Hi! So if you have been following me since August, you'd know that we got a rescue pup from the Humane Society. She recently celebrated what is believed to be her 5 month birthday and she is a true gem. We knew that she had nystagmus and didn't care, then we noticed she didn't seem to be able to see very well and was possibly nearsighted, the vet said they thought she was blind or partially blind, but that didn't phase us at all. We love her spirit, her sweetness and her kindness. 

So since we got her in August she has had this milky white, green and yellow discharge after urination. It wasn't a big deal, or so we thought, until one day she was extremely lethargic and only wanted to lay there and be a bump on a log (for about 3 days). After taking her to the Humane Society vet and her vet they all agreed she had "puppy vaginitis" which occurs when you spay a dog before they have their first heat. No one did any actual tests, no one sampled the discharge and no one did any cultures. They did say that it is best to not have a puppy on antibiotics and that puppy vaginitis would "resolve" on its own.

So we are now at the end of October and she is acting fine, stool is good, appetite is great and her activity level is good. But she still has this discharge, that occasionally becomes very viscous and snot-like dangling from her vulva area. I was concerned, how long is this supposed to last? I asked one of my close friends, who is an emergency veterinarian, what she would recommend - she said she would put her on antibiotics. In turn I told her vet and then was told not to. Again, no one has seen the pup. Long story short I get my hands on the antibiotics, I wait a day to see if anyone calls or if anything starts to clear and it is the same. So I start giving them to her. 

Overall her energy is great, appetite is awesome and spirit is fine:
Day 1 she is a-ok
Day 2 her stool is starting to loosen
Day 3 we notice her vulva area shrank down 50% from what it was
We didn't know it was so swollen as we didn't know what it was supposed to look like, but it was somewhat miraculous, her vaginal area was so huge and swollen and there was definitely some sort of infection but we didn't know how bad it was. 
Day 4 stool is more loose
Day 5 stool is firmer
Day 6 stool is very loose

She finishes this round on Saturday and I am very optimistic this will help her. My friend said the discharge should go away starting Thursday and I am hopeful that the recovery from the antibiotics is fast, as I know this can "mess up" her system but she is resilient and strong.

Ultimately, I was disappointed in her official vet that we chose for her. I am a doer and I want action and if there is a problem I want something done about it. Were all resources utilized to help solve the problem? No. Did anyone do any actual tests on her? No. We were told to just wait. No how long am I supposed to wait? August, September, October... that seems like a long time for a dog to be sick. Long story short, I am going to take her to another vet, because I don't think the care was sufficient. I appreciate all the niceties and courteousness in person and over the phone, but if you don't act and don't find relevant solutions to my problem or answer my questions I am not pleased with the care. i still never heard from them and there was no follow-up.

I will keep you posted on her health as it progresses and thank you everyone for sharing your love with us and our family.

While this year overall has been a really challenging one, there are some bright spots that have appeared. I recall earlier this year I went to Boston and this was right at the onset of COVID in the U.S.. But at this time they said it was nothing major and just another cold. On my flight back passengers (including myself) were wearing face masks and it was the roughest most turbulent flight I have ever been on. Since then we've all be home with numerous stay at home orders and reduction of gathering efforts in effect. While some are suffering and households are out of work, I do consider myself to be very lucky as I am working everyday and my husband is considered essential too.

Something that you might be surprised to hear is... I've been dropping clients. Yes. I have been terminating contracts with paying clients. Let me tell you why. During these "challenging times" I have learned a lot and the people you are surrounded by, clients included, really make an impact on your life. At the onset, anyone in marketing will tell you we were working overtime. I was often up at 4am and working until past midnight every day. Much of what was happening was trying to figure out what was going on, who was open, services changing, menus adapting and everything else needs to be constantly changed, updated, the word spread and information shared. 

With an MA in communication this is what I do, I take information and share it. What I found was... if you don't tell me, then how will I know? Some clients stepped-up and others made my job even more stressful. So, as time went on I decided if you were not part of my life's mission, if you were not conducive to my quality of life and I struggled to communicate with you - then you were getting dropped. A magical thing happened as a result when this new approach to doing work revealed itself to me...I closed these doors and new ones opened. 

When you make a conscious decision to better your life and happiness... you open yourself up to more opportunities to do what it is you want to do and what makes you successful. With quality of life being my top priority (along with less stress and overall joy and happiness) eliminating the negative allowed for the positive to flow in. Some might say during a pandemic the last thing you wanna do is lose work and money, but was it really worth it, was I able to offer my 100%, were they giving me what I needed to do my job efficiently? If the answer is no, then find something else to say yes to.

Meanwhile, many inquiries for new very exciting work have come through and I've picked up some amazing projects to work on. I am thrilled by my decision to do what's best for me, my family, my business and my overall happiness. Don't forget it is ok to allow for opening yourself up to new, better and fresh beginnings. 

So you may have heard... October 15th marks the day transpacific travel to the islands of Hawaii opens back up, with pre-travel testing. What does that mean? Well in a nutshell if you can prove that you have tested negative for COVID within 72 hours of your departure flight to Hawaii you don't have to quarantine for 14 days after arrival.

Here are the exact details of the program:
The pre-travel testing for transpacific travel program includes:

• Beginning October 15, those who do not want to be subject to the state’s 14-day mandatory travelers quarantine must take an approved COVID-19 test within 72 hours prior to departure from the final leg of travel. (Children under the age of five will not be required to take a test.) 
• The test must be done through one of the 17 trusted testing partners (listed here).   
• Negative test results may be uploaded on the Safe Travels Digital Platform, and all travelers must also complete the state’s mandatory travel and health form on this digital platform. (Travelers are encouraged to do this step 24 hours prior to arrival in Hawai‘i. Airport screeners will review information upon arrival and conduct temperature screenings.) 

If a traveler’s COVID-19 test comes back negative, they will be exempt from quarantine. If the results haven’t come in yet, the traveler will be required to quarantine at their place of lodging until results come back. If the result comes back positive for COVID-19, the traveler and close contacts will be mandated to isolation for 14 days. Gov. Ige also announced that Kauaʻi and Maui will be participating in the pre-travel testing program for inter-island travel.  

Currently the neighbor islands have their own rules for this program:

• Kauaʻi County has established a voluntary testing program the third day after arrival. 
• Maui County has established a voluntary post-arrival test. 
• Hawaiʻi Island will require an antigen test for all arriving transpacific travelers who are participating in the pre-travel testing program.  
• The City and County of Honolulu is exploring its capacity for post-arrival testing. 

To be completely honest, I am excited and both concerned about this. Firstly, I am excited to have money coming into our economy, to have people go back to work and to have hotels, stores and restaurants reopen. But, I am concerned because even-though these precautions are being taken this will eventually lead to an increase in sickness being introduced to our island home. I know our economy is hurting and I know local families are struggling so it is a bit of a double-edged sword. But perhaps we need to move on and continue to live our life as best we can. I am still avoiding hugs and physically distancing myself from others, I wash and sanitize my hands after every touch in public and I am mindful of wearing my mask. The truth is we can't be on lockdown forever and just need to adapt and do our best to remain safe.