Brigham's Ear Issues

Brigham has been battling ear infections for months, so we finally got a referral to ENT yesterday.  The soonest we can be seen is Tuesday afternoon.. I hope it comes quickly.  I wanted to journal about his troubles so that IF there are future problems, I can reference this journal.
 
October 28, 2011- 7 months old.  Snotty nose for 2-3 weeks on and off.  Cough for 1 week and very crabby!  Double ear infection.  Prescribed Amoxacillin
November 4, 2011- Ear recheck.  Still crabby, especially during the night.  Ears are still infected.  Prescribed Augmentin & numbing ear drops for pain relief.
November 14, 2011- Ear recheck.  No infections.
November 28, 2011- 8 months old.  Crying during the night for the last few nights.  Ears are infected.  Prescribed Omnicef.
December 14, 2011-  Ear recheck.  You finished meds and were OK for a week, but are now crying and waking up during the night again.  No infection. 
January 30, 2012-  10 months old.  Not eating.  Runny diapers for several days & runny nose.  Ears looked OK.  Dr. McKercher says 'it's viral.'
February 13, 2012-  Snotty nose, cough and pulling on ears.  1 ear is infected.  Prescribed Omnicef.
February 27, 2012-  Ear recheck.  Still crabby during the night, and 1 ear is infected.  Got Rocephin shots 2/27, 2/28 and 2/29.  You screamed for 20 minutes after the shots.
March 6, 2012-  Ear recheck.  No improvements since Rocephin shots last week.  Still waking up 2-3 times a night and screaming.  1 ear is still infected.  Prescribed Zithromax and are referring us to ENT. 

That sums up his issues.  I feel so bad for him.  He hasn't had a solid night of sleep in weeks, maybe even a month or more. As a mother, I just want so badly for him to be comfortable... and I also would like for both of us to get some good sleep! 

During the day he is usually a happy little guy!  He gets a little crabby when he is tired, and will sometimes fight his nap..  which could be because his ears hurt when he lays down.  He is extremely crabby during the night and its not just a baby being fussy and needing to be held or rocked... he screams even when I try to console him. 

Aside from sleepless nights and  a lot of trips to the doctor's office, we are good!  We did a date night swap with our good friends J & Renae.  They watched our boys one night & then the next weekend we took their girls for the night.  It was nice for Derek and I to have a night out, and also nice to not have to rely on the grandparents or Jason & Shana to babysit.  Boston absolutely LOVES playing with Jada, so he is wishing we could do this 'swapping' several nights a week! 

Brigs & Chloe having a little snack before supper.  Jaxon was patiently waiting for someone to drop him a snack too!

 The kids all eating supper.

 Brigs & Chloe in the bath.  Brigham is full of smiles because he was splashing..

 And Miss Chloe did not appreciate the splashes!

 Jada & Boston.  All 4 of the kids were wearing monkey pj's & these two thought that was so silly!

He's Back!

We are calling Jaxon's week away, an all inclusive doggy vacation!

After 3 days at his foster home, I received an email that Jaxon's health was already improving and that the vet was 90% they had pin pointed his issues.. the bad news was that he was not adjusting well to his new mommy and the foster home didn't want him anymore. The lady at the rescue center was searching for a new foster home for him.  A last resort would be the humane society.

#1:  I never would have given him away if I knew the humane society was in the picture..
#2:  They pin pointed his health issues immediately?! What the hell were we paying our vet to do the last 2-5 years?!
#3:  Boston and I were really missing him. 

When you surrender a dog to a rescue center or shelter, you give up your rights to that animal.  This was really hard for me because all along I kept thinking 'What if we miss him so much and want him back?!'  When the lady at the rescue center told me they needed to find him a new home, I was crushed.  I had signed over my rights to Jaxon and honestly didn't ever think getting him back was an option, but it was.  The staff at the rescue center was SO incredibly sweet to me.  They asked me if we were interested in getting him back, free of charge, as if we had never given him up...and they had never spent $800 of their rescue funds on his medical care.  I didn't even need to get down on my knee's and beg my husband to agree.. he said 'Call them and tell them yes...'

Jaxon returned on Saturday, February 25th.  He already looked & smelled 100% better!  The biggest blessing in all of this is that he was in the perfect hands.  The dermatology vet in MN got him on the right medication and he is hopefully on the road to a full recovery!  We do have some follow up vet appointments in March with a NEW vet in Sioux Falls, but I am positive they will be very pleased with his results thus far and hopefully he will not need further medication.

So for those of you wondering... no, Jaxon didn't die, he just went away on a little all expense paid vacation, but he's back!  Right where he belongs! :)

When we got Jaxon home, he ran right into the kitchen looking for his dog dishes, and then headed straight for our bed and made himself at home. 

Boston was thrilled to get his dog back! 

 Jaxon wears these cute little pajama's so that if he scratches, he isn't scratching his bare skin.  He has quite the bald spot on his back, but the hair is already growing back in! 

 We'd done a lot of cuddling lately.  He used to sleep in his kennel at night, but he now sleeps right between Derek & I :)  His health issues gave him a horrible smell, so on and off for the last several years he has stunk so bad we didn't even want him near us. 

So glad he smells like a normal dog again!

I received a 'letter to the editor' tonight.. from my husband.  He asked me to take out the exclamation mark behind 'Call them and tell them yes!'..  He said it made it sound like he was excited about having Jaxon back.  So, I have taken the exclamation away and put in a few dots...  Derek was supportive, but not bouncing off the walls with excitement.  Shame on me for portraying anything different.  :)