OMG...5 Drops...October 6

When it rains it pours...
What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger...
 God give the most difficult battles to his strongest soldiers...

 SHE'S A TOUGH COOKIE, but I just don't understand. My little is having difficulty urinating...only tiny puddles, 5, 6, 7 drops...holding the position for 30 seconds, 1 minute...Something is not right...

 I get her ready the morning of the 7th...A trip to Dr. Allen this a.m...I just got my car back from a transmission replacement...YIKES....now as I make my way to the vet, its dark, and of course I'm not paying attention...By the time I realize, I am in a school zone, going 25 in a 20. The cop is parked about 20 feel from me, he flips his lights on, and I'm pulled over. My little at my side, he asks where I am going...I look over, and say, "to take her to the vet". I'm beside myself...just had a huge repair, now a ticket...GREAT...Luckily he gave me a warning...Thank you Jesus...I make it to Dr. Allen's in one piece...

WHAT'S THE SCOOP? There is a larger mass that is blocking her urine...TUMOR? "Yes, quite possible", (sigh)..."What now?", "We should call the Internal Medicine doctor to come in and conduct a detailed high definition ultrasound". Dr. Melmed was scheduled for the 7th

 10/7/2013 - All the other organs look good, but there is surely a mass at the neck of the bladder. The sample that was taken was sent down to Texas A&M. The results should arrive early next week. Darby was prescribed a anti inflammatory / fever reducer called Piroxicam. I rushed to the compounding pharmacy, purchased the medication and gave her her first pill in the car with some peanut butter....Now to wait.

This is where Darby was shaved for the ultrasound

2013 - October 16th - GULP - FEVER, AGAIN, sigh...

I did not feel like going to yoga today. It was Wednesday, and these are typically my yoga days, but I really wanted to be home. Duncan and Darby verbally greeted me in a similar fashion as they do everyday. They hear the garage door go up, and they bark their little heads off. It makes me happy to hear them. As I walk it, I notice something http://instituteoftantra.com/Workshops_W60U.htmldifferent. On my floor, I see little puddles of urine, nine of them to be exact. Keep in mind that I have stained concrete floors, so very easy to clean up...My first instinct is to find my "little" and see if everything is OK. Sure enough, she is shivering....By now, I'm shaking, I'm nervous, I'm thinking fast. OH MY GOD...NO, PLEASE, NO...I take her temperature, and sure enough, her fever is up at 103. The normal range for a dog is 98-102. I quickly get her in the sink and wet her down...My fingers, shaking dial her vet...I'm nervous, I want to vomit, my stomach hurts..."How quickly can you get here?", "I'm 10 minutes away"...I get in the car, with Darby wrapped in a towel. Rush hour traffic is horrible. I take Grapevine highway, and construction causes a bottleneck at the Pool intersection. Finally, 30 minutes later, I arrive, Darby's temperature is now up to 104. Take her to Animal Emergency...Dr. Williamson calls ahead, and we rush across town.

Lilly Belle Pecen

Lilly is my friend Kristen's pet. She is a 12 year old mix. Lilly was rescued from an animal shelter when she was just a puppy...Today, she's here at my house resting. Lilly was diagnosed with thyroid cancer a little over a week and a half ago. It is my understanding that Lilly's cancer is more difficult to manage than Lymphoma. Dr. Loops and staff are working full force on Lilly's cancer.

I sat next to Lilly a few minutes ago. She is resting, I can hear her breath. This brings back memories of when Darby was so sick. The best I can do for Lilly, is let her rest, get her strong so that she can fight this cancer.

It's been 5 months

It has been five months since Darby was diagnosed with Lymphoma, and almost 3 months of being in remission. I think our routine is solid, yet although solid, doesn't mean easy. It take much discipline to keep everything orderly, and timely. There is no short cut to cooking her food, or administering her supplements or remedies. The weather has been a hindered our ability to to run and play outside, but that seems to be changing.......

Now to another journey.....

Mid November to present

I am so behind on this blog.....when Darby began her journey, there was so much going on that I felt that I needed to document everything....Then, when I would go back and read, I realized that it seemed like one challenge after another...I wore myself out reading it...how could I expect anyone else to read it...so I stopped...now, because of other events in our lives, its time to start back up...so I will pick up where I left off....

Mid November 2009 - Darby had been on the CCNU chemo for 2 months. Our visit with Dr. Encarnicion would determine whether or not we would continue our 3rd cycle, then completion with the 4th. Our nurse Erika took Darby back to start her blood work. After she was brought back, we were shortly escorted into our waiting room where Dr. Encarnicion soon joined us. Dr. E entered the rooom with Darby's result...High liver enzymes...Liver toxisity is a side effect of CCNU...as a result, we had to stop our chemo....I didn't know how to feel about this. I so hated the fact that I had to start Darby on the 2nd cycle, so why was I feeling so weird about not being able to start the 3rd...The best way describe would be comparing it to a broken leg...Your leg is in a cast for so long, you're on crutches, for so long. Then it's time to loose the cast.

It seemed like this may have been the blessing I have been praying for.

Early December - Dr. E, said that I would need to take Darby in for blood work...Since liver enzymes were high, we would need to check to see if they had come down over the course of 2 weeks. I took Darby to see Dr. Allen. Dr. Allen said she looked great and that liver enzymes where down....Results were faxed to Dr. E.

Few Days Later - I received a call from Dr. E...He wanted to talk about more invasive chemo's for Darby...It was tough doing CCNU, much less COP or UWP. I called Dr. Loops and said to him...Dr. Loops, its your homeopathic remedies, Darby's diet and my faith...No more western medicine. No looking back, full steam ahead.

January - I woke up one sunday morning, getting ready to go to central market...and I noticed Darby following me around. She was shaking and her heart was racing. I picked her up, and took her temp. 104.1. What's going on? Her eye's were glazed over, my mom was rubbing her tummy with a cool cloth. Animal emergency, here we come. Blood test and 2 hrs later, Darby's temp. stabilized, heat beat back to normal and no infections...She was discharched.

Following Day - Darby spent the day with Dr. Allen...She did very well at the vet. As always she won their hearts. She slept most of the day, but that was probably because her heart felt like it ran a marathon the previous day....

2nd Level of Remedies

Because of my carelessness, I spilled one of Darby's remedies. So needless to say, I had less than what I had originally started with. I called Dr. Loops and he felt that it would be OK to send me new doses. They arrived via mail on Wednesday Nov. 4th so I started them the following day.

My question is, how long do I continue remedies. Darby is in remission. Do I just continue indefinetly? Well, all i can do at this point in time, is work towards the completion of the chemo. The last cycle is to be administered in December. We will evaluate more at that point in time.

2nd Oncology Visit

I have been so delayed in keeping this blog up...but I know that I should for future reference.

I took Darby for her 2nd oncology visit on October 14th. Her lymphnodes are down, and she's feeling great. I was kinda nervous for our visit, didn't really know what to expect. Our original doctor, Dr. Scroggins, was no longer practicing at that particular vet office, so I was a little anxious as to what the "new" doctor was going to say.

He felt Darby's lymphnodes, and said that she was doing terrific. Since she did not have any clinical signs of swollen lymphnodes, well, that meant "remission". I was very happy to hear the prognosis, but at the same time, I was worried about still having to give her more chemo. He said that, the CCNU treatment was a 4 month cycle. Darby had only had one at the time, so I took a big gulp and took the next cycle with me.

My goal for my girl is to keep her healthy and happy.

The Journey thus far:
1. Accept the diagnosis for what it is
2. Inform those individuals that you can depend on
3. Build your pets strength. The journey ahead will be tough, the healthier your pet, the better they will endure treatment.
4. Find an oncologist in your area - consider your chemo treatment options
5. Fina a homeopathic / holistic vet - homeopathic remedies
6. Consider purchasing organic veggies and protein for your pet, plan out their diet everyday.
7. Start a supplement cycle
8. Keep your pet away from germy places, parks, areas that many dogs urinate, etc.
9. Last but not least, say a prayer for encouragement, a prayer for persistence, and a prayer for thanks......