Vinnie and his Weird Ear: Adventures with the dog who saved my life
(published in 2023)
An excerpt from the book:
“911. What is your emergency?” a woman asked.
"I think I pinched a nerve in my neck... My head hurts, and it's probably nothing, but I can’t move my head… Could an EMT come over, maybe?"
This sounded ridiculous. I was calling 911 because of a headache? A pinched nerve? I felt silly. But as I was on the phone, Vinnie’s eyes were still fixed on me. He had stopped whining, stopped pawing at me. I wondered if he knew I was calling for help. He had seen me on the phone before; he probably knew it was a communication device, and he definitely knew the phrase, “Come over,” if not the entire conversation I’d just had.
I walked out to the living room to wait for the 2 paramedics, Vinnie right on my heels. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Vinnie didn’t even bark… It was as if he knew exactly what was going on. He wagged his tail and tried to kiss the 2 EMTs when they walked inside, and they gave him some pets and told him he was a “good boy.”
I told them what was going on.
“Can you turn your head?” they asked.
“No. And I’m seeing black spots in my vision, that started about an hour ago.”
The 2 EMTs looked at each other.
“Well, why don’t you come in with us, and the hospital can do more than we can here. Does that sound okay?”
I gave Vinnie a kiss and told him to go lie down on the bed. He gave me his goofy little smile, clearly relieved that I finally listened to him.
Once I got there, I explained my symptoms, they did some blood tests, and took me in to get an MRI. A wonderful physician, Dr. Maya Davis, came back to my ER bed a few minutes after the MRI.
“How are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m okay,” I said.
I was in so much pain, but hopefully would have some answers soon.
“We are going to keep you here for a few days…” she said slowly, in a calm and compassionate voice. “We found something in the MRI that concerns us.”
A few DAYS? In the hospital? This must be more than a migraine or a pinched nerve. What was going on? I couldn’t remember ever being in the hospital overnight, except for the night I was born probably. Which I didn’t remember anyway.