A Story About Emma

Everyone who has read my blog for any amount of time knows how much we love our furbabies, Emma and Fishy. However, what some of you may not know is that our sweet Emma has epilepsy.

This is a common health problem that most Dachshunds are predisposed to and let me tell you it is one of the scariest things you could every experience. Emma's dad, Scoop, had them once he hit about 3 or 4 years old and it was terrifying for me because I had no idea what to do, the only upside is that they have no idea what is going on.

Once Emma hit the same age she started having them as well. I remember the first seizure she had, we were sitting on the couch but she stood up and instantly fell over with her paws curled under and shaking. I scooped her up and held her like a baby, talked to her, and hoped it wouldn't last long. It lasted for maybe a minute, I took her to the vet and was instantly told they couldn't do anything for her. Seeing this little 10 pound dog having no control over anything was heartbreaking.

After I moved to NC with Kyle, her seizures became more frequent and lasted longer. I had told Kyle about the seizures but he didn't realize the severity until I found him on the bathroom floor holding her one night sobbing because he didn't know how to help her.

We finally found a vet that would put her on medication to regulate the enzymes in her liver. She has been on that medication for 6 years and while it hasn't eliminated the seizures (she had one last night), it stops them from happening as frequently. She has blood draws to check her liver every 6 months and it is something that we take very seriously. She will be on medication for the rest of her life but her health and welfare is the most important thing. 

It's so important to take care of your pets and help them live long and happy lives. I have seen too many people lately letting their pets go months and years without vaccinations and proper care, it makes me angry!

So I guess what I am trying to say is take care of your pets, they deserve it!

Flashback Friday

A year ago we found out we were moving to Lousiana, we have loved our adventure here so far! It's crazy to think that in another year we will find out where we are headed next. I love this crazy Army life! 

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

In Our Neck Of The Woods

How is it already a week away from July?! This is crazy pants! We do however have had a lot going on and will continue to be busy.

*We celebrated our 7th anniversary over the weekend and it was awesome! Kyle was able to come in from the field early so we could go to dinner. We are not high class restaurant people for special occasions so Texas Roadhouse was the perfect place. We ate too much and just enjoyed each others company.

*I am in week 4 of my last class and it's going great. I am really enjoying it and can't wait to finish my degree on a high note.

*My sister finally talked me into watching Game of Thrones and I'm hooked! I'm halfway through Season 2 already and I hate that I waited so long to watch it. I guess I will have to listen to her from now on haha.

*We are running a 4 miler on the 4th of July and I can't wait! It's down in Lake Charles and it will be a perfect way to start off our 2 weeks of block leave.

*Lonestar and Trace Adkins are playing here on post for 4th of July. Two more acts that we have never seen live, it's going to be fun.

*We have everything ready to go for our trips to Houston and Orlando, it will be nice to have uninterrupted time with Kyle and just have a good time with family as well.

*Until we go on block leave I will enjoy this view as much as possible.

*We canceled our cable provider and went back to Directv, I didn't realize how much I would miss channels like SPIKE or MTV. I like trashy TV on occasion. ;)

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

We Have A Plan

Last week Kyle had a very important appointment in San Antonio. He met with a male fertility specialist and he came out of that appointment with some amazing information. The doctor was awesome and listened to everything and didn't brush anything off.

 He had bloodwork for genetic testing as well as a few other examinations done. One of the main things we found out is that it is very possible that he has a chromosomal abnormality called Y Chromosome Microdeletion. Based on information from my genetic testing and what his doctor thinks, all of the pregnancies and miscarriages that we have had would have resulted in little boys. That was hard to hear again, since I had been told that at my genetics appointment. If he does have this abnormality (which we will find out for certain in 4 weeks) we will likely only carry girls to term. 

There are a few other things that we can do to help our chances of conceiving, Kyle can be put on clomid (yes the same stuff women take), but the upside for him taking it is that he can take it for the rest of his life without it causing a problem for him. For women, they can only take it so many times in their lifetime before it weakens their reproductive organs.

I am sure a lot of you are thinking that this information is TMI but to be honest this information should be out in the open. Kyle and I were talking about it last night, our journey and our story can potentially help others who are afraid to ask questions and who are afraid to ask for testing to be done. Kyle is finally to the point where is okay talking about this freely and he should be, I'm happy that he is comfortable enough in his own skin to talk about it. It's a real thing that more people than you think are experiencing.

While this news to some would be devastating, we are actually hopeful. We are happy that we now have a direction to go. We have options to try before moving onto IVF (If we do end up going with IVF doctors can test for genetic abnormalities). All we have ever wanted was doctors to listen to us and do more testing. So the plan is to wait and see what the genetics test say and then move onto Clomid for Kyle.

We are so relieved to have a plan finally after 6 years and a way to move forward for the time being. I am excited and hopeful to see what the future hold!

Back To Normal (For Now)

I am finally home from Florida after spending a few days there, I took our niece and nephew back home on Sunday and decided to stay a few days to hang out with my sister.

We had such a great week with the kids, it was so fun to hang out with them, goof off around the house, spend time at the pool and playground. Last Friday was our big fun day since Kyle was home early from work we went miniature golfing and bowling, then ended the night with treats from Sonic. 

It was such a great week and we hope that they will want to come back again next year. :)

A few days to recoup in Florida was nice, it's always fun hanging out with my sister. She is pretty rad.

We have a few weeks to relax and get ready for our trip in July. Houston and Orlando are going to be pretty awesome, I can't wait! Kyle hasn't had much time off since starting this job in November, so it is definitely going to be good for him.

This weekend will be pretty low key for the most part, Sunday is Father's Day as well as our 7th wedding anniversary. It's going to be a great day! :)

I hope you all have an awesome weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

This is what happens when you are watching 8 kids and they rebel haha!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

The Journey Continues

Most of you know that back in April I finally had my genetic testing done. It was pretty extensive testing as it was expanded to test more in depth into the chromosomes as well as for the Cystic Fibrosis gene (I have two cousins that have CF, and one passed away 2 years ago). The results were back weeks ago but I didn't get them until last Friday.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, throughout this infertility journey it has been one frustrating thing after another. Much to my surprise my results came back completely normal, and I do not have the CF gene (which has nothing to do with infertility, but I wanted to be tested just to be sure). Now that we have that out of the way we wait for Kyle's results. He has a follow up appointment this week in San Antonio and we will hopefully have his results soon after that. 

His results are the last piece to the puzzle, once we have those results we can really focus on our next step and figure out what direction we are going. Our feelings throughout all of this have not changed, there is nothing that we want more than to have a child. After having our niece and nephew this last week it made that even more clear, our goal in life is to be parents and to be the best parents that we can be. 

We won't give up.