Röntgen

Röntgen is my new German word of the week. It means X-ray. I've had two situations within the past week where my new German word has been used, and fortunately neither of them having anything to do with me and my body. Last week, I took my landlord/upstairs neighbor to the doctor for röntgen because she tripped and fell as she walked into her kitchen from her terrace. As it turns out, she broke her foot in two places and is now wearing a cast.

Last night, I took Grady to the vet because he's been limping for months now and it never seems to get better, despite the very expensive joint medication that the vet prescribed. I know that I should've taken him back to the vet earlier, but I'm in complete denial that something might actually be wrong. I keep thinking it'll get better on it's own. The final straw came on Monday night when my teenage neighbor asked me in German what is wrong with my dog's leg. Grady was not even with me at the time. I realized that it must be bad if my neighbors have noticed, and then I felt really guilty. Even after last night's appointment, the vet still can't figure out what's wrong, but he gave Grady some painkillers/anti-inflammatory pills and asked that I bring him back next week for röntgen. Here's the part I really don't like. They need to sedate him in order to take x-rays, so they have to give him a shot to make him sleepy and then I pick him up a few hours later. For some reason that scares me. I know I'm being totally irrational, but I'm so paranoid about something going wrong. I just hate the fact that he is getting older and we are having to face potential upcoming health problems. He is 9 years old, after all. Realistically, but I should really be concerned about is that the fact that he has to go to the vet for x-rays with a completely empty stomach. If you know anything about labs, you know that skipping a meal means he will be beside himself and driving me completely mad!