Fun and Games

This week you'd hardly think we'd had such a hard time of things recently. It took a while but I'm pretty much back to my old self. I'm still a bit more clumsy and have given mum and dad a fright a couple of times when I misjudged my footing on the stairs and ended up bumping down them on my belly to land in a curled up heap at the bottom.

I demonstrated just how clumsy I was when I went out for a walk in the sun. I spotted a deflated football in the distance and decided to make it mine. It didn't move as I grabbed it at full trot, and then over I went, tripped over by my own feet.

Dad thought it hilarious as he kicked the flat football I'd charge after it and nearly always trip myself up as I grabbed it or when I tried to bring it back.

This week my friend Missy ended up at the vets as she had trouble walking. Turns out she's got Arthritis, which isn't good news at all. So she'll be on pills now to ease the pain.

A Much Better Week

Over the last week things have gotten much better. With the seizures stopped I'm gradually getting back to my old self. Every day that goes by I get a little better.

The seizures have definitely caused some brain damage, more memory loss than anything else. Dad's having to retrain me so I can at least get back to the basics of Sit and Down. I've been doing pretty good though.

The worst affect seems to be my coordination. I've always been clumsy, but now I seem to misjudge distance and will walk into the corner of the table or edge of a doorway. I've lost count of the number of cups I've knocked over or broken. This may be due to the reintroduction of the drugs.

Dad's put me back on the Epiphen and KBr. At least if they don't have any affect on prevention, maybe they'll at least minimise the duration and effects of the seizures. We're willing to try anything after this last really scary bout.

On Tuesday when dad got in from work I was in a right state. I'd poohed on the floor and walked in it. Then lay down in it. I was all matted with dry slobber from from the weekends seizures and so was really smelly. Normally that would mean a trip outdoors and a hosing down with the garden hose and a good shampooing. But dad felt sorry for me and decided to put me in their bath and give me a warm shower.

Well that meant going upstairs, and I don't do that yet. They're still too scary. So dad picked me up and carried me upstairs - I'm a big girl, so I'm surprised I didn't put his back out! He put me in the bath and turned on the shower and I just lay there and let him wash me.

When we've been out for walks dad's taken me on the extending lead so he can keep in touch. But yesterday he let me off on my own as I'd been so good. In fact even when on the extending lead I wont go further than the normal lead, so dad figured I needed some freedom.

It was good to be off the lead as then I could go sniff and play everywhere. I even had a go at chasing my own shadow, but it kept teasing me by always running a bit faster than me and staying out of reach.

So things are getting better, but just one day at a time.

Eleventh Hour

This weekend has been one of the hardest for us all. The seizures just never seemed like they were going to end. They got to the point where dad didn't even record them as they were just going on and on with a two to three hour break in between. I'd only just started to recover when another would strike and leave me all debilitated, disorientated and blind.

Dad had a decision to make that I know weighed heavily on his conscience. Was it the time that all pet owners know will arrive eventually but fear having to make the call?

Dad had been up all night each of the nights from Friday. Sleeping when he could on the sofa downstairs. I spent most of the time between seizures pacing and whining or just laying there wanting attention, but not wanting attention, just not knowing what I needed or wanted.

So we went into Monday with dad lying on the sofa again. At midnight I started with a Tabasco moment and dad caught it in time to stop the full seizure. This repeated a few more times, and then again at 3am and again just as mum got downstairs at 7am. Dad managed to catch them and stop the full seizure. Having had to stay home another day from work he was exhausted from lack of sleep.

Since 7am there's been no more sign of the seizures. I've just reverted to the state where I'm scared of most things, strange noises like the telephone or someone upstairs cause me to jump in surprise and look for the source. I'm struggling with commands and wont sit or lie down without being helped through it. But there's still something of me in there. Dad made some toast and whilst he was making it I eagerly raised my paw to ask for some, I just love butter (well margarine).

So at least now dad can get some sleep and with some retraining and care I'm sure I'll be back to my old self soon. It's then just a question of how long until the next cluster? But for today, we'll just live in the moment.

Seven Years of Bad Luck

01:30 Dad hadn't been in bed long when I started thrashing about and got him up to take me out. A little earlier than expected. I've also done something not so good to my hip or thigh. It's painful and I may have strained it. Getting up from lying down causes a cry of pain, so it looks like a bit of rest is needed.

03:00 After the last seizure I did my usual trick and decided to leave dad trying to sleep on the sofa downstairs whilst I went back upstairs to sleep. Dad hadn't long followed me up when I went off again.

07:05 I sure hope dad forgives me for this one! When I came around and wanted to charge off out of the room dad grabbed me and we started off downstairs. Just at the bottom I tripped dad up and he went crashing down the stairs and into the mirror on the wall. It was quite a thud. Dad lay on the floor for a while as mum came rushing down to see what all the noise was about. Luckily the only thing broken was the mirror, but it sure took the wind out of dad and left him with a grazed and bruised elbow and knee, some cuts on his knuckle where his hand smashed the glass, a badly twisted toe which makes him limp and worst of all a lump above his eye where his head smashed into the frame! We thought he was going to get another black eye.

09:15 Again dad hadn't followed me back up to bed very long ago when he had to bring me back downstairs after another seizure. He was a bit more careful this time. I also got given a Previcox (anti-inflammatory) to see if that eases the pain in my leg a little.

11:25 Dad had gone back to bed and I was downstairs with mum when another seizure visits.

13:35 No sooner had dad finished writing this when mum shouted from downstairs "She's off again". This time I was awake and standing behind mum in the kitchen when I started chomping and thrashing.

15:00 Just when I'd calmed down and was resting comfortably in the front room another seizure struck.

19:00 Dad thought he'd tidy me up and gave me a bath, because I was a bit smelly from all the wee and slobber. No sooner was that done than I had another seizure by the back door. I couldn't stand up and my legs were all over the place. Before dad could get me outside I poo'ed right onto his foot. Dad's really in the firing line today.

New Year, Same Old Seizures

Thankfully it's been quite a while since my last seizure, 44 days ago. So todays seizure wasn't unexpected. We've been waiting for it for a while now, but what's really lucky is that dad booked a week off work to use up some more of his holiday. So at least I wasn't home alone when it happened.

12:40 Dad was working on the computer as usual, but was just about to take me out to the woods on a very rainy day. I lay snoozing behind him when the usual head shaking started and into full seizure I go.

16:05 I was snoozing in my bed after spending most of the afternoon unable to get comfortable.

21:10 About on schedule I went into seizure again. Mum thought I'd jumped off the wardrobe as from down stairs there was a hefty bang on the floor.

23:55 Like clockwork 3-4 hours and another seizure, this time in bed again.

What's all the Fuss About Snow?

Wednesday this week is the first week since we got all the snow that dad couldn't get to work. Which for me was great news. It meant he could take me out for a walk in it!

I love snow. I charge around all excited, chase snow balls and generally act all giddy.

Dad laughs at my tracks in the snow. You can see my foot prints, but between them in most places is a groove where I drop my head down and go scooping the snow into my mouth and over my nose. I'm glad dad didn't get a picture of that 'cos I looked silly with a pile of snow on my nose.

At the weekend we went out into the woods where it was all snow covered and very cold. The snow hasn't been deep, not more than a couple of inches. Dad took some pictures but the snow really whited out the images on most of them.

Happy New Year

Hope you all had a good year last year and a better one this year.

Mum and dad went next door and left me all on my own last night :( But they're making it up to me today by having a feast of pork, stuffing and all the trimmings. Hmmm. So I'm on extra good behaviour so I don't miss out.

Not that I was on my own too long. Dad came home around 1am and then sat with me until 5am... he was playing Assassin's Creed 2 on the XBOX though. At least he went to bed this year. When the original Assassin's Creed game came out dad only realised it was 8:00am when Blaine came downstairs for breakfast!

Christmas Day

We had a great fun day today. Christmas day is a day for all the family. Mum woke up a bit worse for wear this morning though. Mum and dad went next door with dads brother, his girlfriend and sister. Knowing what mum's like she can't just stop having fun. So they got in early this morning at 1:30am, hence mums somewhat worn and hungover state this morning.

I had a great time opening my presents. Dad got me some nice tasty rawhide bones to chew on. So once I'd got one open I was oblivious to everyone else opening their gifts. They even put all the opened wrapping paper all over me so you couldn't see me under all the junk! I didn't care I was happy munching away. The only time you knew I was there was when I wagged my stump and the paper moved.

Everyone came round to ours for Christmas dinner. Mum makes the best dinner in the world! It was just excellent. I got my own with turkey, pork, stuffing balls and they even snuck in some veggies... but surprisingly no Brussels sprouts. I needed a nice long nap after all that food.

Hope you all had such a great day too.

Season's Greetings Everybody

Have a happy holiday everyone. Here's hoping you all have a great and fun time over the Christmas break.

Over the past few weeks we've not been getting up to much. Since the last bout of seizures life is good again.

Dad's been taking me out to the woods in this great chilly weather we've just had. It's freezing cold and feels like a real winter. We even had a tiny flurry of snow! Many places got a real good covering, but all we had here was enough to make everything look like it was covered with doughnut glaze.

Dad's had some changes done to the car. He took me with him when he got the work done and whist the guys were working on it for a couple of hours we went off around the local village and its nature reserve.

When I got back in the car two things had happened! First there was a cage stopping me from poking my head over the rear seats. I guess dad wants to keep the slobber from the leather. And second the windows were all dark. The rear windows in the bit where I ride are all blacked out from the outside, but I can see out from the inside. Now no one can see my nose paintings on the inside of the glass :( Dad's turned it into my own doggie limosine... It'll be great once the jacuzzi and bar are fitted.

Missed Anniversary

I was just thinking back about how long ago the seizures started and realised that it's been just over a year since I started having them. It somehow seems much longer than that.

In all that time a lot has happened. Everyone now seems to be able to deal with things a whole lot better. I guess it's a case of having to. Mum and dad seem to be able to cope with all the pee and slobber... and the occasional poop that's involved in having a seizure. It's not a pleasant experience for any of us, but once you accept it then it becomes part of the package, life goes on.

Loosing a bit of sleep each month for dad isn't great, but then having a job that's flexible enough to cope with working from home and taking me into work for the vet visits is a huge benefit. Without it I'd be on my own to go through these seizures. Coping wouldn't be so easy then.

So a year in and we're no better or worse, so we have that to be thankful for.

As I started writing this we started going through a big cluster. It made me stop and think some more. This seems a particularly bad cluster were going through right now. So far it's been going over three days with relatively long intervals between seizures. It's a really, really crap few days.

Looking at the sequence of posts you can be sure that it reads like we stopped the medication and then the crapola really hits the fan. This isn't really the case. I've been off the medication for at least three months prior to this and gone through prior drug free clusters too. I'm sure it is just because we decided to put in writing that we'd stopped the medication that it seems coincidental.

Each time we go through the cluster dad racks his mind about starting the drugs again, but ultimately the seizures were there with the drugs too. It's just when the seizures hit, it really is bad times and this one just seems especially so.

It's hard to stay positive during a cluster. Both mum and dad considered putting me back on the tablets, but that would be wishing for a miracle I think.

Well, we've finally got a day on the clock without seizure. Mum was off work sick with a cold yesterday and apart from me being clingy, no incidents. Up until the evening I was still scared of the stairs. Even mum tempting me with chicken didn't convince me to go up. Eventually after dad got home I cautiously followed him up without any cajoling at all, he just called and I followed.

Looking back at the actual history of seizures this last cluster is one of the worst, but there have been many others very nearly equal in duration and number. So it really is a case of things looking blackest whilst in a cluster.

Let's hope next month is further away and an easier time of it. Whilst that may be what we hope, what we wish is that it never returns - but reality is likely to bring us to Earth with a bump!