Seizures & stuff

Don't worry, Lincoln didn't have a seizure. He took Tues-Thurs off from school with fevers of about 101 each day (not strep, just some virus), then had a snow day Friday, so he hasn't learned much except how to win a game of Fortnite with just a battle axe. YEAGER, however, might have had a seizure. True story: Thursday night, we all went to bed as usual. Yeager on top of the guest room quilt, kids in their rooms, Carey and I in the Love Palace. At about Midnight, we heard a scurrying sound from Yeager, as if he was playing with a stuffed animal and landing with his forepaws on our rug. We listened for 30 seconds or so, mumbling, "Yeager, it's bedtime," then we heard an enormous racket that sounded like, well, Yeager falling down our hardwood stairs. Jumped out of bed, turned on all the lights, and found our beloved dog in the sitting room about 10 feet removed from the bottom of the stairs and looking dazed. At first he couldn't stand up, so we were sure he'd broken a leg or hip. Then he started shaking his head and left leg, panting and drooling. Five minutes later the kids both woke up and when they came downstairs our heroic canine rose on all four legs, then quickly sat back down. We all consoled him and discussed what might have happened. Was he chasing a mouse or spider or something? Sleep walking and took a tumble at the top of the stairs? The only solution was to Google "emergency care vets" and find out that 20 minutes from our house is the Upstate Emergency Veterinary Hospital.

Nicer waiting room than most hospitals

@ the Vet ER, looking almost himself

By the time we get that figured out, Yeager is gingerly walking and when I get his leash, he looks at me, while still kind of dazed, wags his tail, and is ready to go. Still drooling like a bulldog in Arizona, by the way. So off he and I go just as the storm is starting. Yeager relaxes in the back seat, and other than the drooling and the "what am I doing still awake at 1am" expression in his jowls, he seems relatively fine when we get him to the ER.

Check out all the vet specialists -- who knew?!

The two women and Dr. Siddiq who work the overnight shift were super nice and examined him but basically said short of spending $1,000 on a battery of x-rays and blood tests, we can only conclude that he somehow fell down the stairs and has a concussion. So they gave him an anti-nausea shot and a dose of fluid -- not an IV, but like a bubble of water/saline they inject into his outer layer of fat and it gets absorbed over time. Long story almost over: I make an additional car payment, he returns home with me, sleeps in bed between us -- very close, seeking comfort -- and is now back to his usual behavior, barking at rabbits and begging for food.

The morning after, watching the kids watch Brain Games.