The Veterinary Deliberation

Nivia at the vet's office right after the shot of Phenobarbitral, sound asleep.

Last Friday, while eating lunch, I heard a loud thump by our back door. When I peered over the couch to see what it was, I saw Nivia having a full grand mal seizure. I immediately leaped off the couch and ran outside in just socks. There was nothing I could do to stop it, and so I squished our babies as I crouched over her writhing body to stroke her head and tell her mommy was there and everything would be okay.
Back in September, we had Nivia and Jax kenneled at our vet's office while we were on vacation. We'd done it before, and the peace of mind of having your dog being taken care of 24/7 while gone is quite nice. Unfortunately, we got a call that Nivia had a seizure, but the vet's office was so rude to me and wanted so much money, that I had a really hard time believing them. She'd shown no evidence beforehand. She spent all day laying next to me while I worked, and all night sleeping next to my bedside. I would've noticed symptoms. Her kennel costs came to $400 while Jax only came to $80. In December, when we went to visit family, I had both dogs kenneled again, but at a different location. There was no call this time, and so I truly started to believe it had all been a hoax. However, when we picked her up, she had a fit of anxiety and went into a seizure. It was the first time I witnessed it happen to her and I cried like a baby. I felt terrible for not believing the vet's office back in September.
Since we'd had the original experience, I did have some medication I could give her. Right after the seizure finished, and Nivia seemed to snap back to reality, I gave her some water and food with the meds. We then put her in the garage, in her kennel, to keep her calm and help her to rest and relax. Bryan left the door open to the garage, so we could hear her in case anything went wrong. And was I glad we did. A couple hours later, she had another seizure in her kennel. It was very mild compared to the one at lunch, so although I was crying hysterically, I figured the med was just taking time to work into her system. Then at dinner time, she had another grand mal seizure. At that point I knew it wasn't good. We took her to the vet's office and waited over three hours to be seen. Although one receptionist was really nice, I was disappointed that my baby who was having medical meltdown wasn't given a higher priority. When she finally was seen, she was behaving quite normal. The vet's only recommendation was to hospitalize her so they could monitor her. Bryan was beyond irritated, and opted to make sure we had enough medication to take home, and told the vet we'd be better at monitoring her than them. We waited another 45 minutes for the office to compile the medication and finalize the bill, and during that time, Nivia had another seizure in the back of the truck. Bryan was still fed up with the vet's office, and from the information we had, we thought nothing else could be done. The vet had said the medication would take time to build up, and said Nivia would probably have a few more seizures. We took her home, as we still felt it was the best option. Once home, I hauled Nivia into the bathtub and soaped her up good to get all the grunge off her. Bryan had to hose out the back of the truck, and got her bed all set up nicely in the garage. We then had to listen to her bark like an untrained puppy for almost an hour until she finally calmed down and went to sleep. I hoped a good night's rest, with a second pill in her would break her seizure streak. How wrong I was.
The next morning, Nivia seemed a little dazed, and I chalked it up to her ordeal from the day before. We sent her outside with Jax, and within a few moments, she was having another seizure. At that point, Bryan started researching on the internet. We brought her into the garage again so we could keep her closely monitored, and left Jax outside. Poor Jax had no idea what was happening, and we didn't want him to get in the way by accident. After much whining, Nivia finally fell asleep again, only to be awoken by yet another seizure that had me bawling. My puppy was sick, extremely sick, and I felt so helpless as I squatted over her, trying to soothe her as best I could. Bryan found some information on the net that a dog with constant seizures can be given a shot of medication that will most times help break the cycle. We searched the yellow pages for another vet clinic, and found an emergency vet. We called and explained the situation. They were very helpful and asked us to bring her in immediately. When we arrived, the receptionist paged "Triage to the front". Bryan and I looked at each other in surprise, as it seemed kind of odd to hear those particular words, but at the same time, I felt relieved that finally someone was taking this seriously. The 'nurse' took Nivia back to a kennel, where she proceeded to once again bark like an untrained puppy. We sat in the waiting room, with tears in our eyes. After a few minutes, the nurse came and got us, and asked if we'd feel comfortable sitting in an exam room with Nivia. Absolutely we would! It was exactly what Nivia needed to calm down. The vet that saw her decided to give her the shot we'd read about online. He said it would make her act exceedingly drunk, but would hopefully break the cycle of seizures. They took her back again to give her an IV and administer the medication. After a few moments, we could hear her barking again. Not too long after that, they asked us to sit in a different room that had a couch and chair, and brought in a thick blanket for Nivia to lie down on. They asked if we would help her calm down and see if we couldn't get her to fall asleep. I think the vet was somewhat skeptical, but he doesn't know my baby girl like I do. She came into the room drunker than a skunk. She couldn't keep balance well, her back legs kept slipping out from under her, and she bumped into everything. We got her to lie down within a couple minutes, and she was gone with her tongue hanging halfway out of her mouth. When the vet came in five minutes later, he couldn't believe his eyes. He said usually they keep dogs in the clinic over night when administering that kind of medication, but since Nivia was having such a hard time, he suggested we take her home with us. I was more than happy too. Once home, we got her all setup in the garage again with a bunch of blankets and towels to help make the floor more comfortable. Within minutes she was snoring. Since that shot, she's only had one mini seizure. We have her on the medication steadily now, and our baby girl has slowly regained her former personality. She's normally high strung, with a slobbery kiss for anyone who gets near her, but the shot toned down that hyperness for a few days.
It's been a week now since the seizures started. I'm so grateful I haven't had to witness another since that last mini seizure. It was heartbreaking to say the least. I truly thought when we called the second vet clinic, I'd be leaving my baby girl there forever. The idea she may not be with us anymore mixed with pregnancy hormones made me inconsolable. Today she gave me a huge scare. When I went outside to check on her, she was nowhere to be found. She had somehow escaped the backyard. I went huffing and puffing down the street as fast as I could waddle screaming out her name and whistling. I was distraught at the thought of her missing. What if she had another seizure? What if we never found her? What if she got hurt, or I happened to find her dead on the side of the road victim of being hit by a car? I was in tears on the phone with Bryan, as it had been at least a couple hours since I knew I'd last seen her. When I didn't find her at the elementary school around the corner, I huffed and puffed back to the house, finally came to my senses and hopped in the truck to go looking for her. I didn't even get one house down the street when she came bolting around the corner. I burst into wracking sobs, slammed the truck in park, and jumped out to give her a ginormous hug. I cried and cried into her coat, and she patiently let me, then gave me slobbery wet kisses. My usual self would have given her a good yelling, but pregnant Jenny couldn't. I was so glad my baby girl had finally found her way home.