Well it is already August and SOOOOOO very much has happened in the Weatherly family. Since my last post, we have all dealt with the passing of Sally. Jadie every once in a while still talks about it, so I think she is still working things out in her young mind.
We took Ashlyn and Jadie on a 5 night cruise to the Caribbean for Spring Break and we went to Great Wolf Lodge for two nights again. We also received confirmation of our overseas move to Germany (6months), Philippines (1.5years), and Malaysia (2years). Johnathan is currently in Germany preparing for our arrival on Monday, August 6th.
I have pictures to add for our little mini vacations and other just candid shots that I have captured since my last postings. However, our computer is in our Air Freight shipment that is currently in route to Germany...so I will have to post them at a later date.
Please stay tuned for more on our adventures as we explore how others live in the rest of the world. ;)
Friday, August 03, 2012
Saturday, March 03, 2012
My Heart Breaks
Today, I sit here feeling so incredibly guilty!
For at least a year, I've been listening to my family and friends tell me that it's time to put Sally down. I've always fought back with the response..."but she hasn't lost her spirit." Anyone that has ever been around Sally knows that her main drive in life has been People Food. She would attack it if it were in her reach....stealing sandwiches off the counter, or out of your hand was not an uncommon occurance in our home. However, on Thursday...she showed little interest in her dog food. (We have had to switch her to canned for sensitive stomachs because she has hardly any teeth.) And I put a few scraps of my left overs in her bowl...and she turned her nose to them. So I texted Johnathan to call and see what time the vet would be there if we were going to take her in Friday morning.
I've always said I don't want to plan putting her down...as it just seems so wrong to plan death. With every ounce of my being...it seems wrong. Especially since she was just old....not hurting....
He called back saying he made her an appointment at 10 Friday morning. So we sat the girls down and told them what was going to happen in the morning. Ashlyn cried, and Jadie didn't have much reaction except she was glad Sally wouldn't follow her anymore. (Jadie is always walking around the house with food so Sally follows her...and it scares Jadie)
I gave her a bath and loved on her as much as I could Thursday evening, and Friday morning. I felt completely terrible for initiating putting her down....as by late Thursday night her appetite picked back up....she even jumped to get food that I was pouring out of a can into her bowl. So my justification for putting her down had vanished. I asked Johnathan if the vet said it wasn't time....what would we do....He reassured me that it was time. That if Sally puts on a show for the vet...that doesn't mean it isn't time. We live with her everyday, so we see the signs...
She walks crooked,
She falls a lot,
She drags her back leg,
She can't hear anything,
She can barely see,
She is skin and bones,
She can't control her bodily functions,
These are signs she isn't having the quality of life that she deserves....and I know that....but in the same breath...she hadn't lost her spirit. I worked at a vet clinic long enough to know that dogs don't eat when they are hurting...(She was eating still....) and when it's an animals time to be put down...they always let you know.
So....I took her to the vet, where Johnathan was waiting. Johnathan came around and got Sally out of the front seat. She didn't even stand up when he opened the door....she just laid there....(Another sign)
The technician (who I used to work with) took her out of Johnathan's arm's and took her to the back to put a catheter in....
They put Johnathan and I into a room...minutes later, they brought a blanket in, laying it on the table. They put Sally on top of the blanket. She was standing facing me....with basically her head in my stomach as I rubbed her ears. The technician asked me if I wanted to have a few minutes, or to go ahead and send the vet in. We chose to go ahead and ask the doctor to come in. Dr. Hunter (who I also used to work for), came in and said she knew it was time...because Sally didn't even budge when she put the catheter in...(Another sign)
She said she was going to give her a little bit to just relax her...she put the needle in...and not a second later...Sally's head hit the table and she went limp. I so wish....soooooooooo wish....we had a few more minutes with her and I could have gotten her to lay down. She was gone in less than a minute. :(
That truly was the absolute hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Everyone says it's better than finding her dead one day....but I honestly don't think it would have been. This was all on me...my decision to end her life....and I am beating myself up over it. Feeling completely...utterly....guilty.
So for those that read this...I ask that you pray for peace....for me....because I am not sure how to handle these feelings. I can tell myself she was just a dog....but she wasn't to me. :(
For at least a year, I've been listening to my family and friends tell me that it's time to put Sally down. I've always fought back with the response..."but she hasn't lost her spirit." Anyone that has ever been around Sally knows that her main drive in life has been People Food. She would attack it if it were in her reach....stealing sandwiches off the counter, or out of your hand was not an uncommon occurance in our home. However, on Thursday...she showed little interest in her dog food. (We have had to switch her to canned for sensitive stomachs because she has hardly any teeth.) And I put a few scraps of my left overs in her bowl...and she turned her nose to them. So I texted Johnathan to call and see what time the vet would be there if we were going to take her in Friday morning.
I've always said I don't want to plan putting her down...as it just seems so wrong to plan death. With every ounce of my being...it seems wrong. Especially since she was just old....not hurting....
He called back saying he made her an appointment at 10 Friday morning. So we sat the girls down and told them what was going to happen in the morning. Ashlyn cried, and Jadie didn't have much reaction except she was glad Sally wouldn't follow her anymore. (Jadie is always walking around the house with food so Sally follows her...and it scares Jadie)
I gave her a bath and loved on her as much as I could Thursday evening, and Friday morning. I felt completely terrible for initiating putting her down....as by late Thursday night her appetite picked back up....she even jumped to get food that I was pouring out of a can into her bowl. So my justification for putting her down had vanished. I asked Johnathan if the vet said it wasn't time....what would we do....He reassured me that it was time. That if Sally puts on a show for the vet...that doesn't mean it isn't time. We live with her everyday, so we see the signs...
She walks crooked,
She falls a lot,
She drags her back leg,
She can't hear anything,
She can barely see,
She is skin and bones,
She can't control her bodily functions,
These are signs she isn't having the quality of life that she deserves....and I know that....but in the same breath...she hadn't lost her spirit. I worked at a vet clinic long enough to know that dogs don't eat when they are hurting...(She was eating still....) and when it's an animals time to be put down...they always let you know.
So....I took her to the vet, where Johnathan was waiting. Johnathan came around and got Sally out of the front seat. She didn't even stand up when he opened the door....she just laid there....(Another sign)
The technician (who I used to work with) took her out of Johnathan's arm's and took her to the back to put a catheter in....
They put Johnathan and I into a room...minutes later, they brought a blanket in, laying it on the table. They put Sally on top of the blanket. She was standing facing me....with basically her head in my stomach as I rubbed her ears. The technician asked me if I wanted to have a few minutes, or to go ahead and send the vet in. We chose to go ahead and ask the doctor to come in. Dr. Hunter (who I also used to work for), came in and said she knew it was time...because Sally didn't even budge when she put the catheter in...(Another sign)
She said she was going to give her a little bit to just relax her...she put the needle in...and not a second later...Sally's head hit the table and she went limp. I so wish....soooooooooo wish....we had a few more minutes with her and I could have gotten her to lay down. She was gone in less than a minute. :(
That truly was the absolute hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Everyone says it's better than finding her dead one day....but I honestly don't think it would have been. This was all on me...my decision to end her life....and I am beating myself up over it. Feeling completely...utterly....guilty.
So for those that read this...I ask that you pray for peace....for me....because I am not sure how to handle these feelings. I can tell myself she was just a dog....but she wasn't to me. :(
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
February Already!
January came and went with what seemed like illness after illness! I think I was the only one spared through it all. Johnathan is still on antibiotics (second round) for two persistent ear infections.
The biggest event happened on the 20th of January. We celebrated our little Princess's first birthday! She consumed lots of birthday cakes during January as I used her to practice taking indoor "cake smash" pictures that my clients always want for first year pictures. Some turned out really cute!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Wednesday I tooke Jadie in to see Dr. P. he said her lungs sounded good but she still had a lot of fluid in her ears. So he sent her home with another dose of antibiotics and a nasal spray. Hopefully this will get her back too 100%.
After her appointment we went to the grocery store while we were waiting for her prescriptions to be filled. Kynsley threw up all over the place! I didn't have my diaper bag with me so I sent jadie to tell someone and to grab me a thing of wipes. (we happened to be on the baby aisle).
So we took her home instead of getting jadies meds since I didn't even have a change of clothes for her...and I was covered too! We got home and Kynsley was running a fever of 101
The next morning I took Kynsley to the Dr. He listened to her, looked in her ears and said she sounds a little congested but not in her chest. He said her ears look fine as does her throat. So he gave her a decongestant and a dose of antibiotics to start IF her fever got above 102 or her snot turned green. So far we are just treating the fever and her runny nose...
Monday, January 16, 2012
Pneumonia
On Monday I took Jadie in to see Dr. P. since there was absolutely no improvement with 5 doses of amoxicillin. He listened to her chest and immediately sent us to get a chest x-ray. The Radiologist then sent us straight back to Dr. P. due to fluid being seen in her left lung. When we arrived at the doctors office it was confirmed...my fear...that she had pneumonia. He gave her a shot of rosefin (sp) and told us to go home, give her whatever she wants to drink/eat and call and check in in the morning. If her fever is over 102 he wanted her to come in Tuesday morning. Otherwise he wanted to listen to her chest on Wednesday.
On Tuesday morning she only had 100.6 and ran that (I was checking it every hour) all day. Then at 5:30 she jumped to 102.8. So first thing Wednesday morning we found ourselves back at the doctors office. Dr.P. still heard stuff in her chest but not as much. So he gave her another shot of rosefin and told me to stop giving her the amoxicillin. He instead prescribed her a zpack. Her fever completely broke around 5:30 and she has been fever free since!!! Yeah!
We go back on Wednesday for a follow up so he can listen to her again.
On Tuesday morning she only had 100.6 and ran that (I was checking it every hour) all day. Then at 5:30 she jumped to 102.8. So first thing Wednesday morning we found ourselves back at the doctors office. Dr.P. still heard stuff in her chest but not as much. So he gave her another shot of rosefin and told me to stop giving her the amoxicillin. He instead prescribed her a zpack. Her fever completely broke around 5:30 and she has been fever free since!!! Yeah!
We go back on Wednesday for a follow up so he can listen to her again.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Fever...Go Away Already
On Monday (New Years Day) Jadie lost her appetite it seemed. She would order food like usual (mind you, we are at Great Wolf Lodge eating out for every meal.). However, when she would get her food she would take a bite and say she was full or her tummy hurt. We originally thought it was because she was drinking her milk/sprite almost all gone before her food arrived. So on Tuesday we limited her drink to only after she got her food. It was a battle to get her tk eat even a fourth of anything she ordered!
We arrived home late Tuesday evening. Jadyn woke up with a low grade fever on Wednesday morning. I thought it was because the water at GWL was colder than I remember and Jadie was shivering at the watermark all day Monday. So I have her Motrin (last 6-8 hours according to bottle). Her fever broke about two hours later. She was fever free for about two hours also and then it started to creep back up. Jadie has no other symptoms besides a cough she developed on Tuesday. She does complain of a headache when she has a fever of 101+. Other than that she says nothing hurts. This fever has been persistent and her cough has gotten worse over the last 24 hours. I tried to make her a doctors appointment for Friday because she not only has stopped eating anything but vanilla yogurt and milk. She won't even drink an over or soda. The doctor was out so I had to make an appointment for Monday. On Saturday however, it had been 4 days of fever...so I took her to Doctors Express and saw a Dr. Weir. She was very nice. She listened to Jadie's chest (front side only, in two spots). She said her chest sounds clear...no pneumonia. YEAH!
She then looked in her ears and said her left was red and she has a swollen lymph node on the left side of her neck. She prescribed amoxicillin and we started taking it at 2pm. It is now Monday morning and she still has a fever. She has that Doctors appointment at 10:15 this morning. I hope they do bloodwork because I doubt it's just an ear infection. But I'm not a doctor...so I pray that I'm wrong!
We arrived home late Tuesday evening. Jadyn woke up with a low grade fever on Wednesday morning. I thought it was because the water at GWL was colder than I remember and Jadie was shivering at the watermark all day Monday. So I have her Motrin (last 6-8 hours according to bottle). Her fever broke about two hours later. She was fever free for about two hours also and then it started to creep back up. Jadie has no other symptoms besides a cough she developed on Tuesday. She does complain of a headache when she has a fever of 101+. Other than that she says nothing hurts. This fever has been persistent and her cough has gotten worse over the last 24 hours. I tried to make her a doctors appointment for Friday because she not only has stopped eating anything but vanilla yogurt and milk. She won't even drink an over or soda. The doctor was out so I had to make an appointment for Monday. On Saturday however, it had been 4 days of fever...so I took her to Doctors Express and saw a Dr. Weir. She was very nice. She listened to Jadie's chest (front side only, in two spots). She said her chest sounds clear...no pneumonia. YEAH!
She then looked in her ears and said her left was red and she has a swollen lymph node on the left side of her neck. She prescribed amoxicillin and we started taking it at 2pm. It is now Monday morning and she still has a fever. She has that Doctors appointment at 10:15 this morning. I hope they do bloodwork because I doubt it's just an ear infection. But I'm not a doctor...so I pray that I'm wrong!
Thursday, January 05, 2012
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