We have been busy as bees and I have had a good excuse for not posting.
On the adoption home front. Our home study is almost completed. There was one other study in front of us and ours is being completed this week. We are dealing with the state, so things are not extremely fast, but fast enough for us considering that they have tons of responsibilities. There were little requirements that were added right after we had our last visit as well. Nothing that would slow us up, however, it does take them a while to process everything being that they have several families.
One of the requirements that they added was having a picture of EVERY room in your home, pictures of your first aid kit, picture of your fire extinguisher, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide monitor. The new supervisors required the SW's to have the families to submit these. Taking a picture of all of those items was not an issue for me. I'm actually putting them into a template for her with each room labeled.
Our final home visit with the SW was towards the end of September and it went vey well. During the month of October I helped a foster parent out by going over to her home and seeing how she managed things and it helped take my mind off of my dog that was in the vet hospital. It was one of the foster parents that we connected with at our last class and she invited us over to her home. She is a great resource. We enjoyed spending time in the presence of someone who has been doing this for quite some time and has experienced a lot.
After October came it was like we were living in a whirlwind. My dog became sick the earlier part of October and he was literally in the vet's hospital for about 2 weeks until she referred him to one of the university's teaching vet hospitals not too far away when they were trying to confirm why his calcium levels were so high after several tests.
We found out last week that he has cancer (lymphoma) and has responded well to a the first round of chemo last week which took care of the hypercalcemia issue that he had as a result. We brought him home on Saturday with meds and fluids to help decrease renal failure from the increased calcium levels that he had experienced over the past couple of weeks. He is only 7 years old and treatment was recommended with hopes and prayers that his kidneys will return on their own with their normal functioning. So, we will see what transpires over the next few weeks.
It has been an emotional past three weeks dealing with all of this, however, we are dealing with it the best that we can. For those who have pets understand that they are like a member of your family and it is very difficult to have them sick and or to be given news related to their life span cut short due to an illness.
He is home and doing well and will be having another round of chemo this week. He is eating and really doing well, considering all that he has been through. Now that things are a little back to normal, I will keep my end of the deal that I promised and post a little more often. His illness really took us for a loop. We are just praying that his kidneys return to normal function since they seem to have the cancer under control, however, the renal failure could take his life if it is not returned to normal functioning. He is only fluids and meds to help with that and he seems to be responding to everything well.
So, while we are excited that things are coming to an end with the adoption process, we are also dealing with sick pet that has literally been almost like a child to us in our home and lives for 7 years. The wonderful thing is that our home is already ready for a baby/small child. We are not panicking about anything and are leaving everything in His hands with both situations.
We traveled a little in October as well. I was so busy with my dog's illness that I did not get an opportunity to post any pictures. I will try to post a few up within a week to share for a day or two. I am really gonna do better with posting. It just seems that one thing was happening after the other and blogging was the last thing on my mind to be honest.
9 comments:
Thanks for the update!
Love the layout!
Kristy, it was so nice to see a post from you! Praying that Mocha pulls through!!! We do not have any pets but I did have a childhood dog that ened up with Parvo virus which included some stints in the hospital...it is hard. Love and miss ya!
Girl, you're gonna make me cry.I'm so sorry to hear about Mocha's illness. He's the same age as my dog, who has been sick this year too. I know how painful that can be all too well. I'll pray for your doggie baby's health with you.
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for checking by. I was lazy and just changed the layout on blogger. I need to really find some time to customized my blog. I had plans to do it in September, oh well. It will get done in the near future. I guess it will be a surprise!
Nakira,
I really have been so tied up with caring for him that I did not have time to blog, however, I knew that I needed to do better with my updates.
He is doing much better and everything is better and he is handling chemo well thus far. It is hard, very hard, however, we are hanging in there. I miss you too!
Angela,
Thanks for your prayers and concerns. I have never experienced this level of sickness with him before. Nothing even close. He has been healthy up until now, with the exception of small minor things that little dogs have. October was a rough month and I think (know) that I cried probably every day from the day that it happened. It is getting better though! He is responding extremely well to treatment and doing well thus far.
Soror Kristy, although October was a rough one for you, know this, we've been checking your blog, thinking about you, and praying for you because we care and love you! Glad you were able to give us an update--we'll continue to cheer for you on our ends. Hang in there like a good soldier!
Jabena,
Thank you for always being there and giving warm words of encouragement during the challenging times. It is appreciated more than what you know. Some times I feel like a slacker by not blogging. However, life gets the best of all us at times. Thanks again for your support.
Wanted to stop by and thank you for your encouragement!! The waiting process is refining! Can't wait to follow and see where God leads you guys on your adoption journey!
Christie
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