Photo by Jules Chalmers-Owega
Hello everyone,
I want to say thank you to all my friends who have come by my blog to say hello or just to visit.
It’s been almost a year since I suffered a ruptured disk. The doctors believe that it was the result of degenerative disk disease and not from any external trauma.
As many of you know, I was just a few months short of my sixth birthday when this unexpectedly happened to me in late May 2010.
As many of you know, I was just a few months short of my sixth birthday when this unexpectedly happened to me in late May 2010.
From that point to today, my life has been a mixture of discovery, appreciation, new experiences, meeting many new dogs and their peoples and one cat, walkies, treats and a closer bond with my mom and dad, my sister and my brothers.
But it’s also meant a yearlong regime of daily supplements to encourage nerve regeneration, weekly swimming sessions, semi-monthly acupuncture treatments including a needle poked into the top of my head (ouch), and monthly chiropractic treatments. A couple of wheelchairs and a new friend named Debbie, who takes me for long walks during the week when my mom and dad are working.
But it’s also meant a yearlong regime of daily supplements to encourage nerve regeneration, weekly swimming sessions, semi-monthly acupuncture treatments including a needle poked into the top of my head (ouch), and monthly chiropractic treatments. A couple of wheelchairs and a new friend named Debbie, who takes me for long walks during the week when my mom and dad are working.
Unfortunately all these efforts have not brought back the mobility that everyone had hoped for. But my mom and dad remain forever hopeful. My mom and dad said that they would still have done everything that they have done to date, even if the surgeon had said that there was only a fractional chance of me ever regaining my mobility. Better to bet on family my dad would say.
My mom and dad say that I’m a very happy boy, particularly when I’m out and about like last weekend when mom took me to the Petnership Project (http://www.petnerships.com/), that Miss Sunshade and her evil mum and the D-guy attended (http://sunshadethesuperdale.blogspot.com/).
Well I was a huge hit, partly because of my wheelchair and partly because I’m pretty friendly. Anyways, everyone wanted to pet me and give me treats (yum, yum) and one nice person named Jules Chalmers-Owega, who is a professional photographer, took my picture for eventual posting to her web-site http://photographic-jules.blogspot.com/. Pretty cool, huh?
I’ve included the picture that Jules shot of me at the top of this post because the photo is very well done. My mom and dad will be using her to shoot our group Christmas card photos this year.
Anyways, it’s been an eventful year. I’ve met a lot of new people and dogs and I’ve had many more experiences than I would have had otherwise. I’ve also regrown all of my missing hair so my mom calls me “Chewbacca” sometimes. Ah, what’s a “Chewbacca” mom?
Thanks everybody for being with me this past year. It’s been a little tough for us but we haven’t given up and I’m thankful that I have my family and that we’re all together.
I wish everyone peace and many belly-rubs on my one year anniversary. Now let’s go for a walk.
Love,
Sam
