Answered Prayers: that’s what we experienced this week. From having surgery scheduled as quickly as possible to friends taking care of Ashley (thank you, Wendy, Jay, Tyler, Kathleen, and Sharon) to Sandy coming to the hospital, staying with us until William was being wheeled to surgery and praying with us. And after Sandy prayed, then William prayed.
Our experience is that surgeries usually start later than scheduled. When we got back to the room where you get ready for surgery, we were told William surgery was scheduled to being 20 minutes earlier than originally scheduled. Less time to think….
Pumpkin was a tremendous help. She helped calm all of us and provided a diversion for William. She walked her boy to the induction room and stayed with him until he feel asleep. Not sure she wanted to leave him. Who did William ask for first thing in recovery? Pumpkin! He keep thumping his arm signing her name. Pumpkin got up on his bed with a little assist from Ed (too high for her to jump) and gave her boy kisses. William ate popsicles. Pumpkin ate ice.
William and Pumpkin led the “parade” from recovery to his hospital room. Pumpkin laid beside her boy until he feel asleep and then stretched out on her mutt mat. She took care of her boy. Staff would come to visit William and his service dog. Just hope Pumpkin doesn’t get a “big” head from all the attention.
Our surgeon told us post surgery to expect at least a 2 day hospital stay and the possibility of coming home on oxygen overnight. We’re home - a day earlier than anticipated and no oxygen. Another sleep study will be scheduled in 4 weeks to make sure the sleep apnea is resolved.
A week of miracles, answered prayers and a 4 paws angel keeping watch over her boy….
Nine years ago yesterday a special angel was born. His name is William. And no, I wasn’t there when he was born so I can’t swap labor and delivery stories. But if you want, I can tell you about a phone call we got a few months down the road asking if this little baby could become part of our family at another time.Today, there’s no time to focus on William’s birthday since he’s been scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. This will be William’s 3rd medical procedure since the fall (and I hope the last for a while). William routinely wakes up during the night. And we’ve gotten all kinds of advice on how to handle this. But sometimes your guts instinct tells you differently. Last week William had a sleep study and the results would be shared in about two weeks. Friday evening when we received the call from the ENT’s nurse, we knew something was amiss. William has severe sleep apnea and needs surgery as soon as possible like next Wednesday. His body wakes him up during the night so he can breathe. So now we prepare the best we can - the ‘to do’ list is long and we pray. Pray William doesn’t sense our tension. He’s very good at reading people. Pray surgery goes well and he has a speedy recovery. Pray this resolves the sleep apnea. Wednesday, we will take our special angel and entrust him to God’s angels to keep watch over him and we will pray.
What’s it like giving your child a BFF? What difference does it make to the rest of the family? And, what have we learned from William’s BFF?When a child has special abilities, life tends to revolve around the needs of that child. For some kids that may mean therapy both at home and at a therapy facility (for us, that’s Cincinnati Children’s hospital) - speech and OT. Various medical appointments - William sees his pediatrician (Dr. Debbie, who we love), ENT, & Endocrinology. We’re lucky that William has limited medical involvement. Kids with special abilities often have difficulties making and keeping friends for whatever reason. Parents may shy away from going to someone else’s home since that home may have breakables and may not be special kid proof. For us that may mean our friend’s home is on a main street or lacks door/window alarms. People - especially kids - love to come up to Pumpkin and ask (ok, most of the time they ask) if they can pet her. We defer the question to William since she is his best friend. It gives us a chance to talk about service dogs and their many abilities and how she serves William. Since Pumpkin has entered our lives things have changed - for the better. In just the month since we’ve been home from training we’ve been able to go places that were not possible before Pumpkin. Our stress level has decreased tremendously. When we are out in public, William holds a short leash (1 foot) and is tethered to Pumpkin. Pumpkin is very good at keeping track of “her boy”. If he stops, she will let us (the handler know). If he tries to take off, Pumpkin just keeps encouraging him to stay with her. Pumpkin has already shown us that she can track William when he decides to “escape” either indoors or outdoors. For her, it’s a game! For William, his best friend has found him! For us, she’s a lifesaver! William is also learning responsibility. William is the one to let Pumpkin in and out (fenced back yard) to “go potty”. He feeds her and gives her water. William assists in daily grooming. He practices commands with her. It is amazing to see the bond that is developing between these best friends forever. Service dog and boy - it’s a good thing!
Another first for the Burke family: this week we ventured out to the Creation Museum's ChristmasTown. Of course we left later than we wanted to and when we arrived, the parking lot was full. We were directed to a church about a mile away from the museum to take the "shuttle bus" (school bus) over to the museum. It was a balmy 24 degrees outside. Not sure if this was Pumpkin's first ride on a school bus, but it was William's & Ashley's first ride. Funny, I don't remember the aisle's being so narrow when I rode the school bus!When we got off the bus, one of the security guards greeted us: "We just wanted to let you know that we have canine patrols on duty tonight. We've already alerted them that you are with a service dog & will try to stay clear of you. If there's anything you need, please let us know." Couldn't have asked for a better reception. William was tethered to Pumpkin along with holding the "short leash". No meltdowns. No escape artist tricks. We had a great time walking through the outdoor gardens set-up to look like Biblical times. Then there were the lights. Fabulous! We had an awesome, stress-free time. Ok, we'll admit that we're still getting used to having Pumpkin with us everywhere William goes. And it does take a few extra minutes getting ready to go places. But the extra set of eyes, and the security she provides it worth everything.
Sometimes you wonder what your kids are thinking. Then there are those times they left you know. This was one of those times Ashley let us know.The last day of training at 4 Paws is full of activity. First, there is meeting the trainers at the mall for the Public Access Test. The test consists of three parts. You walk with your dog around the mall for about 20+ minutes. One of the trainers follows behind you to observe. Is your dog behaving? (Are you behaving? I think that's the real rest!) Do you have your dog under control? What do you do as a team when someone wants to pet your dog? When an unexpected sudden noise happens? A stroller or in our case a LOUD, squeaky cleaning cart goes by? People drop food as they pass by? You get the picture. Typical crowd in a mall at Christmas time. One of the things you must do is to be walking and drop the dog's leash. Will they take off or stay with you? Then you place your dog in a down position and people step over your dog, walk nearby, talk with you, etc. Will you dog stay in "command"?The second part of the test was to sit in the food court area for another 20 minutes. The dog needs to stay in a "down" or be under the table. It's amazing with all kinds of food smells that the dog are so obedient. We were so proud of Pumpkin. A gentleman came up to us and offered to let Pumpkin "lick" his plate while another person offered to buy Pumpkin an ice cream cone. There are all kinds of different people out there.Finally, you take your dog to your vehicle and the trainers observe you both in the parking lot and loading up in your vehicle. Pumpkin was on her best behavior despite me being nervous. And yes, we passed the Public Access Test. Pumpkin was the veteran while I was the newbie.After that, you return to 4 Paws and sign all the paper work. That was exciting! When we finished signing, Ashley said to me: "Is Pumpkin adopted just like us?" "Yes!" "Yippee, that means she is part of our forever family and going home with us!"And so forever begins!
This is it! The official Christmas photo taken at the foster/adoptive parents Christmas party given by the Bethel United Methodist Church. William gave Santa a hug for everyday of the year. What a patient Santa! Santa even sat on the floor with William and Pumpkin. It was great to watch all the kids gather 'round Pumpkin, William, and Santa. Pumpkin got lots of hugs during the party, too.
It's amazing the difference Pumpkin has already made in our lives. The stress level is much less since there are an extra set of eyes and paws watching William. And, William does keep track of his girl. One of the many benefits of having a service dog with you is that people will stop and talk with you (Ok, now it takes twice as long to do anything when we go out!) giving William the opportunity to socialize more. Pumpkin is a wonderful ambassador for all service dogs since she is so gentle and kind to everyone especially little kids. We do have to tell people that she loves to give kisses. William truly now has a bff. Thank you 4 Paws!
We officially passed our "Public Access Test" on Friday morning. It was as though she knew I was a tad nervous about the test and was on her best 'command obeying' behavior. Pumpkin had to sit, heel, down, come, weave in and out of clothing racks, allow strangers to come & pet her, people stepping over her, not be rattled by carts, strollers, yells of kids, or distracted by various odors. That was just a few of the things Pumpkin had to deal with during the test. At one point while we were "heeling", I had to drop her leash to make sure she would stay with me and not run off. Another time I had to put her in a down, walk away, and call her to come to me. We had to go in and out doors, walk through the parking lot, and load up in the van. Then we had to sit in the food court for at least 20 minutes while she remained in a down position. Pumpkin took it in stride, feel asleep, and entertained everyone around us with her snoring. She is awesome!
After the test, we returned to 4 Paws for Ability to sign the "adoption" papers. We are family!
Legally, we are a 3 unit team: service dog, William, & adult handler. Ashley enjoys walking with us, too!
The extra set of eyes, the super sensitive nose, and her 4 paws are just what we needed to help keep William safe. We are officially official!
