We're Back!

But I don't think I told you that we left! Anyways, we went away for the weekend to visit our good friends out in Arizona. It was a six hour drive which we did overnight on the way there and were sooo exhausted that we were pretty much worthless that first day there. We all drove out to this little private pond out in the middle of nowhere and had a great time fishing. Matt works for Game & Fish out there so he has all the hookups when it comes to fishing...and since that is probably Brandons favorite thing in the world to do, they went out to the River on Sunday and went fishing for the whole first half of the day. Which left Natalie and I and our kids. So we took them to a park that had a retired train (the engine and 2 other pieces) parked right in the middle for the kids to explore. They had sooo much fun!

Raegann's newest thing...when I ask her to smile for the camera,
this is the beautiful face I get!!!

In other news, our dog, Redgie had yet another seizure last night. This is probably his fifth episode in the last year. They are horrible for him and everyone around. He gets so scared and just needs you to be right with him throughout and petting him and comforting him. They usually happen about every two months so I kinda know when to expect them, but before last night it had been four whole months! I was getting something out of the fridge for Raegann and suddenly I felt Redgie’s fuzzy face wedged between my lower legs and then he lay down on the tile behind me. I turned around wondering what the heck had gotten into him and why he was being so darn pushy and realized that he was about to seizure. I had an un-napped Raegann whining and crying standing in front of me and Kamryn in my arms. I knelt down and put my free arm over Redge and began stroking him and asked Rae to please go wait for mommy in the living room because Redgie was sick. She was confused and frustrated so she was whimpering and whining and making my nerves all on edge and I had to try to remain cool and calm for Redgie’s sake. Finally Marshall happened to come up right as the first seizure passed and I handed Kammie off to him and asked him to take Raegann outside. Redgie seemed better as he got up and was panting and waging his tail, but shortly after he lay back down. So I sat right next to him again and did the same thing. This time his actual seizure lasted about five minutes but he was still not getting up and was still breathing heavily through his nose. A few minutes passed and he suddenly would stiffen up and shake violently and all the while I would pet him and tell him everything was okay and that he was such a good boy. This cycle kept repeating and soon Kerri came up and then Brandon came home and nearly an hour had already gone by. There was saliva covering me and the floor around Redgie. I recalled that the last time we took him down to the ER vet they gave him valium as a sedative to break the seizure cycle (even though he was not seizureing by the time we got there) so I thought we should call around to the vets in town to see if we could get a hold of some. But of course it was too late and everything was closed so we called the ER vet and they recommended we bring him in because he was at risk for brain damage if they continued. So we jumped in the car and headed for the ER. I left Rae and Kam with Kerri and Marshall and I sat in the back of the car with Redgie. He had probably four more attacks before we were half way there (it was approx a 30 min drive). And then lo and behold the cycle suddenly broke when we were about 10 min away. When we got there we put Redge on a leash and he jumped out and was as hyper and cheerful as ever. Bran went in and talked with them and we decided to just bring him home. They said that happens all the time where the animal is “suddenly healed” by the time they arrive. And they told us that Epilepsy is common in pure bred labs. Nice. I think I am going to take him to the normal vet to see if they will prescribe some valium to have on hand for future episodes…although taking him for a drive seems to work just as well. Thank the lord that he is still feeling fine and probably doesn’t even remember any of the drama that we went through last night. I was seriously visualizing him passing away in my arms and that is one scary thought. Last year when we took him in they said that we could put him on anti-seizure meds but if we did that then he would have to be on them for the rest of his life and they are sure to shorten his life span. Although a seizure can cause brain damage and even death, but if monitored they can be delt with. I have been doing some research over the past year on some alternative remedies and found an all natural dog food website (Wysong) that many have claimed has helped their Epileptic dogs be seizure free. We already spend a pretty penny and get Redgie the high-quality pet shop dog food, and as far as price comparison goes, it’s not really much more. So I think I may have to invest and give Wysong a try. Please pray for my pooch…he is much too young and we love him much too dearly to loose him.