Wednesday, March 21, 2012

And it's Wednesday....I've been meaning to write since the weekend but I've been a bit preoccupied with things on the home front.  Friday night, Alex decided he was going to come down for the weekend and couch surf with us, which was no problem.  It's always good times when Alex comes over.  Saturday, March 17th was Jeff and I's 10 year anniversary of dating.... Only things didn't start out that pretty. 

I guess I had woken up a bit earlier but decided it was far too early to be out of bed, and plus, I didn't want to disturb Alex sleeping on the couch.  So I went back to bed.  I awoke at 10 am, which is unusual for me, I hardly ever sleep in and if I do, it's not til 10 am.  I awoke to what I can only presume as what I thought was Baxter kicking my side, somethings the dogs dream and their legs kick out....Well not so.  I pulled back to covers once he didn't stop when I nudged him.  He was in full seizures, feet kicking away, frothing at the mouth and he peed himself....At this point I had already woken Jeff and we just both watched in horror and panic as our little guy convulsed....We just kept talking to him making sure that he knew we were with him and then after about 3 minutes, it stopped.  I was amazed that I wasn't a crying mess or just losing it myself but maybe it's because I knew I had to keep my shit together because he simply couldn't.  After that episode, Jeff and I proclaimed that we were going to have a quiet day if anything at all.  Around 1 pm, he was in the kitchen fussing around in his little dog crate, or so I had thought but it was making more noise than usual so I went to investigate.  Sure enough, his legs were going a mile a minute and he was all stiff, and foaming at the mouth.  I pulled him out because I didn't want him smushed up in there or to hurt his limbs by banging off the sides.  I flattened my arm and slid it under him and basically slid him out pizza styles from his crate.  Between Jeff and I, we made sure he wasn't smashing his head into the ceramic floors nor was he flailing into the cupboards.  All I can say is that it's something awful watching a loved one have a seizure and not being able to do a thing about it, but just to ensure their safety and be there for them when they come out of it.  It would take him about a full 10-15 minutes to snap out of his haze but I tell you, the sweetest thing after every episode was him looking up at me with this sudden clarity as though to say, "hey it's you mum," and I either would get a soft kiss or a nose brushed up along my face. That's when I knew that he was back with us.  Each time it was the longest three minutes I've ever endured, just hoping that the seizure would stop.  The last and final one was at 6:30 when he was sleeping in the kitchen as I was at the counter making up dinner for us, Alex and Bruce.  This last seizure was by far the worst and longest.  He opened up his mouth and it opened up so wide that I thought for sure he was going to break or dislocate his jaw.  And he cried out...that broke my heart.  This one lasted I'd say near 3 and a half to 4 minutes.  We decided enough was enough and took him to the emergency vet clinic to see wtf was going on.  I called our neighbour from downstairs and she was going to take me over.  I asked Jeff if he was cool staying with our company and finishing up dinner while I went with Baxter.  This last seizure really shook me to the core, I wasn't sure he was going to pull through from that one, not to mention that he had had about 10 minutes of combined seizures in one day, that's a lot for a little guy to endure.

Long story short, he went in, we found out that he'd lost about 3 lbs (I've cut back on giving them treats but I certainly wasn't giving them that much to explain the weight loss!)....so they took some blood..they couldn't get his veins in his legs so they went straight to the jugular....Poor boy's neck is so bruised :(  We were out of there within the hour.  He was given a diazepam and I was given an extra dose that should he have another seizure, I could give it to him to calm his nerves... Turns out thankfully he didnt have any further seizures so I wasn't required to give the dose to him.  Brought him home and he was so combative.  Boy was confused and didn't know what the hell was going on with his body, he was fighting for everything he was worth.  I had him in my arms and he'd go limp and then resist me and try to jump out of my arms, then repeat going limp...this went on for a good ten minutes I'd say then finally he gave in and passed out.  I wrapped him in a blanket and ate my dinner sitting with him sleeping on my legs on the floor.  Sunday we awoke and he was very off balance, over unsteady on his feet and a slight tick to his upper body.  We still aren't sure if it's perhaps any brain damage or if it simply just his muscles, joints and tendons just tight and sore from all the muscle contractions.  Seems every day he's getting better though.  He was slightly dragging his front paws, something that had me worried initially.  Jeff and I have been massaging them daily and giving him body rubs, especially in the morning before he gets out of bed.  His feet seem a bit tight but every day he's splaying his feet more and more.  Most importantly, every day he presents behaviour of the old Baxter so it keeps us happy knowing that bits of him are coming back.  He's still our little Baxter and so what if he has a slight tremor in his shoulders... Time will tell, but he's a persevering tough little dog man.

Going back to work tomorrow, looking forward to it but at the same time, I wish I could earn the income I make now and stay at home.  A stay at home momma to puppies?  LOL 

Thats all for now, it's a bit long winded this time around.

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