So we finally have some progress. Not towards a diagnosis but to the next level of diagnostic care. My PCP (who is wonderful and listens to me and Mom all the time and even lets us e-mail him)is referring me to the Mayo Clinic Diagnostic Division in Jacksonville Florida! Everyone in my family has heard nothing but wonderful things about them and the wonderful ladies on the Pets board I frequently shared some of their Mayo Clinic success stories with me. We really hope that this is the place that can figure me out so I can get back to life!
Dixie is doing absolutely wonderful in her training. We had a break through and are now planning on doing her certification test/performance in 2-3 weeks! She has been going with me to most places (all places if Dad or my Aunt Kay takes me) and I haven't had an attack in a few weeks! My physical therapist thinks it is because Dixie knows when I start getting too painful and will get agitated which alerts me that I need to stop before and attack is even set off. She also says I am much more relaxed when I have Dixie with me. CHeck out Dixie's blog to read more about her training.
I'm also "in class" now and I'm really enjoying it. I'm learning a lot of new things and it will be really useful in the future.
I've touched on this before, but I think one of the best things to come out of this illness is me figuring out what my calling really is. I was never 100% happy being a vet tech in a regular vet practice. Don't get me wrong, I loved the work but there was always something that was a little off when I sat down and thought about it. I realized that what I really truly love is behavior and training. Not tooting my own horn, but I have always been able to read animals and help them calm down. There were clients that would ask that I help with their "problem" dogs because they didn't get so stressed. Now that I know more, I know why that was. I want to help people work with their dogs that have behavior issues rather than dump them at a shelter or euthanize them.
