I cannot believe I am writing this post while Sheena lies at my feet. I only wish I could write it without the tears...makes it hard to type and Rachel questions me. "Mommy, are those happy tears or sad tears?" Happy ones today, Sweetheart!
It was one year ago today that I got a message from Frank asking me if Sheena had eaten her breakfast yet. He feeds her when he gets up, which is super early (middle of the night to me), but on this particular morning she did not touch a bite. I checked her bowl and she had still not taken a bite, which was odd because he had cut up some turkey hotdog and put it on top. The pup cannot resist the added protein. Well, not only did she resist but she also seemed very much not her self. I immediately thought of how, just the day before, I thought she seemed strange. She was panting heavily and just staring at me as though she was trying to tell me something. It was Friday, so I figured I better call the vet and ask them if I should be concerned. I thought maybe she just had a tummy ache or just wasn't feeling well like stomach bug or something. They said to bring her in that same day at about 1:30pm. Little did I know that it would be the beginning of some of the absolute worst days of my life.
The girls as I found them yesterday morning.
Rachel was reading one of our
favorite books to Shee-Shee,
"I Love You Through and Through..."
Hug!
The only good thing I will say about our ex-vet who was our new vet at the time is...he sent us to the 24/7 Pet Medical Center across the street from his office when he closed at 6pm that day. That is it. I still feel the rest of the day...the hours and hours I spent in his waiting room were a complete waste of time and just awful. I'll leave it at that. What a nightmare. Fortunately, the doctor at the 24/7 Pet Medical Center. who honestly could not read the cloudy, unreadable x-rays that we still paid a premium price for at the ex-vet's office, told us there was an Internal Medicine doctor at their other office. He highly recommended we meet with her the following Monday if our dog made it to Monday, that is. Yes, it was that bleak. "cancer, bleeding tumor, abdomenal hematoma, internal organs displaced, blood tests abnormal" etc...are just some of the things we were told over a period of about 5 hours. So, we left her there to be stabilized not knowing what we would be told the next morning. I slept, kind of, holding her Sheena blankie and one of my favorite photographs of her. I prayed, cried, begged for answers, cried, searched the internet, cried, and waited for the phone call Saturday morning. It came...she was stabilized...an appointment was made for us to see the Internal Medicine doc on Monday. We got to go pick up our first baby, our fur baby. We brought her home, held ger close and monitored her every move, her every breath etc...We had to help her make it to Monday. Maybe we'd get some answers.
We did! The expensive x-rays were deemed "unreadable", opening her up for exploratory surgery was NOT recommended, and an ultrasound was performed. She was diagnosed with IMHA (Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia). The reason for the lost appetite, lethargy, heavy panting etc...was that her body was detroying its own red blood cells. She had less than half the normal amount...about 20% and should be around 45-50. No tumor, no bleeding in abdomen, no displaced internal organs, no hematoma, no, no, no...She had a disease and it had a name...and we may have possibly caught it early enough to help her beat it! I read some awful stories and outcomes on the internet, but we had to try. If she was willing to fight for her life...so were we. She did! She has beat it ...so far!
Sheena!
I took this yesterday as she watched me
help Rachel get ready for swim class.
I looked over and she just looked so beautiful,
so I snapped a bunch of "Sheena" pics!
"We love you, beautiful girl!"
I got the call on Tuesday. I heard the sweetest words..."Sheena is doing great! Her red blood count is 48%. Her other numbers are all good. Looks like she is still in the clear. I'd like to recheck in 3 months." Yay! When we went in on Monday, after not being there for 3 months, everyone was so happy to see Sheena and she was just soaking up the attention...tail wagging and smiling (I swear!). The doc said she looked great and certainly not 10 years old. She could still afford to lose a few pounds...packed about four on when on the meds...but otherwise...She has kicked IMHA's butt for now! The doc was very encouraged that it has been a year since the initial diagnosis and she has not relapsed:)...
