Wednesday, October 1, 2014
The first visit to SEVO was our consultation with the doctor and then Henry's first chemotherapy treatment. Between the first and second trips, we had called the doctor and touched base with the doc since Henry really did not respond well to trip #1. After visit #2 (which was SO much better) we sent an email to the doc to let her know how he handled the second visit (which was a lower dose). We got the reply and we are pleased with the response. Henry's next chemo (and likely subsequent treatments) will stay the dose that he last received in treatment #2.
According to the doc, this lower dose will work for Henry. This is what the vet says:
" I would likely NOT adjust dose upward any further – just keep right where we are and continue with the same plan of aggressive GI support post-treatments. In a “normal” dog with both kidneys, I would suspect that this dose would be sub-therapeutic and unlikely to work, but in Henry, since he’s only got one kidney, his metabolism and excretion of the drug takes longer, so he’s getting a much higher “relative” dose compared to dogs with two kidneys and normal metabolism and excretion of the drug and it’s byproducts. Bottom line – one of our rules of thumb is that if it’s enough for him to feel the GI side effects from it, it’s also likely reaching a high enough level in his system to be effective, even though the “on-paper” dose is so much lower than usual. So I think we keep on keepin’ on!"
So, the plan for chemo visit #3 is as follows: chest xray, sonogram, blood work and the low(ish) dose of chemo. It will be a big day but after that we will be half way home!
#HenryStrong #HenryStrongAllDayLong #TeamHenry
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Monday, September 29, 2014
So, you may recall, that Henry has taken a couple of unauthorized, unexpected dips in the swimming pool recently. Since he has to cut through the pool area to get the backyard to go potty, we realized the urgency that this scenario has presented. There were a few people who suggested a litter box for dogs, letting him just have accidents in the house, putting an alarm in the pool, etc. There were multiple solutions and opinions offered. (Not just by OBP readers but other friends, family and neighbors, too.)
Well, we like to think of ourselves as problem solvers, too. And we had an initial vision of what we wanted. Or maybe what I should say, is what we wanted was for Henry to have his vision! LOL. If ya can't laugh at his missing left eye, you'll cry, right? So, anyway, of course we would want his vision back but we did have a plan in mind.
It entailed making a barrier that prevented him from gaining access to the area where he tends to have troubles and just block his access to the pool, in general. However, we had to be sure that we were still meeting Cupid's squirrel hunting needs! She needs total access! She can't just sit around and not get up close and personal to the squirrel just on the other side of the screen!
So, as you can see, this is what we came up with. It is just sturdy enough that it isn't going to blow over or fall into the pool should a gust of wind come along and the space at the first and last cones allows Cupid wiggle room to get through. Henry is not the type to challenge the barriers and so far he is behaving as though they have been there his whole life.
We were a little bit concerned that in his general clumsiness he may get "tangled" in the orange webbing but after a little bit of use so far, we think that won't happen. Fortunately we are not so house proud that the eye sore of the bright orange warnings that go for 30 feet on the pool deck pose no true design problems for us. It is for sure an ugly solution but it is one that works for Henry (and Cupid) and that is really all we are worried about, their safety and contentment.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Its hard to tell that Fall is coming in Florida, but the calendar is telling us otherwise. We always get mums in the Fall and this year we decided to plant them with Benny and Luna's flags. I can't wait until they are in full bloom!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Cupid hasn't been quite as glued to my side as Henry has been, but I can't sell her helpfulness in my recovery short. She did give me a most awesome leg massage right above my knee that surprisingly felt good. She has also been crucial in me learning to get around on crutches (which means she has tried to kill me several times). She loves to weave in and out while I am walking and if I take too long of a break, she will continually rub up against my crutches to urge me on. Everyone has been able to help in their own special way.
Side note, notice Henry is photobombing this shot will just the tip of his tail 
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Thank you to everyone for the well wishes for both Henry and myself last week. I apologize that things got way off schedule last week.
The day of my surgery Henry was a bit anxious. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but he knew the routine was off. And when the routine is off, that always makes him a tad nervous. Furthermore, he got breakfast and I did not, so that made him even more nervous. All the pugs know that if you don't eat breakfast, something big is going to happen that day and usually not something fun.
So, when we got home from the surgery center, Henry was excited and nervous at the same time to see me. I went straight from the car to bed and Henry almost beat me to bed. He briefly smelled my leg and then plopped himself right next to my leg. And he has been by my side ever since that moment.
Our normal evening routine is that Henry goes for a walk. The length of the walk varies. Sometimes we make it through the neighborhood, sometimes we only walk around the cul-de-sac at the end of our street. And sometimes we only hang out in the driveway. But, weather permitting you can count on us to get some outside time in. Once I was feeling a bit better, I was more mobile around the house, but I had still not been out and about. It was time for Henry to go out for his nighttime walk and in his excited pacing he kept running over to me on the sofa. I kept telling him to have a nice walk and he would run to the door, then he would run back to me. After a few minutes of me not taking the hint, he finally just started barking at me. He wanted met to go on his walk with him and he deemed me well enough to go. Not wanting to disappoint, I got up and hobbled through half of the cul-de-sac walk with him. He was ever so pleased to have me outside with him and kept stopping to check on me to make sure I was keeping up. I really didn't think I was up for that walk, but once I got back home it was the absolute best I had felt since my surgery.
After a few days of rest, I started working again from home. Sitting in a chair has been difficult, since my knee doesn't bend very well. So, I have mainly been working from bed. Henry was pretty happy to hang with me on the bed the first few days because he has just gotten his chemo. So, we were recovering together. But after a few days, Henry deemed it necessary for us to get out of bed and get back more into the normal swing of things. When I was cleaning up lunch, Henry was pacing between the kitchen and my office, clearly making his point that we needed to work the rest of the afternoon in there. Once again, I followed his lead and worked the rest of the afternoon from my office. It felt good to get back to a more normal routine. It also proved that once again, Henry knew what needed to be done and was going to make sure I pushed my own self during my recovery.
Of course I also had plenty of human care during my recovery. All that TLC has me feeling much better now!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
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