Steady improvements
2008-04-17 21:50 Filed in: Beau's
lymphoma treatment
Things
look to be going much better back in Virginia, which
is a welcomed relief for us all. Plus, it would
appear that Lisa is now "one of us". See what I mean
in today's update from our guest blogger...
Changes
Well it's been a few days since my last update. I figured I better get one out since I was starting to get phone calls and emails from friends and family very concerned with how things were progressing.
The past few days have been filled with changes. Since the last update, most of the changes have been for the better. Beau is eating, drinking, and once again interested in whatever is going on around him. At meal preparation, he has resumed barking at me, telling me to hurry up. The clink of a spoon or a dish going into the dishwasher brings him to the kitchen where he tilts his head to one side as if to say "Hey, got food?" When I go downstairs and call for him to join me, he runs down continuing that pace until he jumps up on the couch—all the while wagging his tail. As for the quieter times, I see a change there too. Beau's body language when relaxing or sleeping has changed from when he was really sick. He no longer sleeps in what appeared to be the "fetal position" like many of us do when feeling really sick. This is the Beau I know.
Other changes--
I haven't had to send Ken and Caren a text message telling them I was off to South Paws for another unscheduled visit.
I haven't cried since Tuesday morning.
Maggie is "bugging" Beau again like any sister torments a brother (my brothers can relate). While he was sick, Maggie was very respectful around him as it was obvious she was concerned.
With all these wonderful changes you must be wondering why I said "most" of them have been for the better. Let me explain.
For me, taking care of two hounds 24x7 is a big enough change when I am normally only responsible for myself. I am used to it because I have taken care of Beau and Maggie countless times before, whether here at their house or at "Hound Central" (a nickname for my home). But over the years I have held fast to one thing:
I don't sleep with dogs in my bed.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not critical of anyone that chooses to sleep with their pets. I know I have "confused" Maggie and Beau in the past whenever I have gone to bed without them. It is a matter of personal preference, and I choose not to.
Until now.
Yes, it's true. I have made a monumental change. The last two nights Beau and Maggie have joined me in bed. Since Beau is on prednisone, he drinks more which makes him piddle more. Even though a light sleeper, as exhausted as I've been, I was concerned I wouldn't hear Beau bark, or ring the basement "bells" during the night indicating he needs to go out. The only way to ensure I would know Beau needed to go out was to give in and bring him to bed with me. And that meant Maggie was coming too.
With this decision, I “made my own bed” so-to-speak and as a result, now have to “lie in it” for the duration of my stay. For instance, I must now help a 73 pound hound and his slightly lighter sister climb up and down from an incredibly high bed. If you’ve never met me, let me just add that I am just over 5 feet tall. (Does anyone out there know how to teach Bassets to give me a "leg-up" into that bed?) Seriously, I can only imagine what Beau and Maggie think as they watch me struggle to crawl up into bed each time. (Sliding off the edge to get down is so much easier.) But wait, there’s more. Once in bed, I have to lay down perpendicular to the normal way because the two of them have taken over the foot of the bed!
That first night was tough. I heard every snort, fidget, rollover, yawn, and snore - yes, Maggie snores! But more importantly, I heard Beau whine during the night, telling me he needed to go out. Last night was better, until I woke to find I was precariously perched on the very edge of the bed with Beau at my feet and Maggie stretched along my side. One wrong move would put me on the floor—and it was a long way down! It was a rude awakening indeed to think I could be the concept for the next medical alert product’s TV commercial. You know – like the one from the late 80’s where the old lady falls, pushes the button on her alert necklace and cries out in a crabby voice “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” In my version, there’d be a special necklace for pets, and Beau and Maggie would be peering helplessly over the edge of the bed pushing their own alert buttons with their paws while howling “We’re stranded and we can’t get down!”
Changes. The changes in Beau are definitely for the better, and I have embraced each and every one. I am still adjusting to my change in sleeping arrangements, but honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Well--- let me clarify by saying I wouldn’t have it any other way during this particular stay. The next time will be another story.
Changes
Well it's been a few days since my last update. I figured I better get one out since I was starting to get phone calls and emails from friends and family very concerned with how things were progressing.
The past few days have been filled with changes. Since the last update, most of the changes have been for the better. Beau is eating, drinking, and once again interested in whatever is going on around him. At meal preparation, he has resumed barking at me, telling me to hurry up. The clink of a spoon or a dish going into the dishwasher brings him to the kitchen where he tilts his head to one side as if to say "Hey, got food?" When I go downstairs and call for him to join me, he runs down continuing that pace until he jumps up on the couch—all the while wagging his tail. As for the quieter times, I see a change there too. Beau's body language when relaxing or sleeping has changed from when he was really sick. He no longer sleeps in what appeared to be the "fetal position" like many of us do when feeling really sick. This is the Beau I know.
Other changes--
I haven't had to send Ken and Caren a text message telling them I was off to South Paws for another unscheduled visit.
I haven't cried since Tuesday morning.
Maggie is "bugging" Beau again like any sister torments a brother (my brothers can relate). While he was sick, Maggie was very respectful around him as it was obvious she was concerned.
With all these wonderful changes you must be wondering why I said "most" of them have been for the better. Let me explain.
For me, taking care of two hounds 24x7 is a big enough change when I am normally only responsible for myself. I am used to it because I have taken care of Beau and Maggie countless times before, whether here at their house or at "Hound Central" (a nickname for my home). But over the years I have held fast to one thing:
I don't sleep with dogs in my bed.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not critical of anyone that chooses to sleep with their pets. I know I have "confused" Maggie and Beau in the past whenever I have gone to bed without them. It is a matter of personal preference, and I choose not to.
Until now.
Yes, it's true. I have made a monumental change. The last two nights Beau and Maggie have joined me in bed. Since Beau is on prednisone, he drinks more which makes him piddle more. Even though a light sleeper, as exhausted as I've been, I was concerned I wouldn't hear Beau bark, or ring the basement "bells" during the night indicating he needs to go out. The only way to ensure I would know Beau needed to go out was to give in and bring him to bed with me. And that meant Maggie was coming too.
With this decision, I “made my own bed” so-to-speak and as a result, now have to “lie in it” for the duration of my stay. For instance, I must now help a 73 pound hound and his slightly lighter sister climb up and down from an incredibly high bed. If you’ve never met me, let me just add that I am just over 5 feet tall. (Does anyone out there know how to teach Bassets to give me a "leg-up" into that bed?) Seriously, I can only imagine what Beau and Maggie think as they watch me struggle to crawl up into bed each time. (Sliding off the edge to get down is so much easier.) But wait, there’s more. Once in bed, I have to lay down perpendicular to the normal way because the two of them have taken over the foot of the bed!
That first night was tough. I heard every snort, fidget, rollover, yawn, and snore - yes, Maggie snores! But more importantly, I heard Beau whine during the night, telling me he needed to go out. Last night was better, until I woke to find I was precariously perched on the very edge of the bed with Beau at my feet and Maggie stretched along my side. One wrong move would put me on the floor—and it was a long way down! It was a rude awakening indeed to think I could be the concept for the next medical alert product’s TV commercial. You know – like the one from the late 80’s where the old lady falls, pushes the button on her alert necklace and cries out in a crabby voice “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” In my version, there’d be a special necklace for pets, and Beau and Maggie would be peering helplessly over the edge of the bed pushing their own alert buttons with their paws while howling “We’re stranded and we can’t get down!”
Changes. The changes in Beau are definitely for the better, and I have embraced each and every one. I am still adjusting to my change in sleeping arrangements, but honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Well--- let me clarify by saying I wouldn’t have it any other way during this particular stay. The next time will be another story.
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