Worrying about my pup

[pkcrossley]

cancer treatment is up and down. they are clearly having success killing the disease in the liver, but they are killing a lot of other stuff too, can't be helped. part of cancer therapy is plugging the leaks as they occur, and getting the whole thing to hold together long enough to get to the other side. normally there is lots of improvisation --hold off chemo for a couple of days, transfuse, back to chemo, more meds to buffer the digestive track, a little of this, a little of that.

i'm sure it is dispiriting seeing currey having a bad day. but that happens with chemo. here's hoping he truly can tolerate it and get some results, and above all that he has a better day tomorrow.

[Tuesday]

Jodi,

Like so many here, I find myself checking in on the boards so much more than usual to hear about Curry. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said, but know that there are so many of us all over the world that are thinking of you, Andy, and Curry.

I wish we could all take a piece of the ups and downs, highs and lows, pain and suffering away from you and your family to make this journey easier for you.

[hheldorfer]

I so wish Currey could have had a better day but, as PK says, the ups and downs are part of the treatment. Here's hoping that tomorrow is an up day.

[jodi0553]

Thanks guys. I'm pretty down right now. My biggest worry is they don't think the chemo should be kicking in yet. So the diarrhea, blood cell counts and platelet counts most likely are symptoms of the disease progressing, not chemo side effects. The protein and liver enzyme counts are likely effects of plasma infusions, not chemo helping, too. The good news is that he's not losing it all instantly upon transfusing, but he's probably not producing on his own. The disease is moving faster than the chemo right now. We don't expect to see any therapeutic or side effects from the first rounds of chemo till Monday. We just have to stop the disease from taking him further down this path till the chemo gets a chance to turn it around. We're headed for another visit shortly. Hopefully he'll be feeling better.

[pkcrossley]

i understand your description, very clear. we are hoping for the best. praying he hangs on till the chemo kicks in.

[jodi0553]

Currey is responding great to his red blood cell transfusion. I have learned so much about veterinary medicine this past week. I had no idea that its darn near impossible to give whole blood to dogs, for example. Unfortunately, that means platelet counts won't be impacted by the transfusion, but Currey feels a heck of a lot better. He's really enjoying watching the world go by and several time while we were petting him tonight, he let us know that we were blocking his view of the room. Poor guy, he can't go out during the transfusion and they are going very slowly, so he's stuck in his crate for 8 hours. While we were there, he became agitated and I knew he wanted to go out. I was trying to grab someone so we could at least get him to the ground, but I was too slow and he had a crate accident. Poor guy just feels terrible when he messes his own bed .

The doc tonight is the one who admitted him last Saturday. She is so patient with us, answering questions and explaining stuff. She also clearly thinks Currey is awesome and Currey feels the same way back at her, watching her every move from his kennel. As some of you who know more about medicine may know, she explained tonight that there is T-cell and B-cell lymphoma and a special assay has to be done to tell them apart so that is probably still unknown, since it takes about a week for results. Because of the speed of progression of his sickness, they are operating under the assumption that Currey has the T-cell variety, which is the more aggressive of the two and has the lower response rate to chemo, however it still has a 50/50 chance of remission, even if it is metathesized, which appears to be the case. If, by some wonderful turn, it is B-cell, the remission chances jump to 80%. She also told us that he presented without any classic lymphoma signs like enlarged lymph nodes, so that also has made things harder to figure out. While this doesn't change anything from Mr. Pessimism's 50/50 chance statement, it gives some sense of peace just to know more about what we are facing. I'm feeling pretty positive after a good visit.

[Rohnda]

Hi Jodi, Andy and Currey- I am so glad that tonight left you feeling more positive. This experience is so awful. I imagine that all you want to do is wrap Currey in a blanket and take him home. You are all handling this well and thanks for keeping us all informed. As you can tell a lot of us here on the forum tune in daily for what we all want to hear... Good news about Currey!! I'm glad tonight was good news and he has a good doctor on duty. Hoping you sleep well and Currey does too.

[MegsMom]

Amen..... But I'm not stopping the prayers. Glad you're feeling a bit better now that Currey does too. Not sure about the "its darn near impossible to give whole blood to dogs" didn't hear that when I stood right there & watched the vet transfuse my girl, straight from his own Golden. Probably could have pulled it off one more time, but after that cross typing would have to be done--was my understanding from the hemo vet, that we met up with later that night. No matter. All good wishes to you all.

[MMPF]

Poor poochey

Best of luck with everything. If you have any biology related questions or anything in regards to Sepsis or bacteria let me know. I am doing a PhD in Microbiology and I focus on Sepsis so I can maybe help a bit.

[Meggie]

So happy you're in better spirits and Currey is feeling more energetic than the past few days!!

Hoping that chemo kicks in and kicks that cancer's

[hheldorfer]

Buffy sends licks and a snuggle to Currey. Keep fighting, little guy.

[Ivy & Lucy's Mom]

You continue to be in my prayers. Currey, keep up the good fight...Renee

[oscar's mom]

I can't imagine just how difficult the illness has been on you, your husband and Currey. I'm sure all the hugs, kisses and snuggles Currey is getting, make him feel loved and secure.

[BetsyNoodle]

Jodi and Andy, Just a quick note to let you know we are keeping Curry in our thoughts and prayers.

Hang in there, sweet Currey. Many, many hugs are being sent your way!

[gt_mustang_gal]

Wow, I haven't been online in a while and I have just gone through half a box of kleenex reading about Currey and what you (and hubby) are going through. I can completely relate and my heart is breaking for you. This thread has brought back memories of what I went through with my baby. Toot was a Westie and was my first "child". He was only 5 years old and completely healthy with perfect annual checkups when it seemed like someone just flipped a switch. He went from being a playful, energetic little guy who loved to eat.....to suddenly throwing up when he would try to eat. Then he stopped wanting to eat at all and was very lethargic.

After a few days, I took him to his local vet. It escalated fast over the next few days and we went from local vets to hospitals to emergency clinics in bigger towns hours away. I watched him go downhill and just could not understand how I didn't see any warning signs! He was diagnosed with Stage IV chronic kidney failure. His labwork was amazing (and not in a good way). Several of the people who worked his case said they were surprised he was even still alive. They had never seen such horrible labwork results. The final theory was that he had been suffering since he was a puppy (we rescued him from a puppy mill) and had just adjusted to living with the pain.

We had some of those "cold" doctors and also had one who absolutely fell in love with Toot. As a matter of fact, she cried with me when I asked for a timeline and the doctors finally gave me the diagnosis that he wouldn't last more than 6 months. She later told me she would probably get in trouble because they aren't supposed to get "attached to" or "emotional" about their patients. Anyway, I know what you're going through. You want to have your baby at home with you, but you also want him to be there where he can get the proper treatment. I remember the look Toot would give me when I would have to leave him at the hospital and drive several hours home without him. I remember trying to get him to eat....offering him anything at all....when just a week earlier he would have eaten 5 hamburgers if I had let him. (ha) Several treatments were tried, many changes in medications, and we went through experiments with kidney food. The hospital finally wanted to insert a feeding tube and that was where I drew the line. I just couldn't "force" that on him. I checked him out, consulted with some doctors on how to treat him at home, made sure I did everything in my ability to keep him comfortable, and even got trained on how to give his IVs on my own. For someone who is terrified of needles, I had to overcome that fear to learn how to administer the IVs. I basically set up my own hospice care - even taking off from work or working from home - to make the most of the time he had left. Looking back, I do not regret single minute of it. He had bad days, but he also had those happy days where I could see the spark in his eye and he would eat chicken, carrots, and anything else I offered. He still wanted to play and do his tricks. He still wanted to go "bye-bye". The IVs had to be given once or twice a day depending on how he was feeling. It would take quiet a while to get all the meds in him. After he would get the fluids in, he would feel really good. We would have "snuggle" time after the IVs.

From the moment I knew something was wrong when he quit eating, he lasted only 2 months. I know we all have opinions, but mine was that I just couldn't bring myself to put him down. As long as I saw that he was trying, so would I. The night before he passed, he didn't feel better after his IV. He could barely walk to bed. That was the worst I had ever seen him. I hugged and kissed him and told him that I did NOT want to lose him and would never give up taking care of him no matter how time consuming or expensive it was. But I also told him that if he couldn't fight anymore, I understood and would let him go, but it was going to be on HIS terms. I told him I loved him, was proud of what a good boy he had been, and we fell asleep. He passed in the night. I honestly know he was listening to what I said that night. Some people talked bad about me for going to all that trouble to "keep him alive" but others commended me for doing so. In the end, what matters is what YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND can live with. Do what YOU feel is right for Currey and you won't have any regrets. You will know what is right. My thoughts are with you as you go through this. ***hugs***

Sorry for the lengthy response!!!

[pkcrossley]

i think some of the people who make judgments about these situations have little understanding of what it means to see a dog fight for more life. they also may not understand that the bond between a dog and his family is mutual, not one way. as i've said before in the wild animals will choose to go through a great pain in order to not be eaten, that is how much they value life. that is apart from the fact that people often do not understand (because they have not experienced it) that dogs and cats can really express their wishes, and the people closest to them are the ones who understand. humane concerns as a principle are commendable. people should use them to improve conditions in shelters and slaughterhouses instead of passing judgment on things they don't understand.

[BetsyNoodle]

Well said, pk.

Sending our best wishes to Currey today. And, of course, many hugs!

[josie&holly]

Yes, thinking about Currey and parents today hoping that news is better?

[Idaho Cairns]

Still watching and waiting for the good news that Curry has turned the corner toward recovery. Let's us know as much as you can as soon as you can. Peace.

[jodi0553]

Hi All, Thanks for checking in on us. Well, we have mixed news, as usual. The good news is incredible, though. I am currently sitting on my couch next to Currey. AT HOME. The bad news is that the reason they sent him home is because the lead vet on his case is worried that being in the hospital this long was sapping his will to live. He's still not eating and very weak. He has barely had a spark the last couple days and I'm very afraid that he might have given up.

Back to the more mundane parts of his update....His skin has cleared up a bit and the diarrhea has lessened. However, his weakness and apathy are heartwrenching. She told me that she took him for a walk this morning and he was so happy to be outside and she just realized that if she could help it, he wasn't going to spend another minute in that wall kennel. This apathy from him has been going since yesterday morning - we had a simply terrible visit last night in which we honestly asked the weekend vet who we trust if it was time. She said that his latest blood test showed an uptick in albumen - one of the proteins that was severely low and that his platelet count had rebounded from 2000 to 18000 in one day ("safe" is 60000 so its still scary low, just not super scary low). She said if it weren't for those improvements, she might say it is time, but because of that she wanted us to help him hang on. So, we don't know if the chemo is working yet, but they weaned him off of the IV fluids and pain meds and all he has onboard right now is a shot of antinausea meds.

So, he's getting a ton of love and attention and is resting easy on his own couch. He apparently got some acupuncture this afternoon to stimulate appetite, etc (holy cow, right?!?) and my job tonight is to give him a ton of love. I am up for that challenge.

[pkcrossley]

i'm sure it was his dream to come home, and if anything can help that will --in so many ways. is he still getting chemo?

[Tuesday]

Physical touch is such a healer of so many things. I think it will be good for not only Curry to be home, but for you and Andy as well.

Do you have to go back to the vets every day?

[tlwtheq]

After he would get the fluids in, he would feel really good. We would have "snuggle" time after the IVs.

From the moment I knew something was wrong when he quit eating, he lasted only 2 months. I know we all have opinions, but mine was that I just couldn't bring myself to put him down. As long as I saw that he was trying, so would I. The night before he passed, he didn't feel better after his IV. He could barely walk to bed. That was the worst I had ever seen him. I hugged and kissed him and told him that I did NOT want to lose him and would never give up taking care of him no matter how time consuming or expensive it was. But I also told him that if he couldn't fight anymore, I understood and would let him go, but it was going to be on HIS terms. I told him I loved him, was proud of what a good boy he had been, and we fell asleep. He passed in the night. I honestly know he was listening to what I said that night. Some people talked bad about me for going to all that trouble to "keep him alive" but others commended me for doing so. In the end, what matters is what YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND can live with. Do what YOU feel is right for Currey and you won't have any regrets. You will know what is right. My thoughts are with you as you go through this. ***hugs***

Sorry for the lengthy response!!!

Amen.

[bradl]

So, he's getting a ton of love and attention and is resting easy on his own couch. He apparently got some acupuncture this afternoon to stimulate appetite, etc (holy cow, right?!?) and my job tonight is to give him a ton of love. I am up for that challenge.

So glad that you can give him loving home-time. May it be healing for you all! Give the little troublemaker a scritch for me.

[Sam I Am]

That old saying "Home is where the heart is" rings so true. I wish I was there beside you and Currey on your couch... I would hug the both of you. One for the wee dog that has the spirit of a Lion and one for you because I admire you so much for doing the best thing you can do for Currey.