Flashback Friday - Eileen

Eileen was our first rescue Boxer girl.  Her foster mom made this of her and Tonka.  The look on her face is priceless.  She loved everyone and not much would tick her off, but getting in her way on the couch apparently was one of her sticking points.

 

We sure do miss our girl. 

Flashback Friday - Christmas 2009

Pictures taken December 2009 - two excited parents-to-be

We sure do miss our Eileen.  Her facial expressions were by far the best, hands down.

 

 

Eileen

It's been 11 days since Eileen went to the bridge. 11 days waking up without her in our bed and 11 nights of her not being here during the rowdiest part of our days. She was sick and we knew that, but nothing made August 11th any easier for us.  Mike took her to the vet to get her glucose levels checked that morning as she had been seizing off and on throughout the week.  I convinced myself that she was fine, this was just part of the diagnosis and we would re-configure her feeding and meds.

An hour after eating her breakfast, Eileen's glucose was at 40.  A normal-low range is 80-100 so the vet gave her a Nutracal to boost her levels. She was only able to hit a 60 and was back down to a 40 within an hour.  Mike got the call from the vet and although it nearly killed him, he knew it was her time.  He called me at work and both of us just sat on the phone and cried. We agreed that it was time to help her along.  We both left work and went to the vet office. 

Of course we took a bunch of her favorite duck jerky strips and she loved them. It was a very hard experience, but we've had so many supportive friends and family members to help us through.  We asked the clinic about having her body or at least her pancreas donated to research, but the lab at Texas A&M is too far of a drive; she was creamated. 

She was a very special friend and even the staff at the vet office had a hard time with her passing.  They sent a really nice sympathy card and everyone wrote special notes about our girl. 

We miss Eileen deeply. Life around here isn't the same without our "Fat Girl". I wanted to share her nicknames:

Fat Girl
Mama Bear
Senorita Eileen
Leaner Beaner
Lean Butt, Bean Butt
Leannie Lou
Sister
Heavy Breather
Pretty Lady

Adoption Day! April 4, 2009

doing what she did best, hold down the couch

our first family picture

watchin' CatTV

The Easter Boxer

always the little mother hen

Daddy's favorite couch potato

drama queen

always looking out for Little Brother

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

What a day

It's been a day full of ups and downs, but mostly downs.  We started out the day with me sleeping through my alarm. I got a new phone over the weekend and apparently I didn't set the volume up high enough. I missed my workout but fortunately Mike's alarm went off and I was able to get a shower before work.

After I dropped Henry off at Deb's, I got a call from Mike that 8:30 that the alarm company called and apparently someone attempted to break into our home. We believe they hopped the fence and tried to open the bedroom window as the screen wasn't flush with the window. Thank God the alarm scared him away.  Since Mike rode the train to work, I drove back home to meet the cops (my mom and our neighbor met me there), and they finally showed up 55 minutes after they were called. Fortunately nothing was damaged but our sense of security. I felt like we were being watched as the attempted break in happened not long after we left the house.  Icky feeling.  I stand firmly that you can come in and steal whatever you feel you need, just please, please don't hurt me or my babies, Mike included. 

All day, I looked forward to being home, all of us together again.  The night was pretty good to start, Henry was happy, laughing and playing with his Daddy. Poor Eileen took a turn for the worse though, she started having seizures again tonight.  We're afraid either her blood sugar bottomed out or worse,  the tumor is back.  We'll take her to the vet in the morning to get her checked out; please say a prayer for our sweet girl.  We only want the best for her, we want our happy girl back.

Welcome home, Eileen!

Tonight Mike picked up Eileen from the clinic and brought her home!  What a great day!!  It was fantastic coming home to her sweet, sweet face. She was panting a bit more than usual, but she seemed really happy, kisses for everyone.  Goodness, we sure missed her this weekend. 

Her incision doesn't look like a Frankenstein scar like I thought it would, but it's still pretty icky. She's pretty bruised and swollen, but that will heal with time.  Her spirits are definitely great, although you can tell she's tired.

We will be on a 4-hour feeding schedule for a while until she's stable again.  I'll come home on lunch to feed her and Mike will take the late night shift.  Kinda feels like having a newborn again, minus the poopy diapers and colic. :)

She's resting with Mike on the couch, and snoring, of course. Life is good!

Eileen and the ugly word

Some craziness with my "oldest baby" Eileen.  I wanted to save some stuff here, please don't feel obligated to read or follow. :)

Email to family on Thursday July 7th:
I got a call from Dr. J this morning and Eileen without a doubt has insulinoma. Normal insulin level are 5-20 micrograms and Eileen's were at 76. Normal glucose levels are 100 mg and Eileen's are at 39 mg. Dr. J has been in practice since 1981 and has never diagnosed a dog with insulinoma. Leave it to Eileen to be extra special. :)


Doc J is off tomorrow, but he insists on coming in for her surgery. He said he loves Eileen to pieces, the whole clinic does, and that he would not let her wait until next week. Yes, I got all weepy eyed. What a gracious and kind man to give up his vacation day for our Mama Bear. He said the surgery is very delicate and that he wanted his full attention on her. He said there was a good chance she could go home tomorrow, but would stay if her glucose wasn't stable. I asked him if she could stay to be monitored over night, as we can't monitor her glucose. He agreed it would be better for us and her to be monitored there instead of risking a trip to the ER clinic in the middle of the night.

I can't tell you what a blessing this news has been. It's upsetting to see such crazy numbers and knowing that this is so rare in a dog, but what a blessing to have someone like Dr. J taking care of Eileen.

Keep your fingers and paws crossed for our sweet girl. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.


Email to family on Friday July 8th:

Dr. K just called and Eileen's surgery went good, but she sounded cautiously optimistic. The mass was pretty significant and her pancreas is still very irritated and inflamed. She said that it could be more cancer cells popping up so they are going to keep a close eye on her. I'm not sure what else they can do to monitor her....


The rest of her abdominal cavity was clear so that's a huge success. Her incision is approximately 12 inches long so her recovery will be long.

Dr. K set her up on a glucose drip and tested her blood sugar, thankfully it came in at 102 so that's a substantial increase from last week. The anesthesia for the surgery was pretty light, but they are giving her a mild sedative/pain control to get her through the day. At 4:30, we will make the decision to either keep her at the clinic or move her to an ER vet, depending on her blood sugars and how she's coming out of anesthesia.


So all in all, we're still nervous about her pancreas but we're very thankful that she was able to have the tumor removed.

Thank you to everyone for the kind words and concerns. Mike and I definitely appreciate the support! Eileen sends her sloppy kisses, too. :)


Mike talked to Dr. K earlier and the prognosis is pancreatic cancer and she may have about a year.  Could be more time, we're certainly hoping for that.  Mike and I are going to continue to spoil her rotten and love on her just as none of this ever happened.  When we adopted Eileen, we promised her a lifetime of love and care and we will do whatever we can to keep her happy and comfortable.

I'll update as I can.