bittersweet gotcha day

well this isn't exactly the blog post i had intended for today. it was supposed to be a celebration of the day we found little bailey. she came into our lives 4 years ago. now instead of celebrating her rescue, we are pacing the floor wondering where this journey will lead us.

the only time she can be left alone is when she's asleep in the playpen. and even then, we have to be right there because when she wakes up she tries to stand. tumbling around the playpen she could further injure her fragile skull, so we pick her up.

before her accident, she could sleep in our arms for hours on end, but now she gets antsy if we are sitting down, so we pace. it's the only thing that'll keep her somewhat calm but it's torture on our backs. she's only been out of icu for a week but it feels like a month. i can't wait till monday when we go back to the vet. he might have some words of wisdom on how to handle her anxiety, other than increasing her diazepam.

we had to cancel thanksgiving yesterday. bailey requires so much time and energy, there was no way i could have anyone here and prepare a meal. i just popped some chicken in the crock pot and that was our dinner. hopefully things will be better by christmas. fingers crossed.

until we meet again my friends-

thanks blogville

the residents of blogville rock! y'all have rallied together with words of encouragement, love & support following bailey's accident. you've sent healing vibes, and POTP in spades. you have touched my heart more than words can express. bailey is far from being her old self, but i know she will have blogville cheering her on through every step of her recovery.

throwback thursday, circa 2012

thanks to murphy & stanley for hosting the thanks blogville! blog hop.

xoxo,
until we meet again my friends,
happy thanksgiving!

praying for this little head

thanks to blogpaws for hosting wordless wednesday blog hop.

xoxo.

until we meet again my friends-

don't play in the playpen

we bought bailey a playpen so she can have a safe place to stay when she isn't being held.

when she lifts her head, she looks like a little bobble head doll :(

yesterday's vet visit went well. he still wants her to remain calm. he offered her a treat and he was happy that she recognized it and ate it! he said we can add pancakes, waffles & yogurt to her diet. she can also have baby food, as long as onion is not on the list of ingredients of course. he's not too happy with her back legs being crossed so he said when we see that, just uncross them and that will remind her brain of their proper position. she is to continue on her medications and he wants to see her again next monday.

i don't want to sound like a broken record, but i must thank you again for keeping my little bailey in your thoughts and prayers. xoxo

until we meet again my friends-

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-

the waiting game

quite a bit has happened in the last 24 hours. i spoke with the er doc and with bailey's regular vet, dr w. after much soul searching, i decided the best care for bailey would be with dr w. i trust him and i feel much more comfortable with her in his care. she stayed the night in the er, but first thing in the morning, i took her to dr w.

during dr w's exam, bailey went into a seizure. OMG, what a horrific thing to witness. all we (hubby & i) could do was watch in horror, as doc injected her with dose after dose of medications and fluids. after what seemed like an eternity, she came out of it. when she was stabilized from the seizure, she was admitted to his icu.

doc called us last night to update us on her condition. she does have motor skills, so she's not paralyzed and she can make eye contact, so she's not blind. so dr w's main concern is her skull fracture, which is quite bad and the swelling in her brain. the cracked vertebra is on the back burner for now. the brain is more important. he said she was drinking sugar water and she was more alert. this tells him the medication might be helping to reduce the swelling in her brain, however her legs are still uncoordinated. she's still in critical condition but at least she's stable.

i can't believe the outpouring of love and support that we have received from y'all. i want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. it means the world to me.

beautiful surprise from chewy.com

as i write this, i am trying to sound calm, cool and collected, but i have tears streaming down my face and i am wrapped in bailey's blanket so i can feel her near me. it's terrible to wake up and not have her snuggled up at my face or laying across my neck. i don't know how long she's going to be away or even if she'll ever come back to me. all i can do is wait, hope and pray.

if you missed yesterday's post, you can find it here.


thanks to blogpaws for hosting wordless wednesday blog hop.

until we meet again my friends-

in the blink of an eye

it's amazing how things can change in the blink of an eye. one moment everything is fine, everyone is happy and smiling and the next moment you are rushing to the emergency hospital in a panic.

bailey had a terrible fall onto our tile floor. she was unresponsive and in some sort of frozen state, so we rushed her to the emergency hospital.

sitting in the exam room, waiting for the doctor to come back with news, is the worst! first pair of x-rays didn't show anything but later when she was sedated, they were able to take more slides and turns out she has a crack in her skull and her 1st vertebra. he also said she had two seizures caused from the swelling on her little brain.

after a few hours i went back to see her and this is how i found her. i am beside myself with worry. i don't know what the future holds for her and there's nothing i can do to help her. please keep her in your prayers. i know how powerful POTP can be. little bailey really needs all the help she can get.

until we meet again my friends, please keep bailey in your prayers-

practice makes (nearly) perfect

it has been a while since bailey's been in her stroller. like 2 years! we haven't needed it. but yesterday we wanted to go to an antique faire ... where dogs are not allowed ... unless they are contained. ok, so we have to reteach her what the stroller is and what we expect of her.

"can i come out now?"

saturday we took her to the bike path we have near our home. she was pretty good and only whined a little. we kept telling her that is where she needed to be and we kept walking.

"how 'bout now?"

the practice on saturday paid off because yesterday she was nearly perfect. i was afraid she would go into hysterics and cause a scene. thankfully that did not happen. she whined a little and she scratched a little but all in all she was pretty good. yay!

"ok, i've been in here for like 87 hours!"

after we left the faire, we headed to jack in the box to get her favorite meal - a breakfast jack, no cheese. actually we only give her the egg. we give the bread to the birds and the ham goes into hubby's sandwich. BOL


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

until we meet again my friends-

time to pull out the winter wardrobe

what happened to fall? it feels like we just jumped right into winter!

until we meet again my friends-

hancock fabrics

a new hancock fabrics just opened in our neighborhood, so the other day we went to check it out. it was smaller than i expected it to be but they did have the rolled hem pressure foot i went for, and it was on sale, so that was a win win!

"these are purdy."

thanks to ruckus the eskie, love is being owned by a huskie & barking from the bayou for hosting thoughtless thursday blog hop.

until we meet again my friends-

ww: "photo booth" strip

thanks to blog paws for hosting wordless wednesday blog hop.

until we meet again my friends-

playtime

what is bailey looking at?

toy! looks like it's playtime for bailey.

uh oh. now what is bailey looking at?

aoife! apparently aoife wants some playtime too.

until we meet again my friends-

a new member of the family

daughter #2 has just adopted a little girl ... dog! her ex-roommate was looking to re-home her dog, so daughter #2 offered to take her. she is an adorable 9 year old chihuahua/rat terrier mix, named bee. she is full of energy and doesn't act a day over 2. isn't she a cutie? i can't wait for bailey to meet her!

welcome to the family bee!

so where's the mischief? well, i now have a 2nd grand doggie. i will be causing the mischief by all the spoiling she will be getting from me. BOL

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

until we meet again my friends-

aoife's not happy with the time change

aoife doesn't like the time change at all. she loves the sunshine, and now with it setting so early, she gets less of it. here she is, trying to get every last minute of sun before it's gone again.

also, her internal clock is normally spot on. she knows exactly when it's meal time and when it's snack time but with the time change, she's been off all week. bailey however, hasn't noticed a thing. have your dogs noticed the time change?

until we meet again my friends-

down for the count

after a good tummy rub, bailey is knocked out.

(initial id tags available at kibbles place)

until we meet again my friends-

today's blog post is brought to you by ... aoife

thanks to blog paws for hosting wordless wednesday blog hop.

until we meet again my friends-

conversation with a cat (toy)

it looks like aoife is having a very intense conversation with her cat toy. i wonder what they are talking about.

until we meet again my friends-

ask and you shall receive

what happens when both doggies ask to be picked up? yep, you guessed it. hubby just can't say no to these faces.

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

until we meet again my friends-