Nala is such a sweet dog. Since her sister, BeeBee died of IMHA two weeks ago, she has done well. We give her a lot of attention, she sleeps by me on the bed, we play with her more.
But, IMHA is awful-- and she agrees!!
She and her sister fought valiantly-- prednisone was our main weapon. We did begin BeeBee on Atopica when she began to decline, but it couldn't save her. I was holding her as she passed away. She had spent the night on oxygen, and I got back to the vet at 7:15 in the morning to be with her. We could not save her and she died hearing me tell her I loved her.
Nala is the more outgoing one.
She loves to explore the ivy. She loves to wander around the yard as I sip my coffee in the morning.
She had a two week check up. Her tongue has been deep pink, so I knew her red blood count was good. Her test showed her numbers have dropped some, but she is still doing okay. But, she has been getting signs of pred effects. Her stomach is huge (pred belly), she is losing hair, she is getting little sores. Her face has lost a lot of muscle. She has a low slung back, from muscle loss and big belly.
What is going on is Cushings Syndrome-- a side effect of long term prednisone use. But, without the prednisone, she would have died. So, the treatment ends up causing another issue. IMHA is a horrible disease. We call these little dogs who fight it "warriors." They are. And Nala trusts me to do all I can for her. I am the lucky one who was chosen to care for her. What a blessing.
We are trying to reduce her prednisone to every other day, and then reduce it more if she is able to tolerate it. If not, we have to just do the best we can. She has her pink purse, her favorite toy, to keep her soothed. 🌸
For now, though, she has her best buddy, Sugar Bit, to snuggle with. She has us to care for her and love her and hope she can be a victor over this awful condition. Many with IMHA don't make it, but we are trying. And she's happy and she is loved. Greatly loved. 🌺🌺
Oh hell ... damn if you do and damn if you don't.... you are doing the best you can Linda :)
ReplyDeleteSuch love and care for little Nala as well as the love for her sister BeeBee brings tears to my eyes. What a horrible horrible disease for these little darlings and they do fight with such valor.
ReplyDeleteSugar Bit gives Nala even more support so I hope and pray there's a chance Nala might beat this awful disease.
Thank you for keeping us up to date on her progress.
She is wonderful ������ Bless her little heart and yours for caring so much for her and her sister !��
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