It would never happen in fiction...

Not been a good day.

Last night Lily's condition deteriorated very quickly, to the point where her diuretics clearly weren't helping much (despite us cautiously increasing her dosage). She's had a couple of fits / collapses, and is unable to lie down comfortably to sleep. At times her breathing sounds like she's got lungs full of fluid - which she does - horribly gargley. Congestive heart failure does that to you.

So we've been poised for her death for most of the day. She's actually a little better at the moment, able to walk around and lie down, and her breathing is only about 60 breaths a minute instead of 120 (30 is normal). If she's still with us tomorrow, we'll go to the vet. I think I'd rather she could die here at home, though, without the added stress of having to go to the vet's... but if she's suffering too much, I don't think we have much choice.

To top it all off with a very weird coincidence, this morning I heard that my brother Tim had been admitted to ICU at Hospital in the middle of the night, with serious pain. He's had an x-ray and ultrasound, but I'm still waiting to hear from my Dad, who is waiting on the doctors, for some results. Tim has congestive heart failure, too, the same as Lily, only with Hepatitis B & C as well, and other stuff. The current theory is that he has fluid accumulating in / around his liver and abdomen.

Last I heard Tim was in a regular ward, and walking around, and ducking outside for a smoke whenever possible. He's on morphine. His prognosis isn't good, though.

So if I'm a little absent online, these are the reasons why...