Mom's birthday day

Wednesday, besides being ST. Patrick's Day, was also Mom's birthday! It was a very full day (and Mom and I both made sure to wear green!).
We started with Granddad taking us to the courthouse so Mom would file her business paperwork. Now she is a real business! There is this thing (which is actually lots of different things called the same thing) called security that you have to deal with before you can go in. Mom had to take off my pack and set it on this x-ray moving belt thing then she put me in a sit stay, walked through the thing she said was a metal detector, then said I had to walk through. Everything was fine and the security ladies were very nice. The lady at the counter where Mom turned in her paperwork was very nice too. Mom told all of them what I did when they asked and they were very impressed!
After that, we went to C Distinctive Eyewear, the place that Mom bought her cool new glasses (which you can see on her in my Wordless Wednesday). Everyone there is very nice and they know they aren't allowed to pet me or distract me. We went to Ham's for lunch with Granddad and then came home so Mom could take a nap.
Then, in the evening, Mom's Aunt Kay came to pick us up. We went to Mimi's cafe (where Mom is allergic to most of the menu as we found out) and then we went to Old Navy to get some spring clothes for Mom. We picked out some clothes for her and cousin Laura, and they tried them on (I took a short nap).
It was a very fun day, although Mom was exhausted!

Wordless Wednesday-Happy St Patrick's Day (and birthday to Mom!)

A week of birthday festvities!

This week both Mom and my Uncle Andrew have birthdays! Uncle Andrew's is on the 13th and Mom's is on the 17th. Things started out with a birthday dinner at our favorite Japanese steakhouse (and sushi place for Mom!) with our whole extended family!
Mom's 2 aunts, 1 uncle and 2 cousins all went out with us and then came back to the house for birthday cake (which was my favorite part because I get to go "off duty" and play with everybody!)

Then on Saturday , we went to Uncle Andrew's birthday party at Abba's Place coffee house. We brought a cake for him and his friends brought him another one! Everyone there was really nice and they didn't try and pet me (which Mom really appreciated because her new medicine makes her dizzy if she is up for too long and needs me to concentrate on her)
Uncle Andrew had a bunch of friends come and he had a great time!


This weekend my Aunt Jenn is coming to visit Mom and me! We can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday-First Antler Chewies

We got a prize!

Our friend Bentley over at Secondhand Scottie had a drawing to give away some fleece tugs that his mom made and we won one of them! It arrived yesterday and we were very excited to start playing with itLola and I both love to play tug, and this is the perfect thing to do it with (most of our other toys are too short or dead).




Thanks Bentley! We are having lots of fun with our tug!

Adopted!

Remember our foster kittens, Sabian and Zeppelin, that Mom hand raised when they were abandoned at our house? Well, they are about 5 months old now and got spayed and neutered this week.
The reason they got it one this week? Their new family was picking them up Saturday!
We will definitely miss them, but their new family is very excited to have them and will take wonderful care of them.
We all really enjoyed having them around. Mom and Grandmom are thinking about applying to be foster parents for orphan kittens at our local humane society! I really hope they do because Lola and I love to help raise them!

Update on Mom

We left early Tuesday morning for Duke for the nerve block. Mom and I both napped on the way there, since neither one of us like early mornings.
Once we got there, Mom checked in with the nice ladies behind the front desk and we waited for them to call us back. They took us to a room first and a nurse and then the doctors came in to talk to us. Once that was done, Mom said I had to stay with Granddad for a little bit, because the procedure room had to be sterile. For this procedure, they inject lidocaine in to the nerve bundle in Mom's neck using an x-ray to make sure they found the right place. It didn't take long (maybe 15-20 minutes) and they brought Mom back to me and Granddad.

She was a little nauseous and lightheaded at first, but once that passed, she was very happy. The lidocaine numbed the nerve and she didn't hurt in her left side (which is much worse than her right side)!! Mom got to pet my with her left hand for the first time in a very long time. I was happy because I could tell Mom was in less pain, so I relaxed and enjoyed the time with Mom.
Because this worked, it told the doctors for sure that Mom has Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Now that they know that, they are very very sure that they can help Mom. They are going to implant 2 spinal cord stimulators (which block the pain signals before they reach the brain) and Mom will have AT LEAST a 50% reduction in pain! I will still be a service dog after this, since my ability to sense Mom's pain spikes with let her know she needs to turn her SCS up.
I will be going with Mom to all of this. Even though it isn't one of my tasks, having me there helps her to calm her down.
We really appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and vibes we got from everyone. It really means a lot to all of us!

Good News for Mom!

Mom called her doctor today to let them know she had gotten much worse and left a message with the nurse. The nurse called back this afternoon and said that the doctor wanted her to move the sympathetic nerve block (which will tell them for sure whether she has Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or not) up to the closest appointment.
The nurse was able to change Mom's appointment from March 11 to tomorrow morning! This test will give Mom a few hours of relief, answers and is also what they need before they schedule her spinal cord stimulator trial, which will hopefully give her significant and more permanent relief.
This also shows us that this doctor is taking Mom seriously and also wants to help her get better. After so many doctors who didn't believe her or weren't willing to figure out her medical mystery, this is truly an amazing thing.
I will be going with Mom tomorrow and Granddad is going to take some pictures of me working and taking are of Mom. If you all will keep Mom in your thoughts and prayers and send her good vibes, we would all really appreciate it!