The Drifter Files

23/06/2024

How it started vs how it’s going!

I cannot believe we are 10 years into this life journey already, Drifty!💛💛💛💛

I need to freeze time!!!

The Drifter Files

25/05/2024

Now, if only I could get Momma on a plane with me….🛫

BARK, Inc., the company behind BarkBox, has introduced BARK Air, the world’s first air travel experience designed specifically for dogs, allowing them to travel comfortably alongside their human companions.
MORE INFO: bit.ly/4e1KnCy?FBWSVN

12/05/2024

This is how it all began! Momma saw a photo of me on Facebook. She prayed, hoped and wished that I would be hers! After waiting several weeks, and sending messages to see how I was doing, she got the phone call that I was going to be her furkid!

10 years ago- and it feels like yesterday!💛

Ok here we go, give away time. Who wants a puppy? Alls you have to do to be entered is like the waterfowlers edge and the Workingman gundogs pages and share this post. In 8 weeks we will pick a name and in 9 week some one will have a yellow male out of Workingman gundogs. This pup is from Scooby & Flute. So like and share. — with George Coalson, Dave Reisenauer, Pat Vincenti, Michael De Biase, Tim Follis, Justin Loper, Jeff Foiles, Anthony Fata, Glenn Gieck, DuckWater Boats Dover Ohio and Dominique Martin.
Tags: WATERFOWLERS EDGE and Workingman Gundogs

09/05/2024

LUKEN X-RAY PUPDATE 05.09.2024 5:55PM:

GOOD NEWS!

Luken’s lungs actually show SLIGHT improvement from just 2 weeks ago!

Right now, doc believes he has inflammation that the prednisone was keeping at bay, and tapering at this time was too soon.

We will reevaluate the situation when his collapsed lung has healed.

Full pupdate this evening! WHEW. I CAN BREATHE AGAIN!🙏🏻💛

Photo of Luken in the vet office💛

24/04/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 04.24.2024 4:25PM: We got some GOOD news we desperately needed!

Luken’s lungs are continuing to improve! He’s got better air flow in both lungs, and his collapsed lung is healing, albeit it very slowly. Which we expected to be the case.

Doctor pointed to all of the points of interest where healing is shown. He also lost 3 whole pounds! WOOHOO!!!

He got his heartworm and tick screen- even though he still cannot be vaccinated while sick, we still have to make sure he doesn’t pick up anything while compromised. And we did a blood panel to make sure his organs are still tolerating the medications well.

The plan is to keep the current plan, and keep watching Luken heal!

STAY STRONG LUKEN!!🙏🏻💛

24/04/2024

Luken Pupdate 04.23.2024 8:30PM:

Luken is stable. He did not breathe well for a long time last night. I had to stay in the living room with him until almost 1am. But he finally was okay enough to come back to bed. 💛

He had a pretty good day today. It was cool in the afternoon, so I took him for a short walk with Granny and Grampa Dryja. He enjoyed it so much!💛

I have a ton of photos from today, but I cannot post them. I am in another wifi outage with no current ERT. 🤦🏻‍♀️. Apparently, the provider’s server is not doing its job, which is to assign IP addresses when our routers want to connect. So “the engineers are addressing the issue”, is what I was told.

Tomorrow is Luken’s progress x-ray and exam! We are praying that his x-rays will show remarkable progress from last month! 🙏🏻
We are also still praying very hard for our friend, and the boys’ Honorary Uncle. He needs every prayer or good vibe he can get right now too!🙏🏻
We also pray for good health, happiness and a peaceful night’s sleep, from our home to yours! Be safe and look out for one another!💛

I sure hope my cell signal is strong enough to push tonight’s post through!🤞🏻

18/04/2024

EARLY LUKEN PUPDATE 04.18.2024 5:28PM:

Luken is stable. Last night I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to take care of him because of my migraine. But every time I took off my eye mask to check on him, he was breathing PERFECTLY. Like- probably better than I was! He was peaceful all night.

I got up late to microwave my heat pack- so Pat let him outside just to be sure he would make it until morning. I have never been so grateful for a good night of his!💛 Prayers were DEFINITELY answered!🙏🏻

Today he is doing well. I “made hay while the sun shined” and my migraine was better. We didn’t play outside because my allergies are part of this mess. So it was an inside recess kind of day. Laying low isn’t necessarily bad for Luken. He can rest so his body can keep healing. He chewed on his sticks in the living room and went on adventures with Drifty in the back yard. He also got to see Granny and Grandpa Dryja for a little while today. 💛

It is always bittersweet to report a perfect breathing night for Luken. As history would dictate, his best nights are typically followed by a lesser night. However, I am praying that he is beginning to break that cycle. It is time for more perfect nights! He has fought so hard to get this far. HE DESERVES to be healed!

My migraine started back up so I wanted to pupdate before it gets out of control. Nighttime is always worse. I’m grateful I had a few good hours to clean the kitchen and fridge, do a quick mop and a load of laundry. I even cooked a proper dinner. Like I said, I made hay while the (proverbial) sun was shining!🌞

Tonight we pray for another peaceful night’s rest for all. We pray for our friends and family struggling, and that they find a way to make it through. We pray for good health for all, from our home to yours. 🙏🏻. We haven’t forgotten a single soul who has been a part of Luken’s healing journey. The messages of encouragement. The texts. The phone calls from old friends (you know who you are!). And the financial help that we will pay forward as soon as we get through this and Luken is officially healed! We love you all. We appreciate you all. And we wish we could hug every single one of you! Please, NEVER FORGET THAT! Because we will never forget YOU!💛

Have a great night friends!

Couple photos of the boys chilling out with me today:

19/03/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 03.18.2024 7:33PM:

Luken is stable. I didn’t update this weekend and I apologize. But he is ok. He’s basically the same as he has been. His soreness from his “slipping in the truck incident” seem to not be much of an issue anymore. He launched himself off the arm of the couch in his “parkour” manner, the way he did before he ever got sick. His breathing is still a rollercoaster. We may have to accept that he has semi-permanent/permanent lung damage that means he will forever breathe differently. Only time will tell. 💛

Countdown to progress x-rays

I’m anxious about his appointment but yet I also cannot wait for it. I pray that the good Lord and his medicines are continuing to heal our little Wiggle Butt so he can get off of some of these meds, get more active, lose all this extra “chonk” he has gained and get back to some sense of normalcy. I feel like I am still walking on wafer thin ice with Luken. Blasto is evil and can be as bad as
It wants, whenever it wants. So we have to keep praying for the little guy. 🙏🏻

Today he was happy and active. He was so goofy for awhile while chewing on his stick. I had to laugh as he rolled around on his back and sort of growled to himself as he kept losing the stick and had to find it again! It was refreshing after our very tense morning with Tucker Ginger Pop🧡

As for tonight, we pray Luken and Tucker will both stay strong and beat these illnesses and will kick them straight to the curb forever! We pray for a peaceful night’s rest for all, and that we all wake tomorrow rested and ready to take on the day! We also pray our family, friends and furkids stay happy, healthy and safe today and always!🙏🏻

Photos from the past couple days (I didn’t take many🫥)…

12/03/2024

QUICKIE LUKEN PUPDATE 03.11.2024 8:30PM:

Luken is stable. He is still not moving too quickly, but he seems a little better than yesterday. He’s eating and drinking and taking his meds. He is generally happy, and active. He likes that I let him bring his sticks inside, so he can chew on them when he is on place. Otherwise I only allowed them outside. But since we don’t want him getting too crazy to quick- this is a happy medium.

We had a busy day today, and I had an appointment and had to do some grocery shopping. Nothing exciting, but I really don’t mind these low-key days.

Tonight our prayers are for a peaceful night FOR ALL! From our home to yours, we pray for happiness, safety and good health!🙏🏻💛

Photo of Luken when he woke me up this morning. 💛

11/03/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 03.10.2024:

Luken is stable. He’s still very sore, but he’s eating and drinking and moving around. His breathing has been pretty good. I am wondering if it is because we went back to giving him his pain meds 3x a day, since he had the truck accident again. Maybe he wasn’t ready to go down to 2x a day and that is why is breathing was so bad again. He’s been sitting around 35 BPM when resting, for the past few days. Which is great, aside from the reason why we did it. This poor kid has had a rough 4 months!

Today was admittedly very low-key. My headache has been pretty bad-I’m lucky these boys don’t mind just cuddling with their momma some days!

We have a busy week with appointments, and St. Patty’s dinner this Sunday! Countdown to Luken’s next progress x-rays:

Tonight our prayers are for Luken’s lungs to be healing, despite this setback with his hips. We pray the blasto is diminishing, so that we can hopefully start getting clear x-rays and testing him so that he can start weening off his meds and get back to good health! We also pray that the poor guy starts losing some of this weight- it’s hard for him to get up, go up the steps, or onto the bed or couch, with all the prednisone weight gain💔. WE PRAY THAT BETTER, BRIGHTER, HEALTHIER DAYS ARE AHEAD!💛
We pray for a peaceful night’s rest for all. And that when we wake tomorrow we are all ready to take on the new day! We pray our family, friends and furkids are happy, healthy and safe, today and always!🙏🏻

Just a few photos from today:

10/03/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 03.09.2024 10:16PM:

Luken is stable. We had visitors this evening, but I wanted to let everyone who loves Luken know that he is ok. Still moving slow- but better than yesterday! His breathing has been decent. His butt wiggled a little freer today!

Goodnight friends- stay safe!🙏🏻💛

Regular pupdates resume tomorrow.

04/03/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 03.03.2024 7:43PM:

Luken is stable. He is eating and drinking and taking his meds. His breathing was good all day. 💛

He got a little huffy just a bit ago, but he changed positions and he seemed to have settled in a bit. Then he laid back on his side and his BPM increased a little. He is having trouble getting comfortable at this time. At this moment, I’m not overly concerned, we have been here before, so I will be keeping a close eye on him, monitoring for any changes. He is laying by his humidifier, so hopefully that helps him.🙏🏻

We are simply praying for a restful night’s sleep tonight, so we can all wake up ready to take on a new week! We pray our family, friends and furkids sleep well and stay happy, healthy and safe, today and always!🙏🏻
And don’t blow away! This house is creaking and popping like crazy!😳

Photos from today:

03/03/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 03.02.2024 9:06PM:

Luken is doing good! He had a good day and had lots of visitors! He’s eating and taking his meds and breathing well!

He spent some time in the sunshine chewing on his stick or exploring with Drifty. It was a beautiful day so we had to take some time to enjoy the sunshine!🌞

We just got into bed, and I am pretty sure we are all going to sleep good!

He got to see Gma Dryja, Auntie Melissa Ditzman, Uncle Shawn Ignarski and Auntie Karissa Ignarski today! He either let me know it was time for meds, or he played with his stuffies until he was wore out and laid down.

Tonight we pray Luken’s good days become the new normal again! And we pray for a peaceful, restful night from our home to yours!🙏🏻💛

Tonight is a quickie update and tomorrow normal pupdates will return!

01/03/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 02.29.2024 7:22PM:

Luken is stable. He is eating and taking meds like a champ.

I was gone for a good chunk of the day but this morning he was in a good mood and was breathing good.

Pat and I had appointments this afternoon so the boys stayed with Gma Dryja and just chilled out til we got home. I made a quick dinner and we are in bed.

I honestly didn’t take a single photo of the boys today. We cuddled this morning and just lived in the moment.

I just wanted everyone who loves Luken to know he is ok. 💛

Tonight our prayers are for Luken to keep healing and for him to continue having these good days! We pray for a peaceful night from our home to yours!🙏🏻

A good photo from the warm day Tuesday. We cannot wait for more warm days to come!🌞

27/02/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 02.26.2024 8:45PM:

Luken is stable. All systems were "GO" today! And we reached a goal in healing last night- he stayed the entire night with Drifty, Tucker and I in the bedroom! It's the first time in months!

I was gone most of today with mom, but Pat said he had a good afternoon.

I'm tired and headachy, so this update is short.

But everyone deserves to know Luken is ok💛

Our prayers are for Luken to continue healing and for a peaceful night's rest for our home and yours!

The only photo from today is right before they both woke up this morning. I hope he can stay with us all night tonight too! Pat is on standby, just in case.🙏🏻

12/02/2024

I know everyone is enjoying the Superbowl. Luken is doing okay. Regular pupdate tomorrow! I hope "your team" wins!🏈

11/02/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 02.10.2024 8:16PM:

Luken is stable. Eating his food and taking his meds. His breathing is still completely erratic. Sometimes fast and huffy, sometimes what we consider "normal". It can change very quickly. Keeping Luken as calm as possible is still "the name of the game".🙏🏻

It was a busy day today, as I made my Grandmother's cinnamon rolls. Round trip it is 8-9 hours. It's worth every minute.

However, this meant Luken and Drifty had a boring day. They held down the couch most of the day, or took naps or adventures out in the backyard together.

The "Old Luken" shines through once in awhile. He will get the zoomies, or try to play with Drifter, or like today- he ran back to the house the fastest I have seen him run in a very long time! But the drawback is when he stops, and it is difficult for him to breathe, or he sounds like Darth Vader, or he sounds "phlegmy", for lack of a better word. But you can just tell that once in awhile that little dog NEEDS to get that pent up energy out!💛

He did get to see a lot of people today- Neela Cherry and Uncle Scott, Granny & Grandpa Dryja and Uncle Shawn Ignarski and Uncle Robert Straub. So that made his day much brighter!💛

Luken is currently sleeping in bed next to me, he is "huffy" tonight. One thing I do notice is that he doesn't do the abdominal breathing anymore- his chest rises and falls with every breath the way it should be. He does clear his passages often- it just sounds like he is huffing through his nose. And now he's breathing quite fast. He may be getting too hot in here😔

BRIGHTER DAYS ARE AHEAD! Our little guy just has to hang in there!✨

The countdown to his next progress x-rays is on:

Tonight our prayers are for Luken's lungs to continue healing so that he can back to a "somewhat" normal pace in life. And for everyone to have a peaceful night with restful, healing sleep. We also pray for everyone we know and love, family, friends and furkids, to be happy and healthy, and to have a peaceful night, today and always💛🙏🏻

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Luken's care thus far. He has a tremendous amount of bills left, so any donation will make a big impact! I also have an Amazon wishlist to help him with his recovery, if someone would wish to send him something. His fundraiser links are below:

---------------------------------------------------------

GoFundMe link for Luken:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/Luken-needs-your-help-and-prayers?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Also, I know some people don't like that GFM takes a cut of the money, I do have a paypal and venmo set up for direct donations to us.

Paypal: paypal.me/PatrickIgnarski
Venmo:

Let me know if anyone needs help!
Every little bit will add up and help ensure we can keep getting Luken the care he needs!

I also made an Amazon wishlist for some things that will help Luken medically, and some to just make his days a little brighter while he recovers. Since it is winter, we are not spending a lot of time outdoors, and I know he is bored. He is also not supposed to run, (or pant), so some "brain games" are included.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/8ymp1G3?ref_=wl_share

Photos from today:

10/02/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 02.09.2024 8:44PM:

Qu**ky update: Luken is stable. He eats and takes his meds. And he is active and generally happy.

His breathing is still up and down, up and down---I know the blasto is still there. You can just hear it when he breathes sometimes. 😔

But he has not slowed down, and more and more of his original personality comes through as the days pass.

Countdown to next progress x-rays:

We are all good. Just laying low.

I didn't get much sleep at all, it was a gloomy day, so we were very, very chill today💛

Our prayers tonight are for Luken to continue healing. And for our family, friends and furkids to remain happy and healthy, today and always!🙏🏻

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Luken's journey thus far! We love you all with our whole hearts!💛

09/02/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 02.08.2024 8:21PM:

Luken is stable. He ate well and took his meds. His breathing rate keeps going up and down, depending on where he is.💛

In the bedroom- he cannot get comfortable for very long. He gets restless and then starts panting, so I have to move him to the living room with Papa. We keep trying to get him to stay the whole night in here again, but he is not ready yet. He may get too warm on the bed, or the air is too warm (our thermostat hasn't gone above 65 since he got sick). The living room is a much bigger room with vaulted ceilings so I think he is just more comfortable with the cooler air moving around.

Our wifi is out tonight. It happened with the tornadic storm down by Madison moved through- so I am guessing it is related. There is no estimated time of restoration, yet. So, I cannot upload any photos or videos tonight. I will be lucky to get this update through at all.

Today was busy- I was gone for a good chunk of the day, but prior to leaving, I cuddled with both boys, just soaking in their love. Tucker's too🧡

Tonight our prayers are for Luken's lungs to continue healing. We are so grateful his lungs have healed as much as they have already! We pray that he gets a good night of healing sleep, so his breathing will be better tomorrow. We pray that all of our friends and family and furkids have restful, healing sleep, and that we all will be safe, happy and healthy. Today and always.🙏🏻

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Luken's care thus far. He has a tremendous amount of bills left, so any donation will make a big impact! I also have an Amazon wishlist to help him with his recovery, if someone would wish to send him something. His fundraiser links are below:

---------------------------------------------------------

GoFundMe link for Luken:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/Luken-needs-your-help-and-prayers?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Also, I know some people don't like that GFM takes a cut of the money, I do have a paypal and venmo set up for direct donations to us.

Paypal: paypal.me/PatrickIgnarski
Venmo:

Let me know if anyone needs help!
Every little bit will add up and help ensure we can keep getting Luken the care he needs!

I also made an Amazon wishlist for some things that will help Luken medically, and some to just make his days a little brighter while he recovers. Since it is winter, we are not spending a lot of time outdoors, and I know he is bored. He is also not supposed to run, (or pant), so some "brain games" are included.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/8ymp1G3?ref_=wl_share

08/02/2024

I have thought a lot about this lately!

Like when Luken had his last ICU visit, and the doctor (God bless her soul!) changed Luken's meds, I truly believe he had that particular setback so that THIS DOCTOR would see him and save his life by changing his meds.

At the time, I constantly asked God, "Why???!!". So He could get Luken to the right doctor. It all makes sense now.

06/02/2024

SO HAPPY I HAVE TWO MUDDY PAW MAKERS IN THIS HOUSE!🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Nothing a mop can't fix!💛💛

04/02/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 02.03.2024 7:34PM:

Luken is stable. His breathing has been pretty good. He slept great all night! He stayed in bed with me til midnight- and then we all moved to the living room. And then he slept so good on his place training cot the rest of the night!💛

I had a very busy day, cleaning floors (IYKYK🐾🐾) and I made Fakesgiving dinner. Turkey breast and all the trimmings. Luken went on little adventures outside with Drifty a lot.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take him for a walk today, but he got to see Gram and Grampa Dryja and Uncle Robert Straub for dinner.

I DID give him one small piece of turkey at dinner. But he is on a diet- because he is gaining too much weight with all of his down time! He's been handling the changes well, (literally just cutting down treats A LOT! And whenever he begs- I kick him outside for fresh air and to release some energy).

He's currently laying in bed with me, near his humidifier. He's still wound up from having company, so he's breathing a little fast, but I have faith it will come down as he settles in.

Our prayers tonight are for Luken to continue forward on his healing journey. To only have small bumps in the road, if he must, and no more major set backs. We are sooooo ready to get this little cutie back to full health! We also pray for all of our family, friends and furkids to be happy, healthy and safe, today and always. 💛🙏🏻

I'm beat. I didn't sleep well last night- but it is ok because LUKEN DID💛

Thank you everyone for loving Luken and supporting him and our family during this time. We wish you all a peaceful night and sweet dreams!🙏🏻

01/02/2024

Luken would like to thank Miss Corrina Floyd for his delivery today! He is VERY excited and he ate the first ice cream cone pill pocket SO FAST, I could not even get a photo! 😆

He's got 2 mats, which is perfect, the Blueberry benebars he loves and the ice cream cone pill pockets.

You're an amazing person Corrina! Thank you for your continued support and love for Luken!💛🙏🏻

Thank you for helping to chip away at Luken's Amazon wish list!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/ius7CMp?ref_=wl_share

31/01/2024

Luken would like to give a big **PAWS UP** to whomever bought him the Buddy Budder from his Amazon wishlist for a lick mat! (We don't have a mat YET.) This will provide enrichment for Luken while he is on low-no exercise while his collapsed lung heals!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO WHOMEVER SENT LUKEN THIS GIFT! As you can see- he is very interested in it already!💛🙏🏻

Luken's Amazon wishlist link: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/dl/invite/0UZ3qqH?ref_=wl_share

31/01/2024

LUKEN PUPDATE 01.30.2024 7:48PM:

Luken is stable. His resting BPM was a little better this morning, but currently it is pretty fast. He panted a lot today, but he was active and followed me wherever I went and was generally happy. He ate good and took his meds. Those are always a win in my book!

I kinda sucked today as far as capturing a photo. I didn't take one. I was either resting or doing something and just didn't grab my phone. I assure you Luken is doing ok. I am eager for the days I will be able to report Luken is doing "GREAT". Those days are just around the corner- GOD-WILLING!🙏🏻

Luken spent the day assisting me while doing laundry or cooking dinner, napping, or taking little adventures outside with Drifter.

We are all going to be happy when the sun makes another appearance. The dreary days seem so much longer.

Ah. I do have one sub-par photo of the boys. They were EXTREMELY interested in watching me eat toast this morning. My biggest fans (whenever food is involved).

Our prayers tonight are for Luken's lungs to continue healing. And for his breathing rate to simmmmer down! We pray our family, friends and furkids are happy and healthy, today and always.

Goodnight friends. 💛🙏🏻