So if you're lonely, you know I'm here waiting for you

This is going to be the most amazing week. I'm done with school stuff. Like, done. And exam week doesn't start until Monday. I've got a two hour shift at the library helping out with e-portfolio stuff on Monday, and then I've got a six hour shift at the CIMC on Thursday. The rest of my week is free.

The first plan of action is to clean the apartment. It's been severely neglected the past few weeks, and it's starting to get gross. So everything will be cleaned. And it will be magnificent. Erin and Eric are coming on Friday, so it will hopefully remain clean until then. :D

My secondary plan is to spend as much time as possible reading books, listening to music, watching movies and playing games. Guitar Hero is calling me. And I want to play other stuff that I've only gotten to play once or twice since Sean and I bought it. I plan to master Harvest Moon. Or at least figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing.

There's really no point to this post, except that I'm happy to be done with stuff. I brought a book to read for fun to work with me today. And I've been sitting around on the internet, not having to worry about any school stuff at all. It's going to be an amazing week. That's the point, I guess.

Lyra's doing well, too. I'll have to post pictures again. I think she and Maslow will get put back in the same cage tomorrow after I clean their cages. Very exciting. :)

I can't think of a fitting quote or song lyric for this one

This is Lyra's tumor before the surgery. It started off quite small, but it started growing larger, and lower on her body, in recent weeks. She and Maslow both appeared to pick at it until it become bloody and scabby. Very sad. One day, I picked Lyra off of the top of her cage after she'd climbed up there. When I put her down, I noticed blood on my hands. That was a sad day, and I called the vet within the next few days to have things looked at.

The second picture is Lyra right after coming home. Her ex-tumor area is still swollen, but looked less painful already. Right after she came home from the surger, I wasn't too sure how I felt about things yet. She's on antibiotics and painkillers, and I was told to watch for her picking at her wound area-- the stitches are internal, but she could still do damage from picking at them. It wasn't more than a few minutes after I'd reintroduced the rats before Maslow started helping Lyra take care of her wound by touching it, licking it and maybe biting at it, too. It started bleeding. A LOT. I wrapped Lyra up in a towel and held her still until the bleeding stopped, and made a plan of action for separating the two babes for the awhile.

I originally made a nest area for Maslow in the closed off bathroom, complete with food, water, boxes to play in and paper towels to pee on and shred. I still felt kind of guilty about this arrangement, and Sarah offered me the use of her extra rat cage. Very nice of her. So now the babes are in separate cages, which are next to each other, so they can still socialize through the bars. Lyra cleaned off her wound, in a non-violent way, as soon as she was alone in the freshly cleaned cage.

This morning, Sean and I gave her the antibiotics and painkillers. Sean figured out that the easiest way to do it is to mix it up with a spoonful of chicken baby food that the UW-Vet clinic gave us, since they'd opened it for Lyra. Her wound is much less swollen today, but still a bit nasty looking. The surgical site is more black than the red that it is in this picture. She still seems to be in some pain, but I'm more confident now that she's going to make a good recovery.

So, happy ending. :D

Wemberly worried about everything. Big things. Little things. And everything in between.

My stomach's been knotty all morning. I had trouble sleeping last night. Lyra's having surgery today to remove the mammary tumor that's been growing for the past few months on her side. I'm happy to be having it done, but acting like a worried parent at the same time. Of course, if it was my own child having a tumor removed, I'd be waiting at the hospital, pacing, and listening for news on their condition. But I'm here instead at home. Waiting for news from the phone. Nervous because I won't be around this afternoon.

It was tough to hand her over. I worry about Maslow, too. Worry that she'll think that Lyra's not coming back. Worried that when she does come back, Maslow will do something to irritate her stitches.

I'm happy for Lyra, though. And me. It's been tough knowing that this thing's been growing on her side for the past few months. I felt very responsible, and bad for not doing anything. I went to the vet, and they said it's a mammary tumor-- female rats have mammary glands all over their bodies, and they often develop tumors. It would've helped to have had her spayed, but I didn't know that. There's a 95% chance that it's not cancerous, though. I'm going to be happy to have her home and have this gone. It's been irritated, and scabby and bloody. It breaks my heart. So I know that I'm doing the right thing, but it's still tough.

I'll have to take pictures when she comes home tonight.