the day my world stopped turning

life is full of surprises: some good and unfortunately some horrendous. exactly one year ago today, my world stopped turning. my little bailey had a terrible fall that landed her in the icu for a week, with a cracked skull & a cracked vertebra. she was in such dire straits, we didn't know if she would pull through.

thankfully, under the care of our amazing dr w & his incredible staff, your POTP, and a nod from God, she pulled through. her recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. doc said that with the kind of injury bailey had sustained, "she shouldn't even be standing!"
she has been working very hard to recover from her ordeal. who knew a little chihuahua could be so strong! she's still dealing with a couple of issues that may never correct, but that's okay. she's not in any pain. it's just her new normal.

we never know how long our fur babies will be with us, but one thing is for certain, it isn't long enough. each moment we have with them is precious and should not be wasted or taken for granted.

until we meet again my friends, xoxo-

she's home!

whew! what a weekend! the swelling in bailey's brain went down enough that she was able to be discharged friday evening. she was getting quite rambunctious in icu and she was getting to be a danger to herself. her back legs are strong-ish and she can push herself up; however her front legs can't hold her weight, so she falls. no bueno with head trauma. everyone felt it would be better for her to come home where she can get 24/7 care in surroundings that she recognizes.

the crack in her skull is much worse than the emergency hospital had let on. our vet, dr w, found that it goes clear across the top of her head. you can clearly see the crack where the little cursor is pointing. i don't know how in the world the emergency hospital could have missed that! especially since they are the ones that took this x-ray. i'm so glad i switched her care to dr w. he literally saved her life.

here is another image of her skull, taken by dr w, after a few of days in his icu. with the proper diagnosis, the correct medications can be administered, thus decreasing the swelling, which then allows the skull to begin process of fusing back together.

she is not currently mobile and has to be carried everywhere. her limbs move but she cannot coordinate them to walk or hold herself up. i feed her a liquid meal every 3 hours and her medications are spread out throughout the day.

i have her in a harness for three reasons. 1) she's cold. since i can't put clothes on over her head, the harness was the next best thing. 2) we hook a lanyard on to hold her up while she "walks" during her bathroom breaks. 3) it adds bulk to her tiny body which makes her easier to handle. when she's naked, she's just too small. she's like holding a tiny little baby bird.

we don't yet know the extent, if any, of brain damage. that is yet to be determined. we have a follow up visit with dr w this afternoon but she's eating well and she's done a couple of good poops, so i'm sure he'll be happy about that. praying for a good doctor visit and speedy, or at least smooth, recovery.

i can't thank you enough for keeping bailey in your thoughts and prayers. xoxo


thanks to alfie's blog, my brown newfies & snoopy's dog blog for hosting monday mischief blog hop.

until we meet again my friends-

a spark of light

yesterday's visit was drastically different than the day before. just look at her! look at her big eyes! look at her tongue, back in her mouth! omg, we were so happy to see her progress. she recognized me and was so excited that we came to visit. she actually got a little too excited and we had to cut our visit short because doc was afraid she would hurt her head. but i left her with her little pink blankie, that i wore under my shirt all day to get my scent on it. (thanks for the suggestion emma).

"can i go home now mommy?"

doc said the swelling in her brain isn't pressing on her eye anymore. now both pupils are the same size. and no more paddling! that was really tough to see. she is drinking water (with a syringe) and swallowing well. yay for bailey! keep up the good work baby girl.

i feel like i've been living in black and white and now all of a sudden i'm back to living color. i know she still has a looong road ahead of her. she is still in the icu. her brain is still swollen and it'll take months for her skull to mend itself, not to mention her cracked vertebra, but i do see a light at the end of this very dark tunnel.

thank you again for the outpouring of love and hope. every one of you are helping her heal. xoxo

until we meet again my friends-

another day, another heartbreak

yesterday's visit left me devastated. i debated on even writing today's post but i have documented her life for almost 4 years and this is another part of our journey. this shot doesn't show her in a peaceful sleep like the past two posts. this one is raw and not very pretty. she did open her left eye while i was there. i hope she could see me and feel my touch and the love i have for her.

doc said she was more alert and responsive but i didn't see that while i was there. during my entire visit, she was non-stop paddling. it was heartbreaking. doc said when she gets agitated, she paddles. i hope my being there didn't upset her too much. her brain is still swollen and is putting pressure one of her eyes causing the pupil to become dilated. they are still running lots of tests, so again, all i can do is wait, and hope and pray for some good news.



thank you again for all your prayers and well wishes. the power of love and prayer is an unstoppable force. please keep it going for my little bailey. she is so small and so helpless.

until we meet again my friends-