"Let us love winter for it is the spring of genius." -- Pietro Aretino
Pet Mommy, Too
I haven’t posted in a bit and that is mostly due to the fact that my life has been a bit chaotic since the holidays. I am sure a lot of you can relate! Right after Thanksgiving we discovered that our precious pooch, Bruiser, has a rare auto immune disease called ITP (Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia) - http://www.itpsupport.org.uk/itpindogs.htm. This disease causes the body to attack itself – resulting in a loss of blood platelets. Bruiser’s blood platelets at one point were not showing up at all during testing – meaning he had 0. The doctors weren’t even sure how he was walking around, let alone alive. This turned into a serious situation very quickly. Bruiser has been hospitalized twice since Thanksgiving – totaling two weeks in the hospital. He recently received a human immunoglobulin transfusion and his levels were back to 100,000 – and we are hopeful that he will continue to be stable.
All of this does not come without sacrifice and a price. Luckily we have pet insurance (absolutely love the folks at Embrace Pet Insurance and I would not recommend that anyone gets a dog without also getting insurance) (Sign up here: https://www.embracepetinsurance.com/) Without the insurance I am sure we would have had to say goodbye and put Bruiser down a month ago.
Two months since the onset of this disease, Bruiser is still on lots of medications. We are hoping that after his vet appointment next week that we can start to wean him off of those slowly but surely. The prednisolone that he is on makes him pretty crazy to be honest and there are days where I truly question my sanity. Yesterday was particularly rough because I worked a full day, picked up Charlotte to be told that she hadn’t taken a nap at all because she did not have her pacifier with her, so I had a cranky, tired baby on my hands. Then I got home and had to clean up Bruiser’s puppy pads (the meds make him pee like crazy – not his fault but not the most fun thing in the world to come home to pee and scrub and mop the floor every day). Meanwhile Charlotte was screaming at me, Bruiser was barking at me, and I just had a moment where I hoped the floor would open up and just swallow me.
During the moments where I feel like I am going to freak out, I’ve found that what helps me is to make sure Charlotte and Bruiser are safe and then step outside and take some deep breaths for 30 seconds. It helps to get some clarity and perspective that while I may be having a tough moment, in the end my child and my dog and my family are so worth it. I try to think of the families that have had miscarriages or dogs that have had to be put to sleep, and I try to be grateful for what I have, and not mad about the situation I find myself in.
our Bruise daddy
The situation with Bruiser has also meant we’ve had to do some sleeping rearranging. Sam and I take turns sleeping downstairs with Bruiser every night now. Since he had a seizure before his last hospitalization (a truly scary moment for me) we do not want him doing the steps to sleep in our bedroom with us. So we brought a twin mattress into the living room and sleep down there with him at night. It’s not ideal but it makes me feel better knowing if something happens in the middle of the night that Sam and I don’t have to worry about carrying a 65 lb. dog down the stairs.
2015 – A new year, new attitude
I made several resolutions for 2015 and while I won’t share all of them, I will say that my main resolution for 2015 is to be grateful for what I have, and stop complaining and wishing for things that I don’t have. A young colleague recently passed away from a rare cervical cancer – and she was young, way too young (only 27). She was filled with life and light and her passing has definitely had an impact on me. Her desk sits empty now, with flowers on it that other colleagues have dropped off. It’s a sobering and humbling sight to see each day. While I know that I will have hard times in the year ahead, it’s nothing compared to what others are going through. I resolve to be nicer to my friends and family. I will stop complaining and instead take action to make things happen. I will exercise and move more. And I will take more pictures and enjoy the little things in life.
From my family to yours, I wish you all blessings and happiness in 2015 and many years to come.
Christmas 2014
-Amanda
