Thank you all so much for your thoughtfulness and concern for Gwendolyn this week. Gwendolyn is status quo and we are still very worried…but very hopeful. We are seeing improvements in some areas, but are still waiting in others. There is still uncertainty about what exactly is going on, but Gwendolyn tested positive for pseudomonas and we are treating for them because she is having symptoms. Basically, my understanding is we all have these in our system, but it is when they overgrow that there can be a problem. There is still a lot of unknown right now and that always makes us feel off-kilter. The truth is Gwendolyn has been off for months and these last few weeks have been way off, so we are hoping, hoping, and hoping some more that these pseudomonas were the underlying issue all along — time will tell. We started a new nebulizing antibiotic in addition to the other and are hoping this combo will kick the bad guys to the curb. We are very moment by moment right now — the morning may be great followed by an afternoon scare. So we are learning to just go with the flow, not think too far ahead again, and savor the sparkle when we see it (and it is returning for periods!).
And yesterday we had a very special visitor come to our house who made Gwendolyn sparkle big time –> Little Star! Gwendolyn had a tough afternoon and I wasn't sure how the visit was going to go. When I told her Little Star was outside of our house her eyes lit up and she started tapping her fingers so fast, which made my heart immediately fill. Little Star is seriously amazing (as is Diane, LS's owner). They arrived with a “Get Well” balloon tied to Little Star's neck and he was so proud of it and knew it was for Gwendolyn. He was so sweet, gave her nuzzles, patiently visited on our front porch, and excitedly and gently took carrots from Gwendolyn's little hands. At one point (during talk of the new rooster at the stable) Little Star let out a very distinctive sound while looking at Gwendolyn the whole time. (I think that rooster may be a bully and he wanted G to know all about his woes.) Diane, her daughter, Hailey, and I chuckled to see the pedestrians on the street look around at where that horse sound was coming from — it's not every day you see a horse in the front yard of someone's house!
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to check in and sent notes of encouragement. We are not at our usual speed right now and apologize for not returning emails and phone calls, but we appreciate them — a lot. We are also really grateful for the SMA families who have gone out of their way to answer questions about their experiences with pseudomonas. Thank you so much for helping us troubleshoot, guiding us through what to expect, what to ask, and what to do. Step by step, day by day, we are heading in a positive direction and that is where we plan to keep heading!!!