Punkin Turns 8

I can't believe the time has went by so fast! My sweetheart, Punkin, has made it through another year!

In general, I don't feel that I am a person who prays for much. I have such a wonderful life that I try to keep my prayers short and sweet. But.........

When it comes to Punkin, I must admit that my list has been long! In the past 8 years I've asked for more than my fair share of favors. This birthday is proof that those prayers have been completely answered!

In May of 2001 I decided to get a puppy. I hoped and prayed for a female, black and tan, beautiful little puppy that would love me to death. A puppy that in turn I could spoil rotten and would live up to the fabulous name "Punkin". On July 7th, 2001 Punkin came home.

In November of 2001 I decided to move to Clemson to be with Jamie during his final year at Clemson. We had a hard time finding a place that would allow me to have Punkin. So, I prayed that we would figure it out and I could somehow keep her. A few days later Jamie called to say that he had found us a house that would allow her to stay if we paid an extra deposit. Punkin and I moved to Clemson on Dec 31st, 2001.

On April 2nd, 2003 Punkin went missing after my mom and I arrived home from picking up my wedding dress in South Carolina. She must have gotten out while we were unloading the car. After we came in, I thought she was in the bedroom with my mom. I was wrong. An hour and a half later we realized that she was missing. We looked for hours! After I had cried so much that my eyes were swollen shut, my mom told me to go to bed while my brother continued looking. I went to bed around midnight and prayed that even though she was at a strange house she would find her way back. At 2 am she began scratching on the front door.

During the spring of 2004 (when she was 3) Punkin began getting these white, solid spots in her right eye. After a few months even more had developed. By the same time next year they had spread to the other eye as well. After trying all of the different drops and medications the vet told us that the only way to fix the problem was for her to have surgery to remove them. In having this surgery there was a possibility that she could go blind because of the location of the spots. I prayed that she would make it to 5 before it got bad enough that we had to have the surgery. It's been almost 5 years since then and she can still see.

On December 16th, 2005 I took Punkin on a walk in our new neighborhood. Not only was she walking extremely slow, but she fell while trying using the bathroom. She didn't even have enough energy to make it home, I had to carry her! We noticed a difference in her behavior a few days before, but thought she was just tired from the excitement of our recent move to Houston. After the falling incident we decided to take her to the vet. They did a chest x-ray and said that her problem was an enlarged heart. I called Jamie right away and prayed that this could not be it. She was only 4. That same day an EKG and a few blood test were also done. After these test were completed we were told that she was suffering from acute hemolytic anemia, not an enlarged heart. Her blood count was so low that she needed to go straight from there to the emergency clinic where she would probably have to stay overnight. There they would give her IV steroids and if it got bad enough a blood transfusion. We prayed all night that she would make it through the weekend (as the doctors were not so sure that she would).

Over the weekend she started to get better, but then got worse again. They let me bring her home on Monday morning only to take her to a specialist in downtown Houston. She was able to come home with us the next morning, but we had to have blood counts taken daily. If the numbers dropped during any of these counts we were told she would have to go back. During all this we were told that there was a 80% chance of a relapse within the first 2 weeks and if she made it past that there was a 50% chance in 6 months. We prayed for her to make it through Christmas. She did. After that I prayed that she wouldn't have a relapse at all, Jamie prayed that she would at least make it to 7. Since the week after Christmas her blood counts have been in normal range, and haven't dropped once.

In June of 2008 Punkin started acting funny again. She was sleeping all the time, couldn't make it all the way on her walks, and eating and drinking like we were starving her! She was 7 at this time and I remembered Jamie's prayer. I prayed it wasn't the anemia problem again. Testing concluded that she wasn't having a relapse, but they weren't sure what it was. After more test they thought it could possibly be cancer (among some other stuff). I prayed it wasn't.

After all of the testing was complete they discovered a liver shunt. It is so unusual for a dog of her age to have this problem (usually the symptoms start by the time they are a year or so) I don't think any of the vets even suspected it. Out of the 3 doctors in the Houston area that can perform this surgery, one of them refused to do it because of her age. We were told that the surgery may not be successful and that some dogs continue to have problems. Some dogs still end up dying within a year or two because of irreversible damage to the liver. We prayed that hers' was one that could be fixed and that she would make it through it.

On July 23rd Jamie and I met with Dr. Heidi Hottinger and dropped Punkin off for her surgery which was scheduled for the next day. That night we prayed she would make it through the surgery and that everything would be fine when she came out. The next day we were told that they were able to completely close off the shunt and that there was minimal damage to her liver. Even with that great news the first 24 hours are the most critical because the liver is now adjusting to the increase in blood flow and pressure. We found ourselves praying once again that she would make it home. The next morning we got a phone call from the clinic stating that Punkin was doing great, and had been "the life of the ICU".

Three weeks after her surgery, on Aug 13th, we left on a plane for Singapore. I prayed that both my girls would make it with no complications. They made it to Paris and when we left there I prayed again.

Here we are now, celebrating her 8th birthday 9 months after arriving in Singapore! She has surpassed all we have asked for and is still going strong. I am so thankful that she has made it this far. I want pray that she will live for ever, but I know that it would just be selfish. I've gotten everything that I've asked for at this point, and even a little more when it comes to her. I'm just thankful for every day I have left with her and hope she's just as happy here with us.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful, sweet, baby girl Punkin. We love you more than you know!!

(This is what she thinks of picture time!)

(But she loves the cake afterwards!)

What a trip!

The McMillan's have come and gone, but we were able to have lots of fun during the time in between! We explored Singapore, headed off to Indonesia in a ferry, then jetted off to Malaysia. It was so good to have a touch of home, even if we didn't leave the Asia Pacific.

We started the trip off by showing them the sites of Singapore. We went to the usual places, China Town, the flyer, Orchard Rd, etc...and a few of our favorite hangout spots!

Hanging out at East Coast Park for some local specialities!

Having a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar (where it was created).

One of our favorite Mexican places Cha Cha Cha.

After showing them the sites of Singapore, our first stop off the island was to another island in Indonesia. We took the 55 minute ferry ride to the island of Bintan. We really didn't know what to expect (since all of the reviews I have heard from others were pretty mixed), but we decided to try it out for ourselves. We rented a private villa that was a stones throw away from the beach and had a private pool. It ended up being a great choice! The view was amazing, and it literally took us 30 seconds to get to the water. Since we were in a villa, we had to option of having someone come in and cook for us. We decided to have them cook the first night. The food was wonderful, and it was nice to sit back and relax while someone else did the cooking and cleaning! The rest of our trip was filled up by a mangrove tour , some shopping, and a little bit of lying around! Here are some photos of our trip to Bintan Island.

Our awesome villa, and view from the top balcony!

Getting ready for our feast, and photo from the mangrove tour.

From there we took the ferry back and hopped on a plane to Kuching, Sarawak; Malaysia. This was by far the best part of the trip! The people were so friendly, and the food and shopping were amazing. I can't wait to go back! I'm already trying to figure out a reason for a weekend trip. Here we went rainforest kayaking and took a sunset cruise. There were so many other things we could have done, if only we had the time!

View from our rooms and photo of hotel from river

The rainforest kayaking was great! It was so peaceful and you couldn't beat the scenery. During the trip we made a stop at one of the villages along the river. The people here were so welcoming and didn't mind showing us how they live. If anything, I think they were excited to show us! Most of the people here are farmers and they sell the items to the city. They farm all types of fruit, black pepper, rice, curry leaves, and they make rubber! They showed us how they dry out the pepper and rice, and what the rubber looks like before it's cut. The little village looks deserted when you first enter, but there are still about 250 people that live there. At one point they had about 700, but most have moved into the city.

Photos of our kayaking adventure! The sign says "Welcome to the village Kampung Danu"


A sign that life does exist! This person is a pepper farmer,you can see it drying out on the deck.

Photo's from the water.

The sunset cruise was a great way to see some of the sites and learn a little bit of history about the city. There are several small villages along the river. The people here are so friendly. They would stand outside and wave to you as you went by! The town was also in the process of getting ready for a festival that's coming up soon. We were told that one of the things they do is a dragon boat race and that a group of kids from each village participates. We were able to see several of them practicing.

A few sunset photos from our cruise.

Here's to the end of a wonderful trip! We had a blast and found a new favorite spot in the process. It was nice to finally have someone to share the experience with!