Good News on New Year's Eve

Emma performed very well at the vet today... Her PCV was 33! Yes, that's right, 33! This is spectacular news, and means that the medicines are working, she's responding. It is of course critical that her body responds to the immunosuppressants for her to survive. Some dogs don't respond to it. SHE IS!!! HURRAY FOR EMMA!!! Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers that you've sent our way. We are so thankful for the support. We are not out of the woods yet, but this is a very good step in the right direction, and it means more time with Emma! Have a Happy New Year! Next check up for Em is next week!

Good Day Today

Emma had a good day today! Up and about more and more, ears a little perkier, begging for treats, etc. I take her in tomorrow to GVS at 11:15 am for a PCV check, and I'm feeling good news coming on. Her tongue looks nice and pink - not as pink as it could be, but not pale like it was.... Her respirations are great, and she has her drooly appetite. Wow. I hope she's proving herself to be in the "good" 30%!!! Will post an update after tomorrow's appt. It feels so good to not be so anxious. I am feeling so relieved right now, and hoping it is warranted!

Guess Who's Home?

Due to Emma's PCV "stability," they decided to send her home with us today so we can monitor her here at home. Her PCV was 27 again at lunch today. We are so very glad to have her home! And is she ever glad to be here. The kids were so happy to see her, as were Nana and Papa. She's definitely not nearly her old self yet, nor will she be for a while. She just isn't getting enough oxygen yet (needs to be 40-55). It is with cautious optimism that we can let ourselves relax a little bit and rejoice tonight! The deal is... the vets keep telling us about the 30/30/30 rule with this disease. And its too early to tell which 30% Emma will fall in. 30% of dogs will bounce back, and be slowly weaned off meds and not need them anymore. 30% will need long term meds and 30% won't be able to get their immune systems under control and won't survive. Emma has so far had two transfusions to boost her RBC's and buy time for the meds to kick in, and at this point, we think she may be holding at a PCV of 27. So, she HAS to hold at 27 and start to increase on her own with medication (not further transfusions). She HAS to keep herself out of that last 30%! We have to bring her in on Wednesday to get her PCV tested again. We are watching her like a hawk right now for any signs of crashing. It's nerve-wracking being "in charge" of her health rather than the experts at GVS. She crashed 48 hours after her first transfusion. Now it is almost 48 hours after her second transfusion, so I really want to get past this next day or two before I can really let my guard down! Poor thing, I keep looking at her tongue and her gums to look for "pink" not pale. Anywho... that's the update for now. I'll sign off with a few pix of Emma doing what she loves best.

A Bit of Good News

Emma's PCV is holding so far! Yesterday at noon she was 28, then dropped to 24 at 6 pm. The bit of good news I got this morning when I called was that at midnight she was back up to 27 and at 6 a.m. she was still at 27. COME ON, GIRL! The "PCV Treats" must be working. :)

Tonight's Visiting Hours with Poo Bear

We just got back from visiting Emma. She looked pretty good, better than last night. But, her PCV has gone down some. At noon she was 28 and at 6 pm she was 24. We asked to speak with a doctor, and he gave the answer I knew he would, which is that they are not concerned about the drop b/c it's +/- 3-5%, and it could be fluids, hydration, etc. But still, in our minds it's drop and we don't want to see those. We CAN'T see those. They'll check her PCV again at midnight and then at 6 a.m. Please please please stay at 24+, Em. We tried to trick her and told her we were giving her "PCV treats." (We brought along some treats that would have been in her stocking, which has always been her favorite part about Christmas!) We'll see if the placebo PCV treats work! Until then... Here are a few shots of the girl from all of our younger years.

Emma's Fight for Life

I wish I had something more cheerful to blog about, but the biggest, all-encompassing event in our lives right now is our sweet pup, Emma. On December 23rd, Emma was suddenly stricken with a seriously life-threatening disease called AIHA, Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia. Emma went to bed the night before, not wanting her treat from her pre-bedtime potty break (HIGHLY unusual), and woke up not even able to get herself downstairs. My dad and I rushed her to the vet early that a.m. She was lethargic and not eating, two things a healthy Emma NEVER is. We were told later that afternoon, when Eric picked her up, about what they thought it was, AIHA. We were to bring her back the next morning for a follow-up blood check. AIHA is when one's immune system suddenly turns on itself, lysing its own red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the body. It can be the primary disease, or a secondary disease triggered from things like allergies, medicines, vaccines, cancers, etc. A normal PCV range (a measure of red blood cells) for a dog her size is 35-55. At the vet's, she was 10.6 then 9.3 the next morning. The doctor couldn't even believe she was able to wag her tail like she (Sort of) did, let alone be breathing. This disease is treated with prednisone and other immunosuppressents to try and get her immune system to back off the lysing of the RBC's. Unfortunately, the drugs take time, several days to work, and time is not on our side. So here it is Christmas Eve, we're in the vet's office and we are just realizing the full extent of how serious and life-threatening this is. The vet thought she would need a blood transfusion to survive, so we took her to Georgia Veterinary Specialists (GVS) to get the ball rolling. It was critical to get her RBC count up or she would be gone due to oxygen depletion/organ failure, etc. At GVS, they measured her PCV at 17, and we determined that the test was run differently at our vet's office, so she was probably never 10 or 9, but perhaps close. They still recommended the blood transfusion. The blood transfusion boosts her RBC's, only temporarily until her body lyses them and they no longer carry O2. The transfusion acts as a bandaid to keep her alive, long enough for the meds to kick in. She had her first transfusion Christmas Eve and did well for the next two days. We were even thinking she might come home to be monitored from home. Unfortunately, yesterday her PCV went from 25 to 16 and 18 (they measured it twice). Her respiration rate increased rapidly and they recommended yet another transfusion. So for now she has another bandaid, another dog's blood, to keep her alive until her meds HOPEFULLY kick in. If her immune system doesn't back off from the drugs, her fight will be over. We should know in the next 24-48 hours whether she can hold her PCV on her own. If she DOES survive, then it will be a long, long haul to monitor her condition. Trips to the vet every 2 days at first to test her PCV to make sure she's not crashing, etc. Then every week for a while, then every three weeks, etc. If she can hold steady and increase her PCV, she will be weaned off drugs hopefully completely. We only decided to fight this fight, because if she does make it through this initial crisis, there is a chance that she can get back to a normal, healthy life. So that is why we've chosen to fight with her. To get our Emma back to live out the rest of her well-deserved years with her family.

So... Emma is 8 years old. She has been the most amazing dog we could have ever dreamed up. She's our first baby. We've had so many good times with her it's ridiculous. Backpacking, hiking, swimming, camping trips, dog jogs, snow storms, trips to NY, lake trips, unconditional love, chewing damage, safety pin incidents, and tons more unconditional love. The stories of love for that girl are endless. She has the sweetest demeanor. Anyone that has ever met her has commented on how sweet and gentle she is. Then two kids came along, and although attention from us to her was reduced (after all, she's no longer the "only child"), she gets it back twofold from Lauren and Ethan. We are not ready for her to go. SHE is not ready to go. She is fighting the best she can, and we KNOW she wants to be here with us. I love that girl with all my heart.

So how are we holding up? Well... this is tough. Really tough. It's basically a waiting game with serious ups and downs. Very little ups, lots of downs. There's a good chance things won't work out in favor of Emma being here on Earth.. I'm feeling like my heart might burst. I spend the time here at home constantly fighting back tears, which is becoming physically painful. Everywhere we turn, everything we do, there's a Emma trigger, a memory, a split second where I think she's here like always. A piece of food drops on the floor, I see her favorite spots to lay down, her dog hair, her bowls, the woods out back, everywhere I look I feel her, and then it feels so empty. I am not really sure how to deal with these feelings. Eric has these moments too, and we call them PBM's. Poo Bear Moments. I realize that if you don't have a dog, there's no way you could understand the depth of love you can have for an animal, so perhaps you think this is crazy! But I can assure you it is very real.

I guess I am done for now. If you wouldn't mind, think about our sweet girl for a moment and send her some strength, some love, some prayers, some vibes, some something. I will post some updates on her condition. We go see here every night at visiting hours, and I call to check on her several times per day. Until then...

December Weekend in Pictures

Mommy's Little Helpers

Christmas Cookies, Round 2! The kids were really excited to help me make Snowballs last night! And they were certainly excited to help eat them afterwards, too! We are looking forward to a super-fun Christmas weekend! I have a 15 mile run with my running group Saturday morning, then I'm going to come home and do cut-out cookies with the kids. I think Saturday we'll make then bake, and Sunday we'll decorate them. We've also got Eric's black tie Christmas party Saturday night at the Biltmore, which is always fun! I have a new (not recycled) dress and new shoes, so for some reason that excites me, too. Sunday morning will be a nice, hot breakfast, Christmas movies and music, and some cookie decorating. Let the festivities begin! I wish this month would slow down. I really, really love Christmas time, and it is just going by too fast!

First Weekend of December

We had a great weekend around here! Decorating the house with wreaths, putting up the tree, baking Christmas cookies, watching Christmas movies, playing with worms.... Yes, worms. Here are some pictures from the weekend. As for the worms, a mom from Lauren's class and I did a worm science project with the kids in school on Friday. We observed, measured, drew, played with, and raced worms. It was a totally fun and dirty day! We brought the worms home, and all Lauren wanted to do was play with them, constantly! I'm so glad she's not afraid of worms!

"Here we are, in the woods, getting ready to cut down our perfect family tree! Ooops, I mean, here is Eric bringing up the tree from the basement."

Lauren on the deck playing with her beloved worms.

Lauren's worm "Riley"

Ethan and his Lightning McQueen Ornament

Lauren and the Tree

Riding the Gator in KY

Here are the kids riding their Gator and Grandma and Grandpa's house in Kentucky!

Thanksgiving Pictures

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving in Kentucky with Eric's parents, "Grandma and Grandpa!" They surprised the kids with a John Deere Gator (to work on the farm, of course). That was definitely one of their highlights! I think Lauren is ready for a license. Ethan, on the other hand.... We had a great time and enjoyed every minute. The photos are of Lauren and Eric and the Thanksgiving table, the kids on the Gator, Lauren petting Bourbon the horse, and Lauren petting Pumpkin the calf.

Success at 10-for-10!

I'm done! I did it! And I'm glad it's over! I really enjoyed the challenge that running 10 miles a day for 10 days in a row brought me. I knew a couple of days would be tough just to find the time.... but I did it. The travel days were tough. We drove to KY for Thanksgiving, and wanted to leave early, so running 10 beforehand was impossible. I had to run when we got there, when all the fun was just beginning and I simply wanted to be with my family. Travel day coming home was tough, too. But I prevailed, and with a little Madonna Hard Candy kickin' on the Ipod, Sunday's run after travel, Day 9, ended up being one of my fastest at 1:16, just over a 7:30 pace. The final day, Day 10, yesterday, had to be done on the treadmill. I had no other choice. 10 miles even. All in all, I ran over 102 miles, and my body held up much better than I thought it would. I did 4 runs in KY, which were tougher than I gave them credit for! I felt strong on the runs, but by 8:15 pm I was ready for bed. Such a party pooper and not the nighttime ring-leader that everyone was used to! Well, that's all until next time...