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