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| Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. |
We spent the day at hard physical labor: I got the last of the garden in; together, Wings and I filled giant sandbags; and he and a couple of the guys brought the water down for our first round of irrigation (easily a month later than usual, thanks to all the early rain).
In between, we spent the day watching this guy closely.
But yesterday, we got our miracle.
No one's going to believe it. But I need folks to believe me when I say that we have dealt with these issues multiple times over many years. We know what we're looking at, what we're dealing, how and when and even whether to treat certain things.
Griffin's fundamental problem is a flare of the CVS. Not surprising, given the unsettled nature of the weather and the rapid-fire fluctuations in barometric pressure. It's an inflammation of the conjunction of the brain stem and the inner ear, and it causes terrible vertigo.
It is not a stroke, but it can be accompanied by one, when everything goes exactly wrong.
Which is apparently what happened at mid-morning yesterday.
Back in 2007, we dealt with a stroke with BearGirl. She had the telltale exploded retina, in addition to the neurological symptoms. The retina damage is not something that reverses itself. Then again, neither is a skull concavity more than an inch deep, and Grif reversed that, too, six years ago when he was hit by the truck.
Yesterday morning, Griffin's left eye (the only one in which he has any appreciable vision any longer) showed the telltale white starburst, like exploding fireworks captured in amber, in that eye. The other one, of course, has long been covered with a cataract from the accident. he had NO vision. At all. Completely blind. And terribly depressed and not a little frightened as a result.
He was sleeping that deep sleep that is a precursor of a more permanent one. We've seen that before, too. When it's their time, it's a blessing. It's not his time.
His rest was occasionally interrupted by falling over (from a lying-down position, you understand), by clonus-like clawing of his limbs.
And then, toward evening . . . his balance stabilized. Not great, but better. And the left eye cleared.
Oh, he still has the early-stage cataract that has been developing for months. But the starburst? Gone. The damage? Gone. His vision? Fully returned.
Yes, I know no one believes me. You're going to think it was a trick of the light. It was not. Wings saw it, too. I did not need to point it out to him; he saw it immediately, and it terrified him as much as it did me. He also checked his eyes for vision; nothing. No stimulus, including a penlight, produced a result.
And today, he's wobbly; he still needs the Pred and the Dramamine. But he can walk. He can eat.
He can see.
Sometimes, you get a miracle.
Postscript: The photo I used in yesterday's post was one I took two weeks ago; I didn't have the heart to take one of him yesterday. The one above? That's this morning.
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
I believe in miracles. So glad to see this update. Continuing to send energies to you and Griffin and Wings.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, hon. He's so much stronger today. Still wobbly, but now it's pretty clearly only the CVS effects that remain, and that we can manage.
DeleteThank goodness. Continuing to keep you all in my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWill be sending more jam along, the signs are for another bumper harvest, so we need to use more of what we canned back in December to make room, and I think we overestimated how fast we use it here.
Ooooh, thank you! I was just noticing that we're down to one jar of your jam. :-) LOL - we kind of try to ration it to make it last.
DeleteAlso, thank you for the good thoughts for Grif, who is much stronger today, and for other things, too. Oh, and the maple sugar! I didn't know you could get bags of it that large anymore; the new market in town has begun carrying it, in bags of a whole whopping five ounces. For 14 bucks, so that's a nope. Their maple syrup runs up to $28, so that's a nope, too. [Sigh] they said a few years ago that climate change was coming for the sugar maples, and I guess this is the first sign, so I'm indescribably grateful for the bag that's on the way. It'll last us a good long while. :-)
Thanks for everything, darlin'.
Well, I don't know exactly when that one will get there, but I've got another box I'm getting ready to send, and it's got a 1 lb bag and a 500 ml of maple syrup in it, although it looks pretty light. I like the dark better. Also more of the pole-caught tuna, but if you're having anemia troubles, I wish I could find red meat I could send. Just doesn't seem to be a lot available that's preserved in a fairly natural way and doesn't need refrigerated.
DeleteI believe in miracles, especially where dogs are concerned. A dog who was a beloved family member taught me that many years ago. I'm really, really happy for Grif and for the rest of you!
ReplyDeleteIt's probably a good year to make more jam. I expect to make more apricot-ginger marmalade with Blue Agave this year and will send you a supply when I do, I just don't know when.
Bitty is doing well; her liver enzymes are now excellent (yay!) and she turned 14 today. Given the links between our families, maybe Bitty and Hunter sent some energy to Grif in the last couple of days; they've been sticking really close more than usual in that period and I suspect they have, especially since I asked them to.
Much love to you all.