Martini Cartwheels

Some wonderful friends, H and B, recently returned from vacation in South Africa. What's great about having buddies that travel to exotic places, is that they bring you back all kinds of cool gifts. Even better, H and B really know my tastes. So when we hung out with them last weekend, you can imagine my excitement when they told me they had brought back presents. Here is what I got: They obviously know how much I like to spend time in bush country. Everyone should have the opportunity to explore the bush, whether it be while on safari or right in your own backyard. Thank you H and B. I will wear it, and the matching hat, with pride.

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” Helen Keller Coco Chanel Chase September 13, 1995 - November 26, 2010 Cierra Belle Jameson Salli August 9, 2001 - March 24, 2011

Rest in peace my sweet girl, rest in peace.

At the vet for the 5th time since last Friday. New meds have given Cierra ann upset stomach and loss of appetite. Even the buffet below didn't tempt her to eat. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad Location: Waite Corner Rd,North Brookfield,United States

The St. Patrick's Day Parade is today. One of the Holy Trinity of Drinking Days in western Mass. And I didn't go. Waaaaa! With missed work due to vet appointments, not visiting my mother in the nursing home in weeks (the unit had been under a quarantine), and just general craziness, I opted to stay home while my buddies are out at the pub, drinking Guinness for breakfast and watching the parade march by. I'll be working from home, visiting my mother, and picking up dog poop. Hope your Sunday is a bit more exciting than mine.

Cierra had shown no interest in food for the last 24 hours so I brought her back to the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital in Deerfield, Mass. today. She was admitted to the ICU. Blood work revealed a very low hematocrit, necessitating Cierra have a transfusion. An ultrasound of her belly showed all was well with her intestines - no internal bleeding or issues from her surgery two weeks ago. The question now is why did the count drop so dramatically over just a few days. Cierra will stay in the hospital over night. Blood tests tomorrow will hopefully show her bone marrow is working and is producing new red blood cells. Day by day.

Cierra The Wonder Dog had her first round of chemo today which consisted of a drug called vincristine given by intravenous injection in the right rear leg. She tolerated the procedure very well and only yiked once to show her displeasure of being placed back in her carrier. As of right now, she seems to be feeling pretty good. We went home with some additional meds - prednisone, anti-nausea injections and anti-nausea pills. Fluid therapy, given by injection under the skin, has been increased from every other day to every day. As a side note, Cierra's bum fire power has been classified as weapon of mass destruction as it has almost completely taken out my bathroom in just a week's time. I'm thinking of renting her out to the US Government in order to help pay for the cost of her treatments. I picked up some very stylish doggie diapers to function as a pooplet proof vest of sorts, to be worn by the shooter (Cierra) instead of the bystander. I'm hoping she changes over t...

The view from above the baby gate We got a definitive diagnosis today for our Yorkie Cierra. She has gastrointestinal lymphoma. She is recovering from her surgery although she has been having lots of diarrhea (sorry for TMI). She has been contained to my bathroom. For two days now I have been washing the floor, the walls, Cierra's bum, and my clothes several times a day. It is difficult to keep up with it all, especially when we work full time. I have been taking extra work from home days, but find that I am very distracted by it all. I never thought I would be giving my dog injections of anti- nausea medication and fluid therapy at home. It's a little scary. The hospital called to get us set up on a schedule for chemo. We have appointments once a week for 8 weeks, then every other week for an additional 8 weeks. It's expensive but we are told dogs do very well with this treatment and the rate of remission is pretty good. This will be my first of a series of posts regarding...

It hasn't been a good week. It's been a really shitty week actually. And it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I found a picture that made me laugh. It's stupid, but at this point I'll take any distraction from real life that I can get. So here goes:

I must apologize dropping a couple of F bombs on my last post. Sometimes they just slip off my fingers automagically. So, the Cierra update: The pathology on the aspirates from her belly were inconclusive. The vet recommends surgery so they can biopsy a lymph node and a section of intestine. We scheduled surgery for tomorrow. She'll be spending the night and if all goes well, will come home on Saturday afternoon. She's feeling better thanks to the Archangels (yes- asking them for help really does work) and to your positive thoughts, which thrills me to no end. Thank you, thank you.