Practice Gratitude

-43Things friends, both near and far.
-The end of a long day.
-My mood and strength improving as the day progressed.
-The many people who are helping look after my good health.
-An injured toe that is slowly healing.
-Kind words and thoughts.
-A tasty supper which hit the spot tonight.
-Feeling well enough to work on a crossword on the bus ride home.
-a warm home on a damp, cool (but not cold) night.

-43Things members’ sense of humour.
-43Things friends.
-The good health of my children.
-A nice, mild winter day.
-Our dog, Buster, starting to feel better again.
-Good, healthy food choices.
-The gift of music.
-A warm home.
-The wonders of modern medicine.

-My 43Things friends.
-The things that my 43Things friends help teach me.
-The wonders of modern medicine making Buster feel better quickly.
-A wagging tail that greeted me this evening when I got home from work.
-That the latest cold snap is waning and it is going to be milder over the next couple of days, although more snow, too, is coming.
-A warm home to enjoy at the end of a long day.
-Good healthy food to eat.
-My fellow band members and all of us having fun yesterday, playing again together at church.
-A nice quiet evening.

Our Buster had another seizure this morning, just after 6am.

I’m grateful, because Buster seems to have come out of it ok, he seemed fine this afternoon and this evening. Like the other 4 times, this seizure lasted about 5 minutes and he was convulsing and frothing at the mouth. It’s pretty scary to experience and when it’s over, Buster can’t stand up properly for a few minutes, he has no control over his hindquarters for awhile. I feel that Buster is afraid of these events, because he doesn’t know what it is. I don’t know if it is bringing him pain or not during the seizure. He doesn’t cry or make any noise while it’s happening.

Buster had had a run of blood and urine tests in June and nothing came up to suggest an illness or abnormal white or red blood cell count. However, the vet told us that there are some cranial growths (both benign and malignant) that could cause seizures, but may not show up on initial tests. I am hoping that it is heat related and it is not anything more serious, such as a cranial tumour.
His test a couple of weeks ago for Heartworm also came up negative.

Buster is a very fun part of our family and he is now going on 10 years of age. This was quite unsettling this morning and I was worrying about him all day. Fortunately, Adam was not working today, so there was someone in the house with Buster for most of the day. Tonight, Buster was acting like his normal self, with no signs at all of his episode this morning.

For now, for the next month or so, the vet asked us to record the dates of any further seizures and come in to their office with Buster if the frequency increases. We may have to make some very difficult choices about his treatment options if these seizures continue.

Wishing my American friends a wonderful July 4th Independence Day holiday tomorrow!

This morning, around 11:45am, our Buster had a seizure, for about five minutes. As far as we know, this was his first one ever.
He was splayed out on the floor in the back hall, shaking and frothing at the mouth and he seemed to have no control over his hindquarters. He tried several times to get up, but he couldn’t do so. We comforted him as best as we could and finally, it was over. Buster didn’t lose control of his bowel movements and he then managed to get himself up, but he was quite wobbly for a couple of minutes. I think the experience scared him quite a bit.

We called the vet and made an appointment for him for 1pm and we’ve been back now for several hours. Buster was happy to leave the animal hospital. The vet who he knows examined him carefully, his heart is good and his temperature is normal. They took blood and urine samples and we’ll get the results late next week. We’re going to stay home today and keep an eye on our friend Buster. He seems to be back to normal, except that he’s keeping very close to mommy.

The vet said that it could be several things, so he didn’t want to speculate. He didn’t think it was epilepsy, because that often manifests itself before age 7 in dogs. Buster turned 9 this past March. When we get the results of the tests, we will know more and be able to narrow it down.

During the examination, the doc noticed that one of Buster’s teeth was broken. We will need to take care of that next week sometime. He doesn’t seem to be in pain from it, although they will want to take x-rays, in case there is infection present.

Right after the seizure, we tried to offer Buster some toast with a bit of honey on it, in case his blood sugar was low, but he wouldn’t take it. (So we knew something was wrong!)

So far this afternoon, Buster seems to be doing ok. We don’t know what the next few weeks will bring us, though.

-Friends who believe in me.
-Friends who want to believe in me. ;)
-Having patience.
-Good healthy food.
-Spring rain.
-Weekends.
-43Things.
-Our loving pets.
-My healthy children.

-Friends who care about me.
-The safe return of my younger son from a 600km round trip excursion this past weekend.
-A warm, comfortable home.
-Friends who may have patience for me.
-A place to go after a trying work day.
-Good healthy food.
-The calming power of music.
-Not having to go out tonight.
-Spring flowers.

-Beautiful Spring weather over the past 5 days.
-our blooming crocuses and daffodils.
-Everything greening up quickly.
-Spring rain.
-43Things friends.
-Healthy food.
-A warm home.
-My elder son, Matt, visiting before going out west for the Summer.
-The wonders of modern medicine (i.e. yes, we can do it, Col. Steve Austin! Six Million Dollar Man…in 1975 dollars, too!)

I’m feeling very tired out after a long but satisfying work day. It’s so nice to be home to unwind and relax.

I can imagine that the Mardi Gras partiers are going full tilt today and tonight in New Orleans! Ash Wednesday is tomorrow…