Make every minute count...

I saw a clip advertising a TV movie playing this weekend and the words kinda jumped out at me: (paraphrasing as usual) "What if you could have one more day with the one you love...." I found that kind of ironic, as it touches a little too close to home right now.

I am sitting at home right now in bed, with my beagle, Molly, sleeping in my lap. 24 hours ago I was a total wreck and at a complete loss. I was supposed to be cramming for my big exam today, but couldn't even look at a book. After one week of watching my dog in pain, not knowing what was going on, I finally took her to the vet yesterday, and had to leave her behind. The vet told me today that she was pretty worried about her yesterday, but thankfully Molly eventually responded to the pain medication.

She's sort of been diagnosed... suspected Beagle Pain Syndrome (a type of non-infectious meningitis that dogs get) and/or a "cervical issue." She is on some pretty good medication right now, "flying high." She has a fentanyl patch on, and every 24 hours I am to give her a dose of Metacam. We're going to see how it goes for the next two weeks. She's not allowed to run and jump, even though she feels like WonderDog right now. I'm sure she is feeling relieved to be pain-free, but right now we have to hope that she heals, or goes into remission.

It was pretty scary there for awhile. She had a stiff neck and could not turn her head, but rather had to move her whole body to look to the side. I thought is was just one of those "achy days" we all get, and thought she would be fine, but then on Monday/Tuesday, she took a turn for the worse, but I couldn't get a vet appointment until Wednesday :-( When she laid down, she really struggled to get back up again, and one side was worse than the other. One way she would lay down, she would scream in pain to get up; if she happened to lay on her other side, she would scream in pain and wait for me to get her, as the pain was too much for her to get up on her own. It was heartbreaking. Her appetite was good, although I was hand feeding her as she couldn't move her head to her bowl. And once she was up walking around she was fine, as long as she didn't have to move her head too much.

The vet believes she will recover - these next two weeks are kind of a test. Hopefully the pain meds will help her recovery go smoothly.

Back to my theme: right now, I am so thankful for every minute I have Molly back home with me. She just turned 5, so seems too soon for her to be taken from me. Currently am going to enjoy every moment I can with her, and hope to make her happy and comfortable.