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Goodbye, Ember
Oct. 24th, 2011 04:07 pmI will always remember
gently falling leaves
Autumn's last glowing Ember
gently falling leaves
Autumn's last glowing Ember
Update on Ember, the good news
Oct. 3rd, 2011 11:58 amFirst of all, a huuuuuge thank you to all of the people who helped out with raising money to take Ember to the specialist. We couldn't have done it without you. So, you've helped save our corgi's life, and i will always be grateful.
So things have been better for Ember the last few days. He's on an antibiotic for the pneumonia, which is helping. And, now that we know he has megaesophagus, we can start feeding him in a different way. My husband built a Bailey chair him the day we got back from the vet, and he's been eating all of his meals in that.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sidA3-7XezU He doesn't mind eating in the chair, but he hates the 15-20 minute wait after. Also, he won't yet drink his water that way, which is the bigger concern due to higher risk of aspiration. So i put a good bit of water in his food and mash it up.
The change in him has been dramatic. He's only thrown up 3 times since he's been back, as opposed to 15+ times per day. He is no longer coughing, wheezing, or sounding like he's going to drown. He almost sounds like normal... even his bark has improved. Best of all, he no longer lays on his blanket 95% of the time. Now, he gets up to greet us, he gets up to go outside, he moves from room to room, he plays a little, he barks at the squirrels, he chews on toys. He comes up and asks for pets, and he's right there waiting in the kitchen with the others when it's mealtime. Going down the stairs is no longer a problem. Occasionally he even makes it up the stairs without prompting or encouragement. Not all the time, but that's ok. It's been a huge difference.
We haven't yet received the blood test results to see if he has the myasthenia gravis or addisons, so we don't know the full picture yet. But just treating the megaesophagus is very helpful and making us more hopeful for his future. It's a bit of a chore to feed him in the chair several times a day, and to have to keep the water bowl up off the floor, but that's ok. He's worth it. I just hope we can afford whatever other treatment he will need.
Thanks again. Here's to hoping he continues to improve and we have many more years with him.
Other things are going on too, but i'll have to make another post sometime soon for that.
So things have been better for Ember the last few days. He's on an antibiotic for the pneumonia, which is helping. And, now that we know he has megaesophagus, we can start feeding him in a different way. My husband built a Bailey chair him the day we got back from the vet, and he's been eating all of his meals in that.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sidA3-7XezU He doesn't mind eating in the chair, but he hates the 15-20 minute wait after. Also, he won't yet drink his water that way, which is the bigger concern due to higher risk of aspiration. So i put a good bit of water in his food and mash it up.
The change in him has been dramatic. He's only thrown up 3 times since he's been back, as opposed to 15+ times per day. He is no longer coughing, wheezing, or sounding like he's going to drown. He almost sounds like normal... even his bark has improved. Best of all, he no longer lays on his blanket 95% of the time. Now, he gets up to greet us, he gets up to go outside, he moves from room to room, he plays a little, he barks at the squirrels, he chews on toys. He comes up and asks for pets, and he's right there waiting in the kitchen with the others when it's mealtime. Going down the stairs is no longer a problem. Occasionally he even makes it up the stairs without prompting or encouragement. Not all the time, but that's ok. It's been a huge difference.
We haven't yet received the blood test results to see if he has the myasthenia gravis or addisons, so we don't know the full picture yet. But just treating the megaesophagus is very helpful and making us more hopeful for his future. It's a bit of a chore to feed him in the chair several times a day, and to have to keep the water bowl up off the floor, but that's ok. He's worth it. I just hope we can afford whatever other treatment he will need.
Thanks again. Here's to hoping he continues to improve and we have many more years with him.
Other things are going on too, but i'll have to make another post sometime soon for that.
State of the Corgi
Sep. 8th, 2011 10:59 pmOk. So I've been needing to update this for awhile now, but I just haven't had the energy or the words. Ember, our corgi, is not getting better. He seems to be in a gradual but steady decline. This past September 5th, labor day this year, was his 7th birthday. The day after his birthday he got to go to yet another veterinary appointment in a long string of them. This time, the vet looked him over, looked at the bloodwork we had done, which was normal, looked at all the medicines he was on, and discussed the x-rays. He said he was worried that he was getting skinny and losing muscle tone. Then he hemmed and hawed and took a long time to say that basically he couldn't do anymore. That regular vets are limited and there's just no more options to try. He said we need to take Ember to a specialist, and referred us to MSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Lansing. Or we could get a referral to a place up in Grand Rapids, should we prefer.
The problem is, we can't afford another couple thousand dollars of treatment. We didn't have the $700 it's cost us so far, either. But we put it on credit. So we're ok til all the bills come due. ~sigh~
( Cut for long rambling about Ember's health problems and vet visits. )
It's really getting us down. We miss our boulder-hopping hiking buddy. I'm sure he misses playing fetch and chasing other dogs, and defending his pack from intruders. The next step is an MRI, probably, to determine if he has a tumor or something in his sinuses. So, another $1400 at least. I've updated my Etsy shop with a few more things for sale, and will be working on getting some more art up soon. But even if everything i currently have listed sold, that's less than $600. I need to make more art, now. I need to figure out what i can offer for commissions.
If you could, signal boosting my Etsy shop would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/abirdintheheart
Any other suggestions would be appreciated, as well.
The problem is, we can't afford another couple thousand dollars of treatment. We didn't have the $700 it's cost us so far, either. But we put it on credit. So we're ok til all the bills come due. ~sigh~
( Cut for long rambling about Ember's health problems and vet visits. )
It's really getting us down. We miss our boulder-hopping hiking buddy. I'm sure he misses playing fetch and chasing other dogs, and defending his pack from intruders. The next step is an MRI, probably, to determine if he has a tumor or something in his sinuses. So, another $1400 at least. I've updated my Etsy shop with a few more things for sale, and will be working on getting some more art up soon. But even if everything i currently have listed sold, that's less than $600. I need to make more art, now. I need to figure out what i can offer for commissions.
If you could, signal boosting my Etsy shop would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/abirdintheheart
Any other suggestions would be appreciated, as well.
