A Special Bond

This weekend I succeeded in getting my parents to take some time for themselves and go out to their beach house. Since I was house-sitting, my friend Jackie came over to visit and, as we were chatting, my dog Lily (who I first wrote about in "A Fuller Picture") came zig-zagging toward us. She looked up at me with two bright, red eyes and suddenly her paws gave out from under her. She collapsed and, for the next 10 minutes, Lily just wasn't...there. Her limbs went limp and she was unresponsive to anything. Trying to keep my cool (and failing), Jackie and I rushed her right over to the vet. Sure enough, he confirmed that Lily suffered either a severe seizure or a stroke.

My poor, sweet pup. I stroked her during the exam and I think she knew I was taking care of her. We stuck by each other throughout the night and, while I can't say I slept more than two hours because I was obsessively checking on her, today she is back to being Lily and I'm recovering too. Thank you again, Jackie, for all your help yesterday. You were fantastic.

I want to share part of an e-mail I got from someone who is quickly becoming one of the most important people in my life. Her name is Kate Brabon and she lives in Melbourne, Australia. We met when she found my blog. Kate is also living with Spondylitis at the same age. While I plan to do a whole post on the amazing Kate, for now let me share this bit from her letter this morning:

"... It’s just so lucky that you were there when it happened so could get her straight to the vet...I remember reading that you said she’s so in-tune with how you are feeling and just knows when you need comforting. It sounds like there is such a special bond there and I’m sure she feels so comforted having you by her side when she’s not well..."

Kate's totally right and, as usual, she knew the most comforting thing to say at the time. I believe there's a reason Lily is my dog. We're there for each other and when I'm in pain, she is too. I think anyone in chronic pain should have an animal by their side. More than I ever thought possible, Lily knows when I'm sad or  hurting and I can see in her eyes that she wants to make things better. It's a special bond we have and yesterday it felt like I was just re-paying a friend. Here's hoping that episode was a one time thing...






Love,
Maya