Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
December 2011
I just went through another round of scans and I am officially 3 years Cancer free! I have definitely put this part of my life in the past...and moving to yearly PET scans is the first step!!
We have been having a hard time saying good bye to Boston. He was such a sweet dog. We came to the realization that we gave him the best home & life we could and it was time to give another dog a great life! We brought home a 11 mo old, 76 lbs, Male Golden last weekend and we named him Brody. He responded very well to Buddy, so Brody was a nice choice. I would be lying if I said he is adjusting well. He comes to us with some anxiety and wasn't taught boundaries. We have already met with a trainer and have our hands full. He is so sweet when he's calm and we hope we can help him find a balanced life sooner than later!!
We have been having a hard time saying good bye to Boston. He was such a sweet dog. We came to the realization that we gave him the best home & life we could and it was time to give another dog a great life! We brought home a 11 mo old, 76 lbs, Male Golden last weekend and we named him Brody. He responded very well to Buddy, so Brody was a nice choice. I would be lying if I said he is adjusting well. He comes to us with some anxiety and wasn't taught boundaries. We have already met with a trainer and have our hands full. He is so sweet when he's calm and we hope we can help him find a balanced life sooner than later!!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
RIP Boston
We brought Boston into our vet on Friday. At that point he was no longer eating, very stiff, and appeared to be in a lot of pain. We brought him in earlier in the week feeling he had hurt his back, but it was now becoming clear that wasn't what was going on. Our Vet admitted him. Over the next few hours - through Saturday, she did a chest x-ray and several tests - including the liver test, urine and any other rare disease. The x-rays showed fluid on his right shoulder and center chest, but his heart, lungs, spine, hips etc were all clear. So we were going with the idea that he was stung or bitten by a spider. She started anti-biotics.
On Sunday he was more swollen. She decided to start him on prednisone as well. He still wouldn't eat so he was also on a IV bag.
Yesterday morning he started coughing. We decided to do an ultra sound. It didn't show any masses anywhere, but did show some small areas of fluid in his lungs. He was laying down for a few days, unable to get up.
We started leaning towards the Lymhederma diagnosis. We decided to try to bathe him and he started bleeding from his nose. We were then rushed to a 24 hr Emergency hospital in Torrance.
Upon arrival, he was tested for clotting - which came back positive and took another chest x-ray. This chest x-ray showed massive fluid in his chest and he was obliviously struggling. At this point his nose is bleeding and he is coughing blood. They put him on oxygen and did their best to stabilize him over night with pain meds and fluids. Leaving him last night was not easy. We knew he would be touch and go all night. Around 1 am his heart rate went from being very high to very low where it finally stopped at 1:30am. They did attempt CPR, but it was unsuccessful.
Brent and I are obliviously trying to make sense of all this. He went from being a completely normal, healthy dog to one struggling to walk and then losing him in a few days. Nothing makes sense. I am doing my best to focus on the good times we had, the new life we tried to create for him and the fact that he is no longer in pain. Whenever someone (human or animal) leaves this world, we struggle for the whys and that is where we are right now. We are trying to make his life worth something but not allowing this to happen to another dog - and that means finding out how he died.
Below is one of my favorite moments with him, his first trip to dog beach. He wasn't sure how to get catch the tennis balls without fully submerging his face in the sand. Boston is one of those dogs we will compare all dogs too - forever in our hearts.
On Sunday he was more swollen. She decided to start him on prednisone as well. He still wouldn't eat so he was also on a IV bag.
Yesterday morning he started coughing. We decided to do an ultra sound. It didn't show any masses anywhere, but did show some small areas of fluid in his lungs. He was laying down for a few days, unable to get up.
We started leaning towards the Lymhederma diagnosis. We decided to try to bathe him and he started bleeding from his nose. We were then rushed to a 24 hr Emergency hospital in Torrance.
Upon arrival, he was tested for clotting - which came back positive and took another chest x-ray. This chest x-ray showed massive fluid in his chest and he was obliviously struggling. At this point his nose is bleeding and he is coughing blood. They put him on oxygen and did their best to stabilize him over night with pain meds and fluids. Leaving him last night was not easy. We knew he would be touch and go all night. Around 1 am his heart rate went from being very high to very low where it finally stopped at 1:30am. They did attempt CPR, but it was unsuccessful.
Brent and I are obliviously trying to make sense of all this. He went from being a completely normal, healthy dog to one struggling to walk and then losing him in a few days. Nothing makes sense. I am doing my best to focus on the good times we had, the new life we tried to create for him and the fact that he is no longer in pain. Whenever someone (human or animal) leaves this world, we struggle for the whys and that is where we are right now. We are trying to make his life worth something but not allowing this to happen to another dog - and that means finding out how he died.
Below is one of my favorite moments with him, his first trip to dog beach. He wasn't sure how to get catch the tennis balls without fully submerging his face in the sand. Boston is one of those dogs we will compare all dogs too - forever in our hearts.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Boston was admitted
This is a quick update, since we don't have too many answers yet. Boston started having trouble on Tuesday - started walking funny and couldn't get up or down very easily. We took him in that night and upon originally assessment, thought he hurt is back. We started him on anti-inflammatory and was sent home. Wednesday showed no progress up or down. On Thursday he took a turn for the worse. He no longer would eat and could not get himself in an out of the house. On Friday he was admitted. He's had some xrays which showed inflammation of this right chest and shoulder. His lungs, abdomen and bones/spine/hips all looked good BUT his blood panel was way off and is a cause of concern.
He is still there, still won't walk, took in a little water but still unable to eat much. He's on an IV drip just trying to keep him comfortable. Our vet has sent a list and array of samples off for testing, we are hoping to get some answers and we can start treating the right thing.
Keep Boston in your thoughts. More updates to come.
He is still there, still won't walk, took in a little water but still unable to eat much. He's on an IV drip just trying to keep him comfortable. Our vet has sent a list and array of samples off for testing, we are hoping to get some answers and we can start treating the right thing.
Keep Boston in your thoughts. More updates to come.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Neurologist
Boston has a successful appointment; in terms of success, we think it was! On a basic assessment, he passed basic neurological function tests, so there was no cause of alarm. We were very happy to hear that. We did get rejected from pet insurance, so if they said he needed an MRI, would of cost us close to $1500! Of course we would have done it, but very happy we don't.
The plan is to up his medications. The Doctor advised us of adding in Potassium Bromide (http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Bromide.html). It is a much safer epilepsy drug treatment. He will be front loaded with the drug for the next few days to allow his blood levels to stabilize faster. We will then bring him to a normal dosage. He will continue to take the Phenobarbital. If he is able to go 6 weeks without a seizure, we are going to explore moving him 100% to the Potassium Bromide. That is what i would like, but it's truly up to Boston and how his body handles everything.
This past weekend we watched the Horns defeat UCLA at the Rose Bowl. It was Greg, Lara, Tim, Brent and I - such a great group!!
Here are a few pictures:
The plan is to up his medications. The Doctor advised us of adding in Potassium Bromide (http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Bromide.html). It is a much safer epilepsy drug treatment. He will be front loaded with the drug for the next few days to allow his blood levels to stabilize faster. We will then bring him to a normal dosage. He will continue to take the Phenobarbital. If he is able to go 6 weeks without a seizure, we are going to explore moving him 100% to the Potassium Bromide. That is what i would like, but it's truly up to Boston and how his body handles everything.
This past weekend we watched the Horns defeat UCLA at the Rose Bowl. It was Greg, Lara, Tim, Brent and I - such a great group!!
Here are a few pictures:
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| Texas Game |
Monday, September 12, 2011
Next stop, Neurologist...
Boston has had a seizure (or what we think are seizures) on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday of this past week. Each of them about the same. He always knows they are coming and we too know the signs. We are taking him to see a Neurologist, Dr. Hanson, on Monday of next week - it was the earliest we could both get there (Brent and I). We will keep you posted after the visit.
I went in for blood work about a week ago and it all came back within normal range! Next step for me will be full body scan in Decemeber.
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