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February 7, 2012

All of us at Chez Champion of My Heart remain in awe of the outpouring of love, support, and prayers in the wake of Lilly’s near-death experience with meningoencephalomyelitis. We have one more request … in addition to sending mojo for NO seizures and FULL recovery, please add SLEEP to our wishlist. We are tired!

Lilly has monster insomnia from the steroids (we assume). She only sleeps for 15-30 minutes at a time. Of course, it doesn’t help that she is crazy thirsty and needs to pee all the time — day and night — as well, but it breaks our heart that she hardly sleeps.

She cried, whimpered most of last night. In other words, no one around here is getting much sleep.

Meningoencephalomyelitis: Symptom and Recovery Update

So, the no sleep thing isn’t doing any of us any good. Even during the day, as these photos show, Lilly hunkers down, but she doesn’t just sack out for hours on end.

best dog blog, champion of my heart, border collie on dog sofa

best dog blog, champion of my heart, border collie in a soft-sided dog crate

best dog blog, champion of my heart, border collie on dog sofa

Lilly remains seizure free. However, she gets head tremors, including teeth chattering. When it happens, she sounds like a little jackhammer. It’s so sad.

Lilly also continues to get the occasional nose bleed, which is somewhat concerning and might indicate a side-effect from last week’s chemo.

BUT, we have some good news too. Lilly is now strong enough (mostly) to hold herself up to pee, even in the snow. She still needs help staying steady when she poops, but she can now pee on her own … without one of us holding her up by her Canine Equipment Ultimate Trail Pack harness (from RC Pet Products).

As another example of her growing strength and control, check out today’s video showing Lilly doing a simple SIT.

Our final example of Lilly’s recovery comes from this sight I found while working on this post. One way or another, Lilly climbed on the loveseat (protected by an old comforter) all by herself. She promises she won’t fall off, but we’re not so sure … so we put one of her Lilly Pad dog beds on the floor below her. Just in case.

You can tell by the look on her face that she still feels like crap, but she is getting stronger.

If only we could get some decent sleep …

best dog blog, champion of my heart, border collie on sofa

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  1. I’m so relieved to see Lily doing so well with her recovery. I can’t imagine what you guys are going through, it breaks my heart just watching this from afar. I hope she continues to have a safe and healthy recovery, seizure free, and I hope you all get some sleep.

  2. Oh our hearts feel so much better. We understand that you are having a rough time sleeping, well sort of…..but it won’t be long and you’ll all be sleeping thru the night. We will send tons of sleepy dust your way. Look up in the night sky and it will look like a lot of stars, but when you aren’t looking, they will fall in bits of fairy dust bringing you releif.

    OK we are a little on the fairy boat side, but , thats out…..

  3. Got onto the love seat by herself? Awesome! That last picture of her is very sweet. Poor girl, I’m glad she’s getting stronger, and I hope things smooth out.

    (incidentally, I love the dog bed “couch” thing that you’ve got. I wonder if I could find one big enough for Elka?)

    1. Jen ~ We got that little dog sofa (we call it the “baby sofa”) at Costco years ago. I haven’t seen them there since, but I bet you could find something similar elsewhere.

  4. We went through a long spell with our senior dog the last few years where she wouldn’t sleep. We were all miserable. She had Canine Cognitive Disorder, which is like Alzheimer’s. At night she got very disoriented and barked and barked and barked. The thing that saved our lives was discovering melatonin. It’s a natural sleep aid. I’d definitely check with the doctor first, but my gut tells me that it would be safe for her to take. It might help all of you out a bit. In any event, you have my sympathies because we were there and did that for two years. It’s exhausting.

    1. The last 6 months or so of our late Dalmatian’s life was like that too. She was so fussy. We felt like we never got a real night’s sleep, but she was old and sick, so you couldn’t really get mad.

  5. My heart goes out to you guys. I remember the nights when my dog Willow was on medication and had bad dreams and whined and growled, then would wake up confused about whether she should get up and go somewhere or lay back down because she was so dang tired. Of course, that could be describing you about now too… xxoo

  6. Hi Y’all,

    Oh Lilly! You look so, so much better! Know your glad to be home and comfy on the couch.

    Paws crossed for some restful sleep!

    My Human will add sleep for y’all to her prayers.

    Hawk aka BrownDog

  7. I’m glad that Lilly is making progress, gaining strength and coordination. I just saw on FB that she has an upset tummy. I hope that it goes away soon!

    And, I hope that she starts sleeping soon. I’ve been through the hi dose steroids with my pups, and it’s no fun at all.

  8. I am so glad to hear that she is recovering, I was very worried for you all. Sending happy healing thoughts to you all… extra hugs for my fur-kids tonight.

  9. So glad to see her looking better. I know she must be thrilled to be home with the folks who love her best. We do send sleep wishes your way…that would do everyone good. Major hugs and prayers your way.

  10. Every video shows a much stronger Lilly. We will cross our paws for more sleep, a full recovery and no more seizures. All the best!

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