VICTORY

Hello everyone!  I have been on cloud-nine since June 12th, but I just needed a little while to process things all by myself...Hopefully this will be the last post you read about She-Ra's health for a VERY long time!!  As some of you know, I went off to visit my brother and his family in Germany (that post will come later).  Before I left, the vet team and I had a difficult decision to make:  find a way to get She-Ra to treatment (in the form of a GREAT neighbor OR Boyfriend treating her - yes, he knows how, but it was risky doing it at home for various reasons)  OR take a chance and pause the treatments.  We were all torn.  Because of her unique, mostly internal issues, it was difficult to say just how licked the fungus was.  It's true, there were no new lesions, but who knew if they were lurking just beneath the surface waiting for a break?!  And we did NOT come all this way only to have to back track!!  The other successful case had needed treatments for six months! On the other hand, we all knew there would come a day when we would just have to see how she did.  She had a full-strength immune system at this point, and she just really looked good...  After about two minutes of personal deliberation, I decided it was time to trust that God had taken us this far, He would be with us regardless of the outcome...........so we took the leap.  She would miss three treatments when I was gone, and then be evaluated the day after I returned.

I walked in to Nashville Vet Specialists that Tuesday afternoon - late, because I had stayed late at work to catch up - and was met with bunch of grins and "where have you been?!"s....I was standing at the counter waiting for the balance to pay...Ashley called the techs to find out the day's total...she yanked the phone away from her ear as someone yelled on the other end....Ashley grinned, turned to me and said, "There's no charge today!"  Excuse me?

Dr. O'Neill came through a door with She-Ra.  And then Jennifer came out a different door.  And then Dr. Wang, Meredith, and about 5 other people that I had yet to meet...."We'll see you in August," Dr. O'Neill said.  August?

So for the next 45 minutes or so, we all stood around talking about our miracle girl, sharing stories (they snuck She-Ra people food!!) and pictures (see below!) and "I can't believe it"s.  There was no one else in the waiting room, so tech after tech came out to say hello/goodbye and to love on She-Ra.  We were all grinning like goofy kids.  Dr. O'Neill is excited to share the case at a conference she'll be attending in July - the practice of administering drugs under the skin like we did is not common, but we sure want the world to know!

I have said the entire time how much I love and appreciate the staff at NVS for their attention and care toward She-Ra.  I was even more moved when they showed me all the pictures they had taken of She-Ra.  They took pictures for themselves, which proved to me how much they really want to remember her, which proved that they really truly did care!  I know it's silly - it's not like I think they were lying - it's just difficult to imagine others caring about your pet they way you do.  Jennifer is the tech who gave She-Ra her treatments each week, and she just sat on the floor snuggling her for a while.  She-Ra absolutely sensed the excitement, and bounced from tech/doc to tech/doc just eating up all the attention.  This is the main team that treated her, and I am SO IN LOVE WITH THIS PICTURE!!  {I added their names}

Dr. Wang - Internal Medicine: she's been with us from the start fighting the immune disorders, and constantly checking on She-Ra throughout.  Dr. Schmidt consulted, and covered for Drs. Wang and O'Neill when they were gone.  Meredith is Dr. Wang's tech, and is the very first person we met at NVS.  She visited with She-Ra each time she was there, even if She-Ra wasn't there to see Dr. Wang.  Dr. Stenross - Emergency Medicine: she also consulted and covered.  Ellie is another tech that's been with us from the beginning.  Dr. O'Neill - Dermatology: she's the one who decided to try a treatment plan that was mostly unknown, and who kept the faith the entire time.  Jennifer is Dr. O'Neill's tech, and probably spent the most time with She-Ra.  

This has been one crazy ride, but I am so grateful for all the love and support along the way.  Her first condition - the immune system fighting itself - could always come back.  But for today, we won, and that's what we focus on.  Our girl is happy and playful, and only has a few scars to show for all her fighting :).  They just make her look all the tougher :).

PS:  WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She-Ra, Princess of Perseverance!!

(Brief re-cap for those of you just joining in: my dog developed a freak immune disorder that required drugs that suppressed her immune system, and then a nasty fungus moved in with her compromised defenses.)

About a week after the high of my Jasmine Star shindig, we received the results from She-Ra's biopsies.  It was what the docs had feared, a nasty fungus had started trying to kill my girl.  We had no idea how widespread it was, how far advanced it was, if it was in her organs, or just in the two legs that had swollen up.  As my new derm doc best friend, Dr. O'Neill of Nashville Vet Specialists, told me: it doesn't matter how far the fungus has moved in, the treatment will be the same.  

The Treatment:
We are replicating a treatment plan of the only known success story of a dog surviving this combination of afflictions - a whippit in Australia in 2006.  The NORMAL course of action is amputation/excision of the affected area.  That is not possible in She-Ra's case because it's in two legs (that we know of), and because her immune system disorder has affected her clotting, she wouldn't survive surgery anyway.  So for us, we place a drug in fluids under her skin, and the medication is slowly absorbed into her system.  We do this twice a week - thank our Heavenly Father that I work in Nashville and that NVS lets me drop her off early in the morning so I can continue working my normal schedule!  The staff continue to amaze me in their generosity and affection toward She-Ra.

After 8 anti-fungal treatments, She-Ra received the go-ahead from the internist to start weaning off her final immune-suppressing drug (woohoo!).  We are hoping that with a full-strength immune system, she and the anti-fungal drug will start kicking some serious fungus tail.  The last two visits have been encouraging - it looks like we don't have any new lesions, which is very exciting!

I've been debating about addressing the question I am asked the most...isn't that EXPENSIVE?

Um.  Yes.

But I am what you might call....determined.  She has a chance to survive.  Dr. O'Neill is determined to have her survive.  Boyfriend and I are resolute that she will survive.  My 6 year old nephew speaks daily with God about helping her survive.  So as I told Boyfriend, I will find a way to make this happen.

And God has provided.

I have had more opportunities to take pictures and make extra money in varying ways than I ever have before.

BUT, it's truly not about the money.  I don't add up the current costs in my head, I don't count how much it will cost in the future.  We all have our own battles that we have to decide to fight.  Right now, this is mine.  It's about triumph.  Miracles.  Faith.  It's about fighting the odds and not backing down when things get tough. The chances of her survival were 50/50 with just the one immune disorder.  Even slimmer when the fungal infection moved in.  But even with those slim chances, A CHANCE DOES EXIST.  How could I not take every advantage to be the one in a million long shot hail Mary that makes everyone wonder how in the world we did it?!?!  To stare challenges in the face and declare that WE will win?!  I'm a fighter.  I'm not a quitter, or a fair-weather fan.  I like long shots, because I like coming out on the other side tougher and having done something few others have done.  These two freak and rare diseases trying to take my girl down don't stand a chance.

It's not about the money.  It's about not giving up.

Don't give up.

Project 52 - A Weekly Photo Challenge and...

...a personal challenge to finally kick-start my blog!  I've been waiting for just the right something to come along and inspire my first post, so when I read about Paint the Moon's weekly photo project, I knew I couldn't wait any longer.  I have a photo challenge, as well as a challenge to maintain this blog.  Once a week can't be too overwhelming, right??

This week's themes were "sharing" and/or "natural" - participants can choose one or the other, or combine the theme, or submit something unrelated altogether!  Can't get much easier than that!

As I don't have any children, my dogs are often my subjects...so for week 1 of Project 52, here is 10 week-old Leia sharing a moment with 4 year-old Brutus  :).

Check out more from Annie of Paint the Moon for inspiration, tips, actions and other great information!