New Year... New Last Name!

It's 2015!

So much has happened this year! Now, I'm not the type that subscribes to the idea that a new year has to mean "new beginnings" or a "new you". I think new beginnings can happen whenever you want them to! But... it is still nice to reflect on all that has happened over the lat 365 days.

The year started with my fiancé (now husband) moving in the first of the year. He joined me and my roommate Stefana for a very "Three's Company"-esque living situation. It was a good way for all of us to save a little money (splitting bill three ways is a lot better than splitting them two ways). And it was a good way to make sure Sam and I could stand living with each other. Haha.

Also in January I noticed my dog acting funny. He had been putting on a lot of weight quickly and just seemed lethargic. I took him to the vet and they didn't seem to be too concerned. Then, one morning a couple weeks later I went to give him his usual "bye bye treat" that I give to him when I go to work and it was like he couldn't see the treat right in front of his face, he just sniffed around for it. Something was definitely wrong. I took him back into the vet and they confirmed what I had suspected. He was blind. Not just a little blind, completely blind. Basically overnight. The research that I did all pointed to SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration). Beamer fell right into most of the categories of the classic SARDS cases. We took him to a specialist and they told me there was really nothing I can do. The truth is that I took him going blind a lot harder than he did. He's a resilient little guy and it really didn't' seem to affect him too much. After noticing a few other changes in his behavior we decided to also get him tested for Cushing's Disease which shares a lot of the same characteristics of SARDS. Turns out, he also has Cushing's Disease which is an increase in cortisone due to a benign tumor in the pituitary gland and has to be on lifelong medication to combat it. Along with the medication, he has to have constant testing and monitoring of his levels to make sure he is being properly medicated so, that has been a struggle but it has become our "normal".

I turned another (undisclosed) year old and had a little shin-dig to celebrate, complete with a DIY photobooth of course. 

 I also spent the weekend at the Riot LA comedy festival with some girl friends for my birthday. 

In February my mom and I had our first ever girls trip and we went up to Seattle for a cousins wedding. It was such a fun weekend. 

In March Sam and I relived our youth and saw The Used along with Taking Back Sunday at the Palladium. 

 I also found my wedding dress :)

In April we celebrated Sams birthday by spending a weekend in a cabin in Idyllwild (where we also took our engagement photos). 

We also spent another year at Stagecoach (and his mom and her best friend joined us!)

I attended the wedding of one of my oldest friends, Andy. 

 Watched my little cousin graduate high school and helped her move into her college dorm!

My mom and I had another mother daughter trip, this time to Denver for my aunts wedding!

Had a wonderful bachelorette party. 

Attended yet another wedding (thats four if you're keeping track) for our friends Ashley and Andrew. 

My wonderful Mother in Law threw me the most perfect bridal shower. 

Followed by an equally perfect shower thrown by my best friend and maid of honor Danica. 

And in the midst of wedding planning, Danica and I also planned our 10 year high school reunion. I know what you're thinking, we aren't nearly old enough to have graduated high school ten years ago, and you would be right ;) (Or so I'd like to think.)

And then... the event of the year (at least for me)... I got married!

And then I finished the year by celebrating the holidays with the ones I care about most. 

All in all it was a wonderful year, full of crazy highs and some lows but I feel that it's the lows that really make you appreciate the highs. Looking forward to a new year with a new last name and a husband! :)

Pupdate

Sooo... I started 2014 with a positive outlook. 2013 had been so crummy that I figured, things could only get better. Unfortunately, yet another hurdle was put in front of me. Around Christmastime I noticed my dog, Beamer, was acting unusual. I noticed he was eating and drinking a lot more and was a lot less active and borderline lethargic. Shortly after I noticed the change in behavior, I also noticed a bump on his belly so I took him in to see the vet.

When Lexie was sick, I was taking her in to have blood work run about once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. So I wasn't looking forward to going back, but I needed to make sure nothing serious was wrong. The doctor told me some things I already knew, (that he has a faint heart murmur) and some things I didn't (that his teeth are in pretty bad shape and should probably be looked at). And, after evaluating the bump I had found, found that it was nothing to be concerned about. The excess eating and drinking seemed to be a none issue. So that wrapped up that appointment.

Fast forward to about two weeks later. It's the morning and I'm getting ready for work and every morning before I leave, I give Beamer a little piece of chicken as his "bye-bye treat". I reached down to hand him the chicken and he looked right past it and seemed to be sniffing around for it. My heart sank. He obviously couldn't see the chicken that was right in front of his face. I thought, "that can't be right, he must have something in his eye or something". After a couple days I realized, he's definitely not seeing things so I, again, took him to the vet. While there, they ran through some routine testing to check his vision. Afterward the vet told me "it appears he's pretty much 100% blind". WHAT?! He was JUST here... he was JUST fine. He's only eight years old! (Very young for his bread.) I had brought my mom to the appointment and we just turned to each other, baffled by what we were being told. The vet recommended we see a specialist and referred us.

I went home, devastated. What do you mean he's blind?? I just couldn't wrap my head about it. I, of course, immediately started researching. I found out about this thing called SARDS, or sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome, which, as it sounds basically leaves dogs blind in a matter of days or weeks. The symptoms seemed to line up perfectly with Beamers, even stating that it's most often found in dachshunds.

When we met with the specialist, I'm not going to lie, I wasn't real impressed with her but, she did in fact reference SARDS. I don't know why, but I was keeping hope alive that maybe a specialist would be able to tell me, don't worry, there's a procedure we can do to correct his vision, or even give him SOME vision back. But, no such luck.

Truth be told, I think I've taken the whole thing harder than Beamer has. He's been getting around pretty well, bumping into things here and there. It breaks my heart every time but, at this point, there's no sense being devastated over it, it's just the way things are now, another hurdle to jump over.

One day I'll be on the other side of all of this and I'll be a stronger person because of it but, for the time being, it has definitely been rough. Because of the excess eating, he has been putting on a lot of weight which, like in humans, is unhealthy and can lead to things like diabetes and heart disease. Because of the excess drinking he is also going to the bathroom ALL the time. I keep joking that I might as well have a baby soon because I'm already getting up several times a night to take him out to go to the bathroom.

If anyone reading this has any experience with SARDS or with blindness in a pet in general, I would love any sort of tips and advice. This has been quite a struggle but, luckily, I've had a good support system of people who care and are willing to help in any way they can and I am so thankful for that.