Body Here, Personality Missing

We haven't said anything about what has been happening around here lately, but Sam has not been doing well.  It has been a roller coaster ride since he had two seizures on the weekend of December 5 - 6.

Yesterday Jan took Sam to the vet.  Mr. Doug was a big help.  He cleaned out the tailgate part of his van for Sam's bed.  Mr. Doug kept offering to lift Sam in and out but he's not supposed to be doing any heavy lifting and Sam is currently 69 pounds.  So Jan figured out how to lift Sam in and out.  It turned out to be much easier using the waist-high tailgate part than it would have been the passenger section.

A physical exam and blood work shows Sam is physically a healthy dog.  Neurologically, it's a different story.  He has had a "vascular incident"  - most likely a stroke, possibly vascular bleeding.  He is blind in the left eye and his brain is not communicating well with his left side at all.  He does respond to voices but his brain is slow to process.  He isn't too sure where his feet are.  He has little response to touch on his left.

He wanders around until he is exhausted and collapses.  Jan took him outside at 1 a.m. the other night. and spent half an hour watching him walk around the yard as if he had no idea where he was.  At 3 a.m. she had to extricate him from a small space where he was trying to squeeze between the wall and the cat tower.

Yesterday morning she wondered how a big dog could get lost in a small house.  He was found in the bedroom closet (the door was open a crack) where he had lodged himself sideways.  His reverse and left turns are not working well.

As we typed this, Sam wandered into Marcus's crate for the first time.  He has been afraid of the confines of the crate. He went in crooked and got stuck.  Jan opened the second door on the side and managed to maneuver him inside so she could walk him out backwards.  He dropped down and stretched out.  A few minutes later he was most of the way out, with one paw "stuck" - the front left paw.  Jan had to lift it for him.

He isn't eating full meals but he is eating.  He's not in any pain.  His body is here but his personality is missing. This might reverse itself.  It might not.  It's one day at a time.

Meanwhile, Jan is exhausted from lack of sleep and an overload of stress.  With one of us ill, the whole crew is stressed and we have been acting up a bit more than usual.  

After 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan suddenly realized she had not paid our utility bill.  If not paid by 5 p.m., it would cost another $25.  $25 is rather precious around here.  Thank you, Miss Johnnie, for giving her a ride so she didn't have to hike to town.

And, Mr. Mark, we can't thank you enough for your help!

Come to think of it, we have a lot to be thankful for this Thursday.

Please forgive us if we missed sending you our ecard.  If we did, please pick it up on our Christmas Cards 4 U post.

Today is Thankful Thursday.  Stop by PepiSmartDog to see what he is thankful for this week and to join the blog hop.

It is also Thoughtless Thursday, hosted by Ruckus the Eskie with co-hosts Love is being owned by a Husky and M.K Clinton.