One Day at a Time

The ultrasound done on Wednesday showed that the Abby's lymph nodes were still large, the digestive system was still involved and it appeared that the spleen and liver might be infiltrated as well. So, the chemo has not been working. No more chemo... Abby came home from the hospital on Wednesday night via a holistic vet visit and the airport to pick up Mike. She was exhausted and so were we. Wednesday night was rough - some vomiting and she was pretty uncomfortable. We started our holistic therapies Wednesday night, but since she was throwing up, we don't know how much she got.

We know that it is most likely that we have hours and days left with Abby instead of weeks, months, and years - but we're all coming to terms with that. Abby included. We've realized that she has devoted herself to taking care of us and that may be why she's so sick. She just can't do it anymore, but she just keeps trying despite the fact that we keep requesting that she "just take care of herself". It's hard to change old habits. As exhausted as she was yesterday, she would still follow us around the house - up and down the stairs, from room to room, and even climbing on the bed. She is really enjoying being close to us much of the time and she is being quite snuggly much of the time. That's complete joy for us. We are affirming to her that she can "retire" from taking care of us - if that means staying a little longer or leaving - either way is fine. She is officially retired.

We have been carrying her around some, though she can definitely manage getting around pretty well. She is not in pain, though she is likely in some slight discomfort. Abby has been sleeping a lot and dreaming, including one dream in which she was barking A LOT - must have been a squirrel. She has started to drink water again and has not vomited since Thursday morning. She does not want to eat, so that is obviously not good. Our holistic treatments are the last go round. If she feels better, great. If not, we know where we are. We'll know in the next days, I'm pretty sure. Maybe sooner. So far, she's not given us "the sign". In fact, she met me in the dining room tonight when I came home and I almost got a tail wag - I definitely got perky ears and happy eyes.

We would like to ask that that everyone hold positive images of Abby as you've known her - especially those of you who have seen her running and playing at full tilt. Please check out the blog www.livinglikeabby.blogspot.com for pictures if you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Abby "in dog". We have decided to focus on these postive images in order to surround her with our love and laughter for as long as she is here.

That's Living Like Abby...