Blood Work Results

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Today we finally got a call from our vet with Dooley's blood work results from 11/22/17. The blood work that was taken was a normal wellness blood panel (CBC, kidneys, liver, thyroid, etc.) and then a test for Myasthenia Gravis. Lucky for us, all tests came back normal. Part of me was wondering if it would almost be better if they detected a cause for the ME so we could treat the cause and hopefully the ME would go away... But now that I have discussed everything with my vet I realize that would just mean a litany of other problems on top of the ME... So in the long run, this is GREAT NEWS!

We have played with a few different ways of eating and all have gone pretty well. The only thing that Dooley will NOT eat are the Knox Blocks. I tried dicing them up very small and mixing them in her food but she finds them and spits them out! I was worried about her not getting enough water. Water is what sends her into a big time episode (never food... hmmm). Anyway, I switched back from doing the wet food meatballs to soaking her dry food in almost an entire bowlful of water for about 30 mins and then mixing in a scoop of "Thick It" to thicken the water up to a slush. **If you haven't tried Thick It, you should!!** Then I put a little dollop of wet food on top to ensure she is ready to eat when I need her to and she does great this way! The only time she drinks straight up water out of a bowl is when I am home. I will give her the tiniest bit of water and then pick her up immediately (she will not drink it sitting upright but will drink out of her elevated bowls). If I do not pick her up immediately, she hacks and coughs every single time. If I do pick her up, I can hear her swallowing over and over and eventually it goes down without any hacking and coughing. (I say "pick her up" because she does not have a Bailey Chair yet)

I spoke with the vet about my concerns regarding Dooley's water intake since the water is the only thing that makes her have an episode. The doctor said that what I am doing is totally fine with gave me a little more peace of mind.

My only other concern at the moment is when we are sleeping. I know this is when aspiration happens most of the time and I think I am trained to wake up to every single sound she makes now. She has woken me up hiccuping a few different times which really scares me. I try to feed her early enough that she has a few ours to hang out and digest before going to bed but it is sometimes hard due to our schedules. Also, Dooley likes to sleep even when I am home so it is very likely that she will go to sleep within a few hours after she eats no matter when I feed her! I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can for her... Would a neck pillow help with this? I feel like she would still hiccup even with that on. I wonder what the benefit of wearing one of those is... If you are reading and have suggestions/answers please let me know.

I will be going on my first trip out of town and away from Dooley at the end of December which is making me very anxious. I am going to have my mom keep her, but it is always scary to be away from  your baby if they are sick or special needs. Also, a kind soul donated a chair to me! It is currently being built and should be here in a few weeks. I am so excited/nervous to try it out!

Until next time!

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