Welcome to the EPI journaling page.  I’ll describe how I learned to help my dog following the devastating EPI diagnosis. I hope that what I learned helps others skip steps and get on track with their dog’s treatment plan feeling empowered.  We all begin this journey unprepared and with little direction to help us find agency and move forward. 

I love sharing what helped me become my dog’s advocate and what helped me feel more confident about Gwenna’s EPI.   I wish I had known these four touchstones on day one of being in the EPI world.

• Everything is individual.  No dog has the exact same treatment protocol.  All EPI parents learn and tweak as we go forward. 

• Establishing a baseline and working to maintain and improve your dog’s baseline is key to remaining on a recovery trajectory 

• Keep a log and take notes as you go.  Sometimes things change for the better and sometimes things slide.  When you are tracking changes you have more control. 

• You are always learning!  You learn in online support groups and from friendships you develop as you spend more time discussing your EPI journey.  Fun fact: it’s more fun to talk about the more you know.