Everything is OKAY

Had a little scare yesterday (Friday), where I had a missed phone call and texts from my brother while I was at work that said "Elle is dieing and no one will answer the damn phone."*

So of course I call him absolutely panicked... He works less than a mile from my parent's house so he goes home during his lunch breaks to let the dogs out. (Since Elle is back on her high dose of roids she can't hold it very long and has to go outside for frequent potty breaks).

So I called him, FREAKING OUT, and he says "Elle is dying there's puke and diarrhea and blood EVERYWHERE"
uhhhhh
So then I freak out even more.
Then I tell him to get her in the car IMMEDIATELY and take her to the vet. I call the vet to let them know that they're on the way. As soon as I open my mouth to speak to the vet I BUST into tears. (think, "Hi, it's WAHHHHHH!"
Lol. Poor vet receptionist.

I finally get ahold of my mom who tells me she is going to meet brother at the vet. As mom is going to the vet, Dad is heading home to check out the scene so we can see if it's really as bad as brother made it out to be (the Fabulous family was on full alert!).... in the midst of my freakout my mother reminds me that my brother has never had a dog of his own before so he doesn't know what constitutes "dying" (or in his case, "dieing"), and what just means an upset tummy.

THANK GOD for my mother being the voice of reason.

Turns out that Elle is NOT dying. PRAISE JESUS MARY JOSEPH AND ALL THE SAINTS!

They immediately did bloodwork, since her blood has been the cause of her sickness lately, and bloodwork came back with platelets a little lower  than they were a week ago, but still in the normal range. THANK GOD! (If you're new to the blog or don't recall Elle's situation... she got sick in July 2010. She was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia, and while we thought she was better she relapsed last month. You can check the archives for Elle's story or google IMHA for all the info you would ever want).
The only treatment for IMHA is steroids to suppress her immune system, so it doesn't attack her blood. A side effect of the steroids that she's on (in addition to insatiable hunger and thirst and the cataract that she's developed), is that it can be pretty tough on the GI tract. (have I mentioned lately how AWFUL steroids are?!?! I mean I love them because they're keeping her alive and "healthy" and happy, but the side effects are just terrible)
So they put her on a couple new meds to soothe/coat her GI tract, which we are hoping should return her stomach to normal and get the vomit/diarrhea under control.

SO - the explanation for the incident yesterday: Upset GI tract led to vomit and diarrhea in the crate. Vomit and diarrhea in the crate led to a Great Dane who tried to jailbreak the crate to get out. Using her nose on the metal bars of the crate in attempted jail break = blood everywhere.
And unfortunately for my brother he had to be the one to walk in on the scene.
Here's what Elle looked like after the vet cleaned her up (my mom left her there for the afternoon to get a bath since she was covered in diarrhea and vomit - lovely!)

My mom texted me this picture with the caption "Sorry for getting you so worried, Mom! I'm fine now, promise!"


She texted me after the ordeal was over that I owed my brother a car wash and a big thank you. Of course I responded "Uhhhh I'm pretty sure what I owe him is an ASS KICKING for making me panic and think my dog was gonna die!"
And we're both a little right.
So I texted him thank you and that Elle and I both appreciated it.

Apparently brother was quite freaked out by the whole ordeal... my mom said she walked in to the vet and he was sitting there white as a ghost and told her he changed his mind... he doesn't want a dog anymore. Ha.
So let this serve as a lesson to anyone who wants a dog - it's not all cuddly puppies! Sometimes they're adult dogs covered in shit. literally.

So, that's an update on what's been going on at Fabulous Headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

Thank you to everyone who offered encouragement on twitter and said little prayers for my Ellebaby... they are very much appreciated!

And now I'm off to the library.... PHEW.




*my brother and I received IDENTICAL grade school educations. Same teachers, same curriculum. My grammar/spelling is damn near perfect (obviously not always on the blog - I'm just getting thoughts out here), and his is downright atrocious. How is that possible?