Friday, September 11, 2015

My brother, my friend


On this unforgettable day in our country's history, let us all pause to remember those who suffered in so many ways because of the acts of EVIL.




Reach out today to someone who is suffering for whatever reason, who is alone, who is sick, who has lost someone, who needs a hug, who could use a friend.  Just keep that song in mind - "He ain't heavy, he's my brother".

*********

Today we thought we would give you a follow-up on Ciara's seizures Wednesday.  Poor girl had a total of three seizures over a period of about 18 hours.  We are pretty sure they were sparked by changes in our weather. We have had a stretch of very warm and very humid days.  Wednesday was the start of a few days of thunderstorms in advance of the beautiful, cool temps we have today.  Mom had noticed a few of those telltale signs earlier in the week and was not surprised when the first one hit.  

We LOVE Ciara's neurologist Dr. C.  He had a long discussion with Mom about Ciara.  He is ready to do whatever we need for Ciara.  But he does not believe it is time to change her medication.  She has been on Keppra for almost a year now and overall has done quite well with it.  Recently her seizures have picked up, with one every 5-6 weeks.  The advantage of using Keppra is that it has very few side effects, none of which have been noted in Ciara.  Most of the other options can have some serious side effects on the liver and kidneys.  Since Ciara is what he considers a "young" dog (she will be 6 in December), he would prefer to stay away from those meds for now.  He gave Mom a number of ideas to try when she sees any of the "signs" that appear anywhere from a few days to a few hours before a seizure sets in.  One of them is doubling her Keppra for a 24 hour period because Keppra has a very fast impact on the system.  Last night we had some wild storms hit our area, and Ciara became very anxious before they arrived.  She refused to go outside and was very clingy.  Her ears were pinned back and her eyes had a wild scared look.  More than likely she was setting up for another round of seizures.  So Mom gave her a double dose of her Keppra and the night was seizure-free.  We don't know for sure if the doubling up helped, but we are going to hope it did.  Mom also learned that Dr. C. will not hesitate to order some Valium for Ciara next July in advance of the fireworks.  Some of you may remember that she had another horribly bad reaction to the fireworks, including seizures.  Mom also learned from him that Ciara cannot have some of the other calming meds because of her seizures.  She also cannot have Benadryl.  Dr. C. made Mom feel a lot better about everything.  We hope that his suggestions will help.

Ciara also has something to share today.

Ciara here now.  I know we often portray my silly brother as a goofy boy, a "pest", a boy with a lot of quirky fears.  But I am here today to tell you that he is the bestest BFF a pup could have.


Here I am trying to hide from those "feelings" that come over me.



And look who is right there with me.



Mom has noticed that whenever I am feeling anxious, Lightning is never very far from me.



Families with seizure dogs are usually advised to keep the other dogs in a separate area when a seizure is ongoing because sometimes the other dogs might attack the seizing dog.  When I first started to have seizures, Mom or Dad would put Lightning in another room.  But he cries and whines at the gate.  Now he stays with me and calmly sits in a sit-stay a few feet from me, while Mom or Dad work at talking and soothing me through the seizure.  When the seizure is over and I am just lying there in the last phase of a seizure, he comes over and licks my face and lies down next to me.  It makes Mom and Dad so happy to know how much he cares about me.  I love you, Lightning, even if you ARE a goof.



Thanks, Ciara.  Well, not about the goof part, but I worry when you aren't doing well.  I love you too.  To paraphrase that earworm Mom gave you, "She ain't heavy, she's my sister".


We wish everyone could have such good friends in their lives.

Woos - Ciara and Lightning and Mom too



35 comments:

  1. Sending BIG hugs to Ciara and Lightning! You two rock! :)

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  2. Lightning woo are such a good sibeling! And Ciara, all our prayers are with wooo, we hate the fireworks too, last year was the first year pops slipped us all mickeys and we thankfully slept through it, take care mates,

    NukNuk

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  3. I'm glad your vet has so many helpful ideas and that doubling up on her med, during thunderstorms, helps. I'm sure having all three of you by her side during a seizure also comforts her.
    Sending lots of love.
    Noreen

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  4. Oh Ciara, we are so sorry you are having all those seizures and we know how hard this for Mom too. I have had a dog and a pony that had seizures and it is terrifying Glad your vet has some good ideas. And it will help that Mom knows when one may occur. And Lightning, you are just the best and we know it is helping Ciara a lot that you are staying by her side. We sure send tons of purrs that that monster will just go away. Have a great weekend.

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  5. Good! You have an excellent doctor! And Ciara has a very loving sibling!
    That must give "the parents" lots of peace of mind. Both the doctor AND the loving brother, we mean.
    I like your doctor. 6 IS young!

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  6. We're glad your doctor is so knowledgeable! We're also glad your little brother watches out for you! We're sending purrs that the seizure monster stays away now that your mom knows about the double dose thingy!

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  7. Sounds to me like a very wise Vet. Maybe those early warnings might be the trick and Lightening might be able to tell Mom when something is going to happen. Lightening can be your service woofie. Hugs Ciara.

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  8. Saying lots of prayers for you Ciara
    Lily & Edward

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  9. What a sweet brother you have! Ghostwriter remembers when Keppra first came out when she and Dad owned the pharmacy. It was a big help for a lot of people and now doggies too! We're glad it helps you, Ciara!

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  10. Oh I'm so happy the 2nd dose of meds helped!! You have a wonderful and loving K9 neurologist. I'm so glad you can see the signs before the seizure.

    NOW BRO LIGHTNING... YOU ARE FOR SURE BROTHER OF THE CENTURY...WHAT A LOVING AND KIND BOY YOU ARE..WELL WE KNEW THAT BUT THIS IS 360% PROOF AND OH THE THINGS YOU CAN TEACH US HUMANS!! BLESS YOUR SWEET HEART FOR LOVING CIARA AS I KNOW SHE LOVES YOU.
    SENDING KITTY KISSES AND MOM HUGS ALL AROUND
    MADI AND MOM

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  11. Sounds like you've got another storm predicting dog. We hope the weather sorts itself out and the seizure monster can be avoided. What a sweet brother Lightning is. Paws crossed for Ciara.

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  12. We did not know Ciara had another seizure...we are so sorry, we are so glad Lightning is right there by her side...hugs and love from all of us...stella rose

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  13. We are glad you have a doctor you trust. We are trying to find that trust again. There is a new vet at our clinic and we think we like her.
    how wonderful that Lightning is so caring with Ciara. We hope the options the doctor has given you will help avoid future seizures
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  14. We hope the doubling up is a most positive thing, Ciara. We hate these seizures and we wish you never had to go through another one - EVER! You are the bestest brother ever, Lightning♥

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  15. we bet by watching Lightning carefully you can see when he is picking up on Ciaras seizures too - he can be your early detection warning

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  16. Oh Lightning, you are such a wonderful and caring brother!! Mama loved reading how much you care for Ciara and worry when you can't be near her. Jakey is the same way when he is apart from Dory.
    Hugs!
    Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo

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  17. Ciara, I hope doubling up on Keppra will help you and you will be seizure free. I'm so sorry you are going through this, you beautiful girl. Mr. Lighting, you have such a wonderful heart. You really love Ciara and I know she really loves you. Your mom loves you both and takes such great care of you.

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  18. We love you, Ciara! Lightening, YOU DA MAN!!

    -Ruby and Otto

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  19. I love the story about Lightning having your back. What a great brother he is. I am so sorry you are having the monster visits, but I am happy that you have such a great doctor. I hope he can continue to help keep that monster away.


    I will say a prayer and Ziggy has paws crossed

    Anne and Ziggy

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  20. Lightning, you really are the best brother!

    We are so glad that you have such a great doctor who is both responsive and so caring. We are crossing every paw and hoof in the house that things will settle down again for Ciara soonest.

    Woofs,
    Tommy

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  21. Oh Ciara. We send you our love and gentle hugs and hope the horrid seizures stop. Lightning, you are a fabulous brother for looking after your sister. Take care mates. No worries (especially for Ciara) and LOVE, Stella and Rory

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  22. I'm so sorry! It does sound like you have everything under control.

    My old girl Cisco used to suffer seizures and they had her on some of the "other" meds. We made her a safe room and found that she would go there when the seizures were near. It was just a dark, quiet area of the house. After a while, whenever she went into her safe spot, we knew to quiet everything down - nieces and nephews got sent outside with the other dogs, TV was turned down, everything was shut down, etc. We were actually able to wean her off the meds, although if I'd known about Keppra back then I think I would have tried it.

    Monty and Harlow

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  23. you have the bestest brother Ciara... there is nuffing what he wouldn't do for you... I hope your momma and your dogtor will find the best way to chase the seizure monster away or to lock it somewhere that it can't torture you. Hugs to you and a big bag full of POTP...

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  24. A loving goof ball indeed. Sweet Ciara, we are sending gentle purrs and soft paw pats to help keep you calm.

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  25. Brothers are wonderful, aren't they! We are glad Ciara has a friend around. Seizures can be scary - and not just to the humans.

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  26. I am so glad that your neurologist has good ideas for how to help control the seizures, especially when you see the signs of one coming on. We had a seizure dog, a while ago, and our vet gave us a syringe of valium to give her (anally, believe it or not) if the seizure didn't stop within some set time frame. It was a pretty long time ago so I'm not sure if vets still do this... (we'd have to get fresh valium periodically since we never used it and it would expire).

    In any case, I'm so glad your neurologist is being so helpful. And it warms my heart to hear about Lightning's love for his sister. It's touching, and I'm sure it means a lot to Ciara to have her furry brother right next to her.

    Lots of love to all of you. I wish the seizure monster would just go away and stay away.

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  27. Thank goodness Ciara has a very caring and knowledgeable Neurologist doctor. That helps a lot to have trust,
    Were so sorry Ciara had more seizures... Its just hard on all of you to go through the scariness. Lightning is a wonderful comfort to Ciara,, We believe that! The bond between them is pure love.
    Ciara,, we keep sending POTP to you-- and we always will.
    love
    tweedles

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  28. I am so glad for your doctor. So so so very sorry Ciara about this darn monster that just doesn't want to leave you alone!!!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  29. Ciara we are keeping our paws crossed that your mom can help keep the seizure monster away. You are so lucky to have such a loving brother. Walter dotes on Millie in much the same way and would probably react much the same as Lightening.

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  30. hello woos its dennis the vizsla dog hay i am sorry to heer that the seezhur monster visitted byootiful ciara so roodly the other day!!! lightning yoo ar sutch a gud brother to stay klose and tayk kayr of yore sister i hope i wood be aybel to do the saym for my sisters but i dowt i cud!!! ok bye

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  31. Sending good thoughts to you Ciara in hopes of keeping the you-know-who monster away - and a big thank you to Lightning for being a great brother who helps make you feel safer.

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  32. I love that Lightning wants to be with you, Ciara! That is so special! And I'll bet having him there helps you, too.
    We're so glad your neurologist is being so helpful! Also glad you have a med that doesn't have side effects! That is really wonderful - and even better that it helps!
    We will keep you in our prayers!
    Cammie!

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  33. We've all got our paws crossed that the meds keep the monster far away.

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  34. What an excellent plan to help Ciara!!! And I just LOVE how Lightning Boy loves his Sissy!!!!

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Thanks for wooing at us. We love your comments!