By Wednesday afternoon the wild winds of the National Forest were proving to be too much for us. We weren’t feeling the greatest being at an elevation above 7,000 feet. Our trailer windows had been shut for almost 24 hours to prevent anymore swirling dirt from coming into our living space and wrecking havoc on our sinuses (and every surface it touched). It was difficult to even go out for a short walk without eating a mouthful of Santa Fe dirt….

We have one rule in our trailer – to practice transparent communication with each other – and that we did – we were miserable and both Adam and I needed a change of scenery. So, we headed down the mountain to Trailer Ranch, an RV campground and 55+ Community in the smack middle of downtown Santa Fe!

About that time we noticed Sue Bee wasn’t feel the greatest either…

Prior to the whirling winds she was doing her normal dog stuff…sniffing a lot, walking a lot, wagging her tail a lot, getting annoyed with all of the photo shoots we were putting her through…

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But, by Thursday morning all of that had changed. After trying some chicken and rice to settle her belly, we found ourselves at a vet clinic outside Santa Fe. The doctor told us our girl wasn’t doing so well, and he could see a large mass in her abdomen. He advised us to travel to Albuquerque immediately and have a more qualified doctor take an ultrasound to figure out where exactly the mass was in her abdomen. A lot of tears happened in that parking lot as we tried to make sense of what we’d just been told. Our dog of 11.5 years had a ticking time bomb in her belly and the sense of powerlessness became overwhelming. We felt a lot of confusion and a lot of fear.

Not having to pull the trailer behind us, Adam was able to fly down the desert highways at 75 MPH (actual speed limit because we all know Adam doesn’t speed) to get us into Albuquerque before the referred emergency vet hospital closed. We waited for hours in that parking lot. And, we did all that we could do – we got into action. We prayed, we leaned on one another, and then we reached out to our friends and our family – we didn’t know all of the answers, but they were there for us when we asked for help. They sent us prayers and good juju and positive vibes. They checked-in when they didn’t hear back from us for a few hours and they sent funny stories to cheer us up. Home never felt so far away.

After a very long wait, they started diagnosing our pup. They verified that Sue Bee had “a mass the size of a softball” in her abdomen, likely attached to her spleen. But, more tests would need to be done to determine the right course of action.

We scheduled surgery for the next day, and took Sue Bee home with us that evening. The emergency doctor sent her home on a lot of medication to keep her comfortable. We were finally away from the whirling dust and dirt of the National Forest, but not far enough away from the possibility of our dog dying. We loved on our Sue Bee girl like it was the last time we would be with her on this side of life’s journey.

– Adam + Kristin