Setforward

Some people have very kindly e-mailed and sent us good strong wishes during our "setback". So I started thinking about that... It doesn't feel like we've had a setback because Abby is feeling SO much better. Maybe it's a "setforward", instead...

Setforward
Definition: An occurence that could be viewed as a delay in achieving a goal or as a reversal of progress, which when viewed otherwise actually contributes to forward movement in the desired direction.

Go ahead, look it up...

A Kick in the Teeth...and a Side of Gratitude

On Wednesday, Abby went to the vet because she was still not eating, vomiting what she did eat and not seeming better on the antibiotics.

The good news is that we now know why Abby hasn't been eating. The bad news is that it's because she has a second, different type of lymphoma. The good news is that this is the "garden variety" lymphoma that has very high remission rates. The bad news is that the chemotherapy protocol is 25 weeks of chemotherapy. The good news is that Abby had her first dose of the new chemotherapy on Wednesday and was starting to feel better by that evening. More good news is that she is acting pretty much like her old self since yesterday. She wants to eat, wants to be more active, is stealing cat food again, just generally living more Abby-like.

So, that's where we are. It does not seem that the Aloha Medicinals supplements have been helping - since she developed this lymphoma while on them, so it is likely that we will discontinue them. A nationally known holistic vet whose office I spoke with today recommends using immune boosting supplements following chemotherapy since a strong immune system during chemotherapy can reduce its effectiveness (i.e., the body protects all the cells from the chemotherapy - even the "bad" cells). Sounds reasonable, but so do lots of things... Anyway, his office says that he recommends chemotherapy for canine lymphoma and there might be other things to try after the chemo or if we decide to discontinue the chemo, but at this point, he would have us take the path that we are on. That was good to hear.

I'm grateful to know why Abby wasn't eating since it was ripping us up. I'm grateful that we have a path that we can follow for some distance at least. I'm grateful that Abby is already feeling MUCH better. And I'm grateful that I know Abby will tell us what to do next. I'm really grateful to know Abby.

Frustration

Abby just threw up what she ate today - which wasn't much, but at least it was something. That means she didn't get her supplements or (probably) her antibiotic. It also means that we will probably be going back to the vet tomorrow. It's looking like we need to x-ray and/or ultrasound to see exactly what's going on inside. In the meantime, I feel terrible for her. She seems very tired. Okay, but tired. She did play with me some today and was relatively perky - trotting outside and following me up and down stairs, but she's definitely not right.

I just want to help her. Help her to be comfortable and happy for as long as she chooses to be with us - and it will be her choice. It might be a day or it might be ten years. Living like Abby isn't much fun today. We'll see how tomorrow is...

No Sleep

Thursday and Friday nights were not fun. Abby awakened us three times on Thursday night and four times on Friday night. We would take her out and she would "do some business", but not hurriedly and not as if her stomach was upset. On Saturday morning, I had to decide if she should see the vet or if it "could wait" until Monday. I also had to be at a workshop from 9am to 6pm and it was already 8:15am. I had called her oncologist on Friday and told him the story (got into trash, still not eating well, temperature was normalish at 101.6, etc.) and his advice was to have our regular vet see her to determine if she had an intestinal blockage - which could be quite serious and might require surgery. I decided to take her temperature. It was 101.7 - still normalish, but she whimpered as I was taking her temperature and that sealed the deal - she needed to go to the vet. So Mike canceled his morning meeting and took her to the vet by himself - for the first time. We were both nervous, to say the least.

Long story short, the vet took blood and some urine and during the exam decided that he did not think that she had an intestinal blockage - he was thinking pancreatitis or a kidney infection. He settled on a kidney infection due to high white blood cell count and no vomiting (which might have inclined him toward pancreatitis). After an injection of antibiotic and a prescription, they returned home. More importantly, last night, Abby slept through the night - YEAH!! She's still not eating all that well, but one thing at a time. Dr. Clemens did say that a kidney infection could affect her appetite, but I think that we'll make a follow-up appointment to talk about the appetite thing in a week or so.

Okay. Time to walk the dogs one more time tonight and then sleep...