Remember my Fight Like a Girl post from back in March? Well, my grandma fought hard but Monday her time came. Both of my parents left work to be with the other siblings at my grandma's home while I continued working and then went to my fitness for life class.
Tuesday everyone went on with their days as normal - my mom and dad went to work, I stayed home and did nothing productive, and my brother was either at work or out with friends.
Wednesday my mom rode with me to work so she could work a half day and I would pick her up after I completed my workout for fitness for life. Visitation was from 6 to 8 with a prayer type thing afterwards for the family. It was a long night of people I didn't really know other than by name talking to me. After things at the funeral home were finished most of the siblings and some of their families headed to Wausau Mine Co. for some food. Thankfully, I wasn't too hungry (until we got there and my brain told my stomach it was time to eat) thanks to a small twist cone I had prior to arriving at the funeral home.
Soft-serve ice-cream was not a random treat. My grandma always told the grandchildren that we could stop for ice-cream so she wouldn't get osteoporosis. It is the most vivid memory I have of my grandma - we had walked from her house to the library to borrow books and on our way back we stopped for ice-cream. Of course if you know my dad (which I'm sure most of you don't haha!) it didn't take much for me to get him to make the stop for the ice-cream - it's very rare that he doesn't have some for dessert.
Thursday was going to be a long day so as soon as I got home I hit the hay.
Thursday morning there was more viewing time before the church service. There were still a lot of people who showed up to pay their respects to my grandma and offer their sympathies to her children (or whoever they knew in the family) but there were less people there who were interested in talking to me - which was really fine by me. The final viewing was followed by an hour long church service and then a lunch of scalloped potatoes and ham, fruit salad, chips, and desserts.
It was a chilly windy day so everyone was bundled up when we went to the cemetery for the burial. Once our group was gathered around the tent it really wasn't too bad.
Afterwards I was dropped off at my car which I had left at the church so I could go to class to take my fourth and final test. Had I done better on the previous test I wouldn't have had to take the fourth one but it's ok, it all worked out in the end. I ended the class with a B - solid and good enough for me.
If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me tweeting about the cherry on top of those two days being that I was sick. Yup, I was lucky enough to be blessed with a cold and those two days (Wednesday & Thursday) were the worst, even with medication.
But this last week is in the past now - my cold seems to be pretty much cleared up and my grandma is in a better place so it is time to move on and tackle a new class and push forward with my other three classes.
No questions for you today. Hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and is well rested and ready to tackle Monday tomorrow!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
If Heaven wasn't so far away...
I'd take my bird dog Bo huntin' one more time.
Those are part of the lyrics to a Justin Moore song that took on a whole lot more meaning for me this weekend.
Friday morning my mom called the vet. She, my dad, and my brother ended up taking him in that morning. From the time Duke was last seen by the vet on Tuesday May 31st a bunch of lumps formed. From what I understand he had some in his lymph nodes, in his stomach area, and one which I had noticed along his spine. The diagnosis was that Duke had cancer and getting anaplasmosis (the tick carried disease) basically made the cancer flare up and start to show symptoms.
It was determined that the best option was to put Duke to sleep. The vet was ready to do it during that visit but my parents said they couldn't do it while I wasn't there. They were given some new pain medication for Duke to help keep him more comfortable until the next day.
Friday night was tough. I found myself wondering what is harder; knowing they're going to go and having to wait for that time to come, or having them go unexpectedly? I never came to a conclusion.
Saturday I had an appointment to go to. My parents went with me and we brought Duke along. Once we got home we only had a few hours left with him. We each took some alone time with Duke. During mine I told him that everything would be better soon. No more pain, you'll be able to run again, you can hunt all the pheasants, mice, and rabbits you want, and you'll be able to play fetch as much as you want because there will always be a ball thrown for you.
The time came for us to go to the vet. My brother decided he didn't want to be there so it was just my parents and I.
About a half hour after arriving at the vet we were on our way home. We took Duke home with us and he was buried next to our first dog Babe.
I went home and laid on the floor on top of Duke's doggy napper for a couple of hours.
Duke is in a better place and our house now feels empty. This is the first time in 22 years that my family hasn't had a dog. This is my first time without having a dog in my whole life. Later this year in October will be the first time in 31 years that my dad will not go to South Dakota pheasant hunting. We're dealing with a lot of firsts right now.
The selfish side of me didn't want him to go and still wishes he wasn't gone. But I know he is in a better place now and that my family will heal.
Yesterday was Duke's 10th birthday. I know he had the best birthday he could have ever wished for.
I miss and love you always and forever Duke! I'll see you again some day.
Those are part of the lyrics to a Justin Moore song that took on a whole lot more meaning for me this weekend.
Friday morning my mom called the vet. She, my dad, and my brother ended up taking him in that morning. From the time Duke was last seen by the vet on Tuesday May 31st a bunch of lumps formed. From what I understand he had some in his lymph nodes, in his stomach area, and one which I had noticed along his spine. The diagnosis was that Duke had cancer and getting anaplasmosis (the tick carried disease) basically made the cancer flare up and start to show symptoms.
It was determined that the best option was to put Duke to sleep. The vet was ready to do it during that visit but my parents said they couldn't do it while I wasn't there. They were given some new pain medication for Duke to help keep him more comfortable until the next day.
Friday night was tough. I found myself wondering what is harder; knowing they're going to go and having to wait for that time to come, or having them go unexpectedly? I never came to a conclusion.
Saturday I had an appointment to go to. My parents went with me and we brought Duke along. Once we got home we only had a few hours left with him. We each took some alone time with Duke. During mine I told him that everything would be better soon. No more pain, you'll be able to run again, you can hunt all the pheasants, mice, and rabbits you want, and you'll be able to play fetch as much as you want because there will always be a ball thrown for you.
The time came for us to go to the vet. My brother decided he didn't want to be there so it was just my parents and I.
About a half hour after arriving at the vet we were on our way home. We took Duke home with us and he was buried next to our first dog Babe.
I went home and laid on the floor on top of Duke's doggy napper for a couple of hours.
Duke is in a better place and our house now feels empty. This is the first time in 22 years that my family hasn't had a dog. This is my first time without having a dog in my whole life. Later this year in October will be the first time in 31 years that my dad will not go to South Dakota pheasant hunting. We're dealing with a lot of firsts right now.
The selfish side of me didn't want him to go and still wishes he wasn't gone. But I know he is in a better place now and that my family will heal.
Yesterday was Duke's 10th birthday. I know he had the best birthday he could have ever wished for.
I miss and love you always and forever Duke! I'll see you again some day.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wild Rollercoaster Ride
That is exactly what this whole thing with my dog Duke has been. The last time I posted (Friday 6/3/11) I was all excited that things were improving with him. Unfortunately they went back downhill. Duke was vomiting a lot, unable to keep food down. Monday morning when I went to give him his second medicine he didn't want the peanut butter sandwich that the pill was hiding in. I called the vet and got some tips of what to do to try to help. The next morning I called with an update for the vet about whether that helped. It didn't. Our vet decided to take him off of the antibiotics he's on as some dogs are really sensitive to it and hopefully that's what is irritating his stomach. Luckily it seems like that's what it was. Since taking him off the antibiotics he's been keeping food down and even made it through the whole night last night without vomiting! I don't want to jinx it but things are starting to look up again. In a week, if all goes well between now and then, our vet is going to probably put him back on the antibiotics but at a lower dose.
I feel terrible about neglecting my blog, reading and commenting on yours, and my journey to a healthier life. But sometimes there are just more important things in life. It's sad that dogs have a shorter life span than us. Duke may be the second dog our family has had but he's the one that's made that special connection with us. Don't get me wrong, we loved our first dog, but Duke just has such a different personality and he's not so much a daddy's boy, he'll do things with all of us and craves attention from us all and shows it in such funny ways. To have Duke hurting, not feeling well, or possible have something so wrong with him that we would need to say good-bye is soooo hard. Monday and Tuesday morning I've cried on the phone to my mom who is all the way in Denver for work this week. Yesterday was the first day I didn't cry, and now I'm continuing with that today.
I appreciate all of your prayers, thoughts, and well wishes so so so so much! If you don't mind I ask that you continue sending them my way until Duke is deemed "better" by the vet and we're no longer worrying and constantly noting things that happen with him so we can update the vet. Basically keep sending them my way until this rollercoaster ride is over and I'm safely back on solid ground.
I'll do my best to get back into blogging, my journey to a healthier life, and of course following your blogs soon!
I feel terrible about neglecting my blog, reading and commenting on yours, and my journey to a healthier life. But sometimes there are just more important things in life. It's sad that dogs have a shorter life span than us. Duke may be the second dog our family has had but he's the one that's made that special connection with us. Don't get me wrong, we loved our first dog, but Duke just has such a different personality and he's not so much a daddy's boy, he'll do things with all of us and craves attention from us all and shows it in such funny ways. To have Duke hurting, not feeling well, or possible have something so wrong with him that we would need to say good-bye is soooo hard. Monday and Tuesday morning I've cried on the phone to my mom who is all the way in Denver for work this week. Yesterday was the first day I didn't cry, and now I'm continuing with that today.
I appreciate all of your prayers, thoughts, and well wishes so so so so much! If you don't mind I ask that you continue sending them my way until Duke is deemed "better" by the vet and we're no longer worrying and constantly noting things that happen with him so we can update the vet. Basically keep sending them my way until this rollercoaster ride is over and I'm safely back on solid ground.
I'll do my best to get back into blogging, my journey to a healthier life, and of course following your blogs soon!
Monday, May 30, 2011
I need your prayers please!
Last week when I wrote my post about getting back on the wagon I didn't mention what was going on in my life. If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen the tweet about prayers for my dog Duke. Well here I am asking anyone who reads my blog to say a prayer for him.
Last week Sunday I noticed that Duke seemed to stumble up the stairs. My mom noticed he had a limp. My dad looked him over, felt around on his back legs (where he had the limp and what seemed to cause trouble for the stairs) and didn't find anything to explain it. No big deal right? Wrong. The next day it was worse. Duke could no longer go up stairs and he was struggling to walk. Both of his back legs seemed to give out on him, or it was painful for him to use them normally. We left him sleep in the house that night. The next day he didn't seem any better so we left him sleep in the house again and made the decision to call our vet the next day.
Wednesday morning my mom called and took the 1pm appointment time that was available. I left work at noon to run home quick to get Duke and take him to the vet. He has been eating and drinking like always so his weight hasn't changed since his last vet visit. Duke is an 83 pound Gordon Setter. Lifting and carrying him is no easy task but you do what you have to do for those you love.
Duke tested semi-positive for a disease carried by ticks. It's not Lyme but it has similar symptoms. We started him on antibiotics and some pain medicine. The antibiotics were supposed to have helped by today and if there were no signs of improvement then Duke needs to go back.
Sadly, Duke has shown no signs of improvement and according to my dad he's worse than yesterday. My mom will be calling the vet's office right at 7:30 am when it opens to see if we can get him in tomorrow. Fingers crossed that they have an opening. I will not be going this time. My brother is done with high school (graduates Wednesday) so he will go with my mom to do the lifting and carrying of Duke.
Lex always tells me POPT, power of positive thinking, so that's what I am going to do. Another great quote to remember during this time is from the TV show Hellcats. Savannah always says, "Positive outcomes only."
As much as I try to be and stay positive it breaks my heart to see Duke struggle to walk and I would assume be in pain. So I ask all of you reading to say a prayer for Duke that this next visit to the vet will have better results. My thoughts are that it's something besides the tick carried disease he tested semi-positive for. Whatever it is I hope the vet can figure that out and how to treat it so Duke can return to his normal life and no longer need to be carried long distances or up the stairs.
I apologize that I never posted those interesting posts I mentioned I had floating around in my head last week. They're still floating around and I will do my best to post them this week.
Do you have a furry child or furry sibling?
Duke certainly is part of our family. My mom calls him her son. He's such a special dog to us with an amazing personality that he will be hard to replace. Replace isn't the right word as you can never replace a family member but I don't know how else to describe it.
Last week Sunday I noticed that Duke seemed to stumble up the stairs. My mom noticed he had a limp. My dad looked him over, felt around on his back legs (where he had the limp and what seemed to cause trouble for the stairs) and didn't find anything to explain it. No big deal right? Wrong. The next day it was worse. Duke could no longer go up stairs and he was struggling to walk. Both of his back legs seemed to give out on him, or it was painful for him to use them normally. We left him sleep in the house that night. The next day he didn't seem any better so we left him sleep in the house again and made the decision to call our vet the next day.
Wednesday morning my mom called and took the 1pm appointment time that was available. I left work at noon to run home quick to get Duke and take him to the vet. He has been eating and drinking like always so his weight hasn't changed since his last vet visit. Duke is an 83 pound Gordon Setter. Lifting and carrying him is no easy task but you do what you have to do for those you love.
Duke tested semi-positive for a disease carried by ticks. It's not Lyme but it has similar symptoms. We started him on antibiotics and some pain medicine. The antibiotics were supposed to have helped by today and if there were no signs of improvement then Duke needs to go back.
Sadly, Duke has shown no signs of improvement and according to my dad he's worse than yesterday. My mom will be calling the vet's office right at 7:30 am when it opens to see if we can get him in tomorrow. Fingers crossed that they have an opening. I will not be going this time. My brother is done with high school (graduates Wednesday) so he will go with my mom to do the lifting and carrying of Duke.
Lex always tells me POPT, power of positive thinking, so that's what I am going to do. Another great quote to remember during this time is from the TV show Hellcats. Savannah always says, "Positive outcomes only."
As much as I try to be and stay positive it breaks my heart to see Duke struggle to walk and I would assume be in pain. So I ask all of you reading to say a prayer for Duke that this next visit to the vet will have better results. My thoughts are that it's something besides the tick carried disease he tested semi-positive for. Whatever it is I hope the vet can figure that out and how to treat it so Duke can return to his normal life and no longer need to be carried long distances or up the stairs.
I apologize that I never posted those interesting posts I mentioned I had floating around in my head last week. They're still floating around and I will do my best to post them this week.
Do you have a furry child or furry sibling?
Duke certainly is part of our family. My mom calls him her son. He's such a special dog to us with an amazing personality that he will be hard to replace. Replace isn't the right word as you can never replace a family member but I don't know how else to describe it.
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