Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 REVIEW

2011 was a year of highs and lows for me. I started out the year by recovering from surgery where I had an open wound in my back for close to 2 months. Then I broke my hand and Marley got diagnosed with a chronic lower GI condition all in the same week.

Just 2 months later Molly became very ill and lost 20% of her body weight. Then Marley got bit by a water moccasin and was out of agility for about 2 weeks. Then she had a hip flare up and was out of agility again. During this time my mom was in and out of the hospital. I was at a trial in MS when my mom became real ill and we had to race back to AR in the middle of the nite.

Marley had a severe hip flare up in August and was out of agility again. Through it all, Marley remained a happy girl. Then my mom unexpectedly died and my world fell apart. Then towards the end of 2011, Marley sprained her front leg and she sat out of agility again.

Although 2011 was a rocky ride for me, we had some great moments. Marley finished 10 agility titles, 2 rally titles and her 1st obedience title. She also got her 1st Snooker Super Q winning the entire class and earned her 1st Steeplechase Qualifying round. I wonder what we could have done if we had both had a healthy year.

Molly and Missy are both healthy and happy. They enjoy their daily outings into the woods to explore.

Here's to hoping 2012 is OUR YEAR and things go positively for us.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

THE DARKEST TIME OF MY LIFE

I know this blog is title Life with Marley, but really it's a blog about me. I haven't blogged in awhile because my world fell apart on the afternoon of Friday, September 23 at 2pm.


I was putting the last bags in my RAV preparing to take Marley to Louisiana for an agility trial. My dad had come over to pick up Molly and Missy to take them home for the weekend while I was gone. The phone rang and it was the hospital telling us that my mom, who had been hospitalized with pneumonia, was having some respiratory difficulty and some confusion. They wanted to let us know that they were transferring her to ICU. Just minutes later we received another phone call telling us my mom was 'coding' and did we want them to continue a 'full code'? I told them yes. We quickly called my parents' pastor and he left to go to the hospital to be with my mom. We threw my agility stuff out of the RAV, put the girls in and we left. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive filled with shock and tears. The hospital called a bit later and told us my mom had a heart beat back after 20 minutes of 'coding'.


We arrived at the hospital to find my mom on a ventilator and unresponsive. It was a difficult weekend and on Monday, September 26 we took my mom off the ventilator and she peacefully went home to Jesus. It was a painful time but we were surrounded by my mom's many friends and relatives. We had a wonderful turnout for her visitation and funeral. Her funeral service reminded me of the many special friendships she had throughout her life. The message was comforting to me because I know that she was loved by so many.


My girls looked for my mom while she was in the hospital. They ran into the house and checked her recliner and then ran to look for her in the computer room. It broke my heart because they didn't understand where my mom was. After my mom died, we took them to the funeral home. I took them in one by one to see and smell my mom's body. Molly went first. I picked her up and she got excited when she first saw my mom. I put her close and she looked at her and smelled her and then she turned her head back to me. Missy caught on sooner and once she got close to the casket she pulled herself back into me. Marley was a bit more of a challenge. She was a little bit harder to get picked up and get close to my mom. She too got excited when she saw my mom and she immediately caught on. It may sound morbid to some, but for me it helped me. I didn't want my girls to just wonder what happened to my mom, I wanted them to know. When we got home, Molly got in my mom's recliner and tried to bite 2 people who got too close to her while she was in the recliner. Ever since then, whenever we go to my dad's house, Molly sleeps in my mom's recliner.


There have been so many mornings since my mom died that it is all I can do to get up in the morning. I try to put on a somewhat happy face and go about my day when in reality all I want to do is get back in bed and stay there. It has been the darkest time of my life. I have tried to carry on with my life but it is so hard. I have attempted to trial Marley a few times since my mom's death with varying degrees of success. My heart just isn't into it. I hope with time things get better for me.

My mom always looked forward to the girl's blog and I would always call her when one of the girls had been on the computer. Makes me sad that she can't read about her grand dogs.