The Batman Birthday Bash of the Year

Thanks to everyone who blessed Devan this year by thinking of him, praying for him, sending him gifts and calling him on his birthday! He had a great Batman birthday party. I tried to get pictures of him opening all of his gifts but the bigger two I was helping him with so THANK YOU to Grandpa and Grandma Leasure for the fabulous tent/tunnel/house set! He also got a Toy Story Power Wheels from us which we didn't get pictures of either as we were too busy putting it together.

Enjoy!! CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Kira had a great Thanksgiving! Meal, that is. Ham, turkey, and anything she could find on the floors. I tried to snap some pictures of her but they all turned out blurry. But as you can see from the pics below, she's moved on to Christmas! She continues to do really well, she's on a new supplement for joint pain and is getting stronger each day. If I thought she'd get sick in a few months I was obviously wrong. And thankfully so!

3 Months have come and gone

It's been 16 months since I noticed the spot on Kira's chest wall. With the diagnosis being a high grade, extremely aggressive cancer she should technically not have even lived long enough to have surgery. She teaches me more each day than I could ever hope to learn about just living life. About not worrying who says what or numbers or data or predictions. Just to live.

She's getting some neat things for Christmas this year. I haven't done that for our pets in a while but this year we all gave up a present to spread the wealth to the other members of our family. A soft new bed, some bones and a new sweater awaits my sweet Bella. I want to honor her while she is here, speak kindly to her and not yell at her when she's dripping....stuff.....on the carpet. I want every second of every day she has left with me to mean something to her. Sleeping in the sun, walks to the park, rides in the stroller when she is too tired, going on errands in the car.

The extra love we are showing her has literally transformed our family. My children stop what they are doing to pet her, help her up the steps, make her a cozy bed. They ask me how her day was and to tell them funny stories about each pet. They "get" it. They see the finite amount of time she has, that we all have. It has made us see each other in a new way too. To appreciate playing games together, doing homework at the table as a group, working in the yard, having sleepovers. I see my kids being kind and caring and reminding each other that we are a family.

I will always be grateful to Kira for that.

10 Weeks Post Surgery

I can't believe it's been 2 1/2 months since Kira had surgery! She's doing well overall, though this week has fallen prey to an infection. She's on the mend and her quick rebound was a really good confirmation that she's handling the cancer pretty well. I'm still choosing to believe that the tumor removed was the original site and that no other areas have been affected.

She has her good days and bad days, but mostly good! I think she's aging well considering what she's endured and her sweet spirit still shines. I've noticed that she gets tired more often, but when she is awake she is ready to go!

As I start preparing to celebrate the fall holidays I've taken a little more time to include the pets, mostly because I am sad when I think about them not being here anymore. They really are a huge part of our family and an extremely huge part of my daily life. Moving around so much has been hard for me and I know they've been a true blessing in keeping me positive and giving me a focus away from myself.

I'll hopefully post pictures from this coming weekend of our Halloween trick-or-treat escapade -- Kira and Kyla are going to be pumpkins!

6 Weeks PostSurgery

It's hard to believe that Kira had surgery just 6 weeks ago. She had a major abdominal surgery that removed a lot of tissue and muscle from her chest wall. Yet she still army crawls around the house to scratch her belly effectively, something her surgeon said she should never be able to do since the muscle that connects the two front paws was essentially severed. So she's either really itchy or really strong!

So far we've only noticed slight curvature of the spine as a side effect, it's something that causes her to walk kind of side to side but it's really only noticeable to us since we know how she used to walk before surgery. All in all she's doing really well and we're sure giving her as many happy experiences as we can. Sometimes mama gives her one too many treats a day and the digestive issues remind me that she's still very allergic to outside foods!

We walk her every day, usually in the morning to the bus stop and Devan and I walk the girls sometime mid-day. By the afternoon pickup time she still wants to go out but prefers to ride in style in the bike trailer. I've taught the girls to sit in the trailer and not jump out so come bus time I throw 'em in there and away we go! I'll have to get a picture of it, it's really funny looking.

Nighttime is still a bit of a struggle for Kira as she's either really restless or extremely exhausted. She can sometimes sleep 12-14 hours and other times she's awake every hour. I pray that this is more of an aging symptom and not one of cancer invasion, but the truth is we won't know until it's too late. For now I just love her with everything I have and make her days, and nights, as good as they can be. Her sweet soul just enhances our family life and she's always reminding us to enjoy every second you have and to find joy in the smallest pleasures.

She's definitely my best girl Bella.

Look how far we've come!

I had taken some video of Kira 1 day post-op but forgot to post it here, wanted to show it to let everyone see how well she has done.



She continues to do well at home, though currently has a bladder and ear infection. She is slowly tolerating the K9 Immunity but I can't give her the Transfer Factor at all, that is what she's allergic to. As soon as some more money frees up I'll get her evaluated by the dermatologist and see if we can start finding some help for her skin conditions. I can tell her body is struggling a bit but she is really looking and acting well for the most part. Occasionally, like last night, she has a hard night of restlessness and needs constant petting to soothe her. I gave up at 4am and gave her a pain pill which helped her tremendously. I suppose that she will soon need to have that option more often, but I'm hoping that the good diet and plenty of love and sunshine will be great for her.

Lastly, we are slowly walking her a bit each day. I really feel that she enjoys it and it seems to help her from becoming stiff. I know there will be a day when she can't do this, but for now it is one of the highlights of her day!

Get back to nature!

I'm writing about our journey through canine cancer in hopes that it will help someone else as they scour the internet for information. Dogcancer.net receives my highest recommendation! We've invested in K9 Immunity and are following the grain-free diet with fish oil supplement. We use Taste of the Wild dry kibble as well as canned food, though I'm getting ready to make their homemade patty recipe which I think will be cheaper in the end.

Another recommendation is a wonderful holistic vet by the name of Dr. Shawn Messonnier. He was Kira's vet when she was diagnosed with parvo virus at 2 months old. She was literally on death's door and we were told by another vet to take her home and let her pass. I found Dr. Messonnier and with homeopathy, supplements and a good diet Kira literally came back to us that same day. Had I not seen it with my own eyes I never would have believed it. That experience is what led me to use homeopathy for myself and eventually for my children as well.

I turned to Dr. Messonier once again through his books on cancer, you can find the list on his website and pick them up at your local library! He gives sound advice from both the medical standpoint and a holistic, natural standpoint.

Above all I want people to know something I have learned through some very hard experiences - no one has the right to tell you what you can and can't do when it comes to your health or the health of a loved one. Taking control of our diet and health is one of the best feelings we can have. Never, ever give up hope!!