Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2007. Mattie was five years old and that day he was having a playdate with his best friend from preschool. Mattie and Zachary had a special bond, a bond that formed on the first day of school, and remained the entire two years that they were in preschool. This relationship however, continued into kindergarten, despite the fact that the boys went to different schools. Zachary was an outstanding friend to Mattie throughout his cancer journey, and even though their friendship (pre-cancer) involved a lot of gross motor movement, Zachary accommodated his style to fit Mattie's needs. In this particular photo (pre-cancer), the boys set up a train track from Mattie's bedroom into mine!
Quote of the day: Everyone has a voice inside that, if listened to, gives the best direction. ~ the Dog Cancer Survival Guide
Peter had to travel by plane for work today. So he got up very early. When I got up at 6:30am, I saw Peter had texted me that Sunny got sick last night and he tried cleaning things up, but he had to get ready to catch a flight. I jumped out of bed, made the bed, and then went downstairs immediately to examine the mess.
In the middle of the night, Sunny did make his way up the stairs. I thought I heard him in my sleep, but since I am exhausted, I did not move. That was my first mistake. Sunny rarely comes upstairs, but he tried to alert us last night that he needed help.
When I went downstairs this morning it looked like a crime scene in every room. Not to mention the house smelled terribly. There was vomit and diarrhea everywhere. On floors, rugs, and even spattered on walls. Honestly how I did not get hysterical is beyond me. I am running on vapors! I am extremely tired from my daily routine and this morning's sight practically did me in. I wasn't mad at Sunny at all. I felt terrible for him, as he is a very clean dog. If he did this, it is because he is miserable. Fortunate for the vet, it was too early at that hour to call and scream at him.
So I put chemo gloves on, as we can't touch Sunny's vomit, urine, and poop, and began cleaning. It took me 90 minutes to do this! Mind you I hadn't planned for this 90 minutes in my morning. Therefore, I was 90 minutes delayed getting showered, dressed, making breakfast and getting my dad up. I felt harried!
After I dropped my dad off at his memory care center, I called the vet. I left a message and after about an hour, when I did not get a call back. I called again and this time demanded to talk to the clinical staff. We have now added another anti-emetic to Sunny's daily routine, which I am hoping helps with his nausea. We also started him on anti-diarrheal meds. Sunny is listless, doesn't want to eat, and smelled like a nightmare.
Fortunately Sunny had a grooming appointment today with the mobile groomer. I honestly did not know if Sunny had the energy for this, but the groomer's sister is battling cancer and she had the right energy for Sunny today. I think between the new meds and a bath, Sunny felt better. But this oral chemo is a killer and it is knocking him out. The irony is this med is typically well tolerated in most dogs. Either case, Sunny will not be getting chemo tomorrow as planned, because he needs time to stabilize.
No comments:
Post a Comment