Longport time

Dave loves visiting his grammom! He finds her couch and windows far superior to the ones at home. I think he enjoys the salt air and different smells, too. I got a little burnt today, so we're having quiet time now.

His energy level has surprised me the past few days - he's not quite back to himself. I'm hoping that after we put a little weight back on him and a little more non-chemo time, we'll see a change. He's not lethargic, but seems to have fewer bursts of energy. He'll be nine in August, so maybe he's just turning into an old man.

I made his vaccination appointment for Monday, July 7th, at 12. There's some initial testing they need do to first (just bloodwork, I think?) and then he'll get the vaccine. I'm thinking of taking the day off, since it coincides so well with the 4th of July falling on a Friday.

celebration time

I know we might be getting ahead of ourselves, but we had to celebrate the good news, regardless of what may come in the future. We decided to have the ice cream on the patio, which turned out to be an excellent idea, as we were left with a sticky dog.

REMISSION!!!!

It's official! Dave's bone marrow was clean, and he is in remission.

He seems quite pleased with himself. I think he's getting ice cream tonight to celebrate...

waiting

We have to wait until tomorrow, but we're waiting with the hope that it will be good news. Dave was there for eight hours, and they reported that he was a very good boy. His eye is looking good, and he will continue to see the opthalmologist, but doesn't need to go back for two months.

His ultrasound, blood work and xray were fine - no cancer! His lymph nodes are so small, they were unable to aspirate any of them. We're waiting on the results of his bone marrow aspiration. The head of oncology saw Dave today, and said that it would be very unusual for such good results elsewhere to have bad results of the bone marrow. Regardless, I'll be holding my breath until I speak with her tomorrow.

Assuming that the bone marrow is clear, Dave will be in complete remission and he'll officially begin the trial by getting his first vaccine on July 7th. He'll get it again on the 28th and August 18th. He'll be seen for a physical exam monthly and get a full restaging every three months. If he does well for a bit of time, they'll extend his exam time to every two months. A little sign of hope came this morning in the form of another dog in the waiting room. The nurse told Mike that he was there for his two year "anniversary" check up. I can only hope...

BIG day tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big appointment - restaging! Dave's scheduled for a 9:30 appointment, where he'll get bloodwork, a chest xray, abdominal ultrasound and a bone marrow aspirate. As long as he's in complete remission, he'll get his vaccine within two weeks, and then again at three week intervals. The paperwork we received initially says that they'll then see him monthly for a physical exam.

Wish us luck!

new toy

The remainder of Dave's week was pretty good. There were a couple of mishaps in bed, with him throwing up last night, but he seemed to feel fine. He's been off of the chicken and rice for a few days, and is back to his 'mixed bag' of food. He seems happy, as he really likes pumpkin, and with Jersey fresh blueberries making their first appearance at our local farmer's market, he's found a new yummy treat. We saw the holistic vet for his yearly checkup, and she was quite pleased with him - both traditionally and holistically, she thought he looked good.

Dave got a new toy today when we went to get his food! I've seen the Planet Dog toys in our pet store, but they were a little pricey for a simple toy that hasn't been tested with Dave's powerful mouth. He destroys almost every toy he's ever had. Planet Dog is a company that makes green dog toys - non-toxic and recyclable. Dave loves his artichoke! While it doesn't squeak, he's been playing with it most of the day and hasn't been able to rip it apart!

soaking up the rays

According to the holistic vet, Dave is a heat-seaking dog. Rarely is this more evident than when he is doing one of his favorite things - sleeping outside.

(objects in this picture appear thinner than in real life. really, mom, he's not this skinny - it's the angle)

walkin'

Here are some pictures from our walk on Sunday. I'm trying to capture Dave at his best.

still a bit out of it

I don't know if it's the chemo or all of the meds or a combination of both, but Dave has remained tired this week. Lots of rest and lots of snoring. We did get him outside for a few walks, which perks him up at the time, but takes a lot out of him after. He enjoyed the nice weather outside yesterday, while we did some weeding and planting.

We tried giving him regular food, hoping that the meds would be enough to fight the GI issues, but he hit the trifecta Friday - #1 in the house, diarrhea and vomit outside, all within about ten minutes. I called for a refill of one of the nausea medications, Zofran, and the vet called it into our local pharmacy. I went to get it, and it was $500!! There were 20 pills, but still. At Penn, for whatever reason, it was $9.50 for 5 pills. I like the $1.90 a pill price much better than the $25/pill. Needless to say, I didn't get it at our pharmacy, and we're picking it up from Penn little later today.

Dave is scheduled for his yearly check up Thursday night, and he'll get bloodwork to ensure his white cell count is good. If it's not, he'll have to continue the Baytril a little longer. Obviously, we're hoping that it's within normal limits, and that he'll be feeling better shortly.

tired pup

Dave had a good day today! Lots of running around with his toys, a bath and then rolling in something smelly immediately after - what could be any better??

This shot is of him after chemo yesterday. We've been getting our cold weather clothes ready to put in the attic, and they were all folded neatly on our guest bed. Dave took issue with that, and fluffed them all to his liking for a nice comfortable bed on a bed.

the end

Perhaps that's a misleading title. This won't be my last blog post, but Dave had his last treatment today, which leaves me fairly emotional. He had a really good two weeks, with no GI issues and just a little bit of lethargy. Mike was off last week, so it could have been a side effect to having him around instead of away at work.

The news from the visit is that Dave lost more weight, and he's down to 27 pounds. The doctor wasn't overly concerned, telling me that he's just worrying about bathing suit season. He said that the heat and the chemo are probably to blame, and said that Dave's weight should start to go up now that he's done. His physical exam was otherwise normal.

Dave was discharged with the same instructions as last time; due to the length, I won't repeat it here. Next week, we'll take him for bloodwork - the nice part is that it coincides with his yearly check up. On the 24th, we'll bring him in for restaging. It's a lengthy appointment, but I'll most likely take the day off so I can hear all of the information for myself. Assuming he's in clinical remission, and there's no signs of cancer anywhere, he'll be able to get his vaccine. They're not sure exactly when that will be. The explanation we received today was that they notify the researcher now that he's completed chemo. They'll finish up the vaccine to get it ready for him. Most likely, the first vaccine will be a week or two after staging. We had more good news, too: they are definitely going to cover the cost of the restaging. When Dave was picked up today, he tried to get to another dog, but didn't go out with a bang, thank goodness. The nurse remarked that he's so energetic when he's in his run or they're walking him, but he slept through almost every treatment. She said they almost took a picture to show people how unaffected the dogs are by chemo.

I'm really happy that the four and a half months are behind us, but now I feel like it's a waiting game. They gave us information about a program the social worker there is running, and we probably will attend. I have so many emotions regarding this, from the happiness, to the worry, to guilt that I'm feeling this way about a dog. Upon reflection, this time has been exactly what I wanted - many more good days than bad ones, and very little change in Dave being Dave. I hope we're able to have a lot more good days in the months (years?) ahead...

400 visitors!

Thanks again to everyone who is reading!

Dave had an okay past few days. He was very medicated, so we didn't see any of the GI issues, but there was a little increased lethargy. Today, though, he's pretty good, running, playing and jumping around. Other than that, there's not much more to report! I'll be making his last chemo appointment tomorrow...