Scare with Stella Puppy

Some of you know that back in Seattle Stella was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease.  Her x-rays showed that from C4-C6 her vertebra in her neck had began to crumble.  That was June of 2013, we treated her and went on with our lives, really not thinking too much about it.  Then a few weeks ago she started to cry out in more pain, we kept watching her and waiting to see what direction she would go.  Then she stopped getting up on the couch, her favorite spot, she started to wander and not lay down in normal places.  It was apparent that she was in pain and was having trouble getting comfortable.  We had started giving her her Rimadyl and letting her rest. 

On Friday when the kids and I got home from our walk/bike ride I thought something was different, couldn’t pinpoint it, but knew something was wrong.  That night I told Mike I was really worried about her…

On Saturday we again gave her medicine and rested her, she again was crying out here and there and we then noticed she stopped raising her head, she also wasn’t excited about joining us at dinner, a favorite human food spot for her.  At that point we had figured out it was her neck again and we were pretty bummed out. 

On Sunday morning she was noticeably worse, we had bacon for breakfast and she didn’t come get it, and before we loaded the kids up to hit the pool I had a moment with her.  While I sobbed over her giant head I told her that she needed to somehow give us a sign of what to do.  We have always been hesitant with her going to the vet because it is so super stressful for her.  So anyway, she and I had our moment, the kids and Mike headed to the pool and William and I ran to the grocery store.  When we stopped at home to drop off our refrigerated goods I walked into the house and Stella was in so much pain she couldn’t move without crying out.  I had her lay down and she was visibly distressed and so was I.  I called Mike went and got him and the kids and we got everyone loaded up so Stell could go to the vet. Then it became apparent that whenever Thomas and Elin were around Stella was much less likely to cry out, she was hiding her pain from them, tough protector.  Honestly at that moment with as much pain as she was in, I didn’t know if she was coming home, it was soo sad/scary.

The emergency vet was slammed as it was a Holiday weekend, So Stella, William and I went inside to wait while Mike, Thomas, and Elin came home for lunch and naps.  We waited and waited and after 4 hours finally saw the vet.  She suggested increasing her pain management and then if things didn’t get better evaluating Stella’s quality of life….huh!

Mike came back to get William, as he had the car seat, and we got Stella back in the truck.  We got her home and she went outside in front of the playhouse and that is where she stayed and rested for the next few days, coming in here and there but being very guarded. 

Sunday night we had steaks for dinner and she joined us by the table, but then had a very difficult time getting up.  Mike had to help her lift her back legs up.  M and I were both so so sad thinking that this might be what all the vets we have talked to have prepared us for.  Sunday night she started to slip and slide all over the floor, have more trouble getting up and going up/down the stairs was very difficult for her to coordinate.  We were hoping it was the medicine that was affecting her like this and not the neurological spinal stuff. 

Monday we kept watch over her, it was a super tough day.  We called the vet a couple times to check in and it was her opinion that Stella was going downhill and she let us know when we were ready she would be at the clinic the next 2 nights.  We were devastated to say the least.  I started reaching out to others in the great dane community and a few other super animal lover friends that I have.  That is how I got back in touch with Heidi an old friend and book club member who is also a vet in Denver.  I explained where we were at with Stella and she said at this point there wasn’t anything to loose by trying powerful steroids with Stella.  The ER vet didn’t think it was a good call because the side effects and the possibility of stomach ulcers/issues, where my friend said if the option is euthanasia or steroids give the steroids a shot and go from there, Mike and I completely agreed.  Monday night we sat with her outside in front of the playhouse and everyone but Elin and William were sobbing messes.  We made feet/paw prints outside.  It was a little bit of a disaster but we were able to get a pretty good print with all our littles feet and an ok Stella paw…perfectly imperfect. 

Tuesday morning I called another mobile vet to come out and see Stella, until she told us she was done fighting, we were going to give her every chance we could.  That morning she stopped eating both her food and also we couldn’t get her to eat her favorite human food, tuna fish to take her Rimadyl and Tramadol.   Seriously, it was a blow to the heart and both Mike and I were sure our Giant Girl was giving up her fight.  I mean who could blame her, even on major pain medicine and non steroidal anti inflammatories she was unable to get comfortable, she was so drugged that she was hardly a fraction of herself and she kept herself isolated from our family. She was going back and forth from in the office and her bed to outside to lay down, never quite knowing where she wanted to be.  Every night (Sun, Mon) we were awoke by Stella crying in pain as she tried to get comfortable to sleep and there was nothing we could do to help her because touching her hurt her more.  It was truly heartbreaking and we knew in our hearts that if her pain like this continued this was no way for her to live.  After trying to give her her afternoon pain meds again to no avail with food I had a quick “you can choose to not eat, but I will not let you not take your medicine and be in more pain” convo with her and proceeded to pill her or shove the meds back into her throat. 

When the vet called that late that afternoon to tell me he had a cancellation and could come that night vs at 11 am the next day, I told him what Stella’s current situation was so he was prepared.  When he got there that night he said he saw Stella outside and thought for sure we were headed down the path to say goodbye to her, but then she perked up and started to show off.  I am so glad she did.  He then agreed with Heidi, vet and friend from Denver, that steroids would give her a shot to be pain free and get some more time.  So he gave her a large steroid injection, and then loaded us up with a bunch of pills for her stomach and more steroids.  He said we should hopefully see a difference by the next morning… that night she started to show small improvements.

By Wednesday morning we were cautiously optimistic that the steroids were helping her.  She was also still on the tramadol as we needed to wean her off of that.   Her gait was still off but she wasn’t struggling as much with the stairs.  The best part was that her pain was managed as she stopped crying out and our pups personality was back…and that was totally worth the extra chance in our opinion.  The funky walking…well that is just part of how she was! 

A week later she hoped back up on her couch….

Then 3 weeks later she is done with all her meds and we took her for a small 1/2 a block walk…

So far we have had a few more weeks rather than days with her and we are very thankful for that…so now we just keep on keeping on and hope for the best and many more days/weeks/months/years with our very special pup. 

Dallas Farmers Market

We had yet to try the farmers market in downtown Dallas.   It was suppose to be a cooler morning in the 80s so we headed down before it got too hot and we all melted!  The farmers market had a lot of fresh produce, the only bummer was that most of it was conventionally farmed.  One thing I love about farmers markets is that most of the stuff is locally produced, however I noticed that some of the stuff that was at this market was not.   There were however a lot of locally produced, free range and natural and organic meats to offer, so that was fun see.  We got a few steaks and some brats to try out and we really liked the meat, so that was a win all around.  Then we noticed the petting area and the “farm animals” and Elin and Thomas were excited to go see them.  They both are so into animals, and loved petting and holding the rabbits, chickens, goats, and guinea pigs.  After taking in the foods, music, animals and getting lots of fresh fruit samples we headed home for lunch…however William decided he wanted to eat and didn’t want to ride in his car seat and Elin had to go potty….so we made a stop for lunch and tested out dining with 3 littles in tow, thankfully it wasn’t a disaster! 

We then headed home with our fresh foods and meats to cook dinner and get some stuff done around the house! Thomas and I decided we would use the huge boxes we had got in our monthly Amazon shipment (Amazon packs some large boxes into an even larger box I don’t order tat much) to build a big fort…it was 2 hours of constructing for a 4 and 2 year olds, 5 minute attention span.  Guess it was a bust, but it was fun to create it with him and Elin’s help too.  A little later that night Thomas was so excited when he found a gecko in his sandbox, the little things are so stinkin’ cute!   It was a great start to our Labor Day Weekend!

Lots to Catch Up On…

So somewhere in the chaos of life,  3 kiddos, projects, and everyday stuff (like eating and sleeping)  I am going to try to get this blog caught up…so much has happened since June 18th!   A lot of it revolves around the arrival of our little guy William, but in that mix there is also our 2 week trip to Minnesota, some fun adventures in Texas and typical life stuff.  So hold tight and keep checking back in.  I might start from where we are now and keep back dating posts so scroll back from time to time and see if something is new. 

William is One Month Old

As always time since William was born has flown by.  We have had a whirl wind of a month with William and myself being in the hospital longer than expected, our mom’s being here to help us, and just the care that comes along with having and keeping 3 kiddos happy, fed and occupied.  We are grateful to have made it through this first month and are hoping things just keep getting easier and our new normal settles in quickly.

William is doing very well.  It is sometimes hard to believe just how crazy his life started out and how far he has come in one months time.  He continues to be a sleepy guy and spends most of his day eating and snoozing away, I guess that is what happens when you’re a little early and the main job is growing and developing.  He has no problem sleeping through the chaos noise of our typical day which includes: dog barks, screaming and playing siblings and everyday noises of cooking/cleaning/running a house.  This will change but for now we are loving the flexibility we have with his napping style.  He is alert about 2-3 times a day, usually right away in the morning, one time during mid day and then dinner time (between 5-7) for about 45 minutes or so.  When he is alert he likes to look around, doesn’t mind a little tummy time, or hangs out with one of us.  He is sleeping 2 to 3.5 hour stretches at night,  wakes up to eat and then is quickly back to sleep before waking up between 7 and 8 a.m. for the day.  It is really fun to see how he develops into his own schedule and how it has slowly patterned out to his normal, especially after being on an artificial schedule for the first 2 weeks of his life.

William likes to lay on your lap on her tummy, be held on your chest, taking baths, staring at Thomas, Elin or Stella, and looking at everything around him.  Some of his dislikes are being cold, having his diaper or  clothing changed,  burping and being hungry.  So far he is a pretty content little guy and we feel lucky he joined our family

Some of my favorite quirky things about him that I love are:

~ He is getting bigger and is now “newborn size” with all his eating.  I love how he grunts and lets me know that he is hungry long before he ever cries.  Then how he plays around before he decides to be a “velocaraptor” and go in for the real latch and nurses. 

~ How his bottom lip quivers when he gets upset and his super sad high pitched shriek if you don’t fix his problem right away.

~ How he looks at you like your crazy when you try to put a pacifier in his mouth, it totally offends him.

~ How he stares at Thomas and Elin and likes to chill with with of them when they hold him.

Thomas is in his Big Boy Bed

Thomas is now in his own room sleeping and just like a real big kid, when he needs Mike or I he comes into our bedroom at night.  The transition when Thomas was ready to go to his own room was pretty seamless.  If you’ve been tagging along with us you will know that he has had his own big boy bed since 2….so it has been a long and slow transition.  We wanted to do it as he was ready and without him being afraid.  We made a reward chart let him pick out 3 motivating things to earn and went for it. 

He picked out a couple new rescue bot toys, a new rescue bot DVD and then a rescue bot station.  To earn the littler toys he had to sleep in his room 3 nights…that meant he just needed to fall asleep in his room.  He did it the first 2 nights and was pretty pumped that he was so close.  On the third night he wanted to fall asleep in our room, but then go in his after.  When he earned his 1st toy it seemed to seal the deal for him.  From then on he has slept in his own room excitedly.  Stell doesn’t mind sharing her bed and keeping watch either.  When Mike traveled he slept in our room a few nights but now (since I am writing this so late) he is totally in his room and we don’t ever have a Thomas in our bed.  Sometimes early in the morning we get a little big guy sneaking in to snuggle…not going to say either Mike or I mind that!

Another thing that has changed is that now most nights he goes to sleep with Daddy.  Here and there he will ask for me to snuggle with, but for the most part I help him get ready and then kiss him goodnight.  He then reads with Mike watches a few mountain bike videos and then goes to bed. 

Big Brother and Sister and Little Brother

My girlfriend Kami has a business and she made the kids their Big Brother and Big Sister shirts to announce my being pregnant with their baby at that time sibling.  So when William was born we wanted to find him a Little brother shirt to match and did when we were out shopping.  It was only fitting that we get a picture of the kiddos in their shirts…I had wanted the big kids to wear them when we got W out of the hospital…but with the craziness that was that Tuesday morning it didn’t happen.