almost the end of the month

I can't believe January is almost over. Dave's lymph nodes change from time to time, but not necessarily for the worst. Yesterday, the right one under his jaw (aka submandibular) was barely perceptible. Friday marks the year anniversary of the blog as well as Dave's first chemo treatment. I wouldn't trade the emotional or financial investment of the last year, it was absolutely worth it.

celebration

We had a get-together on Sunday to celebrate Mike's birthday and the Eagles' NFC title game. It was our first time having a lot of people around since Dave's gotten sick. It's strange to think about, but we've had a few friends over here and there, but for a year, nothing big. I've been aware that we haven't really been making plans too far in advance and have acknowledged that I don't want to spend too much time away from him, but writing that just now... Huh.

The Eagles lost (we're used to it), but Dave was the big winner. He was in rare form, with a few naughty moments, but I think he had a good time. He spent most of Monday resting, but is back to form today. Happily, Mike's birthday was much better than last year's - he still has a cancer dog, but the cancer dog has beaten the odds and is still plugging along.

one year, another milestone

Dave has officially beat the statistics. He's been alive a year since we discovered his enlarged lymph nodes and took him to the vet. Considering that dogs that come out of remission don't get good prognoses, and that treating with Prednisone usually only lasts for a couple of months, we have gotten lucky to have had him with us for this long. Is it the trial vaccine kicking in, allowing him to live normally with enlarged lymph nodes? Probably, but as silly as it may sound, I think Dave is a bit of a fighter.

SNOW

We had our third (minor) snowfall of the season today. Early this week, we were supposed to get 3 inches, then it was lessened to 1-3, then a trace to an inch. It snowed for about an hour and a half, which was enough time for us to take Dave on a walk and then come home and look out the window to comment on how nice it looked. I forgot my camera to capture Dave's first walk in the snow for 2009, so I made him go out to the patio to pose. He apparently had had enough, so Mike tried to get him to look at the camera and sit still. This shot, however, was not posed and turned out to be my favorite picture.

Go Eagles!

I think Dave is excited about watching the Eagles make another run at the playoffs. Since adopting him in 2001, they've made the playoffs six times! He loves putting on his little Brian Dawkins jersey and sitting on the couch to watch the games. Really.

thanks!

It's almost been a year since I started the blog, and over people have visited over 900 times! Thanks to everyone for checking in on us. I came home today to find another one of Dave's Christmas toys destroyed, and a happy, playful dog.

more milestones

So, what are the biggies coming up? Hitting 2009 was the first. The next two come in quick succession - January 16th and January 19th. January 16th marks year since taking Dave to the vet, suspecting/knowing that he had something bad going on with his lymph nodes. January 19th is Mike's 31st birthday, also a year and a day after getting the cancer dx confirmed. It's only 16 days away. Dave is still great, and the lymph nodes, while they change a bit through the day/week, are generally soft and sometimes difficult to find.

If (when, hopefully) Dave makes it to January 19th, it's a bigger milestone than just reaching Mike's birthday. One year since diagnosis means that he exceeded the "average" prognosis for LSA. He already beat the odds he was given at Penn Vet in September, and is going over three months strong. Read any canine LSA factsheet, FAQ, etc., and it says that most dogs live a year from diagnosis. Anything after the 19th would be just fabulous and exceeding all expectations.

(edited for clarity since the blog shouldn't be updated late and after a couple glasses of wine)