Big Walkies.

Nothing really big going on at all. Haven't posted on here in a while, which again is a good sign. No seizures to report - so life is good.

Dad took me out today and I thought we were off to the woods. But instead we stayed local and went for a walk around the canal. I think it was a bit too far though as on the way back I was walking at a snails pace. Now, since I've been home I've done little else but sleep - oh, apart from eating dinner that is.

It's Monday!

Yes it's Monday, so what's all the fuss?

Well if I were to say I was writing this from upstairs... could that be a clue? Well upstairs until today has been a scary off limits place since the seizures. Going upstairs on my own is a sign that things are pretty much back to normal!

Dad got in from work and made a fuss of me. Then went upstairs to change. When he was up there I simply followed him up on my own with no encouragement.


Acting the fool today, so I must be about there.

Wet and Cold

Well that wasn't very smart! It's been cold here over the past week, so much so that every puddle is frozen solid. So today dad took me out for a walk and thought for a change we'd go around the canal. Well the canal was covered in a sheet of ice, not very thick at all. As we walked under a bridge where a huge mass of ducks  and morehens were sheltering they all scattered across the ice to get away from us. I paid them about as much attention as if they weren't there.

But a little further around the path dad turned around to see me showing off "Look at me I can walk on..." splash! I'd stepped fully onto the ice and stood there long enough for dad to turn around as I took a cold bath. He dragged me out by the collar and that pretty much ended the walk as it was then time to go home and get towelled dry.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Well it's coming up to Christmas and the family are getting together on the big day for turkey and goose. But the good news is there's not so many this year... which hopefully means more scraps for me!

On the seizure front, well this past few weeks have seen a turn around. Dad's so pleased that the daily chompies have left me alone at last. I'm back to myself and feeling fit. Loving life right now.

I had to take dad to the human vets this week for his annual check up and he's got good news too. Blood pressure is down to an all time low - 135/77 which is unheard of. Last year it started out at a staggering 230/140. So now we both take our medication at the same time each day. At least his seems to be working - mine, I'm still not sure it's doing anything at all.

Can't complain about the good days though. Happy to take as many seizure free days as I can.

Beside the Sea Side

Dad took me out his weekend. Was a massive long drive of 3+ hours in the car to go see some of his car club friends down in Chichester. Now Chichester isn't far from the sea so dad thought he'd make the effort and take me along for a swim.

First off we stayed overnight and slept outside all night. When everyone else had pt up their tents dad said the weather was too good to sleep indoors so didn't bother with a tent and we slept out under the stars.

The rest of the people had a party with a smoke machine and a laser light show. So dad had to take me away from that because I was becoming fixated with the green light and trying to chase it or just watch mesmerised by it. Not specifically related to the epilepsy but dad knows I get fixated on laser pointers and torch light, so better off out of the way a bit.

But here's me in the sea! It was great. A bit out of my depth and having to catch a wave and surf back in to shore.

And chillin' at the camp site.

I Really Should Learn to Shut Up...

Last week things were going pretty well. The seizures hadn't been particularly bad for quite a while. A few here and there and easily manageable. Well I managed to write that on a friends blog and made myself look pretty silly for doing it.

That night a cluster seizure kicked in big style. All night was spent seizure after seizure about an hour apart. I kept dad up all night. Then even after he went to work I still had three more seizures during the day and into the evening when he got home.

At 3am on the Friday the last one of the cluster kicked in and dad was so glad to get a full nights sleep on Friday night.

So what's changed?... Nothing! It seems there is not going to be any pattern of seizures - just sporadic and random in terms of both frequency and duration. Even their voracity is random. The seizures can be as mild as a series of blinking to full on thrashing around.

We're just learning we have to just live with it. Take every mild event as a blessing.

A couple of weeks ago dad took me out with him to one of his car club meets. One of the guys there has a decent camera and some skills. Here are some photos he took of me whilst there.

 

This was me after dad gave me some mushy peas! I was scrounging for food so dad thought he'd show me there was nothing to be had but mushy peas. He really didn't think I'd eat them. Well I surprised him by wanting more and eating them all.

Squirrels Everywhere!

07:00 This weekend dad went away camping without me :( So I stayed home and looked after mum and Blaine. He got back on Sunday pretty tired from long days and early mornings so the seizure monster decided to have some fun with him. He's booked Monday and Tuesday off work so wouldn't you just know, at 7am I go off into a big seizure in the kitchen doorway. The clatter of my bowls and the rattling of the door was enough to wake the whole street!

Later in the day dad took me to the woods to make up for me not going over the weekend. It seemed the place was teeming with a gang of squirrels intent on making me run around the trees after them. I don't think we've ever come across so many. Or as I suspect it's just one small gang organising against us.

The good news is that after that one seizure in the morning there's been nothing else... so far.

Just Getting On With Life

Over the past couple of week I've had a few of the big seizures, but not really like the usual clusters. It's been more of the one offs. That was until yesterday when I end up having three seizures. But I don't know if it's just mum and dad dealing with it better because they're so used to it, or if the after effects don't seem so bad these days. After a big seizure there's no major disorientation or blindness like there used to be. Now dad reckons I just resort to being very clumsy and not doing anything I'm told. For instance I'll go plodding off around the room and anything that isn't fixed to the floor will probably get knocked over or spilled, for example the lava lamp or cups and glasses on tables. I've lost count how many things I've broken. I'll also start being naughty like rummaging through the bins and eating anything off the lounge table if there's any left overs. But by far the most common is standing in my food and water bowls so the contents end up spilled all over the floor or the food and biscuits laid as a trail to trap dad on after he tries to get me in his bare feet - Ouch!

We just knew the seizure would happen this week... you guessed it. Extended Bank holiday and dad's off work!

Today we went down the woods and here's a video of what I got up to. I needed to go for a swim after this to clean up!

A Week Off and We Know What That Means...

Dad's had a week of work and that's usually the cue for me to start having a cluster. But this time around... nothing! Dad piked about the right week for the weather too. All week has been sunny and dry apart from one day, so I've been out to the woods almost every day.

Then at sometime during the week, maybe Wednesday or Thursday the chompies had stopped. So in all the last week has been a good one. But what made it extra special was that yesterday saw the first BBQ of the year. Mum and dad went next door and cooked up some food. They even said they made a special effort not to cook too much, because every time they do a BBQ there's always far too much food left.

So this time around I managed to get a few snacks and all the left overs were then mine for breakfast. So much for not over doing the food. Still I'm not complaining.

Happy Days

Well things have been going great lately, everything just seems great and I just seem to be enjoying life right now. We don't think about the seizure monster and we get on with living.

Dad's even taken me into work a few times and everyone sees that as a trip to the vet these days. But instead it's just been an excuse for me to go with him and spend the day doing something different. Each time I go in someone says "Oh, your off to the vet again?". Well No, not this time. When I'm with dad at work I'm as good as gold. Just lazing around and happy just to be with peoples.

Dad's been indulging his other hobby too just lately. I know he needs his car for work but he also spends time working on it to keep it in tip top shape and spends more money on it that mum would like. But it is one of my favourite places to be too. It's because it means we're going out somewhere like the woods. So I'll often jump in the back and just lie waiting until he's done before we go out.

Dad thinks its funny that the Polish guys who work in the garage opposite are wary of me when I'm out. He works on the car and I just sit around either in the car or waiting by the car and pay them no attention. But if I'm in behind the gate I'll bark at them and scare them. So when I'm not behind the gate they kind of creep around not to attract my attention, but all I really want is for them to come and say hello!

Just Mad About Snow

Mum and dad took me out for a walk in the snow yesterday. It was great fun. We went all along the road to the shops and then went around to the park where dad filmed me eating snow. I just can't get enough of it.

I like snow so much that when dad took me out today, he decided to clean the cars off first. I just stood and watched and this is how I ended up! Dad just stood laughing at me and had to take this goofy picture.

Yesterday was quite an anniversary for me. 3 months since my last seizure. That's something we're all very happy about.

Dad called the vets to arrange a repeat prescription for the medication. With money being tight at the minute I know we weren't looking forward to the having to make a chargeable visit to see the vet, then having to pay for a blood test and then having to pay for the prescription. Well I think we caught them on a good day. They didn't demand we had an appointment or blood test, yay! They just charged us for the prescription and off we went.

It's still not great as the prescription charge is £18.75, but it's much cheaper than buying the drugs from the vet. In total the drugs come to around £250 per quarter if we buy them online with the vets prescription. The vet will waive the prescription charge if we buy the drugs from them, but they are exactly double the price! We pay 7p and 14p for the 30mg and 60mg Epiphen respectively. The vet wants 14p and 28p for the same tablets. So to save £1,000 per year I must spend £80 on prescriptions. That seems like a deal to me!

Snow Days!

Hooray! The snow has returned. I love snow. Dad took me out today and I bounced and played around like a spring deer. I just really like cold weather for walkies.

With snow I love to eat it as I run along. I'll scoop my mouth in it and come out with it all over my nose - only picking the freshest and powdery snow of course. Dad said if I'm not careful I'll get brain-freeze. I'm not sure what that is, but he said I probably shouldn't worry about it with my tiny brain... I don't know what he means by that!

After mum took me out the other day she gave me a bit of a wash as she caught me rolling in something smelly. That wasn't good enough, but what with it being so cold it would be cruel to hose me down outside. So dad decided to put me in the bath. I think he regretted it afterwards. I shed so much hair he spent an hour cleaning up after me.

We're having a very good run so far. Maybe the cold weather has something to do with lack of seizures for a while. Well whatever it is I just hope it continues.

No News...

... is definitely good news!

It's been a relative age since the last seizure. If only we could put a finger on something to attribute it to. Nothing's changed. I'm still on the same tablets and food. It's just a break from the norm. And we're all very gratefull for it.

Now the cold weather is here mums frustrated with me as I won't go out to the toilet in the cold mornings. That means there has been a few days when she's got home from work to find a puddle or worse. I've also been caught out a few times when she's come home from work at lunch time and found me sleeping on her bed, that's not good.

The diet is going slowly. Dad's the taskmaster, but mum gives in a feeds me for the easy life. Sunday is far the best day as that's left over day, yummy. If I'm not fed on time 8am and 5pm then like clockwork I'll remind them what time it is. I'm certainly a little more trim and mobile, but now I love my food so much I've become a bit of a scrounger. I'll take any opportunity to steal a bit of left over pizza - my favourite.

Happy Samhain Everyone

Sam who? Yes, we know 31st October is traditionally celebrated as Hallowe'en these days. Particularly in the USA. This is turning into a hugely commercial event where everyone buys sweets for handing out at doorsteps as "Trick or Treat" gifts.

Well this just isn't right. In my dads youth they celebrated Hallowe'en, but not as a some commercial festival for corporate gain. It was about simpler things.

I think the old Celtic festival of Samhain should erase this capitalist "Trick or Treat" cash cow.

Samhain (pronounced saowen) marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations at dawn, the most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st.

So say to all, a Happy Samhain. Let us celebrate the beginning of the darker half of the year, a celebration of autumn and winter and the end of the harvest.

I Predict a ...

Well not wanting to tempt fate, but so far things are going pretty well. No sign of that nasty of seizure monster and no Tabasco's or chompies. Things have just been going really well!

50 Days without event is something to be really pleased about. We can't say why we have the good fortune, but simply welcome it with open arms.

There's not so much to say really. We're well into autumn and it's getting cold. That doesn't bother me at all. I prefer it when it's cold and when we go out for walks it means I can run about a bit more. When mum puts the heating on and the radiators get warm I have to move away from them and find somewhere cold to lie down.

You Know What Comes Next...

I would say it's obvious really, as it's been a while and posting something is bound to be the kiss of death. But so far so good. It's been a while since the last episode, but we're expecting a visit anytime soon.

We were thinking "Today's the day" a couple of times this week. I haven't had a full seizure, but I've had a couple of new small episodes of "falling". By that I mean episodes that resemble the moment when you're asleep and for no reason you suddenly jump awake trying to grab onto something as if you're falling. Well there's been a few times when I've startled dad with similar sort of actions.

After some "falling" I've been a little off. Not quite right and one day just seemed to forget about how to go down stairs! It was like I just thought you walked straight out over them, not focussing on the fact they go down as well as forwards, yikes! I ended up in a heap at the bottom after sliding down quite a few of the steps. So mum and dad are extra vigilant when I'm not looking quite right.

Unfortunatley it's not as easy as stopping me going upstairs. I'm pretty strong willed and when I want to go upstairs I will. Mum's even put stuff on the bottom of the stairs in my way to stop me going up, but that proved just as dangerous as just letting me go up anyway.

One good thing though. We went to the vets for a blood test, to update the prescription... again. Thankfully the results show the epiphen and KBr are within the range required. Money's real tight at the minute, so adding more tablets is always hard. September saw a £60 vet bill for the blood test, £253 for the drugs (epiphen and KBr for 3 months) and another £30 for Glucosamine and Milk Thistle (for a year thankfully).

My diet's taking too long. I got weighed whilst at the vets. It came in at 56kg, so mum and dad have cut my food down quite a bit. From the 2 meals a day I'd get out of 1200g of food they've now made that equal to 3 meals, so I'm down to 800g per day. Now I don't get chance to eat half my breakfast and save the rest for later in the day whilst they're out at work. Now I eat my breakfast and dinner in one go and eagerly want more. Totally different when a few years ago I didn't want food at all.

Keeping Dad on His Toes

Been a much better week this week. I'm still having the chompies every so often, but it's not as regular as it was.

Just to annoy dad I've started playing up with taking my tablets lately. I'll let him drop them in my mouth, but then I'll either shake my head sending them flying, or just hold them in my mouth for ages making him think I've taken them. But I've also realised that if I wait for him to go to work I can sick them back up before I've eaten my breakfast. So mum will find a pile of slobber and bile with tablets in.

So dad's getting sneaky. He puts a bit of butter (well vegetable based spread) on them first as he know I can't resist the taste of butter.

Wet Weather

This past week has been pretty miserable. It's a typical British summer - raining every day. Which means I'm not keen on going outside at all. Brrr, get all cold and wet, no thanks. Wet weather also means no barbecue... and that means no treats at the weekend for me.

Friday night I had a few Tabasco moments whilst sat with Dad at the computer. I quickly snapped out of them and looked at him as if to say "What was that all about?" Other than that there's been no other incidents. Usually we'd be looking for the full seizures to follow. So far, so good.

What a Fantastic Weekend!

Wow, for the past week or so the weather has been truly great. Bright sunny days and temperatures of 30 degrees. Not that I like the heat that much, but I do like to be out in the sun.

This weekend dad took me to the woods as usual. Only this time he'd forgotten to take my lead with him. That meant getting out of the car and walking with him on the street and across the road without it.Now it's not a busy road as it's in a residential estate and is not a main thoroughfare, but all the same I showed just how good I can be. There were two ladies with dogs just coming out of the gate to the woods as I was getting out of the car. I didn't even pay them any attention even though they barked hello at me. I just stayed close by dad as we walked over and into the wood.

Once in the woods I did all my usual tearing about in the trees until I was too hot and breathless. Then I found one of the known watering holes. It had dried up into a sloppy muddy mess, but that didn't stop me from dashing in for a cooling lie down. That meant a great swim later at the big pond to get the, by then, dried and caked on mud off.

On Sunday we had an early barbecue. Mum and dad don't usually light up until 5-6pm. But Sunday meant going next door to Guinness and Tiger's house. They're a couple of house cats that like to be in the garden in the good weather. I'm not sure they like me too much though. I went over to say hello to Tiger and she hissed at me. So I pretty much left them alone and just kept an eye on them both.

Dad took this picture on his phone (click for full picture). He reckons I looked so cute he couldn't understand why the cats can't just be my friends. It was so hot dad made sure to hose me down every time I dried out - you can see I'm still a little damp. But even though I was dripping wet I behaved myself and didn't do my usual trick of sharing all my water with everyone else by shaking or trying to lie on them.

So cute, I'm so Jealous

Dad took me out for a walk round the park late on Sunday night. It wasn't dark as we're supposed to be near the middle of summer - you wouldn't think so from all the rain we had today!

As we were on our way back a guy with a young rottie on a lead walked up to us. Dad didn't put me on the lead or anything and the guy came over and asked "How do you get her to walk so well off the lead?" - as if he has anything to do with it! I'm just good all on my own.

So dad and the guy got talking and turns out that "Maisy" was 9 months old and was going to the same school I went to. Now I'm not an unfriendly dog, I just don't really get all the bouncing around and chase me games. Sure it was nice to say Hi, but Maisy just wanted to bounce around and play - kids huh!

Dad said Maisy was a very nice looking dog and gave her some fuss. They talked about training techniques and I just sat there being good as they talked. I get a bit jealous when Dad pays attention to anyone but me - it's not just dogs. If he talks with mum I have to put myself in between the two of them just so I'm not ignored.

Hopefully we'll meet up with Maisy again. They said I might be a calming influence on her young exuberance.

As it's prescription renewal time dad phoned the vet and they explained that the last blood test for KBr levels didn't work out and they wanted to retake them. So we did that trip to the vets last Thursday. Just as before I sat there the vet jabbed me with a needle and I didn't even show that anything was going on.

So they said call us on Monday for the results. Dad didn't do that as he was busy Monday, so called on Tuesday - only to be told to call back on Thursday as they're not returned yet. More delays. Good job dad planned a little ahead and planned on getting the prescription two weeks before the tablets ran out this time.

If they aren't ready Thursday that means we get into a pickle about ordering on-line and allowing shipping time. I'm beginning to think that because we don't pay the vets extortionate drug prices they decide to make our life difficult.