"A list of all good things"

So before Bella blew up a disc in her neck, we were chatting happily about the behavioral path we've been on with her since just after Christmas. I told you about how she had flipped out on me just before Christmas and our conversation with Dr. Dodman and his staff and what treatment option we chose to pursue with his team. Tonight, I'll finally get around to telling you how it's been going.

When we last spoke, Jan and I had chosen to add Gabapentin - a neurogenic pain medication with anti-convulsant properties - to Bella's treatment regime.

As a recap, Bella's still on Soloxine (for sub-clinical hypothyroidism) as well as Fluoxetine (anti-anxiety) but we've taken her off the Clonidine (our original wonder drug) and switched it for the Gabapentin. She still gets a tiny bit of Clonidine for especially noisy situations like snow-blowers, thunderstorms and snow falling from rooftops.

So how has it been going? Well, here's a list of things Jan and I have said to each other about Bella over the last couple of months:

• "She slept through New Years' Eve fireworks without so much as a blink."
• "She closes her eyes when I pet her."
• "She actually fell asleep when I was petting her!"
• "Wait, did she just come in to bed without the usual histrionics?"
• "She comes and gets in her own bed as soon as the lights are out."
• "She sniffed a fly! Come here, watch!"
• "She slept right through me stepping over her in the closet."
• "She slept through the morning squirrel crossing!"

Also of note:

• Her ears are up and happy.
• Her face is softer and eyes more relaxed.
• And she requests petting sessions.

I still don't really know what's going on: has she been suffering from nerve-pain and twitchy-tingling for oh these many years and has finally found relief? (I have reason to believe she has...) Or is she really experiencing a seizure-like episode? I'll go deeper into what we believe is going on in our next chapter.

Whatever it is, we'll figure it out. Because, if you haven't guessed already, we're in this for the long haul. Whatever it takes, whatever she needs. Bella is ours and we are her forever family.

We see the neurologist again on Thursday and hope to be making some decisions at that time about her neck problems. Thank you for all the kind words and helpful suggestions on how to entertain her in the meantime. We will keep you posted.

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