Your health status is not based on how you are feeling!
This blog is dedicated to our sweet dog Toby who suddenly passed away yesterday. Our Toby was a yellow Labrador who only lived 9 short months. His days were filled with silliness, chewing on anything his jaws could get onto, and giving unconditional love to us.
How Toby passed away was very sudden which was scary. Toby was a very healthy and active dog. Last week he threw up a couple of times (which was not uncommon for him as he would eat up his toys and his body would take care of it). We took him to the vet and were told he may have had a possible obstruction but they were not sure. Instead of electing for surgery right away, we decided to take him home and care for him. Over the next few days, Toby seemed normal. No real symptoms of looking sick, or acting sick except his appetite. We were hopeful and thought that he was recovering as he was still playful, drinking water and as loving as usual. As the next few days went on, we kept seeing improvement until early Monday morning when he began throwing up profusely. We rushed him to the vet but he kept looking worse in a matter of minutes. Then we got the horrendous news from our vet.
How many of us make the same mistake? The mistake of thinking that we are in great health until something ’suddenly’ takes place such as diabetes, a heart attack, a stroke, or even a back problems? Too many of us take our health for granted and do not necessarily do the things to stay healthy until we are sick. Pain is always the last thing to show up in any type of condition and it is also the first thing to disappear. That is why it is such an unreliable indicator to our health status, yet it is far too often the only indicator we judge our health on.
Instead of waiting for things to go horribly wrong as it did with Toby, I vow to prevent illness and sickness bygetting things checked regularly including my teeth, my blood work, my spine, my feet, my eyes, my weight and fitness level. I will urge my family members, friends, loved one’s and patients to do the same! It might make the difference between life and death. We will miss and love Toby forever.
