Author: Caitlyn Ellison

It’s safe to say that God knew things were about to get messy, and my energy was supposed to be focused elsewhere.

Maybe Dog Update ♥

Maybe has now been to see the vet 7 times! The majority of my sabbatical has been spent caring for my pup and struggling through each night and day. She was on meds for her heart murmur that changed her completely. Bryan has been a wreck and we talked about taking her off of them so she would be the Maybe we know. After a visit to the vet, we found that her heart is not enlarged and were able to take her off one of the meds. Hours later she was acting so miserable and seemed as though her back legs were not working and hurt, so we had to take her to the emergency vet. This was the best appt we have ever had! Tests were run and we found that she was super dehydrated and still had some gastro weakness from her early problem. She was placed on a new diet, taken off of the med that was dehydrating her from her heart problem, and given antibiotics. Maybe was finally herself and things were on the mend. Fast forward to Monday afternoon, and she had a seizure in front of me (so scary). She had skull x-rays and testing done under anesthesia, and the problem is the way her liver is working. New meds, new diet (this is the 3rd change), no apparent side effects, and a happy puppy. Thank you for hanging in with me on so much talk of Maybe, but she has had so much of my energy lately, and always has my heart.

Helpers of Animals

My last post let you know about my upcoming volunteer work with the animal shelter, but things never worked out. The volunteer coordinator took an impromptu week off and the secretary had no clue if she was ever coming back to work. This had me panicked, but the Taylor Humane Society wanted help with the dogs they house. Playing with dogs is exhausting and way harder than it seems! I was concerned about how hard clean-up would be for my knees and back, but playing with the dogs is so much harder (and more fun)! The most rewarding thing has been spending time with the scared dogs, because when we get outside and they know they are okay, they only want to sit with me and press their tiny faces against mine. I’ve always respected people who work with animal rescues, but my volunteer work has taken that to a whole new level. The Taylor Humane Society always needs donations and people to adopt from them.

Rollerskating with 4th and 5th Graders

My team was recently contacted by an elementary teacher asking if a few of the players would come skate with her students. The students who read enough Bluebonnet books this year were rewarded with a trip to the Family Life Center for some rollerskating. They had a rollerskating party because the students of Texas voted the book Roller Girl as the best! Most of our team had to work, but a teammate took off and came with me to teach the kids about roller derby. They already knew so much about the sport because of the book – the author actually plays for Rose City out of Portland, Oregon (home to the #1 team in the world). We showed them fundamental stops and strategy, and had snacks with them while we learned about some other books.

♥ Helpers of Animals ♥

Tomorrow I’m going in to meet the person in charge of volunteers at the animal shelter. I’m ready to help with anything they need because I know that even small things matter. We are helpers of people, and I’m helping the helpers of people.

Reading

I’ve been reading my first book The Love Dare with my boyfriend because I think it’s going to be helpful for our relationship. We may not be married, but after as many years as we’ve been together, it’s going to happen (as soon as I get most of my ducks in the same place – they don’t even have to be in a line).

Spring Clean, Spring Simplify Update

I’m in the process of my spring clean and simplify (have been for one week) and am starting to realize that this is going to probably take the whole season. That’s frustrating but working on my patience could maybe be a good thing! Everyone had high hopes for the wire hangers, but they were not everything we wanted (back they go, and gold is better than silver anyways).

Maybe Dog Update

Maybelline Inez is not doing so well, but I’m saying so many prayers for her. We can’t leave her alone so Bryan and I trade off and make sure to give her plenty of attention. My heart is breaking, but maybe it’s healing at the same time. We can’t really see anything too positive with her meds but that doesn’t mean something miraculous isn’t happening behind the scenes. Please send your love her way and prayers her way.

Again, I’m super thankful for the chance to recharge and focus on the future.

Things have been a mess lately, but I’m thankful for the chance to be able to deal with the mess.

Abscessed Tooth

My sabbatical started almost a week early because of a severely abscessed tooth. I was out on a Friday, pushed through one Monday, and then was out again on Tuesday. This would have eaten up my sick and personal days had I not been approved to back-date my break (thank you for that!). After one 2 am visit to the hospital and a few dentist visits, I’m on the mend.

Four Molars Later, Yikes!

Before the abscessed tooth happened, I was already scheduled to have my bottom molars pulled (one of the molars ended up being the abscessed tooth), and eventually get implants. Friday, one week and one day after the infection began, I had my teeth extracted and bone grafts done. Now I’m in a new phase of pain, but it’s so much better than where I was in the first place. Pushing onward!

♥ My Dad is Home ♥

My dad has been at Baylor hospital and rehab for seven weeks and was able to come home the day after my mouth stuff was taken care of. My life is more complete with him here.

Maybe is Not Okay

My pup recently got over a bacterial infection in her tummy and it took the vet 3 weeks to figure out what was wrong. He didn’t run any tests and just kept giving her shots and meds. On the third visit I asked if I could bring in a stool sample and she was diagnosed (vet 0: me 1). Fast forward to 2 weeks post tummy troubles and Maybe wakes up with no energy and is barley responsive. I rush her to the vet and he finds a severe heart murmur, puts her on meds, and now we are here. Bryan (my guy < who says that!?) researched the murmur and meds and found out that the probable cause of the problem was the bacterial infection that took the vet 3 weeks to even find! The meds could cause her to lose her hearing and not recognize us anymore. We are praying that the meds work for her and bring her back to normal, rather than take her away from us.

Spring Clean, Spring Simplify

Even though things have been hard, I’m working to reorder life and get rid of a bunch of things we don’t need. My goal is to have a camper for a home (or anywhere super cheap and small) and focus more on things that matter most. Spring cleaning is just a step forward.

200 Wire Hangers (it’s important!)

Perhaps the most exciting part of my break so far is the 200 wire hangers I ordered (seriously). They are 11.5 gauge, that means sturdy and somewhat affordable compared to your typical wire hanger. I’m kinda sorta obsessed with a bunch of things, and one of those things would be hangers. I want all of my hangers to be the same (except for my work clothes hangers, those are black velvet or clear crystal). I’ve had plastic hangers all these years and can’t stand that they get so dusty and have to be cleaned. Problem solved!

*This post is super choppy because things are super choppy right now.