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Our Furry Friends: Sometimes the Best Support For IPF
This is a picture of my Abby-girl…. my very own smile generator. She is so silly!
How many of you on these forums live with furry friends?I got my dog, a beautiful Golden Retriever named Abby only four months before I was diagnosed with a life-threatening lung disease at 28 years old. I was symptomatic for months before my diagnosis, but all my doctors chalked it up to allergies, asthma, or from working full-time with children and families and constantly being exposed to viruses. Little did I know I was actually living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and my lungs were becoming progressively worse from scar tissue forming within them preventing my ability to breathe. IPF wasn’t ever supposed to happen to me, as I was healthy my entire life and used my lungs actively by participating in a number of different sports teams or physical activity. Technically, Abby wasn’t supposed to happen either but I am convinced that she was meant to be my companion throughout this journey.
I had always wanted a Golden Retriever, and I went with my friend who is a vet to a breeders place where Abby was. I’d never had a dog growing up, so I didn’t know the first thing about raising one and …. Abby came home with me that night. We’ve never been separated since!
Abby is the most loving, loyal, hilarious, sweet and gentle dog I’ve ever met (of course, I am biased though). She is so gentle and well-behaved that she has even been welcomed at doctors/medical appointments with me. While she is not formally an “emotional support” animal, I sure feel better when she is around. She sleeps in bed with me, and is an excellent passenger in the car for road trips.
After my IPF diagnosis in April 2016, I worried that having Abby would become too much for me physically. She would need to be walked and played with, and my fear was that I’d lose my physical ability to do that. There have been some days where it’s been tough, but the benefits of having Abby since my diagnosis far outweigh the cons. She has truly become my companion, and keeps pushing me to do more physically because she needs to be walked, loved and played with. Last week, I think she also saved my life!
I was fighting a flu virus/bug last week and was running a fever. After waking up shivering, I decided to draw a bath to try and warm up. Once in the tub I crept down up to my neck in the water to try and shake the chills from my body. No one was home at the time, so likely this wasn’t the best idea but I didn’t know what else to do to warm up. Shortly after getting in the bath, I fell asleep and I’ve never, ever done that before, knowing the risks/how dangerous it is especially if you’re home alone. Abby sleeps outside of the shower/tub whenever I am in the bathroom and she must have sensed this wasn’t safe because she stuck her nose in the bath and woke me up within minutes of falling asleep. I truly don’t know what I’d ever do without this dog in my life!
Back in December 2017, I wrote a full column on how my dog is the best therapy for me since my IPF. If you’re interested, you can read it here.
How have your pets been therapeutic or helpful to you since your diagnosis of IPF/PF?
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