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Welcome To Winston, Gracie & JJ's Site
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My Update Log:
Thursday, August 20, 2009 Please read Gracie's page for the update on her visit to the orthopedic surgeon, if you're interested. Thank you! Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Gracie is now facing a series of problems. She is going to see an orthopedic surgery and the doctors so far are 99.9% sure she will have to have surgery. She went to the vet this morning and we are waiting to get her in to see this surgeon.
She needs to have her leg repaired as well as remove the knot from her leg. We are terrified of how we're going to pay for this since we're $12K in debt for Winston & JJ and we've used every resource we have, including selling everything we could. Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Our family desperately needs your prayers.
Gracie has had a mole-like knot on her knee (that is hurt) to rupture. The
tissue underneath is necrotic. Our fear is that it is cancerous and down to the
bone, which would explain her problems. She is not showing any improvement and
yesterday the vet put her on bed rest for another week. Now that this has
happened we are just waiting to hear from the vet on where we go from here. Saturday, August 1, 2009 I just got back online and I am so moved by all of the
nice comments and messages sent to our email, posted on MySpace
and Facebook and most importantly for all the prayers. It really
touches my heart to know that your prayers have been with our
bulldogs. We are certainly taking one day at a time. We appear to have all those issues under control for the
moment (it's constantly changing and the medications keep him
stable for a day or two at a time). In addition, his skin issues
are so bad. He had a bacterial infection (something he has
struggled with since birth) and now it has spread. He has been
being treated for that for about the past 4-5 weeks with
antibiotics. It brings tears to my eyes when I look at his tummy
all red and itchy...almost to the point of bleeding. He's had
his medications for the tonight and is sleeping now, but it
looks like another trip to the vet for him to vet on Monday if
his tummy doesn't look better. Friday, July 31, 2009 When it rains it pours and for us it seems to never stop pouring. :-(
You all know the tough situation we just went through with Winston.
Thankfully he is 100% better now. Currently JJ is having a very difficult time
and sadly will not get better. All we can do is hope he lives a long happy life
before he becomes paralyzed. We now have an additional problem.....Gracie has
snapped something in her leg and can't walk. We are taking both she and JJ to
the vet in a few minutes. If you will, please say a prayer for them. While we
would do anything in the world for our pets we have already went $12,000 in debt
for Winston and JJ. If Gracie has to have surgery we don't know what in the
world we are going to do since all of our credit sources are tapped out. My hope
and prayer is that it's something very minor and will not require surgery. Will
you please pray for us? Wednesday, July 22, 2009 I am very sorry that I have not posted any updates lately on JJ. It's been a very long road and caring for him takes up all of my time. He is still on his "bed rest" and goes back and forth from day to day. He is only able to sleep when he has his pain medication and that is only for a few hours at the time. However, some days he seems to feel great. He has a serious bacterial infection all over his body and is being treated with antibiotics for that. When we went to the vet last week JJ was so happy he wanted to walk on his own. The vet said if he didn't know otherwise he would never think JJ had any spinal problems. So his severe pain comes and goes, either way he always seems happy to share his love. He is still just as loveable as ever. He wants to stay propped up on me as much as he can. He's been my little shadow since the day we brought him home. We keep hoping and praying that the CSF will slow down the production building in his spinal cord with the help of his acid reduction medication. He is starting to lick his paws (like a cat..lol) again so that is a good sign. We know that he will always have problems, but we pray that we can make him happy and give him as much of a recovery as God allows. Thank you for reading!
Friday, July 3, 2009 In response to the negative people that have felt the need to send nasty emails and post mean comments on our Guestbook, please read this. You certainly wouldn't say those things about a sick child or adult. An animal is a living being, just as you are. You simply don't understand the love of an animal and we pray that one day you will. We are not going to apologize for loving and caring for our dogs. When we got them we promised to give them the best life we could for all their years with us, even if that includes swallowing our pride and asking others for help. (To those of you that have helped us, you are all angels to us and Winston, JJ and Gracie, and we are most appreciative). To all you animal lovers and supporters out there we are deeply sorry that we had to address this issue.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 Please continue to pray for JJ. He is still about the same as my last post. Winston is doing great. He's back to being as active as possible, for him that is. ;-) You would never know he's a ten year old or that he just recently came close to death. God does listen to us and performs miracles. Have a terrific day! We love you all.
Saturday, June 26, 2009
Today is Winston's 10th birthday!!!! We're so excited and so blessed to have him here with us today. If it wasn't for your kindness, positive attitudes and many prayers I don't know that we would have seen this day. We praise God for each and every one of you---Winston's Heroes!!! Please continue to pray for JJ. He is extremely ill and going through quite a battle. Updates soon! Friday, June 25, 2009
JJ's MRI and CT Scan results showed he has a congenital birth
defect on his brain and a ruptured disc. His spinal cord--what
little he has left--is filled with CFS (cerebrospinal fluid)He
also has paralysis in his back legs. This is very serious and we
have a lot of things to deal with. If he has to have surgery,
which there is only a 50/50 chance for him, I don't know where
we'll get the funds from since we just spent $6,000 to save
Winston's life and over $4,000 on JJ for this hospital stay.
Basically the doctors are putting him on "bed rest" for six
weeks to see if he gets better without surgery and all we can do
is pray he gets better. Surgery for him is too risky. He's home
now and getting plenty of rest. We have to carry him when he
needs to be moved or taken outside and he's on two pain meds
every eight hours. He is also taking a medication to try to
reduce the CFS. Despite all he's going through, and the
occasional crying when the pain gets too bad, he's still the
sweet little dog that always has been. Please, please, if you
will, pray for him. Thursday, June 18, 2009 WE DESPERATELY NEED PRAYERS FOR JJ!!!
It is with a very
heavy and broken heart that I write this. It’s been a long road with Winston and
just as he is improving our hearts are shattered once more. Yesterday something
happened to JJ and we don’t know what. He was never out of our sights so it was
not from a traumatic event or anything. It happened so suddenly. He lost the
ability to use three of his legs, he couldn’t breathe on his own and his bottom
half had no feeling. I rushed him to the vet and they immediately rushed him to
the North Carolina State Veterinary Hospital, where he remains. I will never
forget the pain in his eyes. Wednesday, June 10, 2009 We sincerely apologize that we haven't put up any updates in a while. It seems that life gets away from you before you know it. We've been enjoying the time we have with our three fur babies. If you have ever owned or been around a bulldog (English or French) you know they can't take the heat. The summer is a bad time for them, especially as hot as it gets in the south. We have to be extra careful that they don't have a heatstroke. Our poor Gracie has already had one heat stroke in her life when we were stationed in Georgia. It's been nearly 90 degrees every day here for a while. We're doing the best we can to keep the bullies cool. So they are lounging in our my bed in the cool a/c with the fan on them just sleeping the day away....what a life!! :0) Winston is doing so much better. His incision site looks great and is almost healed completely. I wanted to cry when I took him out this afternoon and he started "cow-tipping." I wanted to let him stay out as long as he wanted, but the heat was so intense...we certainly don't need him having anymore problems. We had storms last night and it was actually good to hear him bark at the thunder and lightning. You don't really realize how much those things mean to you until you come close to losing them. We are praying so hard that he is with us for a long time. His 10th birthday is June 27th! It's so hard to believe he's been with us that long.
We will post some new pictures soon. Have a
great day and again thank you for caring!
Friday, May 15, 2009 Winston continues to improve each day. We know it will take time before he's back to 100%, but praise God he is here with us. His incision site continues to heal. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. Thank you all so much for the prayers, kind words, donations and for signing Winston's guestbook. We plan to print out all the kind comments and place them in a scrapbook so that we can look back and know there are still good people in the world. You all are the best!
Saturday, May 2, 2009 Since we didn't get to celebrate Easter (one of Winston's favorite foods are eggs) or Gracie's 9th birthday (April 27th) because of all that Winston has been going through, we decided we would do it today. Each bullie got their very own Loofah toy (the ones in the Petsmart commercials) and they love them. Winston decided he wanted the pink one while the other two got lavender ones. (When you go shopping this late after Easter on a budget you have to get what you can, besides they were marked down to just $1.47 each....lol). The dogs are so happy with their "Lu Lu's" as we call them. Winston seemed to especially enjoy his. It's so nice to see him getting back to his old self. He even smiled for the camera. We are just blessed that he is here with us today. God has shown us that we have to live for today and cherish every moment. He has also brought you, Winston's angels, into our lives and we are so blessed by our new friendships. We certainly believe in miracles!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Winston will be visiting the vet for another follow-up this week, but we are very hopeful with his progress so far. His eating has returned to normal and he is playing more and more with his toys (including his basketball -- his favorite toy!). It is surprising to see how happy JJ (his "BFF") has been to see him return to normal -- it's almost as if he's helping "nurse" him back to health; he's been licking his face in empathy! We've posted another picture (below) of his incision site - can you believe how it looks compared to the cellulitis inflammation of just a couple weeks ago?
As always, thank you so much to the people who have made it possible to continue our vigilant care of Winston; rest assured you have helped make it so that he can continue to be monitored and get better until he's 100% again!
Thursday, April 23, 2009 Winston is still continuing to recover at home. So far we have not had any new problems...praise God! He's still weak and tired, but we are so blessed that he is here with us. There's not much else to report...we just have to take it one day at a time. Thank you again for all your prayers! We praise and thank God daily for putting each of you in our lives.
Monday, April 20, 2009 Winston took the last of his antibiotics yesterday and today was the big day. Winston finally had the staples removed from his tummy. The vet said his incision site looked very good at this time and he did not see any signs of more infection. We are so happy at this news and praising God for it. We have been so worried that the infection would come back.
Winston was accompanied to the hospital by his best buddy, JJ, who waited patiently while the staples were being removed. JJ was there to provide Winston moral support! They were both exhausted and could not wait to get home. (It was a very warm day and the car is not Winston's favorite place when it's hot). They came home and took a nap together.
We want to thank you again for everything you have done for us and continue to do. We have made so many wonderful new friends through this tough time in our lives....friends that we will never forget who reached out to us. We ask you, if you will, to please keep Winston in your prayers. God Bless You All!!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Winston had a small setback today, but he's pulled through and is doing well again! He became very sick earlier and was whining in pain, something that's very unusual for him, as he is the typical stoic bulldog who won't show his pain on the outside. He refused food for the first time in days, but that has since changed (the concept of Winston ever refusing food before this would be comical, if not for the seriousness of his struggles! :-) Fortunately, it just turned out to be some GI side effects of the massive doses of antibiotics, and he is getting back to his normal self tonight. He's eating normally again and resting comfortably (in the bed, where else?). The picture of him and JJ (the Frenchie) is from his car ride home from the first vet, while Winston was still very, very sick. Just hours later, he would be in the emergency room, getting prepped for surgery, but his "BFF" was right there by his side, trying to make him feel better. They've been inseparable since getting them home.
Coming home from the hospital with JJ to cheer him up in the car! The kindness of both friends and strangers alike has still been overwhelming to us, and we appreciate every thought, prayer and donation that each and every one of you has made. Thank you for being Winston's angels (and ours!).
Monday, April 13, 2009 We have some good news to report! Winston is now home and recovering with his family (and is of course happy to see his brother and sister, JJ and Gracie!). The brightness in his eyes is returning and his wound (incision site) is slowly healing. He still has some pockets of redness and swelling, and a little leakage, but we are hoping for the best. He started begging for food again recently (he used to beg no matter how much he was fed! ;-), and we take that as a very good sign! He's not allowed to play yet because the vets fear he will develop a hernia and require more surgery, but he's just begun showing interest in his toys again, posing with a basketball (see picture!) and bringing us his "tenny ball."
He's continuing his course of two antibiotics (Baytril and Augmentin), as he will for several more days at least. As paranoid parents, we watch him like a hawk and sleep with one eye open.
We plan on continuing to post daily updates on his condition on this page and lots of pictures of our "babies". There are no words sufficient to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers and donations. Both of us are overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of both friends (on-line or otherwise) and strangers alike. To us, and to Winston, you are truly heroes -- and you are Winston's angels, too. We feel very blessed for your caring and generosity. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts and God bless you. Love and Blessings, The Bitner Family Nathan, Sharon, Winston, Gracie & JJ
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at bulldogwebmaster@yahoo.com Copyright 2009. All Right Reserved.
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