Alayne and I were medicating?Aurora the other morning when I decided to put my reading glasses on her. She always looks at me so intently during these twice-daily?medication sessions that I thought a pair of glasses might add to the effect. Amazingly, she just sat there in Alayne’s arms and never tried to shake them off.
Her eye, as you may recall from her arrival post, looks like that from corneal endothelial degeneration and is mostly blind now … she can only see shapes and shadows. In dark spaces she may bump into things. But the eye, despite its appearance, remains quiet and comfortable. The eye condition puts her at elevated risk of corneal ulcers, yet so far she’s never had any episodes’since she’s been with us.
Under the incredible care of our internal medicine specialist at Peak in Burlington, Dr. Marielle Goossens, Aurora continues to do well with her protein-losing nephropathy. This is a very difficult kidney disease with a very guarded prognosis, and though Aurora has had some ups and downs along the way, here she is still going strong. We’ve even reached the point where we no longer have to check her heparin levels weekly … now it’s every three weeks, which has cut down a lot on the trips to Burlington. The key was switching to a different type of heparin, which we get from a human hospital in Burlington. We only have to give her heparin injections twice a day now, rather than three times, and we can use an insulin syringe rather than a regular syringe, which makes it much more comfortable for Aurora.
As for those reading?glasses (a.k.a. my “granny glasses”) … I had 20/20 vision until I hit 50, and then I noticed that graphic designers around the world almost overnight began using much smaller type in both print and online media. Kind of a weird global conspiracy, if you know what I mean. Now I have six pairs of those glasses … living room, kitchen, office, both vehicles, and one just-in-case. I decided that if I was going to need reading glasses, I was not going to be one of those people who is always looking for their reading glasses! It must have been the pair from the kitchen I put on Aurora.
Meanwhile, Aurora was probably thinking, “Okay, this was cute, but could we please get back to the business at hand?”
—
2014 Shelter Challenge Underway
The latest round of the Shelter Challenge for 2014 is underway. It began July 14 and ends September 21. You can vote every day at?http://www.shelterchallenge.com/. To search for us, type in our name, Rolling Dog Farm, and Lancaster, NH 03584. We’ve won thousands of dollars in the previous contests, so your daily votes do bring in serious money for our disabled animals!
Please note that I cannot help with technical or voting problems. If you find yourself having issues, please consult their FAQ page and their Rules page.
Thanks for your votes!
Just want you to know that your tales of the tails make my day. Thank you for what you do.
Aurora: “It’s no use, I still can’t read!”
I just love this picture! So serious. So glad Aurora’s medication regimen has lessened somewhat.
(I understand about the need for ‘cheaters,’ but my vision is so bad, my glasses need to be on my face all during the day.)
Aurora is probably so used to you administering medical treatments that she considered this just one more. Sigh, one more thing to put up with, what will they think of next…. Glad to hear she has stabilized and you’ve been able to get into an easier routine.
Dogs can be hard on glasses, so it’s good that you have a few backups.
(I am familiar with that ‘small print’ phenom!) Aurora looks quite intellectual. It’s good to have the blog back!
You look like an adorable “scholar” Aurora. Even with my bifocals, I have a heck of a time and I’m not near as cute. Glad to hear you are doing better and may it continue, Aurora.
Thanks for sharing all your wonderful stories about all your special family members 🙂
Oh my, you guys are so, so dedicated. With all you do, feeding all these animals, and shots for Aurora twice a day. And I imagine she isn’t the only one getting daily shots of something. It’s not like you can call in the Meds Nurse for those duties.
And as far as reading glasses, my favorite author Michael Perry of Wisconsin says just buy the cheapo cheaters and fling them everywhere you might land during the day. He wrote a cute essay in one of his books about the use of “Cheaters” to prevent that sense that all things small were rolled in lint! You gotta see that fine print on those doggy medicine bottles you know. The crew is depending on you.
Hugs and love to Aurora and everyone, human and animal.
Sweet girl—love the blog and picture!
I personally think those glasses look cute on you, Aurora 🙂
I wear glasses too, but I have to take them off to read or use the computer since bifocals make my headaches worse. I always feel that those of us who wear glasses look quite intelligent and fashionable as well ! I’m also glad to hear that she is holding her own and doing well. I will keep praying that it stays that way 🙂