Lucy at Ten

About three months ago, our 10-year-old Lab, Lucy, was diagnosed with diabetes.

Brian and I were surprised by this diagnosis, because up until a few days before we took Lucy to the vet, she seemed to be in relatively good health.

The only clue that something was amiss: a sudden onset of incontinence at night.

According to Lucy's veterinarian, her pancreas just stopped working.

In the weeks that followed the diagnosis, Lucy visited the vet's office quite frequently, so the doctor could monitor her blood sugar levels and try to determine how much insulin she needed.

At first, Lucy was really lethargic. She slept A LOT and rarely barked at much of anything.

One time when Lucy spent the whole day at the vet's office, Brian picked Lucy up in the evening and the doctor raved about what a perfect angel she was. The vet said, "She was so mellow and easygoing and didn't bark much at all."  

Fast forward three weeks and Lucy returned to the vet for another full day of monitoring.

This time, she was not nearly as mellow or lethargic.  In fact, the vet said she barked so much that it was driving her crazy.

That's the Lucy I know, I thought. She's back! Clearly, giving her 16 units of insulin twice daily was working.

Since late October, Brian or I have been administering insulin injections, approximately 12 hours apart.

At first, I was super nervous about giving Lucy her insulin.  I don't like receiving shots, let alone giving them. My paramedic hubby was very patient with me, showing me how to roll the bottle of insulin between my palms, how to fill the syringe with insulin, how to pull up Lucy's skin, and how to properly inject the insulin.

It sounds long and drawn out, but it takes only seconds to do it.

Now, with over 100 injections under my belt, I'm not fazed by it.  It's just part of life.

Part of our new normal.

Noah loves watching me give Lucy her insulin. He sits on the rug nearby and after I give Lucy her "medicine", I say, "Good girl!" and he repeats, "Good girl!"

Noah has watched me give so many injections that I think at this point, he could give Lucy her injections. Ha!

The other day, Noah was standing in our family room next to Rudy, our other dog. Noah had a small flashlight in one hand, and he had a handful of Rudy's fur in his other hand. He "poked" the flashlight into Rudy's back and said, "Shot. Good girl!" He flashed me a smile and I grinned.

Granted, he got the wrong dog--the one who doesn't have diabetes--but his intentions were good.

One night, as I fed Lucy and administered her insulin--with Noah watching nearby--that old saying, "If dogs could talk..." came to mind.

I contemplated what Lucy might be thinking now that she's slowing down considerably, now that she eats special high-fiber dog food, now that she has me (or Brian) poking her with needles twice a day. 

If Lucy could talk, here's what I think she would say:

Darn, I'm gettin' old.

This arthritis stuff stinks. I can't run anymore. And I walk super slow. 

What is this dog food? It tastes like cardboard. I want my old dog food back.

Not this place again. (The vet) I want to go home.

Getting old *really* stinks.

 I love naps.

Why do I have to poop so often? Must be that darn dog food.  

Mom's alarm is going off!  That means it's time to eat!

Eating twice a day instead of once...woohoo!

So glad I'm not peeing in the house anymore--that was downright embarrassing.

Stop it, Rudy!  You're so annoying. Icksnay with the eye licking, okay?

Aahh...canned food again! I remember this from my puppy days.

I love when that little boy who they call Noah says, "Hey, Luce!" with a big grin on his face.  Makes my day, I tell ya!

As I was writing this list, I chuckled, thinking that at 70 years old (Lucy's age in dog years), I may be thinking and uttering some of these same sentiments.  Ha!

Despite her age and her diabetes diagnosis, Lucy is doing well. But I don't know how many more days she has left with us. Because of this, I find myself petting her more frequently, reminding myself to be patient with her as she walks *very* slowly from place-to-place, and watching her more and more as she interacts with Noah.

Prior to me snapping the iPhone photo above, taken just days after Lucy was diagnosed with diabetes, Noah had gently placed his Pooh blanket and his "nigh-nigh" on Lucy, and then laid down near her on his bedroom floor. 

We had told Noah that Lucy was sick, so this sweet gesture was (and still is) all the more touching. A little love from our first son to our first dog.

It will always be one of my favorite memories of the two of them.

Turning Ten

At the end of March, our niece, McKayla, came to visit.

We always look forward to seeing McKayla, but this time was particularly special because McKayla got to meet her 3-month-old cousin, Noah, for the first time.  

It was also a memorable visit because McKayla stayed with us for two full days.

Before McKayla arrived, Brian and I had discussed what we wanted to do while she was here.  At the top of my list: Taking McKayla to Coloma since she's currently in fourth grade.  (A field trip, if you will!)  I also wanted to bake cupcakes and present her with 10 wrapped gifts in honor of her forthcoming 10th birthday.

These planned events were super fun, but just as exciting were the more spontaneous activities.  Like when Brian came up with the last-minute idea to present McKayla with clues for a birthday gift scavenger hunt.  I think McKayla loved the "hunt" more than the actual gifts. 

This is what I want to remember from our time together.  

I want to remember baking and frosting cupcakes with McKayla.  (For the record, McKayla did nearly all the work; I just helped with the oven.)

I want to remember how McKayla and I talked about teachers.  McKayla said she wasn't fond of strict teachers.  To which I replied, Well then, I don't think you would have liked me as your teacher.  She laughed and I did, too. 

I want to remember McKayla creating homemade cards--one for Noah and one for a friend--as she listened to her favorite singer, Bruno Mars, on Pandora.  (I'm not going to lie: The cardmaker in me was so excited to see McKayla's budding interest in cardmaking, and my long-neglected cardmaking supplies were shouting, Hooray, hooray!)

I want to remember how excited McKayla was when she learned how to use my Xyron machine.  

I want to remember how McKayla and Brian made a delicious taco pizza for dinner. 

 

I want to remember McKayla panning for gold in Coloma.

 

I want to remember how initially McKayla didn't seem too interested in learning about the discovery of gold in California.  (It may have been that the museum was a tad bit boring.)  But once we visited James Marshall's log cabin, from there on out, she stopped and read every. single. sign. 

I want to remember that when McKayla learned that the Coloma school children during the Gold Rush era never had any homework, she said, "What?  That's not fair.  Why do I have homework and they didn't?"  

I want to remember how much McKayla enjoyed searching for her 10 birthday presents in and around our house.

I want to remember how McKayla enthusiastically read each clue, ran (not walked) to the appropriate destination, quickly searched for her gift and then made a pile of presents in the family room. 

The clue that sent her to the washing machine said, If you had dirty clothes, where would you go to wash them?  

The clue that led McKayla to the car said, Six years from now, you’ll be able to drive one of these…as long as you pass your driving test!

I want to remember how McKayla opened all of her gifts at the end of the scavenger hunt and then made a wish and blew out the candles on her birthday cupcake. 

We hope to make more happy memories with McKayla in the future!

J

P.S.  In case you are curious, here is what I selected for McKayla's ten gifts:
1) 10 pictures of Noah (in a small album)
2) 5 pairs of socks
3) $10 gift card to iTunes
4) 10 $1 bills
5) 10 stickers
6) 10 pieces of bubble gum (I totally forgot she has braces, so we swapped out the gum for candy.)
7) 5 pairs of earrings
8) 10 Peeps candies
9) 10 plastic bracelets
10) 10 mechanical pencils