We have come a long way along the way….

​Just last night, I was petting Luna and considering how soft and lovely her coat felt. I am so proud of how she has come along in the past few months, with all the ups and downs. She has come a long way. We all have come a long way. So, what happened along the way?
It was early fall when the bumps were showing up on her back.  We started to avoid petting her in those areas.  Then the areas became her whole back and this skin infection, caused by the long-term use of Prednisone, was undeniable.  We would be sure she had a coat on in public.  We didn’t want people to look at her strangely.  She loved meeting people.  We didn’t want her to be judged.  Or maybe we didn’t want to be judged.
Either way, it was an uncomfortable time.  We knew each day was a blessing since her diagnosis.  We wanted to be sure every picture we took was perfect.  We, or maybe just I, avoided showing the ugly side of the treatment for the lymphoma—the difficulty she had with mobility.  I was quiet knowingly sweeping anything that showed the results of this disease under the carpet.
My excuse?  I didn’t want her to sense people feeling bad for her when they saw her.  I didn’t want to be judged for doing too much or not doing enough.   I didn’t want to bring hurt to the surface and instead tried to avoid the possibility of the pain. 
So last night as I was enjoying the luxurious coat she has grown back I wondered if I had any memories, or documentation, of what her skin, her body, went through during the treatment.  What if I had documented, through pictures, her struggles with having to get baths 3 times a week with medicated shampoo each leaving her a little, or a lot, more bald?  What if I had videotaped her struggle to go out and potty showing our use of harnesses to assist her and keep her from falling into her own urine or poop?  How would that make me feel today to look at how far we have come?  How would it look if I were able to put a picture of her from October next to a picture of her today?  Would that give some people hope that their efforts to treat their dogs condition?  Would it give other or more importantly me the courage to bring into public what disease looks like?  What caring for a loved one looks like?
So as I take pictures of Luna with her now glorious coat wondering around the fields of our farm unassisted I think to myself, “I will capture the moments, all the moments.  The good, the bad and the ugly because sometimes they are the most beautiful times.”

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