What a Week - Highs and Lows

This has been a week of highs and lows at the Wh*te House.  It was my birthday on Wednesday and I enjoyed being surprised at work with homemade pound cake and fresh fruits toppings that one of my nurses brought in for me. Fresh cut flowers and a cupcake from my daughter. That evening, I got to eat dinner at my favorite restaurant with my husband, kids and grandchild.  Life was good... until we got home.

Our 10 1/2 year old Lab has not been well the past few months.  She was diagnosed with Renal Failure and we were told she really needed special food, medications etc for the remainder of her life.  We'd been doing the special food religiously but the medications to help her eat we did not do at $30/5days.  Her appetite had been good until the day of my birthday.  She had gotten sick the day before but she ate her dinner that night but the morning of my birthday, she didn't want anything to eat.  This was not like Brooklyn at all.  That evening, same thing.  So, when we returned home from our dinner, she was panting a lot.  Her skin was sweaty and she was drinking a lot of water.  I made her some steamed brown rice and even put a little gravy on top but she refused.  While I was talking to my sister on the phone, Brooklyn collapsed.   Her muscles were twitching and her breath was ice cold.  We'd seen these kinds of symptoms before when she was first ill with her Renal Failure.  We had already made the decision that we would have her put down if she got really ill again as she had lost a lot of weight and just wasn't herself anymore.  Well, at 9:45 or so that night... we had to do just that.   The LOW point to a rather good day. 

Brooklyn was a really good dog.   She loved children.  She was gentle.  She wasn't a chronic barker.   All she wanted from anyone was to be loved.  I remember when I first saw her.  She was in a pet store... yes I know, she was probably a puppy mill dog coming from a pet store but she was beautiful.  Anyway, she was in a white baby crib in this pet store.  This fluffy, soft white lab stole my heart that day.   

Brooklyn - you will forever be in my heart and sweet Maddy talks about how she misses you every day!

All that we Love deeply becomes a part of us - Helen Keller

Speaking of Maddy - the following morning she wakes up with a fever and Marty stays home with her and takes her to the doctor since I have to go to a mandatory meeting in Columbus.  Daddy says the doctor doesn't say much other than the strep test in the office was negative and he puts her on antibiotics anyway for a possible cold.  I'm thinking.. "what??" who gives a child antibiotics for a cold.  By the time I get home that day, Maddy's fever is 104.5 and she has a terrible headache. :-(
It's now Sunday and she has been running high fevers like that until today.  Today her fever has been low-grade but she had a horrible bloody nose that just started spontaneously and I had a hard time getting stopped.( took over 30 minutes to stop)  She continues to have a horrible cough and now Daddy is coughing too!  I'm just praying that Mommy doesn't get sick.  I don't like being sick - not that anyone does - but me being sick is even worse due to my issues with taking meds.  UGH!

What a week to say the least!  I'm glad it's over and we are starting on a new one.  I hope the mothership of wellness decides to hover over our house for a while!