Thursday, May 19, 2022

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2006, Mattie was four years old and that Memorial Day weekend we took him to Sesame Street Place in Pennsylvania. I heard about this theme park from Mattie's preschool. Since Mattie was a huge Elmo fan, we had a feeling he would love it. Anyone who has ever watched Sesame Street, probably recognizes this green door and staircase from the show. At the park they recreated this scene from the show and Mattie posed for a photo. Mind you we bought Mattie ONE Elmo balloon, but a life sized Elmo walked up to Mattie and gave him the second balloon! Needless to say... Mattie was thrilled. 

Quote of the day: When people say they couldn't do what you do, take that as a compliment. They are telling you how very strong and how very special you are. ~ AgingCare.Com

This morning, Sunny went to see the vet bright and early. I am sure he was besides himself as went through most of the day without food. The oncologist called me around 1:30pm. After another urine analysis and an ultrasound, we have no clear cut information. The whole thing is very frustrating. What I did learn was that Sunny's adrenal gland mass has increased in size in less than two weeks. I think we have ruled out cancer in Sunny's spleen and liver. Sunny may have a mass in his spleen, but it doesn't appear to be cancerous. As for the bladder, I believe they think it is a polyp. But again, we can't be certain of this because we haven't taken a tissue sample. 

So why not get a tissue sample of the adrenals, spleen, and bladder? Well it isn't that simple to get such biopsies. In fact, the oncologist told me that getting a sample of the adrenals is actually a complicated surgery that can lead to death. NOT what I wanted to hear, nor do I want to gamble with Sunny's life. So that is OUT OF THE QUESTION. To get a sample of Sunny's bladder mass would require a traumatic catherization. The name of the procedure should give you some indication of the complications, such as rupturing of the bladder. So I had a difficult decision to make today. Mind you I was having this conversation with the oncologist while driving on 495, our Capital Beltway/Highway, to take my parents out to lunch. 

My choice was to do something radical, which would mean removing the spleen, adrenals, and the bladder mass, or do more testing, which has potential negative consequences which I mentioned above, or start oral chemotherapy. Frankly I have a big issue starting chemotherapy when we don't have a definitive diagnosis. But I do not feel like I have a choice, as I refused to elect to put Sunny through such invasive surgeries that could risk his life. Clearly something is growing quickly in his adrenals and something has got to be done before we get metastasis, if we are indeed dealing with cancer. 

Needless to say, when the oncologist and techs talked to me about chemotherapy, they could tell I was NOT a novice. I told them Sunny is taking anti-emetics (anti-nausea) meds daily, we are not waiting to see if he develops such side effects, instead we will prophylactically medicate Sunny in hopes he doesn't get nauseous. Tonight I had to order chemotherapy gloves, because we will need them to administer his oral chemo three times a week, and I can't pick up urine, poop, or vomit without wearing gloves. It brought me back to my time with Mattie. I spent about an hour reading the materials from the vet, trying to make sense out of all his meds, and of course I am already balancing a ton, and don't want to mix anything up regarding Sunny's care plan. When you read about the side effects of this oral chemo, the common ones are diarrhea, anorexia, lethargy, and vomiting. Considering that he appears to be a happy camper now, the whole idea of treating him is hard to wrap my head around. 

On another note, while at lunch today, the manager of the restaurant came over to talk with us. Since we only go to three or four restaurants, these places have gotten to know us well. The manager told my parents that they are lucky to have me. What he did not know is that my parents live with me. He just couldn't get over this. He said I am a living "Jesus Christ." I laughed, but he said he has observed how well I care for my parents and not everyone would do this. I find this absolutely fascinating, how people are observing me! This happened to me whenever I cruised with my parents too. Almost every cruise, people would come up to me mid-cruise to comment on how well I care for my parents. Mind you I did not know these people, nor did I know they were watching!