Hello all,
Shawn and I began the major cleaning process over the weekend complete with bleach and water. Gadget stopped throwing up and the diarrhea for nearly 24 hours but began vomiting again on Sunday morning. She is still responding well to electrolytes but her protein and white blood cell count still aren't that great. Widget is responding well and hasn't vomitted at all since we brought her in on Friday. She does still have diarrhea though but not as frequent and not bloody. Shawn and I went to visit them on Sunday night from behind the glass of their quarantined room. They responded to Shawn's whistle immediately and sat up with wagging tails. They look like they want to come home and we can hardly wait for when that time comes!! They are so much a part of our lives and, even though the bill is going to sting, it is worth it. The holidays will be happier with them and I can't imagine just letting them go when they're sick. This year, Shawn and I don't want ANY gifts. If you really want to get us something, please feel free to send us whatever amount of money you want so that we can apply it to our bill. At last check on Sunday night, our portion owed was $2,538.
On another note, we've decided not to renew our vows in 2009. We will mail out letters to everyone for the holidays. I'm trying to put together a complete address book with all the friends'/family members' addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. Please send the info to me by email at lsmith@scripps.edu.
As far as the pregnancy, I'm 22 weeks and feeling very heavy. I've gained about 25 pounds total already and feel like I'm going to burst. The baby is moving around a lot and I can feel very slight movement with my hand but Shawn hasn't been able to feel any of it yet.
Mikayla is doing great in first grade. Shawn and I went to her first Parent/Teacher Conference of the school year and are pleased with her performance. Her writing needs to be little neater so that's our main focus right now during homework time.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving at my mom and Bruce's house this year. Happy (early) Thanksgiving to you!!
~Lindsay
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Our babies are VERY sick...
Hello family/friends,
Beginning Saturday 11/15 in the evening, our dog Gadget fell ill. She began throwing up foam and liquid and stopped eating entirely. Thinking she ate something that didn't agree with her, we just watched her carefully in hopes that she would clear out the issue. Gadget is normally a very rambunctious dog and earlier that day had been playing on the new play set that Shawn and my dad had put together in the backyard the previous weekend. Over the following couple of days she began to get worse, still not eating and now having diarhhea too. We were gving her syrup on her gums to keep her blood sugar up and she was drinking water on her own. By Tuesday afternoon, we decided we needed to take her to the vet. They initially decided it may be Parvovirus and wanted to do a test. It was going to cost $100 with the vet fee included. Unfortunately, we live very tight on money right now and the vet refused to take a post-dated check for Friday even with my proof of income. We took Gadget back home and, shortly after, she began to get worse. We borrowed $100 from my sister (the saint) and got Gadget tested for Parvo. The Parvo test came up negative twice. Then, we began to wonder if it was some sort of stomach obstruction. The vet sent us away since we couldn't then pay for the x-rays and bloodwork to verify if that was the cause. When we got home we applied for a CareCredit loan which we were unable to attain. Shawn called about 5 hospitals trying to find one that offers a payment plan. All of which cared only about money and NOT about a dying animal!!! Finally one gal referred us to two women, Cynthia Starkovsky and Penny Adams. They are pledges who donate money for this exact type of cause. Shawn called the women and we were told to bring Gadget IMMEDIATELY to a hospital in El Cajon, Animal Medical Center. Cynthia was going to cover our exam fee (about $77) and Penny pledged to assist us with $100. The hospital printed up an estimate for us that included surgery to remove any obstructions if necessary. The estimate was over $2,000!!! The front desk person, Phyllis (an angel in disguise), contacted Cynthia (one of our donors) again and let her know the new estimate cost. To our amazement Cynthia blew us away by offering to cover $1,300!!! We are forever in debt to her and vow to donate to her cause as soon as we are turned around financially. There are no words to say how we feel about her and her generosity. On to the medical stuff: No obstructions were seen in the 2 Xrays and the Barium test was inconclusive becuase Gadget threw up the Barium before it could go down to her intestines. So, they opened up her stomach anyway and found...nothing! We were back to square one. Meanwhile, they put her on IV fluids and medications to stop the vomiting and diarrhea. On our visit to Gadget on Wednesday morning, the doc on call (Dr. Clark) informed up that even though Gadget is testing negative for Parvo, there is a strain going around that is not showing up on the tests. This meant that now Gadget's sister Widget is at risk for getting the same thing. She was already exhibiting some signs that we attributed to depression because she was still somewhat active, unlike how Gadget was when she was hit with symptoms. We received some homeopathic remedies that we were referred to by Judy (who lives near our old house in Clairemont). We got Widget started on them immediately on Wednesday. Her vomiting and diarrhea were not as intense as Gadget's and she still was a little more lively at times. She wasn't eating though and was obviously not feeling well at all. That leads up to today. At about 7:30 this morning, Widget went outside and had a major sign of intestinal issues. She had diarrhea that was pure blood. A lot. We promptly contacted the hospital and requested an estimate for adding Widget onto the payment plan we intend to set up for paying for Gadget's remaining bill. I am leaving work now to get home and get Widget to the hospital to begin treatments. We remain very hopeful that they will pull through. We have a LONG weekend ahead of us cleaning our house literally from top-to-bottom, inside-and-out with bleach and water to try to kill the Parvovirus before we get to bring our babies home. I will try to keep you updated...
Beginning Saturday 11/15 in the evening, our dog Gadget fell ill. She began throwing up foam and liquid and stopped eating entirely. Thinking she ate something that didn't agree with her, we just watched her carefully in hopes that she would clear out the issue. Gadget is normally a very rambunctious dog and earlier that day had been playing on the new play set that Shawn and my dad had put together in the backyard the previous weekend. Over the following couple of days she began to get worse, still not eating and now having diarhhea too. We were gving her syrup on her gums to keep her blood sugar up and she was drinking water on her own. By Tuesday afternoon, we decided we needed to take her to the vet. They initially decided it may be Parvovirus and wanted to do a test. It was going to cost $100 with the vet fee included. Unfortunately, we live very tight on money right now and the vet refused to take a post-dated check for Friday even with my proof of income. We took Gadget back home and, shortly after, she began to get worse. We borrowed $100 from my sister (the saint) and got Gadget tested for Parvo. The Parvo test came up negative twice. Then, we began to wonder if it was some sort of stomach obstruction. The vet sent us away since we couldn't then pay for the x-rays and bloodwork to verify if that was the cause. When we got home we applied for a CareCredit loan which we were unable to attain. Shawn called about 5 hospitals trying to find one that offers a payment plan. All of which cared only about money and NOT about a dying animal!!! Finally one gal referred us to two women, Cynthia Starkovsky and Penny Adams. They are pledges who donate money for this exact type of cause. Shawn called the women and we were told to bring Gadget IMMEDIATELY to a hospital in El Cajon, Animal Medical Center. Cynthia was going to cover our exam fee (about $77) and Penny pledged to assist us with $100. The hospital printed up an estimate for us that included surgery to remove any obstructions if necessary. The estimate was over $2,000!!! The front desk person, Phyllis (an angel in disguise), contacted Cynthia (one of our donors) again and let her know the new estimate cost. To our amazement Cynthia blew us away by offering to cover $1,300!!! We are forever in debt to her and vow to donate to her cause as soon as we are turned around financially. There are no words to say how we feel about her and her generosity. On to the medical stuff: No obstructions were seen in the 2 Xrays and the Barium test was inconclusive becuase Gadget threw up the Barium before it could go down to her intestines. So, they opened up her stomach anyway and found...nothing! We were back to square one. Meanwhile, they put her on IV fluids and medications to stop the vomiting and diarrhea. On our visit to Gadget on Wednesday morning, the doc on call (Dr. Clark) informed up that even though Gadget is testing negative for Parvo, there is a strain going around that is not showing up on the tests. This meant that now Gadget's sister Widget is at risk for getting the same thing. She was already exhibiting some signs that we attributed to depression because she was still somewhat active, unlike how Gadget was when she was hit with symptoms. We received some homeopathic remedies that we were referred to by Judy (who lives near our old house in Clairemont). We got Widget started on them immediately on Wednesday. Her vomiting and diarrhea were not as intense as Gadget's and she still was a little more lively at times. She wasn't eating though and was obviously not feeling well at all. That leads up to today. At about 7:30 this morning, Widget went outside and had a major sign of intestinal issues. She had diarrhea that was pure blood. A lot. We promptly contacted the hospital and requested an estimate for adding Widget onto the payment plan we intend to set up for paying for Gadget's remaining bill. I am leaving work now to get home and get Widget to the hospital to begin treatments. We remain very hopeful that they will pull through. We have a LONG weekend ahead of us cleaning our house literally from top-to-bottom, inside-and-out with bleach and water to try to kill the Parvovirus before we get to bring our babies home. I will try to keep you updated...
Monday, November 10, 2008
Baby Boy Krainock due 3/31 (or thereabout)
I'm 20 weeks along in my pregnancy with our little boy!! I've been feeling flutters of movement but so far nothing that can be felt from the outside. Shawn and I are both looking forward to feeling those hard kicks. Our last ultrasound with a doc was on October 30th. We also paid for an additional ultrasound on November 2nd at a 4D Ultrasound facility. Pictures and the video are posted below. My mom, sister, daughter, Shawn and I were all there to get the first glimpse of our boy's facial features. Though somewhat alien-like now, we know he'll develop into the cutest baby boy ever!! We might be a little biased though... For now, we have not decided on a name. The ultrasound did inspire his first nickname though...Cuddles. Throughout the entire ultrasound he had his hands clasped up by his face and was curled up and cuddling in his little placenta pillow. Too cute... Enjoy the pictures and video!
L
L
Let the blogging begin...
Hello family and friends,
Shawn and I have set up this website as a means of communicating with the tech-savvy people who are dear to us. Our lives get so busy at times that it's difficult to get in touch with everyone to relay the slightest bit of news. On this site, you can look forward to baby updates as our little boy continues to prepare for his journey to the big, wide world. We will also blog about our daily lives here in "America's Finest City" San Diego, CA. And, to some of you, this will be an introduction to either Shawn or me because our families and friends are spread all over the U.S. and travelling is so costly these days.
As a reminder, we will be renewing our vows on July 3rd, 2009 here in San Diego and would love for everyone to be able to make it. More details are to come, but please keep us in mind for your Summer vacation or just a getaway to a sunny place.
With love to all,
Lindsay & Shawn
Shawn and I have set up this website as a means of communicating with the tech-savvy people who are dear to us. Our lives get so busy at times that it's difficult to get in touch with everyone to relay the slightest bit of news. On this site, you can look forward to baby updates as our little boy continues to prepare for his journey to the big, wide world. We will also blog about our daily lives here in "America's Finest City" San Diego, CA. And, to some of you, this will be an introduction to either Shawn or me because our families and friends are spread all over the U.S. and travelling is so costly these days.
As a reminder, we will be renewing our vows on July 3rd, 2009 here in San Diego and would love for everyone to be able to make it. More details are to come, but please keep us in mind for your Summer vacation or just a getaway to a sunny place.
With love to all,
Lindsay & Shawn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
