It's Been A Rough Week
Apparently I've been worried about the wrong pet.
Last night my dog, Kiera, had what appeared to be a minor seizure. This is really nothing to worry about as she has a history of them going back over the last 6 or 7 years. They've always been very mild - as in she retains awareness and isn't thrashing on the floor - and they've always disappeared after a few minutes. I stay with her to make sure that she's calm, rush her outdoors right afterwords so that she can go to the bathroom, and then I call my parents so that they can put the event in her medical records.
But last night she went into what I thought was a second seizure less than 30 minutes after the first. When it hadn't stopped at 10 minutes I got worried and called my Dad. We were on the phone for about ten minutes - during which time the symptoms didn't stop. Dad gave me the diagnosis when I described the fact that her eyebrows and eyes were twitching...which was something I hadn't seen before in her seizures.
Long story short, my dog had a "cerebrovascular accident" of some sort last night. That's a big, fancy word that means one of three things. She either had a stroke, has a leaking aneurysm or has a brain tumor. Yes, I could take her to a fancy vet clinic and have an MRI done to determine what the problem is. However, as much as I love my dog I am a realist. There's very little that can be done to help her with any of those diagnosis.....it would only serve to run up a huge vet bill. (Someday, I'll give you my rant about the ridiculous lengths people go to these days to help their pets because they have forgotten that they are not people.) What this all boils down to is that she's old...and you can't cure old.
As of this morning, Kiera is still fighting her symptoms. Her personality and general mood haven't altered at all - she's still the same sweet, loving dog that she's always been - but if you didn't know any better you'd think she was drunk because of the way that she's moving around. She is, perhaps, sticking closer to me than normal....but that's too be expected. We'll start her on a daily aspirin protocol, and we've blocked off the stairs so that she can't accidentally fall down them. For the time being we're taking her out to the front yard or are carrying her to the back so that she can do her business. It's possible that in a day or two this could all clear up. It's also possible that she could go downhill quickly. You just never know.
Sorry this blog has been such a downer this week. My stress levels are much higher than they've been in a very long while. On top of Tigger, a tummy bug that I had earlier this week, a trip to the doc and subsequent antibiotic madness in my already-abused tummy, and my dog we also have connections to a horrific news story this week that has left us all shaken. I'm going to take some time today to regroup and then hopefully we can move on and things will get better.
Last night my dog, Kiera, had what appeared to be a minor seizure. This is really nothing to worry about as she has a history of them going back over the last 6 or 7 years. They've always been very mild - as in she retains awareness and isn't thrashing on the floor - and they've always disappeared after a few minutes. I stay with her to make sure that she's calm, rush her outdoors right afterwords so that she can go to the bathroom, and then I call my parents so that they can put the event in her medical records.
But last night she went into what I thought was a second seizure less than 30 minutes after the first. When it hadn't stopped at 10 minutes I got worried and called my Dad. We were on the phone for about ten minutes - during which time the symptoms didn't stop. Dad gave me the diagnosis when I described the fact that her eyebrows and eyes were twitching...which was something I hadn't seen before in her seizures.
Long story short, my dog had a "cerebrovascular accident" of some sort last night. That's a big, fancy word that means one of three things. She either had a stroke, has a leaking aneurysm or has a brain tumor. Yes, I could take her to a fancy vet clinic and have an MRI done to determine what the problem is. However, as much as I love my dog I am a realist. There's very little that can be done to help her with any of those diagnosis.....it would only serve to run up a huge vet bill. (Someday, I'll give you my rant about the ridiculous lengths people go to these days to help their pets because they have forgotten that they are not people.) What this all boils down to is that she's old...and you can't cure old.
As of this morning, Kiera is still fighting her symptoms. Her personality and general mood haven't altered at all - she's still the same sweet, loving dog that she's always been - but if you didn't know any better you'd think she was drunk because of the way that she's moving around. She is, perhaps, sticking closer to me than normal....but that's too be expected. We'll start her on a daily aspirin protocol, and we've blocked off the stairs so that she can't accidentally fall down them. For the time being we're taking her out to the front yard or are carrying her to the back so that she can do her business. It's possible that in a day or two this could all clear up. It's also possible that she could go downhill quickly. You just never know.
Sorry this blog has been such a downer this week. My stress levels are much higher than they've been in a very long while. On top of Tigger, a tummy bug that I had earlier this week, a trip to the doc and subsequent antibiotic madness in my already-abused tummy, and my dog we also have connections to a horrific news story this week that has left us all shaken. I'm going to take some time today to regroup and then hopefully we can move on and things will get better.
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