Buster's on the mend!

I'm sorry that I haven't written an update about Buster's condition since his test last Wednesday. I was out of town over the weekend, but I am truly happy to write this blog post.

Buster has neither lung cancer nor a fungal infection in his lungs. Even though the vet still doesn't know what it is, she said it can be treated with antibiotics and Prednisone. My mom said home over the weekend and gave Buster his medication and some extra TLC while my dad and I went to Iowa City for the swim meet. Buster's breathing is back to normal and I haven't heard a hork or cough out of him since we left last Wednesday.

Thank dog ;)

News about Buster

Buster Bro's breathing has worsened since picking him up from "camp" on Sunday after Sectionals. Mom and Dad took him to the vet this morning to get some answers. An x-ray of Buster's lungs showed he either has a fungal infection or lung cancer. He will have a test tomorrow, and we will find out later this week which it is.
Buster's laying next to me while I sit in the recliner in our living room. I don't want him to ever leave my side.

Buster is truly an angel and I know I am luckiest person in the world to have a dog so well-mannered and kind.

Through this experience with Buster so far, I've learning that life is precious and the "good times" need to be greatly appreciated. He's been so positive throughout his distress, showing nearly no signs of pain. The only things my parents and I can do is to stay positive just like him and enjoy the time we have with him.

"Lights will guide you home/And ignite your bones/And I will try to fix you." ~Fix You, Coldplay

Thank you for your thoughts.

Buster's breathing

Since Buster's abrupt sickness last week, he has made great improvements. However, we started noticing Buster's heavy breathing again after picking him up from "camp" after the meet yesterday evening. The gagging is new, or horking, as we call it, which has happened several times last night and today.
This morning, Mom took off his collar to see if it was constricting his air flow, but the horking continued. Maybe there's something irritating his throat that's making it swell up and laboring his breathing...?
Buster has another vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning. Hopefully we can get more answers then.

More on Buster

One test result came back saying Buster has a low thyroid. He'll be taking supplements, which will make him feel better right away. He's still acting like he feels better.

Good news for Buster

"I'm feeling better and my vet didn't find anything wrong! She did some tests and will let us know if she sees anything. I guess I've just been overheated and I'm not as young as I used to be."

Is Buster sick?

We had a little bit of a scare with Buster last night. Labored breathing, not acknowledging us calling his name, slow walking, and no tail wagging. These seem to be flu-like symptoms, but I'm no vet. Mom's taking him in to the vet right now to see what might be wrong. Dad's going to drive them and help lift Buster if necessary.

Buster's already made great progress this morning. He's no longer breathing hard and he's able to walk faster than he did last night. He's more alert and his rapid tail wagging has returned. My parents and I are hoping that it's just a fever or fatigue.

More updates to come later today.

Getting Contacts

Today is Day 5 of having contacts. I've decided that this was a great idea. It's been a good transition from glasses so far. I'm getting the feel for putting them in the contacts and taking them out--actually much faster than I thought I would. I'm also happy that the U of Iowa Athletic Department will pay for a portion of the cost once I'm competing for the swim team. It'll put less pressure on my parents' checkbook.

No more "four-eyes"

On the first day of having them, I attended a "contacts class". There, I learned proper cleaning techniques and how to put them in a take them out. Throughout the class, my instructor said that getting used to contacts should take a while. My eyes had never had anything put into them, so she said to take it slow and learn to trust that I'm not going to hurt myself. I needed to learn to trust myself.

I kept my contacts in for about 4.5 hours that day. In the days since then, I've increased the amount of time by one hour each day. So I'm up to 9 hours today.

My contacts made my eyes sting during the first three days, but I can barely feel them now.

My next step is wearing them while swimming. I am on taper right now and will be competing the next two weekends. I'll wait to try them out after my last summer meet. I also only have a trial pair. If I lose one or both, I'll have to wait until I receive my first box.

Buster tooth removal (Continued)

Buster is home now, sleeping in his bed.

Turns out that he didn't need his tooth removed. He only had a teeth cleaning. The vet said the roots of his fractured tooth are healthy, so it wouldn't need to be taken out.

Even though he's been out from under the anesthesia for a few hours, he's pretty unaware of things. He wasn't wagging is tail very much when he was awake earlier. He leans to the side when he walks, and he's whining a lot. (I just visited him after writing the previous sentence because I could hear him whining.) I was scared for him when I saw him act this way, but the vet said he should be back to normal tomorrow. There  were a couple of times where I'd say his name and he wouldn't acknowledge it. I got pretty emotional after seeing him like this. Hopefully a good night sleep will do him good.

Buster's tooth removal

Early this morning, my mom took Buster to the vet's office. Buster is having a tooth removed that was broken maybe a year ago. It's one of his back left teeth, a molar maybe, and it hurts enough that he can't chew with that side of his mouth. Mom has come back home since dropping him off and said Buster was very excited to be there. He enjoyed seeing Dr. Rachel and the vet assistants.

It's been a few hours since the surgery was supposed to start. Luckily, we haven't gotten any calls from the vet's office. This is when the phrase, "no news is good news," is important. Mom said that while she was still at the office, she signed off on what the vet's could and couldn't perform during the surgery. If something went wrong and more than what she "okayed" needed to be done, the vet's office would call and ask for permission.

Buster is under full anesthesia. I wonder if he'll be loopy or overly-tired when he comes home. I don't remember how he acted after being neutered, so this might be kind of entertaining.

If time permits, I'll compose another post or comment after he comes home, hopefully with a picture.

We love you, Buster!

HSUS helping out

What a job would this be!

http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2012/07/animals-wildfires.html

Helping those who can't help themselves.

Not Blogging

I can't believe how often I think about not blogging. It's like this big monkey on my back...Maddie, you know you won't get better at writing and no one will see it if you don't do it! (Yes, my conscience sounds like a nagging mother who constant reminds me to do things. I created that voice in my head to ensure that I get stuff done. That voice isn't the most comforting.)

When I'm at home watching TV, I sometimes think, you know...you could be doing something more productive like blogging...Then I think....oh, I'll have time later. I don't have to right now.

This internal conversation is the thing that can get me in trouble. I can't start procrastinating and putting things off this summer. It won't put me in good stead for my first semester of college this fall.

The line, "I don't have to right now," shows that I turned this blogging thing into an undesired chore. And it's not! Looking back, I signed up for a blog because I thought it would be something that I get to do not have to do.

By forcing myself to blog even when I don't want to, I'll eventually find the initial joy I had when I created "Maddie's Blog."

...I also need to work on brainstorming blog topics because I have none at this point in time...