Day 2608

I got a call shortly after breakfast updating me on Dash's condition. The doctor was cautiously optimistic. Dash didn't have any additional seizures last night and is now able to stand up on his own. He still shows signs of vertigo or dizziness and takes very tentative, cautious steps. There is also still some involuntarily eye movement. He isn't out of the woods yet, and he'll be staying in the hospital at least one additional day. I went to visit later in the day and I have to agree with the doctor's assessment. Dash is still very shaky. They let me take him outside to pee and he was still turning his head from side to side occasionally and seemed uncertain about walking. I was glad he was wearing his service dog harness, because I needed to hold onto the handle on top to steady him. Even though I was disappointed that he couldn't come home today, Dash was still much better than when we admitted him to the hospital yesterday. I have a feeling that he'll be staying at the hospital over the weekend. He receives excellent care at the cancer center and it isn't worth the risk of a relapse on Superbowl Weekend, when it would be hard to get him readmitted to an emergency facility.

The house is very quiet without Dash. Dot depends on Dash for stimulus and sleeps even longer when he's not around. Our routine seemed different today. Dot still needs to go outside every three hours to avoid peeing in the house, but it was harder to wake her up and get her upright and walking. It is obvious that Dash is an integral part of Dot's therapy. He's the one who reminds her that she's still a dog. They eat their meals together. They smell things in the yard together. Occasional they even sleep together on the floor, although Dash still prefers to sleep in our bed. I think Dot might have given up months ago, without Dash around to keep her stimulated.

I really hope that Dash can make a full recovery. He's too young to spend the rest of his life with a debilitating disease. It would also be incredibly difficult to have two dogs who couldn't stand up and walk on their own. The thought of having to get Dash fitted for a Help 'Em Up Harness and support his rear legs while I was doing the same thing for Dot boggles my mind. I have a hard enough time getting through the day with one disabled dog. I'm going to be optimistic though. Dash has a fantastic doctor and he is definitely making progress.

I went to breakfast much later than usual this morning and was surprised to see that the restaurant was packed. Apparently the place is a hangout for slackers. I usually arrive around 7 AM and thought the half dozen customers I saw were the only ones who shared my love for the place. At 9:30 AM it's an entirely different story. I had trouble even finding a seat today.

I guess I was kind of a slacker myself today. I didn't do anything very productive. My iPhone case had a crack in it after I dropped the phone last month, so I attempted to fix it. I was able to successfully repair the case with Superglue without gluing my fingers together. Yay. Successful Superglue repairs are a rarity in this house.  I almost always manage to spill some of the nasty stuff on my skin.

The REI store gave me a gift card the last time I bought something there. The catch was that I had to use it before February 4. I stopped by the store on the way to visit Dash and got a clever little camping lantern that doubles as a USB charger for your phone or tablet. I don't know why I am so attracted to camping gear, since I have never been fond of camping. Maybe I just want to be well prepared for the apocalypse.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2003

Dot did great during her biopsy this afternoon. We won't have the cytology report until Friday, but Dot's oncologist said that they got exactly what they needed to find out what was going on in her liver and spleen. I learned something new today. I was worried that since Dot can barely walk anyway, she might have an an adverse reaction to the sedation that would make it difficult for me to get her home again. "She'll be able to walk just fine," the nurse told me. "We reverse the sedation when we are finished with the procedure." I didn't know your could quickly reverse the effects of a sedative, but apparently you can. They give dogs a drug called Dexdomitor to put them under and then give another drug called Antisedan to bring them back again and reverse the sedation. The combo apparently works, because Dot walked out of the treatment room like nothing had happened.

My dogs get so much better care than I do. When I go to one of the specialty vets that care for Dot and Dash, I always feel like I'm in the right place. The nurses are nice and always take time to answer all your questions. The people waiting in the lobby with their dogs are all polite, responsible people who genuinely care about their pets. The doctors themselves are amazing. In this kind of environment, I'm always hopeful. Unfortunately, I can't say the same when I go to a human doctor. A visit to my general practitioner is like a visit to Walmart. Where do these people come from? I usually feel like I'm going to catch something horrible just by sitting in the lobby for more than ten minutes. The lobby TV at the dog's cancer center shows PBS cooking shows. The lobby TV at my general practitioner shows Man vs. Food. Both places apparently know their audience.

Going out to eat is a good solution for dealing with dogs that need to fast for an upcoming medical procedure. Dot got her early breakfast with Janet this morning and when I returned from the restaurant a few hours later with my last cup of coffee in a to-go cup, both dogs were sleeping peacefully. They had completely forgotten about the banana I usually give them.

Considering that I spent most of the afternoon up at the cancer center with Dot, I actually got quite a bit done today. I'm making good progress on my latest mobile friendly website project. It's a good sign that each one of these projects gets a little easier than the previous one. I am apparently learning something. I wouldn't call my current project easy, mostly because there are so many pages involved. It's the process that's getting easier. Responsive design is still new enough that I should probably go out and try to get some new business. There are still thousands of old static sites out there and now I know exactly what to do with them.

Tomorrow is a new day. With any luck, I ought to be able to launch what will be my fifth mobile friendly website. We going to let Dot rest tomorrow morning and see if she does any better on the treadmill at her physical therapy session. I don't think she'll miss her walk tomorrow morning anyway. It's getting hot again and she had a pretty big day today. Dot is sleeping now. I think I'll join her soon.

Escher is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1681

Dot started eating solid food again today. She ate a small jar of baby food yesterday, but this was the first time she has been able to hold down solid food since last Thursday. Janet and I fed her some canned chicken when we went to visit this evening and she enthusiastically devoured the entire can. If she doesn't vomit tonight and is able to pass the chicken she ate through her system, we'll finally be able to take the catheter out of her leg and unhook her from all the IV tubes.

Considering that she'd had major surgery less than 24-hours ago, Dot looked great today. Her medical team is very pleased with her progress. We continue to take things one day at a time, but if she continues to improve at this rate, there's a chance she'll be able to come home with us tomorrow evening.

Fifteen years ago, our first Dalmatian had to go through a very similar type of abdominal surgery. Spot survived, but he didn't have the advantage of the advanced medical care Dot is receiving now. I continue to be amazed at the resources veterinarians have at their disposal these days. Getting a CAT scan for Spot in 1999 wasn't even an option. The surgeon just opened him up and started looking around. Surgical techniques and medications are much better now. Actually dogs have more advanced care options than you or I do, since progress isn't hindered as much by government and FDA restrictions. Laser surgery, genetic testing, stem cell transplants, MRI imaging and much more are all commonplace in today's veterinary world.

It is terrible that Dot has to deal with the complications of major surgery and possibly cancer. She is lucky to live here in Dallas though. We have some of the best specialty care facilities in the country right here. I like to think that Dot is in the Mayo Clinic for dogs right now. Her doctors are taking very good care of her.

I'll have to admit that I'm getting some very good care myself. Tomorrow I go for my last regular  visit to the liver clinic. I will repeat all the tests I had at the beginning of my treatment, and if all looks good, I am officially cured of Hepatitis-C. Technically, I've been virus free for several months now, but these doctors are very cautious about over promising things.

We took Dash to dog training class by himself tonight. Janet thought it would be good for him to be around other dogs again. Dash seemed to enjoy himself until a cold front blew through and he sensed a change in the weather. Rain was on the way. I don't think Dot can hear the rain inside the hospital. I hope she can't anyway. She needs to get a good night's rest.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1678

I keep looking at the last happy picture I took of Dot. Although she was just being transferred from one vet to another, she thought she was going home. Her tail was tucked under because she was still in pain, but she was happy. Dot's eyes practically sparkled as she was eagerly awaiting me to close the tailgate and get out my car keys. I'm so sorry to have disappointed her. Happy dogs make me happy and I am still sad.

We don't know much more than we did yesterday. The good news is that Dot is still alive. The bad news is that her medical team still isn't sure what is causing all the problems. I was afraid that we wouldn't hear anything at all until Monday morning, but we were surprised and delighted to receive a call today from her internal medicine specialist with an update on Dot's condition. I had initially thought that the specialist would leave Dot under the care of her support team during the weekend, but she was in the hospital herself on a Sunday morning, examining Dot and working on a diagnosis.

She told us that based on everything she knew so far, she suspected that Dot's problems originated in her liver. She thought Dot was stable and would make it through the weekend, but she still wasn't eating. This is bad. We won't know anything more until they do an abdominal ultrasound scan on Monday morning to check for hidden tumors, but there are strong signs that Dot may have acute Hepatitis, or even worse, Liver Cancer. I know a lot about Hepatitis after spending the past 30 years living with Hepatitis-C. Hepatitis can be managed and in many cases, completely cured. There are far fewer options available if you have Liver Cancer. For dogs, surgery is just about the only option, since organ transplants for dogs are still just a far-fetched fantasy. We lost Greta to Liver Cancer. We found the best surgeon available and elected to do the surgery, but it didn't work. Greta died four days later. She never even made it out of the hospital. I don't think I could subject a dog to that ever again.

I am not an emotional person, but a sick dog can still make me cry. It was hard to spend the day waiting, knowing that there was absolutely nothing we could do. I will be up at the hospital as soon as it opens tomorrow morning to visit Dot. All I can do though is hold her and hope. The next steps are up to Dot and her team of doctors. I was encouraged to hear the specialist tell me that she thought  Dot wasn't as depressed today as she was yesterday. She is still alert and engaged. That's a good sign, because she hasn't given up yet. Her incontinence appears to have stopped as well. The nurses take her out every four hours so she can pee normally. The doctor was even going to go to the store after we talked this morning and buy some fresh chicken for Dot to see if she could entice her to eat again.

I'm a worrier, but I really wish I wasn't. Worrying only leads to further worrying. I went to the gym today and cleaned all the water off the roof yesterday afternoon, knowing that lots of physical activity makes me tired. Maybe if I'm really tired, I will sleep better tonight. All I did last night was worry about Dot. Thanks for your support. It means a lot.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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