This morning we woke to Maddy, our 12 year, 7 month old boxer having a seizure. If you’ve never been with someone having a seizure, it’s pretty scary to see. She was shaking uncontrollably and foaming at the mouth. The shaking caused her to fall off the bed and that woke us up. This is the second time she’s had a seizure so we had a sedative for seizures that I administered through her nostril.
Maddy is our miracle dog. She’s got so many health conditions that her survival has been quite a gift. We’re thankful for every day we have her. She has a mast cell tumor many years ago. She also has Cushing disease, which is a tumor in her adrenal gland that causes the abnormal secretion of cortizone. It makes her crazy thirsty and hungry. A few years ago she developed diabetes insipidus…a rare form of diabetes. Last year she collapsed with a ruptured spleen. She had hemangiosarcoma which is a highly agressive form of cancer. She also had pancreatitis somehow aggrevated by the spleen rupture. Her spleen was removed and she spent six night at the vet to stabilize her. The prognosis was not good…dogs survival rate after this type of cancer is not good. We’ve been so lucky that she’s been with us for a year.
It’s not that she’s just not dead…she’s alive. She demands a walk every morning and loves that time with Kris and Roxy. She engaged with us and lives a good life, loves her meals and treats, and sleeps with the pack in bed. She’s the grand dame of the pack.
The seizures are being caused by the Cushing disease. She’s had three seizures today. We had planned a luncheon for a few friends for New Year’s Day…it’s a big Japanese deal…food on January 1. We had to cancel after her second seizure.
I don’t understand half the medical stuff about any of the the things going on with her. She’s on an incredible amount of medications and supplements. We’ll keep doing what we can as long as her quality of life is wonderful and so far it is.