I'm in love with another pug!!!!!!

His name is Mort....And Oh my God - he is the wackiest little guy I've ever met.  Carol Vanhoff suggested that I take her Niece's pug for a walk so I took her up on it.  He is hilarious!!!!  And such a LOVER!!!  KISSES LIKE CRAZY!!!!  He actually barks at airplanes.  He's a NUT!  We had a great time last Sunday.  It was 70 degrees out.  Just perfect!!!!  Anyway, he made my day!  As far as Jim goes he's doing a lot better.  The steroids worked!  We met with the new doctor yesterday.  I'm not sure if I explained how it works but we meet with a team of Medical Professionals - the Attending Physician, a Physicians Assistant or Nurse Practitioner, a Nurse, and a Scheduler.  The doctor and the PA rotate every month.  So, the new doctor was pleased with how well the steroids worked over the weekend so Jim doesn't have to get an endoscopy.  Yahoo!!!  They prescribed two more weeks of steroids and then they will start to ween him off of them.   More Good News - His hydration has been reduced to four hours a day.  He's really making an effort to eat and drink.  His energy has increased quite a bit.  He is making a lot of progress.  It's interesting to be a witness of such an incredible phenomenon.  The role I play is to make sure he's on track.   Being a Caregiver is a weird thing I think.  Some things seem effortless - you just do them because it's the right thing to do.   Everything you do is out of love for this person.  You genuinely want to see them get better.  You don't realize how all consuming it becomes.  I told a friend that I prayed that I would someday learn Compassion.  Oh the things I've seen.....To understand another person's pain and suffering as if it were your own is what it's like I think.  Jim and I were  reminiscing this morning about his experience in the hospital.  I wondered how much he actually remembered.  What a relief that we made it through that trying time.  Reliving that experience now that it's over we can look back and see how much grace played a part.  We are just so grateful for every day.