Rest In Peace, Max

I haven't updated because I couldn't - it was too painful. Max put up a good fight, however we chose to put him to sleep on Monday, March 1st. He had not been able to stand or walk since the Friday before. He started throwing up on that Friday (February 26) and wouldn't eat, either. When we took him into the veterinary hospital on Monday, Dr. James said that his primary diagnosis, anemia, wouldn't be causing those symptoms - it would be something secondary. To treat it, we would need to start the diagnostic process again. And there were no guarantees.

Rob and I had discussed this on Sunday night and decided that we had to be responsible pet owners and do what was best for Max. We got to spend time with him after we made the decision and Dr. James and her technician were very respectful. When we were ready, I was allowed to hold him while they gave him the medication to make him sleep. It was very quick and painless. And I felt a sense of peace that he was no longer in pain. We weren't sure that he was in pain, but he definitely seemed uncomfortable. And his quality of life was definitely poor.

We had Max creamated and have already had his remains returned to us. We have a beautiful metal urn with engraving ordered and plan to have a small memorial service with the kids after it arrives. Max definitely provided us with many years of happiness. I know he's in heaven being chased around and around and around, like he used to love us to do when he was younger.

Max - day 2 at home

We had a rough day yesterday. Rob called the vet because he was worried about Max's lack of activity yesterday. When we had his PCV checked, it was down to 17. PCV is pack cell volume - it should be between 35 and 50. On Sunday, Max's was at 12. After his blood transfusion, it went up to 22, but on Monday was at 18. We didn't know if the medication just hadn't had enough time to start working, or wasn't going to work.



Last night we saw some good news - Max pooped! That hasn't happened for many days, so was exciting! :-) This morning when I took him out to the vet, he went to the bathroom (#1) and it was yellow! He also seemed a little more awake. His PCV today was back to 19. That is VERY GOOD news! We're going to keep him home for the next 4 days and see how he does. We have an appointment on Monday to have his PCV checked again.



At this point, he's not stable enough for surgery and the chances that he'd survive that are small. We don't want to put him through anything like that. Hopefully his PCV numbers will continue to rise and we'll just keep up with the medication regimine that we've started.



We still need to work on getting him to eat, so I got some different, high calorie, sweet tasting (so I'm told), dog food. Max will eat a little bit if we make small balls of the food and feed it to him. Usually he eats the two balls that contain his medicine and then one or two more, so he's definitely needing to eat.



Please keep up the prayers and good thoughts!

Max - day 1 at home

We were able to bring Max home last night! He is on an antibiotic for the next 28 days - 3 tablets twice a day. He's also on prednisone for probably the next 6 months - 3 tables twice a day. He walked from the vet's office to the van and then from the van to the house. As soon as he got into the house, he laid down and didn't move. Rob brought him his pillow and he was still there when I left the house this morning!

He takes his medicine OK - I make a "meatball" of 3 pills at a time with some bland canned prescription food. However, he hasn't been outside to go to the bathroom yet. I showed Rob how to look at Max's gums every few hours - it's the best indicator if he's losing blood. Rob's home today on Max duty. Tomorrow we take him back to the vet for more blood work - hopefully his body has started producing red blood cells again and he'll be closer to being "out of the woods".

Max

Our Max had to be hospitalized yesterday. After hours and hours of tests, he was diagnosed with immune mediated hemolitic anemia, which basically means that his body is destroying his red blood cells. He had a blood transfusion last night with lots of IV fluids. He's also on an oral steriod and antibiotic to hopefully combat the origin of the anemia. As the veterinarian told me this morning, "He's not out of the woods yet." But she's very optimistic because he's been responding so well to treatment. He's even displayed some of his "Max behaviors", such as barking one for no apparent reason, and laying down to eat and drink. (Although this worried the vet techs - they thought he was trying to drown himself in his water dish!)

It's looking good that we might be able to bring Max home with us tonight. He'll need additional tests and monitoring, but it will be nice to have him home - for both him and us!

Please pray for Max and for us. Benjamin is too little to fully understand what is happening, but he does as for Max - "Where's Max?" I heard many times last night. Sam is very sad and upset about the entire situation and I'm afraid that he thinks that Max is dying. I am reassuring him about the care that Max is receiving, but can't bring myself to tell him that everything will be OK - just in case it's not. Emily already has a full worry load as a teenager in high school, so this just makes it worse.

I'll keep posting updates here, so check back.

A Life Of Thanksgiving

A blog that I follow had the most incredible post this morning. The blogger is challenging himself to live an entire week full of thanksgiving! What a neat idea - to be grateful for everything that we have rather than disappointed or upset about what we don't have! I've always found that when I'm thankful, I'm happy, and my happiness multiplies!

So, I'm going to do the same, and challenge myself! Starting right now, through Sunday, I'm going to be thankful for everything that I have - even if it's not something that I would usually be thankful for! (Like dirty dishes or muddy dog feet!)

You can read Nate's post here: http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/2009/11/life-of-thanksgiving.html. And I challenge you, too, to be thankful this week! It's contagious! :-)

Here is what I am MOST thankful for:


Have a great week!

Leslie

Labor Day Weekend 2009 pictures

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Our neighbors invited us to stay with them on Potato Lake! The accomodations were incredible, the weather awesome, and we all had a blast!

Sam with one of many fish he caught off the dock.

Benjamin driving the boat!

Sam and Collin on the inner tube.

I put the camera over the side of the pontoon and snapped a picture. This is the first one I got.

This is the second picture that I got!

Emily and Holly on the inner tube.

Sam skiing! Got up on his second try!

Fundraisers

It's that time of the year again! Sam is selling Cub Scout popcorn to earn money for scouting trips. Emily is selling Butter Braids to earn money to go to either Chicago or Denver for dance. These are both great money makers as there is low overhead.

If you're interested in either, let me know!

Thoughts and prayers are needed...

A classmate of my daughter's died last night.

Please pray for his family.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/253030/

Random pictures from the last couple of months

I wish that one of these days Blogger would make it easier for us to upload pictures and then rearrange them. (Maybe there is a way and I don't know it - if so, please enlighten me!)

Here are pictures from May, when I was in Ohio with my mom. Rob and his parents went to Alexandria, MN to celebrate Aunt Kathy's birthday. All of her kids were there - with Rob being an only child, these cousins are like his sisters! And their kids are all around the same ages as our kids!

There are also pictures of us in Ft. Pierre, SD, over the 4th of July holiday. I'll comment after each picture since they're not in chronological order!

Emily riding an old-fashioned bike at the resort in Alexandria.

Emily on a boat with friends in Ft. Pierre.

Sam and Benjamin at Lindenwood park with our favorite neighbor girl.

Sam with the kayak in Ft. Pierre.

Sam resting in the kayak after paddling for awhile!

Sam looking at the Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson.

Sam and Benjamin at the Ft. Pierre parade. (Wearing their flag shirts!)

Grandma Mary Ellen helping Benjamin ride a bike at Alexandria.

Benjamin looking at the fire dog and a clown.

Benjamin playing in the sand at the Lake Oahe beach.

Benjamin pictures (June 2009)

My trip to Ohio

I have been away from home for 5 days now. I flew to Ohio last Tuesday to take care of my mom after she had surgery. Amazingly enough, she had the surgery on Monday, and was discharged at 9:30 PM Tuesday evening! She's been doing great! We spend some time each day walking and moving around so that she can continue to heal. In doing so, we've been able to squeeze in some fun!

Wednesday we went to Vermillion, Ohio, which is right on Lake Erie. It was a beautiful day and Vermillion is a beautiful town. We wandered around their business district (all 2 blocks of it), and stopped at an old-time restaurant. (No kidding - hot dogs were $1.45!) Unfortunately, we overdid it a bit and needed to rest on Thursday. Friday we spent time in Milan at the square. We visited the antique shops and enjoyed the weather.

Saturday, Mom and I got pedicures, and then we went to an Indian event at Lyme Village and watched some dancers. Today we drove 45 miles to an outlet mall and got some great deals. My kids will be happy to help me unpack when I get home!

I'm going to do some projects around the house for Mom tomorrow, and maybe some yardwork, too. The weather has been very nice here - hopefully it will stay that way until I fly out Tuesday evening for ND.

Happy Memorial Day!

Easter 2009

This says it all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guQB_-Nper4

Some additional flood information

FLOOD UPDATE: Second Red River crest could top historic mark
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/236205


Here is some cool perspectives on how many sandbags the fargo area filled to help fight the flood
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=79764559840&h=Zopzb&u=YFYiD&ref=nf


The Frei family fought a great fight, but water still entered their home. Emily attends school with the younger daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MuJ5HQa4Os


And to keep your sense of humor about the whole thing:
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=61395173990&h=noaN2&u=ukDIF&ref=nf

This is so funny!

CNN - Stop the Press The Daily Show Comedy Central
Source: www.thedailyshow.com
CNN's Susan Roesgen makes a difference while covering the floods in Fargo, ND.

The Main Event

Mayor Walaker said this morning that it's just the preparation that is over. What we're in now is the main event. Hope we prepared well!

The Red River crested a couple feet below the expected height. Unfotunately, we're still going to be around 38 feet next weekend. We crested a little above 40 feet. Flood stage is 18 feet. And major flood stage is 30 feet and above.

It's been exhausting - physically and emotionally - to get to this point. While our home has been spared from the water, our lives haven't been. We know many people who have lost their homes and just this morning, Oak Grove Lutheran school lost at least a couple of buildings. Emily's school, Shanley, and Oak Grove often combine students for sports. Emily's been on the swim team and softball team with many of those students. It's heartbreaking.

One of her classmates lost her home - the same home her mother grew up in. Her father, brother, and brother's friend had to be evacuated via helicpoter from the roof of their house. Thank goodness that there have been no deaths.

Fargo Flood Update

We're holding our own here in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Some of the rural areas are experiencing much water and evacuations. The evacuations that have happened in both Fargo and Moorhead are more for safety - no water is in the homes yet. To follow along, here are some web sites to watch:

http://www.valleynewslive.tv/#tvg
http://www.inforum.com/
http://www.areavoices.com/springflood/

Rob and I live in an area that is not planned for evacuation at all - we're high enough that we don't need an evacuation plan. Please pray for all of those affected by the floods. We have a handful of friends and co-workers that live outside of town that have been evacuated and are concerned that their homes will flood.

So thankful

Good news #1 - After not feeling well on and off for at least a month, Sam was finally diagnosed with mycoplasma, along with strep throat. It's a bacteria that causes walking pneumonia. He never complains and only occassionally said he had a headache or a stomachache. I finally took him to the adult walk-in after being told a few times at the children's walk-in that he had a virus. Thank goodness for a pro-active doctor! 5 days on Zithromax and Sam's back to his usual self!

Good news #2 - Benjamin was discharged from speech therapy 3 sessions early! We originally thought he'd have 9 sessions and he ended up only having 4 because he was sick one time and we had a snow day another time. The speech therapist says a "language explosion" will happen at any time!

Good news #3 - We live in an AWESOME community and work for a great employer. A flood is expected to hit the Fargo-Moorhead area this coming week. Rob and I went over to Moorhead to make sandbags yesterday and were filled with happiness at all of the great neighbors we have. There was a 73-year old man hauling sand bags - not even for himself! And the Moorhead police officer who was spending his supper break filling sand bags - in full uniform with his revolver, too! Thank goodness that we don't need to sandbag our house, although we did spend a decent amount on a new sump pump as well as a new battery backup sump pump with a battery and all the fixings!

Today Emily and I went to help one of her classmates who lives south of town right on the river. They have a pretty cool setup with existing holes for flood wall posts, but still need quite a few sand bags. Then I went to help a co-worker even further south of Emily's classmate! Now I'm home helping Rob get our battery backup sump pump installed. Then we'll need to move all the stuff from the floor of the basement up, just in case!

Beginning on Monday, our company has offered us up to 16 hours of PTO to fight the flood! I'm so grateful! I know we'll be needed. Please pray for all of our neighbors that will be affected by this flood. God bless!

Emily fasted for 24 hours!!!

We didn't realize at the time, but she was supposed to solicit donations (sort of like a fast-a-thon). The donations are going to be split between 3 charities that provide food for the hungry.

She and about 10 other teenagers from her youth group made it the full time (ended up being almost 25 hours) without anything to eat and only water and Powerade to drink. During that time, they helped out around the church, volunteered at the St. Vincent DePaul thrift store, and eventually broke their fast on the body of Jesus Christ during 5 PM mass.

Afterwards, there was a spaghetti feed for the kids - you should have seen them shovel the food in! I'm so proud of her and all of the other teens. If anyone is willing and able to send a donation, please let me know. You can send me an e-mail (leswagner2@hotmail.com) with the amount as the donation card needs to be turned in on Wednesday, and I will send you the address to send the donation to. Checks are tax deductible, can be made out to St. Anthony's, and will then be distributed to the charties.

Thanks, bunches, for your help!

Benjamin's first hair cut

We finally got Benjamin his first hair cut. Because Aunt Kathy cut Sam's hair for the first time, we thought we'd have her cut Benjamin's hair for the first time, too! We just didn't realize it would take so long to get to Minneapolis to do it!

Before back:

Before front:

After:

He looks SOOO old! We think that he'll be moving to the PreTod (Pre-Toddler) room next week. (He's in the Older Infant room now.) We're supposed to get a week's notice, but haven't heard officially yet. We do know that 3 infants are moving up on Monday and that means that the 3 oldest in his room will also move up - that includes him!

Benjamin started speech therapy last week. He's scheduled to attend Mondays and Wednesdays through March, when he will be reevaluated. He only attended one day last week because he was diagnosed with strep throat on Tuesday. (The Rapid strep test came back negative, it was the 24-hour culture that turned positive!) I worked a whole 16 hours last week! :-)

So far he can say mama, daddy, pup (for puppy), mo (with the hand sign for "more"), and ba (with the hand sign for "ball"). I'm told that today he learned baa (for the sound a sheep makes), ccck (for cookie), and mmm (for the sound a cow makes). He can hear and comprehend fine, so we're not sure why he's not talking yet, but decided to start therapy now and work through it as early as we could.

We left on Friday for Minneapolis as the kids didn't have school on Friday due to parent-teacher conferences. Emily had a dance workshop all weekend long, so we dropped her off at the hotel in downtown Minneapolis and went to Kathy & Jerry's house. Sam and Benjamin got to play with 6 of their cousins and had a blast!