3rd treatment

bailey had another treatment for her pancreatitis yesterday and they took more blood to see how her body is reacting to the treatments. today she will only get subcutaneous fluids. this'll be a much shorter visit. the full treatment takes about an hour but fluids only take about a minute to administer. again, she slept all the way home. our vet is 30 miles away, so that was a pretty good nap.

thank you for all of your prayers and healing vibes. we are grateful for each and every one. 

blog hop

until we meet again my friends, stay safe-

another update

we had another visit to the vet friday and this is how bailey sat in her car seat on our way home. she was so pooped. but comfy? i dunno. BOL

doc looked in her eyes and said she's not completely blind but her vision is definitely impaired. he said to continue with her eye drops to reduce her eye pressure. he also said to increase the dosage to 3 times a day.

blog hop

until we meet again my friends, stay safe-

subcutaneous fluids & antibiotics

when we went to the vet on friday, they sent us home with a couple of antibiotics (to be given over the weekend) and a bag of fluids (to be given till the bag is empty). we gave the antibiotics with no problem, and by "we" i mean hubby, but we had major problems with the fluids. i don't think we are equipped to do that one. saturday half way through the administration, bailey moved and the needle came out of her scruff so "we" had to reinsert it. ugh. sunday was worse. i got jabbed with the needle and the bag started leaking. it was one mishap after another. nope, we can't do this. we're going back today for another treatment, so i'll tell them this is way out of our ability and comfort level.

also during our visit to the vet, i told doc what a terror she is on the drive home. (he said it's a reaction to the treatments.) she's out of control and it's dangerous to drive home with her in that state. i've tried her car seat and i've tried putting her in her little carrier. neither worked. he said he would give her an additional tranquilizer to keep her calm until we got home. the next picture is of her with the sedative. i hate doping her up but i can't drive with her like that.
other than our fluid problems, we had a great weekend. bailey ate well and her energy level was back to normal. woohoo :)

blog hop

until we meet again my friends, stay safe-

follow-up

between all of my doctor visits (for mri's, blood tests, and basically just trying to get a diagnosis) and bailey's vet visits, i just haven't been up to blogging but it's been a week and i don't want anyone to be worried about her. (i'm so off my game, i am joining the wordless wednesday blog hop on thursday! ugh.)

now that her heartbeat is back to normal, we can work on her congestion. last week her vet had given us two different nose drops and they've really done the job! this week when we went back for another follow up, we had good news to share with him. her wheezing and congestion has disappeared and her sneezing has really slowed down. (i hope my next doctor visit has good news for me too.)

we have another vet appointment next month so doc can look in her throat (he wants to look at her tonsils) and if she needs it, she will also get her teeth cleaned.

"he wants to look at my what?!?"

blog hop

until we meet again my friends-

update

so, yesterday's vet visit didn't go as i had hoped. bailey was diagnosed with heart disease. last week her pulse was so low, she almost had no pulse at all. she was definitely in the danger zone and could have had a heart attack in her sleep. with the pills he gave her friday, and the 2 shots she got, her heart rate came back up and yesterday doc was able to find a strong pulse right away. she had no symptoms of heart failure, just congestion and wheezing. i thought it was just a cold. it scares the bejeebers out of me to think how this would have turned out if i hadn't taken her in when i did. she must have a slew of guardian angels looking out for her.

so now we have heart medication (1/4 tab twice a day), along with her seizure medication (1/8 tab twice a day), and an anti-inflammatory (1/4 tab once a day). how do i get 1/8 of a tab? i have to crush it and then separate the powder into 8 little piles. oh, and i keep them on a covered plate so the powder doesn't get blown away.


blog hop

until we meet again my friends-

unexpected trip

bailey has been feeling a bit under the weather this week. she's had quite a bit of congestion and some trouble breathing so we made an unexpected trip to the vet yesterday. turns out she had a low heart rate and a fever. doc gave her 2 shots and 2 prescriptions to bring home (an antibiotic and another to help bring her heart rate up to a safe level). he mentioned heart disease so we have a follow up visit next week to discuss it further. hopefully the meds will do the trick and all will be fine but until then please keep my little girl in your thoughts and prayers. thank you.

until we meet again my friends-

(not so) happy tuesday #tot

bailey has a tale of woe to tell on this (not so) happy tuesday. her day started out like any other, except for the fact that we woke up extra early. we got in the car and drove to *gasp* the vet for a dental visit! sorry, bailey. 3 hours later she was ready to come home but...

she came back with one less molar.
but let’s look on the brighter side. bad news, they took a molar, but good news, they only took one!
have a happy tuesday y’all.

blog hop

until we meet again my friends-

update

we are still having trouble finding the right medication for bailey’s seizures. 3 weeks ago doc put her on another prescription, which didn’t work at all. in fact, it made her seizures worse. they were more frequent and lasted longer. she also had 3 episodes where her back legs just gave out while she was walking. she just collapsed and was unable to get back up, like her back legs were paralyzed. when we told doc her reaction, he took her off of it immediately. we have another follow-up appointment next week.

until we meet again my friends-

monthly visit

it’s time again for our monthly visit to the vet to keep him up to date on the frequency and severity of bailey's seizures. thankfully they haven’t been very severe and they aren’t as frequent but unfortunately they are still a part of bailey’s life.

"who’s that?"

"oh, hi frenchie!"

until we meet again my friends-

follow-up

yesterday we had another follow-up visit with our vet. bailey continues to do well with her new meds. her seizures have decreased in severity and are also less frequent BUT she’s been gaining weight. every time she gets weighed at the vet, there’s a couple of extra ounces here and a few extra ounces there. these add up and now she’s nearly a pound heavier than her normal weight! that’s a lot for tiny bailey. i think more veggies and less pasta are in her future. sorry, bailey.

until we meet again my friends-

good news

you might recall that 2 1/2 weeks ago bailey was prescribed a new medication to help control her seizures. (a teeny tiny little pill that i have to crush and separate into 8 doses.) i am happy to report that since she’s been on it, she’s only had 1 seizure. yesterday we went to the vet for another follow-up visit and doc was thrilled to hear it’s been working for her. he said to continue the 1/8 pill twice a day and wants to see us again in another month. yay for bailey!

until we meet again my friends-

back to the vet

we are still trying to get bailey’s seizure under control, so we are back at the vet’s office to get a new prescription. hopefully this one will do the trick.

the office is usually filled with big dogs, so we were all surprised to see this little cutie there.

"i’ve never seen a japanese chin in person dog before. she’s tiny, like me!"

until we meet again my friends-

vet follow-up

we had a follow-up vet visit monday afternoon to update doc on bailey’s seizures, which haven’t changed, even with her new diet.

what has changed though, is her weight. in two months of being a vegetarian, she has lost an entire pound! she now weighs a mere 3.3#. [she hasn’t weighed that little since we rescued her!] doc suggested a few fatty foods we could give her and also said we could add in small amounts of protein (beef & chicken) to help her gain some of her weight back.

he also put us back on an anti-inflammatory.
we have another follow-up visit in two weeks.

little bailey was so pooped after our visit, she fell right asleep on our way home.

until we meet again my friends-

a visit to the vet

bee is probably wondering what the heck kind of summer vacation is this! daughter #2 had made a vet appointment to have bee’s teeth cleaned & a pawdicure while she was here ...

and doc ended up having to extract 3 teeth. poor bee.

"he took my teeth and my toe nails too?!?"

until we meet again my friends-

déjà vu, potp needed

y'all aren’t gonna believe this but once again i find myself with an emergency visit to the vet because bailey fell. this time she fell off the bed. after her fall she went into a seizure, rendering her paralyzed and unresponsive.

she also lost control of her bowel & bladder and soiled herself, the pajama she was wearing and the bed she was laying on. when she was coming out of her seizure, she kept trying to lift her head and tried to stand but her back legs didn’t want to cooperate. by the time i made it to the doctor, she was responsive and making eye contact but still not walking. she even snapped at the doc during her exam. we both were happy ‘bout that because that showed that she was aware of what was going on. he checked her pupils and said they were a little off but her heart sounded good and she was able to follow his hand with her eyes. he gave her an anti-inflammatory injection and sent me home with anti-inflammatory pills.

on our way home from the vet i stopped at in-n-out for a meat patty. i figured if i had to give her a pill, i’d have to put it into something she couldn’t resist. (it did work, but just barely.)

as of this writing (monday 8pm) she is still having trouble walking. she's been asleep since we returned from the vet but we woke her to eat the in-n-out patty that she didn’t want earlier and now she gobbled it up. we also gave her some water. doc called to check on her and he was very happy to hear that she ate. we again, have to help her walk because her back legs seem to have a mind of their own. doc said to keep an eye on her eyes. if one gets bulgy, that’s a concern. also if she starts dragging her legs, i should bring her right back in. we still have to be mindful of her brain swell. i have an appointment for the morning but if she is doing fairly well, then i can cancel it and reschedule for thursday or friday.
so once again i’m asking for POTP for my little girl. she is a fighter but she could still use all the prayers she can get. thank you so much.

until we meet again my friends-

hoping for a better day

if you don't think bailey looks like her normal bright-eyed self, you are right.

she had just spent 5 1/2 hours at the vets for a dental cleaning.

poor baby was so tired, she slept all the way home, and all afternoon, and all night.

unfortunately, doc found two loose teeth that had to be removed. hopefully she'll be feeling better today.

until we meet again my friends-

a visit to the vet because of natural balance

in may, we reviewed natural balance limited ingredient white fish & sweet potato formula grain-free wet dog food. my concern with the product was the amount of fish bones that we found in the food. when i called natural balance to tell them about it, they apologized and sent me a coupon for a free package of treats. they were supposed to get back to me after their investigation but it's been 2 months and i haven't heard a thing from them.
but i digress. the point of this post is to discuss the aftermath of that product review.

a couple of weeks after our review, bailey started drooling, a lot. it would bubble, and it would drip. it got so bad that i made a vet appointment to see what was up.

doc felt that she had eaten something that injured her throat. he asked if she might have eaten something she shouldn't have or if i had changed her diet lately. when i told him about all the bones i had found in natural balance limited ingredient white fish & sweet potato formula grain-free wet dog food, he knew that had to be the cause of the damage to her throat. he said the abrasions got infected and the bacteria caused the drooling. he sent us home with an antibiotic and a pain killer because he said she was probably in quite a bit of pain, though she never did complain.

i feel terrible that i didn't notice the bones in the first tub of food but i didn't know i was supposed to look for bones. i thought quality control had that covered. who knows how many bones passed through her delicate little throat, cutting and scraping it as she swallowed. my poor little baby girl.

here is a reminder of the bones i found in one 2.75 ounce tub of natural balance limited ingredient white fish & sweet potato formula grain-free wet dog food! if you purchase this food for your furbaby, please inspect it carefully. i wouldn't want your baby to end up at the vet too.

thankfully the infection cleared up and the drooling has stopped. however, the trust i had in natural balance is gone. i will not be purchasing, or reviewing, any more of their products.

until we meet again my friends-

the road to recovery

yesterday we had another vet follow-up visit. the most amazing thing doc told us was that with the kind of injury bailey had sustained, "she shouldn't even be standing." can you believe that?!? doc was amazed at her progress and even called one of his nurses in so she could see how far bailey has come. it was only 4 weeks ago that she was in the icu in critical condition.

on the road to recovery

doc kept congratulating us on her progress but really, i should be congratulating him. he made the correct diagnosis. if i had left her at the emergency hospital, we are convinced she would have died there. dr w said they were treating her for a broken neck when they should have been more concerned with her head trauma and broken skull!

that face

her weight is picking back up. last visit she was 3# and today she weighed in at 3.8#. he recommended that we buy some folic acid and give her 0.4 mg twice a day (i think that was to help repair tissue damage?) and to continue with the anti-inflammatory tabs. he said the strength in her legs should come back and her bobble head should also clear up. they just need time.
next appointment: two weeks.

until we meet again my friends {{{hugs}}} -

the future looks bright

finally some good news. her anxiety was caused by the medications. he took her off all meds and gave her a new, milder anti-inflammatory. so now instead of medicating her throughout the day, she only gets one pill, once a day. awesome! we've already noticed a calmer bailey. yesterday she slept in my arms all evening. and no pacing!

as for her legs, he was happy to see how active they were. even though they can't hold all her weight right now, he foresees a full recovery. he said to help her walk by wrapping a sling under her for support. (which is basically what we were doing by attaching a lanyard to her harness.) physical therapy is still up in the air. she might be able to bypass that through her own sheer willpower.

"i can do this, mommy. i'm a fighter."

he said she might have lost some memories with the brain trauma but that's ok. we look forward to creating new, happy memories for her. she can go back on regular foods with mild chewing and he said to add cottage cheese because that's good for healing bone. it's also ok for her to drink water from her water bowl instead of from the syringe.

i can't believe how far she's come in just two weeks. it's a miracle she survived. now instead of crying tears of sorrow, we cry tears of joy. it looks like we just might have a happy christmas after all.
next dr visit in two weeks.

on the road to recovery

i must thank you all again for your love & support during some of the worst days of my life. she's pulling through with your help. this is for y'all:
{{{{{{{{{{{{{hug}}}}}}}}}}}}}.

until we meet again my friends, xoxo-

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-