As you know, Rufus's leg was swollen, but he seemed to be improving on his strawberry flavored antibiotics, sometimes finding  it yummy. But last Saturday afternoon(the 24th), he suddenly began having seizures, at least 3 or 4 over the course of a couple  hours. They were frightening to see & when I picked up his limp body, he was cold & breathing shallowly. By evening, the seizures had stopped, but he was weak & unable to walk much at all. Sunday he slept most of the day.
     I called the vet on Monday morning, as the seizures had started well after vets offices had closed, possibly early, since we had been in the midst of a snowstorm. The vet spent about 45 minutes with Rufus on Monday afternoon checking everything out, especially since she wasn't sure if he had any vision. His blood sugar & body temperature was low, which she said could  have been a cause of the seizures or it may have been a stroke, she wasn't certain. But she gave me some special food in a foil packet, a green powder to mix with water till it has the consistency of Cream of Wheat, to which I add honey or maple syrup.It's full of extra vitamins to boost sick piggies' systems. He also got more strawberry Baytril. Between feeding him the various substances with a syringe & keeping a steady flow of veggies in front of him, I've been spending a lot of time caring for him.
     A week later, it's paying off, as he's more alert, hungrier & his eyes are brighter, whether he can see or not. I think he has some vision, at least, as he is responding to movement. He's still wobbly when he walks around & the meds make him sleepy, but he's improved a lot. He still has a ways to go, but there's been considerable progress, thank heavens.
    This is a pic of him at the vet in the middle of the exam. She wrapped him up in a big towel to keep him warmer. I thought he looked a bit like a baby bat. 
   
    

        
   To mark the day, on the international literary website Vulpes Libris, I wrote a review of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have  a Dream" speech. You can read it at=
 

   MLK DAY on Vulpes Libris

   It was quite intimidating to write about such an iconic speech, it was powerful even just as text.The quotes, references, and metaphors make it poetic and the themes remain inspirational decades later. Though it gained even more depth after such close examination, I still haven't done it complete justice. It's just too overwhelming. But I appreciate it even more now and am glad I celebrated in that way.

    
   One evening last week, Rufus began acting very sick. He staggered around, unable to keep his balance & couldn't seem to chew, almost as if he'd had a stroke. It was after dark (when I can't see to drive) and the vet's office had closed, anyways. I was very upset & kept a close eye on him the rest of the night. A few hours later, about 9:30 pm, he had improved vastly and was able to stand better & was very hungry, eating lettuce, tomato & a bit of hay as fast as he could gobble it up. The next day he was sleeping a lot, but seemed almost back to normal, except when trying to walk, which still gave him trouble.
   My u.colitis had flared up again, even before this happened, so I was unable to go anywhere, but finally on Sat. it had calmed enough that I took him to the vet during a major snowstorm caused by a cold front from Canada called the "Alberta Clipper". The vet was about to close early due to the weather when I called, but was kind enough to wait for me to drive the short distance to her office. After a very thorough exam, she showed me where his leg was swollen & said that was probably causing him pain when he tried to walk, hence the lurching. So now he's on twice daily antibiotics for at least a couple weeks, plus a bunch of new veggies to provide extra fiber to help the impaction problem.The latter does seem to be helping & we spend less time wrestling as he is resigned to the strawberry flavored antibiotics. I also put warm compresses on his afflicted leg. A layer of aspen shavings goes on top of the newspaper on the bottom of his cage to provide a softer surface to walk on.
   We return to the vet in 2 weeks and he may need the antibiotics longer. The swelling seems to have gone down, at least a bit & I'm hoping that continues. I'll keep you posted on how my little piggy is doing & we'd appreciate any prayers or good vibes you could send. Thanks.