I Spoke too Soon...

Last night I had the worst possible scare.  Manga and I went out to play a harmless game of fetch, or so I thought.  On our way back, Manga started staggering and walking like she couldn't see very well.  When we met up with Manga's neighborhood fan club, she was still moving around all funny.  So, I decided to take her upstairs and give her some water.  Well, she started up the stairs like normal, but when I got to her she has collapsed on the landing and looked as if she was having a seizure.  She wasn't responding to her name or anything.  Naturally, I freaked out and ran back downstairs to get the kids who play with her.  They took one look at my face and knew that it was Manga.  A few scouted out the vet's office to make sure he was open, and the other helped me carry Manga down the stairs.

At the vet's, he took her temperature and was shocked because it was off the termometure's reading.  In addition, her heart was racing and she wasn't breathing normally.  He then gave her an injection to start lowering her temp, put her on a sodium chloride IV, and had a wet rag placed on her forehead.  The kids stayed right by Manga's side the entire time.  They were so unbelievable sweet with her.  During all of this activity, the vet began to ask me questions about where we had been.  As soon as I told him that we were playing ball, he immediately began to suspect poisoning.  Thus, he re-examined her and sure enough she had gotten a dose of the poison the government puts out for the stray dogs.  She didn't eat anything, but between her ball rolling through the stuff and her saliva slobbering on the ball, she got a good amount of the poison.  The next step was to give her some injections to lessen the affects of the poison.  Slowly all of the meds started to work and she began to cool off.  I took her home, but the story doesn't end there.

At home, she was stubbling around just like a person does after waking up from anesthetics.  She was not responsive to anything and kept walking straight into anything in her immediate path.  The vet informed me that this was a side-effect of the toxins leaving her body and that she should start to walk normally in a few hours.  It was so bad that she couldn't even lift her foot up over a 3 inch ledge.  Luckly, my friend, Timithia, who lives down the street and her son Jon came to my rescue because I had begun to sob uncontrollably again.  They sat with Manga while I hunted down the medicine she would need for the next couple of days.  Over the next hour, her breathing slowed, she walked a smidge better, and she even slept some.

Once I had gone to bed, I could still hear her wandering around, but eventually she settle down to sleep.  At about 2 am, she jumped/clammered her way onto the bed.  That was a good sign as it meant her legs were beginning to function properly again.  At 4 am, she drank an entire bowl of water, another good sign.  By morning, her reflexes were much better, she could go up and down stairs without help, and she was perking up.

By this afternoon, the tail is waggin and she has her smile back on her face.  We went back to see the vet, with the neighborhood kids in tow, and he said that she looked fine and dandy.  There are a few preventative measures that we are still going to take, but we are in the clear :-).  As the kids were chanting, "Manga's good, Manga's good!" 

Not much is New

So, it occurred to me that it had been over a week since I last posted something on our blog.  Things have been fairly uneventful lately.  Michael's nose is recovering nicely which is good.  Packing has come to a complete halt.  I'm hoping that things can get done this weekend because I'm not really enjoying the new decorations as our stuff is just everywhere in the house.

I've been working on getting my teaching certification.  Those classes are drawing to an end.  In fact, all I have to do is write one more essay for the certification of which I just can't seem to focus long enough to write it.  Next, I have a few sessions to go to for the licensure.  The whole process is taking some time, but I know it will be worth it in the end.  

Work is going well for Michael and me.  He has a week and a half left.  I can't believe that everything is coming to a close.  Less than a month left of school.  Finals are just around the corner for the kidos and boy do they know it.  It's weird to think that I won't be going back there next year, yet there will be a whole new adventure for us to take.

Manga is doing well.  She got a bath over the weekend that she did not like at all.  During the bath, she stands in the tub looking so solemn.  Not even treats can cheer her up.  After the bath, she jumps out, shakes off, and proceeds to run madly around the house snarling while rubbing her ears on the carpets.  Then of course the neighborhood boys wanted to play with her and she rolled around in the sand.  It makes her happy though.  This morning I work up to find her head resting right by mine hoping I would wake up and call her up on the bed.  I did and she slept the rest of the early morning with me.  Ok, so that's Manga up there destroying one of her stuffed ducks.

Well, that's about it right now.  Things are drawing to a close and the heat is moving in to Cairo.  Summer has arrived here!

The Past Couple of Days

Well, the weekend was the first packing extravaganza.  We did a lot of good work, but of course, there is still more to be done.  The kitchen and parts of the living room still have to be tackled.  Then, in about a week and a half, we hope to have the movers come to pack up and ship off.  Manga was a bit upset when she first saw suitcases coming out and all kinds of weird activity, but she has naturally gotten over it since no one has left her.  I still can't believe that this is happening!  Four years has gone by really fast.

On Sunday, Michael had surgery on his sinuses.  Apparently, he had a bone spur on the left side of his nose which created a very small opening for his sinuses.  So, he had that removed and the duct opened up a bit more to help the whole region.  He is recovering very well and should be back to normal activities by next Sunday.  Yet, the doctor said to avoid any kind of dust, sand, smoke, heat, and any other harmful particles.  Now, living Egypt has made all of that very difficult, so we asked the doctor if putting Michael in a bubble would be a better idea.  Luckly, the days have been nice and not too hazardous for sensitive sinuses.  

The reason we went to see the ENT was because I've decided that I want to learn how to dive.  Since I have always been the one to have sinus headaches and problems, we thought that I should get checked out before attempting to dive.  Michael was checked because he had had some problems diving two years earlier.  When we went, we both thought that I would be the problem.  Nope!  It turns out Michael was the problem which lead to the surgery two days ago., but once he recovers, we will be diving and everything will be just dandy.

We are planning to go to Sharm in June to dive/learn how to dive.  I have never been to comfortable with the idea of diving, because as a swimmer, I had been taught for 17 years to make myself as buoyant as possible and to effectively breath on top of the water.  In fact, I had never been to comfortable snorkeling as depending on a tube to help me breath freaked me out.  Yet, snorkeling has become quite easy, so it is time I tackled the underwater world.  More than likely I will love it as I love the water.  I will keep those of you hesitant to dive updated once I get to Sharm and begin that adventure.

Michael is still job hunting.  He has gotten quite a few replies to some of his posts and is sending out CVs as I type.  By the way, some of them are for positions in Charlotte ;-).  

As for Manga, she is still a bundle of energy.  We just got back from taking her to play ball, and I swear she would leap of a cliff to go chasing after that thing.  She has a one track mind and would hyperventilate once back at home if I did not physically remove the ball from her mouth.  However, I have to keep the ball in sight or else she gets stressed out.  Right now, she is laying by the air conditioning panting like a steam engine.

That's all for us right now!

Packing Part 1

Well, this morning began very early with Manga rolling around in the hallway and snarling at her ball and used-to-be stuffed duck.  When told to lay down, she ran into the room and sat panting expecting to be called up onto the bed, but that didn't happen, so running around the room and hallway began again.  Thus, we took Manga to her favorite place, Wadi Degla, where she ran around, up and down cliffs, and stared at us from the bottom with a look on her face which said we weren't moving fast enough.  After returning home, she sat on the porch watching the people and street below while Michael and I began the arduous task of packing/cleaning out the house.

All I have to say is that it is amazing how much stuff can accumulate in a place that had been cleaned out two years earlier.  We began with cleaning out the clothes in both rooms.  However, that is not as easy as it may sound.  Michael and I have to have enough stuff to wear for the next two months, yet we also have to box enough so that there isn't too much left to pack.  I knew that moving required planning, but overseas moving is in a league of its own.  Just as an fyi, packing clothes is the easy part.  Next comes the toiletries and accessories because those get divided into packing, use and leave behind, and give away.  Same sort of process goes for books, papers, and anything else in the house.  

It's a big job and we had a great first day.  In addition, there are some people in Cairo who will be very happy with the Lutfis cleaning out the house.  It feels good to know that there are people who benefit from the smallest of donations.

My 1st Blog

Here it is!  I thought that with all of the changes and fun adventures Michael and I are about to embark upon that creating a blog would be a good way for our friends and family to stay updated without hords of emails cluttering up inboxes.  Also, I have to say that I got the idea from Catherine as well.  I have enjoyed staying up-to-date with everything that she and John are up to that it inspired me to create one for Michael and me.

So, what's new with us.  At the moment, we are beginning to get ready for our big move to the USA.  Michael received his Immigrant Visa back in March, so he is on his way to becoming a citizen with the blue passport of love, aka the American Passport.  We are moving in July to my parent's house to begin the job search which we hope won't be too awful and long.  Finger's crossed!  There have been some leads, but everyone wants to hire immediately which is not really going to happen. However, knowing that employers want to hire Michael is very encouraging :-)!  Our favorite cities to move too consist of Charlotte, Boston, and Chicago, but we are not limited to just those since we are well aware of what the economy is like.

So, quick story becuase no blog posting is complete without a mention of a certain golden retriever named Manga!  As one might have figured out by now, Michael and I do not live in the USA but in Egypt.  Since we are moving, one of the most common questions we get is if Manga will be traveling with us.  Now, Manga might actually have more priority than Michael only because she cannot talk, and let's face it, is pretty helpless.  My response is always of course she is moving! And in fact, she is easier to take than Michael!  Seriously, Manga will be traveling across the pond (she's done it before), and will be just fine.