Day 9

We all rested a little better last night. Before midnight, Ruth would snap repeatedly to get my attention. No sound comes out of her now other than the clashing of teeth. I checked her bedding, and yes! she did need changing. After a dry bed was underneath her, she settled down and allowed me to fall back to sleep in my recliner. From his recliner, Bud told me he woke up occasionally and knelt down by her and gave her bunches of scratches.

She slept on the couch, and is still there. For the day her head, neck, and upper arm are propped up on a pillow with wedges underneath that brings her head up better. She's had some water this morning and I've set the timer to give her another swallow or two or three every 15 minutes. Her eyes still look off, the left one usually stays rolled back. Only when she's stimulated by one of us will she look through both eyes. Sometimes her right eye does the same way.

Just a second ago, when I gave her a swallow, she stretched all fours! I'm praying continously she accepts her peanut butter med this morning. She's not too excited about anything right now.

6:15 a.m. YEA! Praise God! Bud was able to get her pill down! And, some more water! She even finished licking the peanut butter off his finger!

8:10 a.m. Ruth was certainly not interested in eating anything. I put some warmed low sodium chicken broth and water mixture in a water bottle and Bud managed to get most of it in her without spilling too much! It was only about 1/2 cup worth. But, added to the water she'd already been given this morning, it helps to keep up her liquid intake and gives her some calories, too. What do we do if she won't eat? She refuses her "normal" treat "pancakes" and we scrambled an egg, but she won't have any part if either one. Bud will call the vet and leave a message for him today, hopefully he will call back with some suggestions how/what to feed her. I'm thinking a liquid supplement may be needed to help keep her strength up during this "time will heal" period.

Baby Beth is such a trooper. She knows her sister doesn't feel good. Every now and then, Beth will come up and give Ruth a kiss. She's also been very good in the "protection" mode when cows stroll along in the pasture out front. When she barks, Ruth so wants to help out and "take charge" but the ole body is just not cooperating right now.

When Bud prepared us some cream of wheat for breakfast, Ruth really perked up, as if to ask, "Where is mine?" the "normal" routine has always been Bud sharing his with Ruth and Beth... dotted fingerful at a time. I sat next to Ruth and offered her the same as Beth was getting from their Daddy.... Ruth LOVED it! She wouldn't, however, have anything to do with the scrapings out of the pan... because, of course, it didn't have any butter or sugar in it! This small step to us means she still has her sense of smell!

Bud called & spoke with the vet about 10:00 this morning. The plan is, Bud will pick up some antibotics tomorrow (the initial injection was a stronger dosage of another "family" of meds) and also some "tasty" gel that will give her some calories!

We raised her up and managed to get an elbow underneath! Leaning against her Daddy, Ruth managed to keep her head up, give us some kisses, and nuzzled our face with her nose. This lasted for about 7 minutes before we put her back down. I found a website on how to give her massages and will study this afternoon! Any information is greatly appreciated!

About 12:15 this afternoon, I was chatting with my sister via Y!M and she suggested beating up a raw egg and giving it to Ruth. Ruth LOVED it! This was the first time she's lapped in over a day! She tired out before finishing, but when Bud gets back (from repairing a fenceline) we'll get her up on her elbows and give it another try!!!!

Well, that didn't go well. Bud propped her up, but she didn't have any interest in the egg. We both did receive bunches of sweet kisses from her. As we were moving her around, we tried helping her in the sitting position, but she has no strength whatsoever and it lasted about a half second.

Bud mentioned, and a friend, Robin, emailed me with the same description... this is such a roller coaster ride filled with emotions. It's so hard seeing Our Ruth Girl like this. We are coming up on the evening med time... I'm not holding my breath that she will accept it.

5:45 p.m. - Bud lifted her up and she leaned on the appropriate elbow and took her peanut butter pill!!! We kept her sitting up for about 10 minutes, until her head began getting lower and lower ... it was a good thing she held it for so long!

About 6:30 we sat down in front of Ruth (she was on her pad on the floor) and we started eating our "usual" Sunday night dinner... Pancakes. Ruth lifted her head with perky ears and chomped her teeth as if asking, "Where is mine?" I gave her a pieces until she stopped wanting any! She only took about 3 small pieces... another baby step!!!

Instead of putting my pad down in front of her, I placed it along her back side and snuggled with her all night. There is nothing wrong with her neck muscles! She would press her head against mine off and on all night long!

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