At least I have a good excuse this time!

I have been ridiculously busy for someone who can't leave the house on her own. Last Thursday my mom's chihuahua found 2 kittens behind our pool pump. They were around 4 weeks old so we have been bottle feeding them (read: Mom and I have been bottle feeding them). They are doing very well and have started using the litterbox on their own consistently the past day or two! They will not be staying with us but we are fostering them until they are old enough to be adopted out.
The CRPS does seem to have spread to my entire left arm now. It sucks but there is nothing I can do about it. I'm going to an acupressure doctor in Atlanta next week so we will see how that goes.

Le sigh

This week is not going so well thus far. My tests on Monday were bad and I just hoped I passed.
Yesterday wasn't too bad, just a pretty lazy day.
Today my hand is partially swollen and really painful. This is a normal progression of CRPS but it just sucks. I lost what little use I have of my left upper body. It blows.
The girls are doing great. I got Dixie a princess costume and am waiting for Lola's matching witch costume to arrive. Both of their costumes have corset tops and I am wearing my Ren Faire outfit so we all kind of match. I'm pretty excited about getting a partial family picture in costume :-p

I know, I know, my poor blog readers are neglected

Although, honestly, this has been a sensationally unexciting week. Monday and Tuesday were spent studying and taking a make-up quiz for a class. Wednesday I woke up feeling like death and spent the day in bed except for the couple hours I was at the urgent care (where the doctor got distracted for CRPS and didn't test me for the flu despite my "FLU-LIKE symptoms").
Thursday I went to a local allergy doctor to get my Xolair injections transferred to them and they recommended I go to another urgent care because they were sure I had the flu. And they were right.
So I've been spending most of my time in my room in an effort to not make everyone else sick. And eating soup. Lots of soup. Because nausea is a part of it.
I did order Lola's Halloween costume today. Dixie already has hers and has pictures in her blog of her in it. I promise to upload pictures of Lola Belle too and eventually a group picture of all 3 of us in costume together.

The downside of blog popularity

So I realized that since everyone now has this blog address and got used to checking it for updates, I should probably become regular about updates. (And by realized, I mean one of my best friends said she was stalking this and Dixie's blog to keep up with me :-P)

We spent the weekend in Charleston, SC with Vogel and Granddad. We relaxed most of the time but did manage to get out to the outlets (where I got a coat that fit my arm!). We got back on Sunday and had to go to my Great Aunt Betty's visitation after that.

The rest of this week has been spent recovering and trying to get all of my school stuff worked out. It is quite a bit more difficult when you are 100 miles away from campus and can only talk through e-mail. Things are worked out so I will be spending my "fall break" studying.

Day 7: Treatment Plan

Today I had the breast ultrasound done and it was normal. After that we went to try and get in with the pain doctor (since they scheduled it for next week). That didn't pan out so we just waited until my appointment with the pain psychologist

He is referring me to a pain program in Rochester Minnesota. It is 3 weeks long and includes everything from occupational therapy to medication. It isn't a cure but it should help.

This means that the diagnosis is most likely Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). It has no cure but can be treated. It can come and go but there is not as much of a timeline as some think. Dixie will probably have her job for life. I probably won't go back to being a vet tech, since it will put too much stress on my arm if I'm healthy again. So now, I am definitely going to pursue behavior and training. After I'm done with Mayo Rochester, I'll be looking to be an assistant trainer to get my foot in the door there.

Day 6: Sorry I'm late!

I know this update is late but I was enjoying an actual hot bath for once. So many days of lots of walking in Rainbows caught up with my back and legs so I needed a good soak.

Today I went to my wonderful chiro again. We did another cold laser treatment and then she brought up some supplements she wants me to start. She did a test to see which of my organs were stressed, which nutrients were deficient and what foods I should avoid (most of which I allergic to in some degree). Anyone who has talked to me about how I maintain my animals and Mom and Dad's animals knows that I am a huge supporter of holistic medicine and using supplements for health so I'm definitely up for this. It certainly can't hurt like some treatments in the past have.

After that we went to Mayo for my appointment with the breast specialist. She was very ncie and said she doesn't think it is a problem with my breast but that the swelling and pain there are an effect of the original swelling and pain. She is sending me to a lymph clinic in case there is any lypmhedema (although she doubts it and it has been ruled out previously), a neurologist (to confirm the CRPS diagnosis she believes) and for a breast ultrasound just in case because of the severity of my pain.

I am waiting for all of that to be scheduled plus the stuff my doctor is still fighting insurance for. I do for sure have an appointment with the pain psychologist and will most likely have at least the ultrasound tomorrow.

Dixie did her job today perfectly. The exam by the doctor was really painful and after I got off the table, while she was talking, Dixie started alerting I took my medication and we AVERTED the attack! I got a little shakey but did NOT have a full blown attack!! This is the pinnacle of a medical alert dog's training.

I'm so proud of my wonderful Dixie! If this is CRPS, she will be my service dog for the rest of her life (well, until she needs to retire-which is a long way off) since it can't be cured, just managed.

Dixie's Story

I'm not sure how many people know the full story of how Dixie and I got into each other's lives.

I'm more and more amazed how our story has worked out.

When one of my best friends and I went to the shelter, we were just there to look and maybe give some dogs some time out of their kennels (it was a high kill shelter where the dogs rarely saw the outdoors). We made a list of dogs we wanted to play with and the first one was a spotted dog named Dixie of a breed neither one of us had ever heard of. This silly dog bounded in to the room with a smile on her face and her tail wagging like crazy. We were a little "eh" since neither of us really wanted to do the puppy thing (I wanted the cuteness but not the obnoxiousness). Then we called her name and she came. So we started trying to see if she knew commands. She didn't. So, on a whim, Jenn and I tried to teach her sit. She picked it up in the time we were in that tiny "get to know you" room.

Something had already clicked for me when a volunteer walked in a told us Dixie's entire adoption fee was paid but she had been there for a very long time (and at a high kill shelter, their days are numbered). Well, I knew that sealed the deal, Jenn loved her (and still does-she is Dixie's Aunt Jennifer and one of Dixie's favorite people in the world) and I couldn't leave without MY dog. I called Mom to ask if she would mind dogsitting for a month while I was in Australia. She agreed and I literally ran to the front desk to adopt my dog. She had to stay at the shelter to be spayed and I was a nervous wreck until they said they got her spay in earlier and I could pick her up 2 days early. She captured my heart and everyone else who met her loved her too (well, except Dad...he said she proved that animals could be evil!). Don't worry, Dad has come around too. I have yet to meet anyone that can resist Dixie's charm.

Today I have no doubt she is my heart dog, that four legged soul mate some people are lucky enough to have in their lives. She helps keep me healthy and improves my quality of life.

I've said it a lot, but I will never be able to repay her for what she does for me. Because of that, I want to help as many homeless animals as I can. So many people think that all shelter animals have problems. Guess what? They don't. The tope 3 reasons animals are dumped at shelters are :the owners moved, they had a baby or someone is allergic to the animal. There are purebreds and mixed breeds ranging in size from tiny to giant. Unless you show your dog in AKC conformation shows, I don't see the reason to buy an animal. There are millions of homeless dogs and cats killed every year and breeding your dog or cat without championships under its belt is simply irresponsible. The world does not need any more of whatever you have. If you breed your dog and it has 6 puppies, you have just sentenced 6 innocent animals to death. You can't guarantee that those puppies will go to great forever homes, generally at least 2 of those puppies will end up in shelters.

So next time you want to add to your family check out www.petfinder.org There are tons of wonderful animals out there waiting for their forever home!