Another Unexpected Wave in the Midst of the Storm

Today we got hard news about Blue...if you know us at all, you know how much animals mean to us and specifically Blue--she was gifted to me when I was hospitalized and missed being with Grandma when she passed and has helped us through some very dark times...Crash and Roxy were each special in their own way, just as Blue is. She was diagnosed with hip dysplasia when she was 1 and there are times when she will have a hard time getting up after a long day of playing ball or extra activity or when it's really cold out. Our vet goes to our church and is about to have a baby, so I took her in a couple months early for her annual exam and since she's 7 now, asked about doing x-rays to see where we were at with her hips and it was definitely providential that God had me get in early--Amy came back into the room and said, "Those are some rough looking hips......" Definitely not the words I wanted to hear today--Blue has been hurting but not showing it or telling us. There are options to help her but it's just one more hard thing on top of all the other hard things going on right now. Here is an image of normal hips...

If you look, you can see how the socket is in the joint and then has a narrowing that they call the neck. Here are Blue's x-rays:

She has no neck at all--it's all just swollen and got arthritis all around it...she has to be hurting so much and you would never know---the hardest part is we have to try to get her to not jump up and catch her ball and that's her favorite way to play ball. We are going to start with a stronger joint supplement and also daily carprofen which is like doggy ibuprofen. Walks are great and swimming is actually really good--I jokingly said, "Swimming is good for my lungs, so we'll just have to find a place to swim together." and she said one of the vets has a place here in town that she takes her dog to and swims because her dog has bad back issues. There's also YouTube videos that I can look up to get PT ideas for hip dysplasia. Definitely shed some tears today...they sedated her to do the x-rays and she has been out of it this afternoon/evening. I was supposed to go to Bible study tonight but Jord was feeling off (probably the prednisone for his stuff) and since I can't drive at night because of the TN, plus I was exhausted after the longer than anticipated vet visit, and we didn't want to leave Blue alone being out of it from the sedation. Even when I get up to go anywhere, she has to follow me tonight, even if Jord is there, so we made the right choice. In all honesty, I will probably be in bed at 8 lol. This morning started rough--I woke up to go pee around 6 and tried to lay back down but started coughing so much I ended up throwing up and just had a rougher morning this morning. I originally planned on taking a nap, but the vet took a lot longer so it will definitely be an early to bedtime for me tonight--plus the crying on top of it all just takes it out of you too.............Anyway, please join us in praying for wisdom with treatment and that the reasonable things we can do to alleviate her pain work--we won't make her suffer just to stay here longer--I don't even want to think about going down that road but that is the hard reality with dogs--their lives are so much shorter than we would wish! We also need to figure something out for the stairs--they obviously aren't good for her so we had already thought about doing a chair lift for me if I needed it and it turns out they make doggy chair lifts so we are looking into that as well. Lots to consider and pray through.......also as an update on the status of my surgeries--I made a couple phone calls yesterday and got an urgent referral to an OB at UAB and they called this morning and when I asked for first available appointments yesterday it was in July--today they got me in on April 24th, the same day I see my ENT about the sinus surgery at UAB so I should know next steps after those appointments. I'm gonna sign off for now and do treatments and crawl into bed. Thankful that God is reigning on His throne, that this didn't surprise Him--He knows exactly the number of Blue's days, just as He knows the number of our days, and His will is perfect and He will continue to carry us through the valleys and the hills...so thankful for my mighty Savior! Here are a few more pictures from today--Theresa is a friend from church and Amy is her daughter-in-law so last minute I asked Theresa if she wanted to go to the grocery store with me this morning and she ended up hanging out with me most of the day and we surprised Amy with her--I was thankful to not be alone on the drive home after getting the hard news--God always knows exactly what you need! Thankful!