, and you work for money, not for glory/satisfaction/skills sharpening, then clearly you should either quit or request a raise. Given how good your relationship is, then it sounds like a great job . . . but, you have to earn enough $$ to make it worth your while. I'd suggest asking for a 50-100% raise and then working less hours. Honestly, if you're the "right hand woman" as it sounds like you are, you're probably fairly difficult to replace and your boss might much prefer to double your pay than to try to hire someone else.

Personally, I'm with you on not being a more-the-merrier person and preferring our family experiences to be just family . . . That said, I accept/embrace opportunities for my kids to do special things w/o me/our nuclear family. I don't want my pride or my desire to be the one who spoils them to get in the way of them having other good experiences. My mom took my kids (individually) on extravagant trips beginning as soon as they were old enough to be away from us for extended periods (around age 6, as they knew Mom very well as she visited and we visited her frequently). She took my oldest to Iceland, Canada, Yellowstone, Chicago, etc, etc . . . About one trip each year until her Alzheimer's prevented more trips . . . And same for my younger kids. My (childless) brother has embraced the "fun uncle" role and takes them on lavish ski trips, etc. . . . In both cases, these are trips that we couldn't afford financially or time-wise to do ourselves at the time others took our kid(s) on them, but we have/do take our kids on other comparable lovely family trips. It's just that we can't afford to ALSO take these additional trips . . . I admit it stung just a bit at times . . . When the kids took their first big out-west ski trips . . . with my brother, not with us . . . etc. I don't allow my own "sting" to control my actions, though. I compare the feeling to being "outshined" in gifts at Christmas my grandma/etc. . . I adopted a principle that "Santa brings the best gifts" and I sort of lived by that . . . but also let Grandparents/uncle/etc give the "next most fun" stuff which meant that Mom and Dad gave the more boring gifts (and our kiddos believed in Santa through age 10+!!!). Honestly, I think letting Santa get the glory ("Santa gave me a bow and arrow!!!!!! Mom and Dad would NEVER give me a bow and arrow!!!" -- true quote . . .) for all those years made it easier to now let others get the glory for some of the funner things my kids have done. It's OK. I want my kids to have great experiences and great fun . . . I can let go of my pride . . . and let them get some of that great stuff outside of my control. It's OK for me not to be the center of all good stuff . . . A nice young man (my son's BFF) was taken to New Zealand all expenses paid by a family friend a couple years back . . . (His family can NOT afford that sort of thing and rarely travels, never by plane.) Must have been many thousands of dollars . . . This fall, we took the same young man (now a young adult) to our "fall break" beach trip with our kids, so that my son (in his first semester of college 11 hours away) could hang with him. We also flew the young man in early to spend some days on campus before our trip . . . We paid for all, and it was **our pleasure** to do so. Bringing him was a gift to OUR son, and it was delightful to be able to gift him that. I was/am so happy that the young man allowed us to do that. That's the first time we've ever brought a friend on a family trip, as I'm with you in general about preferring family-only . . . but this was an exceptional situation, and it was lovely. I'm so glad the young man accepted our gift. My kids have each been occasionally invited on a nice trip by a friend's family -- and we've always accepted happily. We've never reciprocated with the same family, and I'm OK with that. I really don't think it's common to reciprocate trips with the same family. Trips are occasional, friendships evolve, etc. So, anyway, if my kid were free and I otherwise felt good about the trip (safety, etc.), then I'd accept the gift of the trip, assuming the idea to bring MY kid was really for the convenience of the parents (having a playmate to entertain and/or the other presence to keep my kid on good behavior, etc.) and/or as a "gift" to the other family's child, and with knowing I had no duty to reciprocate, other than with expressing appropriate thanks, etc. So, anyway, if the trip is one that you and dh would otherwise feel OK about your kid taking (safety/supervision/etc.), then I'd let them go. ETA: ps. I realize I forgot to address the day trips issue. I *always* pay for kid-guests on any family outing. I just treat extras as "my kids" for the day, including all expenses paid. I don't assume others will do this for my kids when they are invited places (and so I send $$), but I do enjoy doing it for other kids when we invite them. This is simply because we *do* have some family friends who are less spend-y than we are when it comes to day trips, etc, so those kids might not be able to join us at the pool or whatever if we didn't offer to pay. I don't think it's fair/nice to invite a kid to spend $40 for the day -- or for their parent to have to spend it -- to spend with MY family. Essentially, I think it's no fair for a parent to have to spend $$$ just so their kid can have fun with MY family. I mean, if they're gonna spend $40 on an amusement park, shouldn't they get the fun of being with their kid (and the glory for providing the fun)? So, anyway, yes, I am very frequently the parent who takes other people's kids out and spoils them. That's because we are just more spend-y than most families in our locality. If I invite your kid, please let me pay, and surely don't keep your kid home just because you don't want us to spend for them. If I minded, or even *noticed* the extra expense, I wouldn't invite your kid. My 20 year old has a dear friend (roomie) whose family lives nearby campus, so dd20 spends a lot of time at their family home (we are 11 hours away). They go to amusement parks, meals out, meals in, movies, etc. The dad insists on paying for dd20 everywhere/everything. I think they have my same principle of "kid"-guest = extra kid of mine . . . It's sweet, and I just look for ways to reciprocate in other ways, since we'll never have the opportunity to exactly reciprocate in the way they provide things for our dd. People like to be generous. LET THEM. IMHO.

Check out the Table of Contents. When I made the choice, it was clear to me that the Macaw version was a HUGE update. I went with Macaw. Biology is a science that evolves pretty rapidly. I prefer to use as current a text as possible. (Old texts are fine for math, classical physics, probably even chemistry. .. but, really, NOT biology IMHO.

I suggest considering doing Patty Paper Geometry before beginning AoPS geo if you want to lay down a strong geo foundation before plunging into AoPS geo. (Allow about 3 months full time for PPG, or 6-9 months doing it 1-2 hours per week.)

(Based on 3 kids who've done AoPS for at least several texts), I suggest: + One section per day (excluding any introductory, #.1 sections and any other similar sections that don't have any problems -- those ones can just be done in a few minutes, then proceed to the next section). + 5 days for each end of chapter section (approx 2 days for review and 3 days per challenge section). Depending on the book, this pace generally finishes each book in about 1 to 1.5 school years (about 0.5 year for the C&P and NT texts for my kid, but maybe closer to 1 year if your child is very young and/or working less than 5 hours per week on math) -- depending on the age, skill set, and aptitude of the child and how quickly they work. PreA might be closer to 2 years if your child is young and you're not reliably getting 180 hours of math in during the school year and/or you take time out to work other math curricula. Also, don't forget that if desired, you can mix in using AoPS's Alcumus and/or the videos if your child would benefit from more review (Alcumus -- generally done after working a section or chapter and/or throughout the year, paced anytime after the content is covered in the text) or more teaching/examples (the videos, best used before reading/working each section). If it's too slow a pace, you can condense your schedule. (I aim for an average of an hour or so of math each school day for under high school *age* and then maybe 1.5 hr/day for high school *age*.) If it's just right pacing, then you can also add supplementary texts (and/or Alcumus time to review past materials) to your schedule as desired if you don't want to start a new text mid-year or if you want to slow them down a bit and/or solidify review material. (At the PreA to Intro to Algebra level, I'd add Patty Paper Geometry -- about 3-4 months if done daily for an hour -- or done 1-2x/wk for an hour over a full year mixed in with something else.) When my dd did PreA very young (about ages 9-10), we took 2 full years to work through the PreA book, after she'd already zoomed through it once doing the online classes over most of the prior year or so) and mixed in PPG at some point (anytime after beginning PreA and before beginning Intro to Geo). No need to rush or to do math for hours per day. Just take your time and work it thoroughly. This approach has worked well for my dd15, whose done AoPS since PreA (and is now finishing up the last introductory text -- Number Theory) as well as for my older two kids who each started AoPS a bit later in their math careers. (All are very math-y.) Hope this is helpful.

The Geo book is a big huge furry bear. That said, it was ds's fave math year . . . You say your dd loves it and doesn't want to change . . . My thoughts on AoPS is that if the kid loves it and can muddle through with understanding by the end of the chapters . . . it's OK to muddle through. Take your time. Alcumus can be a big help for reinforcing the material, and the videos can be very helpful teaching the material as well. You can align the videos with the book, having dd watch the video before working the problems . . . The use Alcumus to review/reinforce . . . Your dd is only 9th grade and is muddling through, but is getting through. I'd suggest accepting that it'll be a 12-18 month course. She could finish geometry the first half of 10th grade, then carry on . . . with whatever you decide to do next. (Probably Intermediate Algebra 2nd half 10th-first half of 11th, then PreCalc rest of 11th through 12th, and that'd get through all the basics VERY WELL and she'd be ready to be a star Calc student in college. OR, if she picks up her pace or is willing/able to work math in the summer once or twice, she could compress those schedules and get to Calc in 12th grade.

Patty Paper Geometry? It's one of my all time faves.

I'd suggest they work best after the first half of the Algebra book, or anytime later. I think they need the basic algebra foundation to succeed. (My youngest kid did C&P after the full Algebra book. Then did geometry. Now is doing Number Theory this fall, and will begin the Intermediate Algebra -- Alg3-- book in the spring. This has been smooth and nice. No particular logic to why we waited for NT, just convenient timing.)

I'd never read that about Montessori thought on this age range, but IME, it is spot on. That's pretty much exactly what I did for each of my 3 kids at that age range. Precisely. Amazing, actually. I had no idea what I was doing or why, but in each child's case, it was clear when they needed for me to back off academically and support socially/emotionally at those ages. If I'd known I had good theoretical justification for backing off, I'd have had a lot less angst about it and done it sooner and more thoroughly and surely had less drama. As it was, I just muddled through. When my eldest was 10, I thought she'd surely be ready for college by 15 at the rate she was going . . . Same for each kid, lol. Then 11-15 hit . . . (about 2-3 years for each kid, a bit earlier for the girls and later for the boy) . . . And I swear things went backasswards for a couple years. Then we regrouped and carried forward. So, anyway, having my youngest now 15 and just past the very awkward years, I'd say, yes, please, embrace the need for some backing off on school to allow for more rest, more social engagement, more navel gazing, more drama . . . it is the nature of adolescence. I'd advise ideally keeping academics to 4-5 hr/day during those years . . . while requiring substantial time in extracurriculars, service, sport, social things, etc. And strongly supporting time management and study skill habits. And requiring good sleep habits and good exercise, too. Those things help prevent mental health problems, which are fairly epidemic at this age. Tons of time on their hands isn't a great idea, but they need much more time to reflect, socialize healthily, etc. than they used to . . . Essentially, the need for "play time" for early elementary morphs to a need for social/navel gazing/reading/music time for young adolescents, IMHO.

I'd maybe find a way to measure your blood loss/flow. You could weigh your pads/panties/cups dry/empty and weigh again at each change . . . It'd be gross and messy, but, well, so are lots of things, lol. I'd use a $15 digital scale from Walmart (kitchen aisle) that can be zero'ed with a measuring cup (say a disposable tupperware) that you can toss in your messy stuff and weigh . . . If you did this you could then estimate your blood loss, and I'd guess get better responsiveness from your medical providers. I mean, if you can tell them, "I lost 500 g of blood in 24 hours (the 3rd day of flow of similar flow rates) . . . estimating 2 kg over 5 days . . ." Or similar, you might get a "HOLY SHIT" response out of the doctors that is seemingly lacking thus far. Because, to me, the bleeding you describe sounds very, very high. I've only bled that much postpartum . . . Sounds like you're losing as much blood in one night as I lose in an entire 5-6 day menses. Literally. To me, that sounds like an unacceptably high flow rate. I'd want to do something to change it. If you are losing lots of blood, getting anemic, etc, then the Drs will likely be more helpful to that end.

Hospice should do *much more* than 1/wk nurse visits. You should be able to get several times/wk bathing aide and other services as well. There are typically more than one hospice choice in each area. You can google up options. It is the family/patient choice on which hospice to use, and it's up to you to negotiate/discuss care plan. So, if you would like more help, please seek it through hospice. Google up what they are supposed to offer, and demand (nicely) what might be helpful. IME (extensive experience), hospice aides/staff are a MILLION TIMES better than any supposedly comparable service you can hire. This is why (besides the money), it's ideal to have hospice provide you with as much services as possible. Hospice can/will provide all needed medical devices/hospital bed/toiletries/pads/etc. Just ask . . . Hospice gets paid a set amount per day (plus various stipends for specific services) . . . If they are a for-profit, it is in their best interest to minimize the care they provide . . . FYI. (Nonprofit hospices are best, IMHO.) Be prepared to safely store highly dangerous narcotics. If you have children in the house or anyone that isn't 100% reliably trustworthy around drugs, invest in a small drug safe. Help secure the drugs after death. (((hugs)))

Sadly, many folks are very price-conscious on pet care, and spay/neuter surgeries are one of the very few "price shopped" vet services, so practices generally try to price them low (and the vast majority of practices lose money on every spay/neuter surgery . . . they are essentially a "loss leader". Many (most?) hospitals make pain control and even IV fluids or even having an IV placed (for emergency access) . . . optional add-ons. The $100 extra for the in-heat spay is absolutely fair and not high. Dh says that's around what he charges for in-heat spay, and he's generally very generous with things like that, so I'd guess other practices generally charge a higher surcharge. (Although he'll quote much higher surcharge if he knows it's in heat before cutting and is trying to talk someone into delaying the procedure until after the heat. One of the nice things about being the owner, lol.) One of dh's first moves when he became an owner was to make all medically-necessary (in his opinion) things like IV/fluids/pain management standard and not optional. For our hospital, placing a microchip is optional. Routine pre-op bloodwork is optional on young healthy pets . . . but, catheter/fluids/pain management/monitoring is included and mandatory for *all* his procedures -- varying to some degree with the type/length/risk profile of the procedure and the risk profile (age/health status/etc) of the patient -- including the procedures he does for free/almost free for the shelter/etc -- he doesn't cut if he doesn't feel like he's doing everything reasonably possible to ensure a safe procedure. I'd estimate that at least 70-90% of vet hospitals have one or all of those items as "optional add-ons." That sort of thing was just an ethical line we made when we took ownership . . . it is a scary thing business-wise to do something so out of the ordinary norms, and it pushes up our costs on procedures that are already loss-leaders. (An in heat spay on a 60 lb dog might take 40-60 min of surgery time or more . . . with a vet and likely 2 nurses . . . and significant prep and recovery time . . . Any other surgery that complicated and time consuming would easily bill for $1000 or more . .. whereas a spay might bill for less than half that.) It's not something you can easily "market" so very few clients have any idea we are so "different". The thing is, folks "price shop" spay/neuter surgeries. So, they call the place down the road and they quote a 50 lb 6 month old spay as $200, whereas we might be $250. So, they'd choose the $200 place. Then they get there at drop-off and "add on" pain control ($40), IV catheter ($30), IV fluids ($50), and, well, they've spent a lot more than they expected, but they're already there. It's just the way pricing is done at many practices. I'm not explaining this to make you uncomfortable with/critical of your practice. Actually, I'm trying to explain that it's a pretty normal vet pricing practice. It just so happens that it's a practice that I don't personally don't like, lol. I strongly discourage "price shopping" in vet medicine for many reasons, but one of the big ones is that you really have no freaking idea what you're pricing, in general. Pick a place you feel good about, ask for thorough estimates, and speaking openly and frequently about choices/plans/costs is your best bet, IME.

Yah, well, tell that to the owner whose doggy ate her guts. You're very right that the large majority of dogs will do just fine w/o an e-collar. But, the 1/10 chew out their sutures or the 1/100 that'll eat their guts . . . well, to me, that's not a chance I'd take. Just last week my BFF (long distance friend, so dh isn't her vet) went out to PetCo at night to buy another e-collar when her puppy could get to his boy-parts post-neuter due to a poorly fitting e-collar. She's already heard my ate-her-guts story, lol, so she takes no chances. I would take no chances, either. My little boy puppy will wear an e-collar at all times when not immediately supervised post-neuter . . . I've just heard too many sad stories and seen too many GROSS pics of dogs who eat out their sutures and then get going on their actual body . . . to take chances.

Bummer. Yes, that makes it an even more major surgery. Vets hate to do in-heat spays. Much more bleeding and it's a longer, trickier surgery. Sometimes you can't tell pre-op (per dh who is a vet). Usually, if they can tell pre-op, they'll delay the surgery, because nobody prefers to do in-heat spays. But, once she's opened up (and you can definitely tell), it's clearly in the best interest of the dog to finish the procedure. Most vets will charge more (sometimes much more) for an in-heat spay since it takes longer, is higher risk, much more effort and time by the vet to deal with all the extra bleeding/etc during the procedure (and to monitor post-op). (This is why dh generally advises people to spay around 5-6 months of age, before they go into heat.) Of course, it's better to go ahead and spay an in-heat dog than to face an unplanned pregnancy, or the dreaded pregnant spay. . . So, well, often folks opt to proceed with the surgery if the dog is already at the hospital, and, as I said, it's not rare to not know the dog was in heat before you cut her open. (If you couldn't tell . . . she was likely in pretty early heat . . . as an in heat bitch is typically messy and very noticeable . . .) Just double up on efforts to keep her calm post-op for several days and keep on top of her pain meds. And, if you didn't get a couple hundred extra bucks added to your spay estimate, then be very appreciative. I'd bring the vet some cookies or something when you come back for the post-op check. :)

Use. The. E-collar. 24/7 unless you are RIGHT THERE WATCHING. If the e-collar isn't reliably 100% keeping her away from her incision, that is an emergency, and you must get one that fits right and stays on. (PetCo, etc, sell them, so if your vet is closed when you notice the e-collar isn't fitting right, just go buy another one!!) One of dh's first emergency calls when he was a baby-vet was to come clean up a female dog whose owners had not kept her e-collar on post-spay. She'd eaten out her stitches. And part of spleen. And part of her intestines. Miraculously, dh was able to reassemble her innards and she lived on. . . I have no idea how much the fee was on that procedure, but if they charged fairly, it'd probably have been close to $2000 (or much more). . . And, of course, it was a miracle she lived. Give the pain meds as scheduled/prescribed. It's major surgery, especially for a female who is probably a good-sized dog already.

3 because you look especially beautiful. If you could get one similar to 3, but with some chemistry looking stuff, that'd be even better.

(((hugs))) This is why I am a (slow, long distance) runner or a machine user. Yoga is cool, too. Slow, steady, cautious movements are my thing. I am *way* too clumsy for CrossFit or similar. . . I'd be broken more than I was unbroken if I did what many friends do . . .

Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda. In a couple years, once they've rebuilt post-hurricane.

I *totally* share your pain . . . That said, if you want to become like dh . . . you just have to imagine you are dh and say what he would say. That might, if done often enough, cause your head to actually explode leaving brain matter all sorts of bad places. Then again, so might the alternative (of keeping doing what you're doing). Either way, raising adult children might be the death of you. Or me. It's rough. Very rough. I miss the easy days of raising littles. My current solution was to get a fabulous puppy. He keeps me busy and is appreciative and will never, ever talk back or grow up and move away and begin ignoring everything I taught him. Nope, he'll always be living his life under my charge, lol. So, that's alternative 3 -- get a puppy. Works for me.

Well, I was diagnosed with VitD deficient this summer while I also had Lyme. My level was 17, so in the bad "deficient" zone. In consult with my DR, I have been taking about 50,000 units per week. Around 6000-8000 per day on average. It has a half life of something like 3 days, so you don't have to take it daily if it's easier to take bigger doses less frequently. I tend to take 10,000 -12,000 about 4-5 days a week. I take a K capsule along with the D gelcaps. I use NOW brand of both. The K is some MK7 variety or something like that -- whatever was supposed to be the best. D form is D-3, which is definitely supposed to be FAR superior to D-2. I also stopped using sunscreen (except for on my face) during shorter sun exposures. If it's just a couple hours at the swimming hole, or similar, I don't even put on sunscreen except for my face. For a full day at the beach, I do use it, of course, or I'd be burnt like bad toast. My goal on sunscreen has become "avoid burning" and "try not to get tons of wrinkles". I'm happy to say I have a nice tan on most of my legs and arms/back/etc going in to the fall. Helps that we had a 10 day Bahamas vacation the day after I got my D deficient lab results, plus another fall beach trip. I took full advantage of the opportunities to tan. For sun exposure to be helpful, ideally you're looking at mid-day sun exposure on most/all of your skin . . . Apparently even 10 minutes can get you thousands of units . . . if the time is right and you are fully exposed. There are also new "safe" sun beds that can be used. I haven't gone that far, but I'd consider it if I don't respond well to what I've been doing thus far. I have the order form for re-testing, and will do it in a week or two (after about 3 1/2 months of supplementation). I'm aiming for above 50 on my levels. 60-80 would be my ideal zone. I'll see what my numbers are this month, and then adjust if needed. If it's gone in the right direction, substantially, then I'll just keep doing what I'm doing -- tweaking up or down as needed. My understanding is that once I hit my ideal D zone, I'll need to keep supplementing indefinitely, at least 2000/day (on average). I'm encouraging my family to supplement. I look at 2000/day as a modest, reasonable supplementation level for most people.

My suggestions . . . I use NOW brand off Amazon . . . Mucho research into these issues, due to my son's probable-IBS-issues for about a year and then my own 3 months of nuclear level antibiotics for Lyme recently . . . (If you search on Amazon with the NOW brand name added, you'll pull these right up. This is just what I take for this purpose. I take a *lot* of supplements as I'm rebuilding my gut and my immune system post-Lyme and post-deadly-level-long-term-antibiotics.) Probiotics: + lactobacillus type mixed probiotic. The one I take is Probiotic10 - 25 Billion (this is the one thing that should live in the fridge except for travel/etc.) + S. Boularrdi "Pre-biotics" -- these feed the probiotics. Take at the same time as the probiotics. + Psyllium Husk + Apple Pectin Enzymes. I get confused about what they do, lol. But, I take them. I think you're supposed to take it with/before meals + Super Enzymes So, anyway, I'd say the top 2 are the first priority, but if money isn't a huge issue, get the pre-biotics, too. Take all 4 together, one each, twice a day. Try the enzymes, too, with meals. Or research them and decide for yourself. A MD friend suggested them for my son, so I'd suggest them for you . . . Not really sure if I need them for my own GI recovery, but I'm not changing anything since it's working, lol. I hope this is helpful to you. It worked perfectly for my son (who'd suffered for a year with terrible diarrhea IBS symptoms), was a near immediate fix, and after a few months, he eventually was able to totally go without them. I've been taking this cocktail for months now, and it has successfully kept me from having an GI issues once I got off the antibiotics themselves. (I was on the supplements the whole time I was on antibiotics, but at the level of drugs I was taking, there was no hope of avoiding the constant diarrhea while I was actually on all those drugs. I was just super happy that my GI tract was able to bounce back so quickly, nearly instantly, once I got off them. I'll stay on these supplements (and other non-GI related ones) for at least a year to support my healing . . . Other ideas of foods to add to your life . . . + home fermented sauerkraut + home fermented kombucha + home made yogurt/kefir

That's insane!!! Please consider making a report to the hospital administration. That's a really serious problem!