I don't even know where to begin. I am so overwhelmed with emotions right now!
First of all, I got the call from Dr. Corbett saying that Lexie could come home around 10:00 a.m., but I had a few reports I needed to get done at work before I could leave. I was also crossing my fingers that Justin would be able to take off work early, but by 2:00 p.m. he texted to say his chances of leaving early didn't look good, so I decided to go by myself to pick up Lou. After all, Dr. Corbett had told me that she thought Lexie would be fine riding in the back seat by herself during the trip home.
So, I arrived at MedVet around 6:30 p.m. this evening, and the first thing they wanted to do was settle my bill, the total of which was significantly higher than I had been anticipating (over $3500!). However, you guys aren't going to believe this: I learned that not only did Lexie's local vet donate a large sum towards her MedVet bill, in addition to the generous donations I have received through my and Chad Dressen's blogs, an incredibly kind woman from Canada, named Wanda, whom I have never even had the pleasure of meeting before, had also called MedVet and offered to pay the balance!!!!!
I. Am. Speechless.
Stuff like this doesn't happen in real life, does it?!?!?! It doesn't! At least, not in MY real life. I am still in shock. I just happened to be standing at the front desk when the billing assistant called Miss Wanda to get her credit card information, so I asked if I could speak to her before the billing assistant hung up. I'm so glad I was able to thank Wanda myself, although she may not have understood me through all the tears. I am also hoping that Dr. Ellis is in the office tomorrow so I can thank her, as well. I mean, seriously?!?!?! Seeing so much GOOD and kindness in people has truly been the most beautiful, amazing experience of my life. It has definitely made me want to strive to be a better human being, and I can only hope many other people who have been following our story feel the same way. You guys have been nothing short of incredible, and I cannot thank you enough.
Speaking of incredible, Lexie is home!!!!! In fact, she's laying beside me on the floor as I type this blog. Justin and I are already so impressed with how well she's adjusting, too. She's actually getting around BETTER than she was right before her bilateral enucleation surgery. I wonder if maybe she was depending a little too much on being able to distinguish shadows and light, because now it's obvious she's using her senses of hearing and smell a lot more than she was a week ago. She's also not walking directly into things like she used to. She ALMOST walks into things, but as soon as her nose gets really close to the wall, chair, door, etc., she kind of pulls back and changes direction. Since being home, she's already located the food bowls and had some dinner, she drank about a gallon of water after finding her water bowl all by herself, and I even walked into the foyer at one point to find her cleaning Sam's ears! She is definitely the same ole Lou she was before this whole ordeal began last month, and I can't tell you how happy that makes me.
The one thing that is kind of worrisome is the fact that she's bleeding a lot from her incisions. The vet tech at MedVet told me that this is normal, and even brought in the ophthalmologist on duty to confirm this for me. He said that, as long as the fluid coming from Lexie's eyes was just bloody and not actual blood, then it was perfectly fine. However, since we've gotten home, I swear it looks more like blood and less like bloody fluid coming from her eyes. She looks just like a crying vampire from True Blood! I'm applying a cold compress, like the vet at MedVet suggested, but I just really wish her eyes weren't bleeding at all. It makes me nervous. In fact, I ended up asking him if they could wrap Lexie's head like it was when I brought her in on Friday, just for the trip home. Poor little thing. She looked like I had kidnapped her.
Other than that, though, my Lou is home and is doing so well!!!!! Yaaaayyy!!! Her eyes do look a little funny, like Dr. Corbett had warned me, but I can't help but think she looks adorable. I was afraid she'd look sad all the time without having any eyes, but she really doesn't. I mean, come on, that smile is pretty undeniable. :) She's also been giving the MOST hugs! In fact, she hasn't really wanted me to leave her side since I picked her up. During the first few minutes of the drive home, she kept resting her head on the console between the two front seats just so she could be closer to me. She didn't look comfortable, though, so I pulled over and brought her up front to the passenger seat beside me. I laid the seat all the way down, then stuffed a big comforter in the floor, just in case she fell forward at some point. She curled right up into a little ball, though, and slept as I pet her the whole rest of the way home.
I am just so relieved to have her with me finally. If her eye incisions keep bleeding like they have been tonight, I'll probably have Dr. Ellis take a look at her ASAP. So, I'm not 100% comfortable yet, but I definitely feel a LOT better now that she's home. :)
