Monday, February 1, 2010
Better Late Than Never
FINALLY! Here are a handful of custom pieces created over the holidays, including a pet portrait pendant, initial pendants, a ring based on an original drawing, and more! Enjoy!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Indiana Jones
Hello friends! Allover Art has been MIA for some time now, and I'm sorry if you've been wondering where I've been. Here's what's been going on.
On the morning of Thursday, the 21st we woke up with a very lethargic and sad-looking puppy. Indie, our 11-month old Beagle/Terrier mix, was not acting like himself when the night before he seemed just fine. He had to be coaxed downstairs to go out when usually he's the first one up in the morning. He was very lethargic and just stood in one place looking at me with his ears back; and then promptly vomited up his undigested dinner from the night before. I took him outside to go to the bathroom and it appeared that there was blood in his urine (SCARY!). I brought him back inside and called the vet and Matt, my husband, took him in to see the doc about an hour later.
The vet said that Indie had a fever and was dehydrated. They gave him antibiotics and an IV and the fever went down. They also said that he was auto-agglutinating, which meant that his body was attacking his own red blood cells. They decided to run a panel of blood work to rule out infections and tick-borne illnesses while he spent two nights with the vet. We visited him on his second day at the vet and he seemed happy to see us and ate some food, but was tired. At this time his PCV (pack cell volume) count was around 16/17. The PCV count measures the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. The normal PCV count in dogs is 37-55. Indie was anemic at this point but not in serious danger.
Early Saturday morning we got a phone call from the vet shortly after they opened saying that Indie was in really bad shape and needed an emergency blood transfusion. His PCV count was at 8. How his PCV count was allowed to get down so low that it was an emergency situation and that he was beginning to suffocate makes me very angry, but that is another story. We were told to come to the vet and pick him up so that we could drive him to the emergency clinic at the NC State Veterinary School for a transfusion. Matt and I picked up Indie and drove him to NC State, wondering the entire time if he was even going to make it because he looked that bad.
At NC State he received an emergency transfusion and oxygen and we were able to see him afterward. I've never been so happy to see his tail wag; he looked sooooooo much better. Later that day he received another transfusion.
Indie was in the ICU at the NC State Veterinary Hospital from Saturday, the 23rd, through Thursday, the 28th. During his stay he received a third transfusion, lots of drugs and steroids, had an ultrasound, and had a spleen aspirate to rule out cancer while they ran various tests trying figure out what sent his immune system into overdrive. We drove over twice every day to visit with him. It was a very emotional and stressful week.
On Thursday, the 28th, Indie's PCV count had been holding steady around 19/20 for over 48 hours so he was allowed to come home to recover. He was diagnosed with idiopathic Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA). This means that nobody has any idea what caused his body to begin attacking his red blood cells. He was sent home on activity restriction with lots of meds, including Heparin injections. Friday, the 29th, Indie returned to the hospital for a blood panel screening and his PCV count was 21/22; he will return to the hospital again on Monday, the 1st, for another blood panel screening.
In the meantime, Indie is still attacking his red blood cells but at a MUCH slower rate, which means that the steroids and immuno-suppressant drugs are beginning to take effect. He will remain on the drugs and activity restriction for quite some time until a marked improvement in his PCV count has been shown and maintained. He will still be on the drugs for some time, if not permanently. Since Indie has been home he has done A LOT of sleeping, which is great. We are all happy to have him home. Unfortunately, we are by no means "out of the woods" yet. Thirty percent of IMHA patients fully recover and never relapse, another 30% recover and then have relapses later in life, and then another 40%
never leave the hospital. Thankfully it seems that we are not in the later 40% (knock on wood). The good news is that once an animal recovers from IMHA he has great quality of life with no lingering effects from the incident. Once Indie gets his PCV count out of the anemic range he will feel just like his usual rascally self.
So, that's where I've been. It's been a long and stressful week with me thinking lots of positive thoughts to help out Indie and not cause undo stress on the little one growing inside of me. I should be able to remove my Etsy shop from vacation mode starting this week and be able to get back into work while keeping an eye on Indie. I will also continue to keep you updated on his progress with hopefully lots of good news.
PS - If you have a pet, I strongly encourage you to look into pet insurance. We have a policy for both Indie and Kasey with Petplan and we honestly never thought we would have to use it for Indie. Pet insurance has been a life-saver, literally.
**UPDATE** As of Tuesday, February 2nd, Indie's PCV count is up to 35! Hooray!
On the morning of Thursday, the 21st we woke up with a very lethargic and sad-looking puppy. Indie, our 11-month old Beagle/Terrier mix, was not acting like himself when the night before he seemed just fine. He had to be coaxed downstairs to go out when usually he's the first one up in the morning. He was very lethargic and just stood in one place looking at me with his ears back; and then promptly vomited up his undigested dinner from the night before. I took him outside to go to the bathroom and it appeared that there was blood in his urine (SCARY!). I brought him back inside and called the vet and Matt, my husband, took him in to see the doc about an hour later.
The vet said that Indie had a fever and was dehydrated. They gave him antibiotics and an IV and the fever went down. They also said that he was auto-agglutinating, which meant that his body was attacking his own red blood cells. They decided to run a panel of blood work to rule out infections and tick-borne illnesses while he spent two nights with the vet. We visited him on his second day at the vet and he seemed happy to see us and ate some food, but was tired. At this time his PCV (pack cell volume) count was around 16/17. The PCV count measures the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. The normal PCV count in dogs is 37-55. Indie was anemic at this point but not in serious danger.
Early Saturday morning we got a phone call from the vet shortly after they opened saying that Indie was in really bad shape and needed an emergency blood transfusion. His PCV count was at 8. How his PCV count was allowed to get down so low that it was an emergency situation and that he was beginning to suffocate makes me very angry, but that is another story. We were told to come to the vet and pick him up so that we could drive him to the emergency clinic at the NC State Veterinary School for a transfusion. Matt and I picked up Indie and drove him to NC State, wondering the entire time if he was even going to make it because he looked that bad.At NC State he received an emergency transfusion and oxygen and we were able to see him afterward. I've never been so happy to see his tail wag; he looked sooooooo much better. Later that day he received another transfusion.
Indie was in the ICU at the NC State Veterinary Hospital from Saturday, the 23rd, through Thursday, the 28th. During his stay he received a third transfusion, lots of drugs and steroids, had an ultrasound, and had a spleen aspirate to rule out cancer while they ran various tests trying figure out what sent his immune system into overdrive. We drove over twice every day to visit with him. It was a very emotional and stressful week.
On Thursday, the 28th, Indie's PCV count had been holding steady around 19/20 for over 48 hours so he was allowed to come home to recover. He was diagnosed with idiopathic Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA). This means that nobody has any idea what caused his body to begin attacking his red blood cells. He was sent home on activity restriction with lots of meds, including Heparin injections. Friday, the 29th, Indie returned to the hospital for a blood panel screening and his PCV count was 21/22; he will return to the hospital again on Monday, the 1st, for another blood panel screening.In the meantime, Indie is still attacking his red blood cells but at a MUCH slower rate, which means that the steroids and immuno-suppressant drugs are beginning to take effect. He will remain on the drugs and activity restriction for quite some time until a marked improvement in his PCV count has been shown and maintained. He will still be on the drugs for some time, if not permanently. Since Indie has been home he has done A LOT of sleeping, which is great. We are all happy to have him home. Unfortunately, we are by no means "out of the woods" yet. Thirty percent of IMHA patients fully recover and never relapse, another 30% recover and then have relapses later in life, and then another 40%
never leave the hospital. Thankfully it seems that we are not in the later 40% (knock on wood). The good news is that once an animal recovers from IMHA he has great quality of life with no lingering effects from the incident. Once Indie gets his PCV count out of the anemic range he will feel just like his usual rascally self.So, that's where I've been. It's been a long and stressful week with me thinking lots of positive thoughts to help out Indie and not cause undo stress on the little one growing inside of me. I should be able to remove my Etsy shop from vacation mode starting this week and be able to get back into work while keeping an eye on Indie. I will also continue to keep you updated on his progress with hopefully lots of good news.
PS - If you have a pet, I strongly encourage you to look into pet insurance. We have a policy for both Indie and Kasey with Petplan and we honestly never thought we would have to use it for Indie. Pet insurance has been a life-saver, literally.
**UPDATE** As of Tuesday, February 2nd, Indie's PCV count is up to 35! Hooray!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Under The Weather
Welcome 2010!! I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday season.
Allover Art has returned to business as promised, however, don't expect too much over the next few days. It seems that someone gave me the gift of a cold virus this Christmas; and it has set up camp in my body, refusing to leave. I'll be online here and there, but will most likely be either on the couch napping or in bed. See you in a few days!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Happy Holidays!
Allover Art is out of town and will return on December 29th. Have a wonderful holiday season!!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Christmas Deadline
*
Christmas
is almost upon
us! That means the
deadline for
orders is swiftly approaching.
If you're still thinking about giving
some wearable art this Christmas, please
place your order no later
than Saturday, December 19th (for domestic
orders). Any orders placed on the 20th or later
won't ship until December 30th. Unfortunately, if you're
interested in a custom piece, the Christmas deadline has already
passed.
Feel free
to contact
me if you have any questions. Have a wonderful day. :)
Christmas
is almost upon
us! That means the
deadline for
orders is swiftly approaching.
If you're still thinking about giving
some wearable art this Christmas, please
place your order no later
than Saturday, December 19th (for domestic
orders). Any orders placed on the 20th or later
won't ship until December 30th. Unfortunately, if you're
interested in a custom piece, the Christmas deadline has already
passed.
Feel free
to contact
me if you have any questions. Have a wonderful day. :)
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Art After Dark In Holly Springs
Here's your last chance to see Allover Art in person before the end of the year. I'll be at the Holly Springs Cultural Center tomorrow, Friday the 11th, from 6-8 pm with all my wearable art for the monthly Art After Dark reception. My paintings are already hanging in the Cultural Center and will be through the end of December; but that's not ALL that's happening in downtown Holly Springs this Friday evening.
Downtown Holly Springs is hosting Main Street Christmas from 6-8 pm! According to the the Holly Springs paper downtown Holly Springs celebrates the season with Christmas carols, a live nativity, hayrides, and other free festivities at Four Oaks Bank, Shelly Lane Gifts, Town Hall, and the Holly Springs Cultural Center. The celebration culminates in a tree lighting ceremony with Santa at the Holly Springs Cultural Center at 8 pm.
So come on by the Cultural Center from 6-8 pm and take a look at some wearable art, and cross some names off your Christmas list! I look forward to seeing you! :)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Holly Days 2009
I can't believe it's been an entire year since Holly Days 2008! It's seems like yesterday that I just started creating and selling my wearable art. Holly Days 2008 was the first major show I sold my wearable art at. Last year I only had pendants, and almost all were square. Now I have various pendant shapes and sizes, rings, earrings, brooches, pet portrait pendants, earrings, and bobby pins! Wow, my inventory has expanded.
This year Holly Days 2009 will be at Sanderson High School in Raleigh, just like last year, on December 5th and 6th. I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope to see you out there!
**And yes, the show is indoors. :)
This year Holly Days 2009 will be at Sanderson High School in Raleigh, just like last year, on December 5th and 6th. I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope to see you out there!**And yes, the show is indoors. :)
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