As One Life Is Beginning...

A few years ago, I went and saw an Orthopedist because I had been having problems with my back. After doing some xrays, he came to the conclusion that I had a bulged disk in my lower back. That definitely explained why I was having a hard time going on walks with Lance and our dog, Argos. Even though I stopped going on those walks, I still daydreamed about the day when we would have a child and I could push the child in a stroller while walking with Lance and the dog. At work, I've never had a problem pushing a wheelchair for long distances, so I definitely thought that it wouldn't be a problem to push a stroller when we had a child. I knew that Argos would be so great with a baby and it seemed like such a perfect thing to look forward to.

Unfortunately, the day that I had looked forward to for so long will never happen. We had to put our sweet dog to sleep on March 6. After battling malignant cancer since last summer, we knew that we had limited time left with him. He had been such a trooper for the last 7 months after having a toe on his back foot removed. He showed no serious signs of slowing down until about a week or two before we had to say goodbye. He had a seriously gnarly looking wound on the back of his leg that wouldn't heal. We took him to the vet and we tried a honey treatment for a week before we saw the vet again for a follow up appointment. The news was not good. The wound was actually a tumor in his lymph node that, unfortunately, would not get any better and would ultimately just keep getting worse. We decided that we would take him home for one more night so he could get one last good walk in with Lance and so we could spoil him rotten. In what seems to be almost unbelievable timing, he was very happy and energetic until the next day around noon.

Lance took him on a walk in the morning and all seemed well. Then about noon, Lance and I noticed that he kept pacing around the living room and kitchen and would not lay down. All of a sudden, he started dry heaving, which is something that he never did. We let him outside and he started foaming at the mouth. I knew that this was not good. It was really shocking because he had been fine up until this point. I called the vet and told them that I wanted an earlier appointment that day (our original appointment was for 2:45pm) and they told us to come in right away. We left the house immediately and found ourselves saying goodbye to him about a half hour later.

It has been a week and a half and Lance and I are still trying to cope. He wasn't just our pet, he was part of the family. He had such a goofy personality and was such a great dog. He just loved hanging out in his yard and protecting us from all the people who walked along the hill on the side of the house. He had several friends, including kids, who he would see on his walks to the park with Lance. He had a permanent look on his face as if to say that every day was the best day of his life. Lance and I were so happy to be his family for the almost 8 years that he was alive. He is very dearly missed.

I meant to write a couple of weeks ago about my last doctor appointment, but Argos' situation was the biggest and most consuming thing that we have had to deal with. My last appointment with my OB-GYN was on February 23rd. It went well but was pretty uneventful. My blood pressure was higher at this appointment but it wasn't alarmingly high, so no worries. We got to listen to the heartbeat which sounded fantastic! That was about it. The only real pain that I'm dealing with is sciatica. I seem to be okay until about 3am and then my legs start bothering me big time! I feel so lucky that that is the only real thing I have to deal with. No nausea, no vomiting and no more fatigue! My next appointment with my OB-GYN is on March 24th for my 18 week appointment.

Argos - February 2006