Monday, July 28, 2014

Monday Mischief, Musings, Memories, and More


Some days the Momster says it is really tough to get a post done.  She calls this "mischief", but we say we are just trying to help.


Hmm, whose tail could this be?




Did you think it was Lightning?  
Maybe this will give you a hint.



Yep, that's Ms. Ciara - Mom's very close companion these days.



Oh but wait, more help is right at her feet.  Just say the word, Mom.




Did you say you needed help finding the right letter on the keyboard?



Well, if you give me a cookie, I will leave you alone.




Cookie???  Make that one for me too.




On a more serious note, we thought we would give you an update on Ciara.  The good news is that she has not had a seizure (that we are aware of) since before she started the study.  Her time in the program ended at the end of May.  The neurologist cannot confirm for us whether or not she received the test medication, but in any event it won't be available in the U.S. for at least two years.  

He told Mom that he would like to see how Ciara did without any medication because she is so young.  He said we could always start her on something if she did begin to have more seizures.  There is some thought, but no real proof, that they may be stress-related.  Mom told him she was very concerned about how Ciara would do when the family was gone for almost two weeks and Ciara would be at the vet's for boarding.  Then once she came back home, it would be right on time for the 4th of July fireworks - last year she had a very difficult time with the loud noises.  The neurologist (who ironically was on the same cruise with his family as ours) listened to Mom's concerns and came up with a plan.  



Ciara would not go on any seizure medication right away.  If in the few weeks before the cruise they came back, Mom would have a prescription for Keppra that she could fill and either start at home before the trip or leave with our vet to administer as they saw necessary.  Then once all the chaos of the trip and the fireworks were gone, a reevaluation would be made to see if she could come off the meds.

Keppra is a seizure medication that has very few side effects and none of the bad ones that phenobarbitol can cause.  It is not one of the cheaper meds, but Mom and Dad are OK with that.  



About 3-4 days after Ciara came off the test med, she started once again with all her bizarre behavior of trying to get out of the house, out of the kitchen, clinging to Mom or Dad, and in general, just acting in a state of malaise.  Who knows if there is a connection or not?  Mom opted to start her on the Keppra about 10 days before the cruise to see how she would react.  She didn't have any bad reactions and things at least didn't get worse. 



But we now see a lot of this sad face seen in the above photo.  Whenever Mom leaves the house, she cries and cries until Dad comes out of his office.  All she wants is to get outside and lie on the deck.





We get lots of funny ears and panting and again just general ill-at-ease appearance.  She is so different from the carefree girl she used to be.





But then she has lots of good times too, playing with Lightning, eating well, and happy smiles.  The neurologist has suggested we start to wean her from the Keppra and see if anything changes.  So Mom is nervously getting ready to do that - wish us luck.


Lastly, at first Mom just let a special but sad anniversary pass by.  But then we all told her we owed it to Thunder Dunder to remember him.  It is about a year and a month since he got his silver harness, and we all still miss him so much.  



Thunder was such a wonderful and sweet boy.  Mom can't help but think about how all of Ciara's woes began when she lost her soulmate.



One of her favorite pics.  They really loved to spend time together.  The tears still come so easily for Mom.



It is nice to see that SomePup is still trying to fill the void.



Woos - Phantom, Ciara, and Lightning


35 comments:

  1. We're happy Ciara hasn't had any Seizure Monster visits, but sad she seems unhappy at times. We know you miss Thunder so much. Good for Lightning to try to help his sister.

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  2. Pleased to hear the seizure monster hasn't been back. We miss Thunder too xx

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  3. If we could woo a lot of hugs to you, we certainly would. But neither of us is a dog, so Mommy can pray and I can meow.
    You all are so sweet, we are glad you all love each other and are together. And hope Ciara gets happier and feels better.
    QUINN and Mom Carol

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  4. We're glad that Ciara hasn't had any seizures and hope all goes well as she transitions off the meds. We're sending her purrs!

    We thought of Thunder because he went to the bridge about a year after Sadie did. Our thoughts are with you because we know how much you miss him.

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  5. Happy to hear she has been seizure free but I know how worried you must be. Aww...we miss him as well. Him and Ciara were so cute together. Much love to your family from ours.

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  6. We hope Ciara's weaning off the meds goes smoothly....we are lighting a candle in memory pg Thunder today.
    Smiley Hugs!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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  7. We are glad Ciara is doing pretty good and we hope it sticks!m We will always remember the one and only Thunder.

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  8. WE also miss sweet TD.
    We are glad to hear that the Seizure Monster has stayed away.
    We are thinking about you Ciara.

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  9. Phantom, you look great in your smiley pic! :)

    Ciara,we have our paws crossed that everything works out just fine for you.

    PawHugs...

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  10. what a wonderful post - we loved hearing how everyone is doing and have our paws crossed for Ciara and hope things get easier for her.

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  11. We can't believe it's been a year since sweet Thunder left for the Bridge. (((hugs)))


    When our Dad had his first seizure he went on Keppra. It worked just fine but Dad had definite purrsonality changes. We hope things go well for Ciara.

    The Florida Furkids

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  12. Poor Ciara. She really has had it tough. Have you tried a thundershirt for her anxiety?

    Love Ruby & Penny

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  13. I have been hearing the thunder rumbling,, and of course think of aweet Thunder when we see the thunder clouds painted in the sky.

    We send all the healing thoughts we have for Ciara- every single day. We had been wondering how everything was going. Thank you for updating us.
    love
    tweedles

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  14. Ciara we are keeping all our feets crossed for you. ThT seizure monster bet get outta here
    Lily & Edward

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  15. Thankful that Ciara's seizure's have not returned, and hope weaning her off the Keppra goes OK. We will keep our paws crossed for her
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Greta

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  16. Hope Ciara continues to be free from seizures without the medication. Oh, I do feel for you, some days are just so bad without your soul mate aren't they.
    Hugs, Lynne x

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  17. There are no easy answers but we think the choices you have made are the right ones. We just hope Clara will be seizure free and off medication in time. Lovely to see sweet Phantom is doing fine. We can't believe it is just over a year since Thunder passed over. Gone but never forgotten. We know you miss him everyday as do all of you.
    Have a terrific Tuesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  18. Just don't know what to say, what to write ...
    Love y'all.

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  19. you wrote a great tale with your tail. I hope the seizures never come back. All my best wishes for your sweet girl. I often remember Thunder and sometimes I send some tears to him and all the friends we miss.

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  20. We will find it interesting to see how Ciara does once weaned off the Keppra. Our Grandpa Bob takes Keppra too for his seizures.

    We always love seeing pictures of your pack.

    We think of Thunder often with loving memories!

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  21. We hope weaning Ciara off the Keppra goes well.
    Sweet Thunder. We know your hearts are still so heavy; we really understand. It's so sweet that Lightning is trying to comfort Ciara. What a good boy!
    Cammie!
    PS: That really is ironic that Ciara's neurologist was on your same cruise!

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  22. Thank you for the update and your sweet beautiful girl. We hope as you wean her off the meds you will see a bit of the old Ciara return. I love the picture of them on their bed and the last one.....
    I agree I think she has been grieving the loss of her Thunder. I've always heard it takes humans and entire year to get through the worst part of grieving the loss of a loved one. Lots of Kitty hugs to our Woos
    Madi and mOm

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  23. We miss Thunder too. Our paws are crossed that everything works out for you, Ciara!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  24. I wish you the very best of luck with Ciara, and the medication. It is sad to hear that she often has those looks on her pretty sibe face. These situations are just so hard! I wish there was something I could do to help.
    I sent you something in your email in memory of Thunder, I hope you don't mind.
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  25. I fink hers does miss her thunder and somedays it does make her sad. I know that because I miss my Sammy J. Simpson, and momma often see's my face looking sad. But then I pull myself up and smile at my momma and go on wif my life cos I knows he wanted me to do that. Its hard for anyone to lose someone they love. I wish you all the best with Ciara, we hope she starts to find her oldself. Momma said she finks my old self became a different self, but she loves it just as much.
    Stella rose

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  26. We're glad the seizure monster hasn't been back. It makes us sad to see Ciara sad. We hope you, with the help of your vet, will be able to better understand what is causing Ciara's strange behavior.

    We miss Thunder Dunder too.

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  27. We all miss the beautiful in every way TD. And we think there definitely could be some link between his disappearing and Ciara's issues.

    We are crossing all our paws and hooves that you find just the rind mix of whatever it takes to keep Ciara hap[y and seizure-free.

    Woofs,
    Tommy (and everyone else too)

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  28. I have so many things I want to say, I will start with telling you that my paws are crossed for all of you. Mommy and I worry about Phantom and Ciara and Mommy prays. I love seeing them all snuggling around you. I am hoping Ciara can get her medicine figured out so she can go back to being Ciara, the way she should be. We loved and miss Thunder too and I am glad you showed his handsome picture. We see him on my blog everytime we can.


    Loveys Sasha

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  29. Good luck to you all! I hope Ciara starts feeling happier. And I do worry about Phantom.

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  30. It's always hard to "regroup" after a loss. We're glad Ciara is doing better, but she does sound sad. :(

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  31. Oh no Ciara, sorry to hear you are having a little trouble again. You know I think maybe you hit the nail on the head when you said maybe she just misses Thunder. Does Ciara like puppies?? But that wouldn't be fair to Phantom. It is so hard not knowing what to do. We sure send lots of purrs to you Ciara. Take care.

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  32. We have wondered of Thunder's leaving may have caused sweet Ciara some serious anxiety. And bless Lightning for trying to fill that empty space for her. Wish we could hug her and hold her. Paw hugs to you all, Savvy and Mom L

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  33. Very good news about the seizures. Hoping all goes well with the decrease in her meds!!!

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  34. Stress can really be a tough problem for our dogs, especially living near other people who aren't concerned about noise and chaos. We're trying to keep Noah and Fudge as stress free as possible and it isn't easy.

    I've had a really hard time with Sky's death at such a young age and recently someone said something that Has helped,. I'll pass it on and maybe it can be of a little help to you too. She said "he didn't know his life was too short, he only knew that his life was happy." Hope it helps a little.

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  35. Oh Dog! I had no idea Ciara was having such difficulties still. I'll keep her in my howls...... wooooooo!!!!!

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