Martini Cartwheels

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...