Dr. Cooner called. Emma is holding steady at the moment.

Dr. Cooner called.  Emma is holding steady at the moment.  Her platelet count is at 3000, which is better than zero (what is was when we brought her in), but quite far from where it should be.  There is another blood-something number that I can never remember the name of that also isn't great.  We're leaving her for another day and they are adding another medication.

He said he wasn't quite comfortable discharging her yet, and to be honest I would rather her be there, too.  But due to cost, we will have to bring her home within the next couple of days.  I'm hoping to see a bit more improvement before that happens.  So, paws crossed that my old puppy girl keeps on feeling better.  We miss her terribly and home just isn't the same without her.

There are 3 weeks (counting this one) of classes left in this semester before finals.

There are 3 weeks (counting this one) of classes left in this semester before finals. I'm so ready for a break! I might have faltered and floundered and nearly lost my mind, but I've just about made it through my first semester at JSU!

My grades may not end up being exactly what I want them to, but right now progress is the priority.

I'm still strongly considering trying my hand at 5 classes in the spring.  I have three reasons for this:

1)  I've been told I was receiving an extra scholarship, so I will have the funds to do it.

2)  I will feel less crappy for having dropped Linear Algebra.

3)  Another CS student said that she didn't think the classes I chose would be terribly hard to manage all together.

Backup plan:  I try it and I drop one.  I won't be in trouble for not going full-time because I still will be.  👍

It's early-ish, but I'm heading to bed.  My bones are acting up and I could really use some rest.  It wasn't a very relaxing weekend and while I know that Emma isn't totally out of the woods seeing her feeling better was a huge relief.

I hope you all have a good night.  ❤ ❤ ❤  I'm done for this day.

We saw Emma today. She is looking a bit better.

We saw Emma today. She is looking a bit better. She was up for walking a little bit, so we took her outside and she peed and pooped.  We didn't stay long because she needs her rest, but it was great to see some improvement in my girl.  I really hope she can come home soon.  We miss her a lot.  ❤

Emma Update:

Emma Update:

 

They called and said that her blood-something was holding, and that was good.  I wish I could remember words, but alas.  I didn't sleep enough and I'm hurting, and my brain isn't working like I want it to.

They will test her blood later on tonight.  But for now, she did eat a little bit and walk around outside.  We're all going to go and visit her later this afternoon.  I will be so happy to see my girl.  ❤

I felt so drained when I got home that I fell asleep.

I felt so drained when I got home that I fell asleep.  I'm also having a pretty serious arthritis flair, so that makes me extra tired.  It's usually in my hips and knees, but right now it's in my shoulders.  I can't raise my arms very far without a pretty fair amount of pain.  So I napped and then I woke up and rushed through some homework that was due.

I called to check on Emma as soon as I was done with my homework, but they had already closed.  So, I don't have an update for the night.  🙁  The best news I have is that we don't have any missed calls from the hospital, which would indicate that something has gone wrong.  I know she's in great hands, so I'm going to try to remain calm.

I am so not ready for this week.  I don't think any of us are.  🙁

Mr. Whaley of Saks High School is absolutely the best principal I've ever met.

Mr. Whaley of Saks High School is absolutely the best principal I've ever met.  Kira lost two family members this past week and Mr. Whaley just hand-delivered KFC to our door.  I can't even express how much that kindness means right now.  ❤❤❤

Emma Update:

Emma Update:

She is being hospitalized at Animal Medical Center for the next few days.  She is in critical condition.

There is so much to tell.  We took her to Dr. Long the week before last because she was thin, weak, throwing up, having diarrhea, and bleeding out of the nose (just barely).  Her tonsils were swollen, so the first thing we did was give her antibiotics, steroids, and Phenergan.  It seemed to help, but a few days later she was still having diarrhea, so I took her back and we got an extra medication.

After that she seemed to be on the mend, so that was great.  Dr. Long said if she was worse, he'd see her this past Thursday, but she was ok.  If she was not a lot better he wanted to see her on Monday (tomorrow).  She finished her steroid, antibiotic, and Phenergan on Friday, but by yesterday she seemed to be declining (as far as weakness, panting hard, and nose beginning to bleed again last night).  I got up this morning, made her an appointment at AMC, and then decided we couldn't wait.  She was bleeding pretty bad out of her nose, her poop was black, and she had lost her appetite.

We took her in and one of the nurses said we definitely made the right call by bringing her early, so that confirmation felt nice that I wasn't just over-reacting.  They ran some tests and it's not looking great.  Her platelets are low, so she's kind of just bleeding freely out of her nose.  They did an x-ray to see if there was something causing her nose to bleed.  They didn't see anything there, but did notice that her spleen is enlarged.  The best we can hope for right now is that this is an auto-immune thing that will respond to more steroids and the chemo drug they want to give her.  Worst case, this is looking like possibly something cancerous.

So... we loved on our baby girl and admitted her.  She is still in good spirits and I don't feel like she is "done."  When we took Scooter in last year we could tell he was ready to go.  But Emma J. is still hanging in there, so if she is still fighting we will fight for her.  I know she's in great hands.  I feel relieved having left her so that they can keep an eye on her.  They are starting her treatment, and we should know within a couple of days if she's responding or not.  We can visit her and call for updates, so that is also nice.

Priority 1 is getting my baby well and brought home.  Priority 2 is figuring out the money thing.  The bill is estimated to be between $1200 and $2000.  My birthday is this month, so I am thinking about asking anyone who is considering getting me something to just donate towards her medical bill instead.  With me not working, Shaun is supporting me and the kids on one income until I finish school.  Money is tight.  We're ok, but this unplanned large expense is a big strain.  I may or may not make a GoFundMe for this.  Many of you were generous to us when my dad lost his home to a fire last year, but I really hate to depend on everyone else to get us through hard times, especially since my contributions to the community have greatly decreased since I started school.

Well, I'm off for now.  My stress level is through the roof, my shoulders are killing me (yay arthritis!), and I'm all-around exhausted.  For those who don't know:  Kira lost two relatives this past week, so we've all been stressed, sad, and stunned.  It seems like when it rains it pours, but we're hanging in there - together.  Anyway, I'll post updates as they come in.  Love to all of my friends.  ❤