Life got kinda crazy after my first entry.

Unfortunately life pretty much took a crazy turn. 

     My landlord PCS'd back to the state so I had to move out of the house he was renting to me so he could use it so... that was fun. In the midst of trying to find a new place that would allow my dogs, one of them had gotten severely sick. Alina had stopped eating and was vomiting and having extremely irregular bowel movements... Im talking bloody stool/diarrhea -if at all- because of her extreme loss of appetite. 

     We waited to see if it was a stomach bug and monitored her for a day or so and she just kept getting worse, so we decided a vet visit was in order. We ruled out a normal stomach bug but assumed that maybe she snuck off with something she wasn't supposed to and swallowed it, lodging it somewhere in her digestive system. The vets did some X-rays, and held her for a day or so and did a barium treatment on her to see if everything was moving properly.  They sent her home on medication and we were advised to monitor her as there was nothing stuck, but to definitely call with an update since she was still not her regular self. 

     A few days later we had to take her back in to the vet. Her condition was still worsening, and she still wasn't eating anything. At this point I noticed a drop in her weight which was starting to get very worrisome. The vets decided to hold her again for a few days and submit a blood sample for a more extensive analysis over in a lab in Texas. We were still waiting on results but the vets allowed us to pick her up and give her medicine to take (antibiotic and a steroid to boost her appetite.) 

     This is what absolutely broke my heart. They finally brought Alina out from the back... and she was skin and bones. I seriously have never imagined she would lose even more weight than when I dropped her off. The vets said that she had lost upwards to 20lbs even with medication and eating the little bit that she was... I was in the lobby sobbing with my dog curled up next to me. She was very happy to see me which made me super happy. Her tail was going and her mood was improved (the vets said this was the happiest they've seen her).. but I was a mess. Honestly at the rate she was whithering away I thought it was only a matter of time before we lost her... 

    Fastforward to a few days ago and She finally has started eating again... and her stool is solid without blood, she's not vomiting either.  But she's EATING :') We also got an update from the vet on her bloodwork analysis. Alina has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We have to change her diet and take her to the vet for some additional care and prescriptions to help her get better. 

But I cannot put into words how relieved I am that we have a diagnosis for her and can work on getting her back to her normal self. Things are looking up from here and I am so happy she's already improving. 

Side note to add to the whole moving situation: we are happily relocated on a mini farm! Im still unpacking and getting the house situated but there's a roof over our heads. 

If you took the time to read this, thank you, and I appreciate you. I guess for Thanksgiving's more white-washed and colonized purposes, I have a lot to be thankful for as of recently.

Stay blessed.