Some Good News

Happy Days are Here again, the skies above are clear again!  I just wanted to share my joy with all of you who have written and prayed for us.  

On Tuesday, after the infusions of normal saline had finished, we needed to take Millie to a local veterinarian for follow up lab work.  I discussed the whole story of her illness with this doctor.  As I had thought, she said that Millie's small, shriveled up kidney is most likely congenital, and not an acute problem.  She said that Millie probably had gastritis last week, which left her dehydrated.  We are happy that the ultrasound showed us about her small kidney, which is probably not functioning at optimal capacity.  The repeated blood work was all within normal limits now, for which we are very grateful.  We are still encouraging her to drink plenty of water, so she won't become dehydrated again.

Since we now know that she has some degree of limited kidney function, we have to protect her remaining good kidney.  In order to do this, we will be putting her on a diet that is low in protein, because a diet high in protein stresses the kidneys.  We started yesterday to gradually transition from the grain-free Nature's Domain diet we were buying at Costco to a low protein diet.  The doctor wants us to do it gradually as a sudden diet change could cause her to start vomiting and having diarrhea again.  

We also have delayed the vaccinations she and Willie are currently due for until she has fully recovered from this illness and is off the medications she is taking now, so there won't be any adverse reactions.  This means we have to keep them away from any other dogs for a while, until they are vaccinated and not at risk for other illnesses.  

Millie is almost back to her usual playful self, but is still staying close to me.  Somehow, I think she realizes she was pretty sick and that I was trying to help her.  I can't thank you enough for the prayers for Millie.  

I praise God for leading us to another doctor, so we could get a second opinion.  We thank God that Millie is recovering nicely from her tummy troubles.  And we know that God is watching over us to keep us all well.  My dear brother Tony replied to our last blog about how we sometimes fall victim to feelings of self pity.  He reminded me we have only to look around to see many who are less fortunate than we are, and realize all the blessings we need to thank God for.  God loves us and wants to take care of us.  All we need to do is ask Him.  Have a wonderful day full of peace, love and joy.