12/26 results

i just got her newest test results,
the UTI has cleared and sway's PCV is still holding at 22.7%
...still no rise in % but this is the 2nd straight panel that shows a 'regenerative anemia,' meaning she is trying to produce new cells.

merry x-mas

Merry Christmas everybody.
sway got 3 servings of turkey and green beans ... and a big belly to go along with it :)
im so thankful to have her around for our 6th Christmas.
she's a miracle for sure.

her overall health seems to be the same,
okay from the outside,
moving around pretty well,
still cannot jump, also has some sketchy breathing moments ... but all in all, we are hangin' in there.
blood levels still not rising, but HOLDING.
which is okay,
but hoping for even better days.
(our last PCV was about a month ago)

she's been on clavamox for the last 2 weeks for a urinary tract infection that was initially un-mentioned by the VCA tech.
dr. dodds brought it to my attention when i sent her sway's panel from november ... and sure enough, she had a UTI.
the infection could be messing with her blood levels so we wanted to treat it asap.
...she just finished the 14 day dose on friday & was re-tested today.
she was also given another full blood panel, both results should be back in the morning.

new pictures

update

sway got another PCV on monday after a 5 week layoff.
she had dropped 2 points, down to 21%
not exactly what i wanted to see coming off such a dramatic rise in her retic #'s :/
its clear that she now has a form of regenerative anemia, compared to our first 6 months of non-regenerative anemia ... which is a + ... but there is obviously cell destruction taking place.
whether its baby or adult cells being destroyed is unknown, & we need to figure that out...
with that said, from the outside she is still happy and able to do all the 'sway things' that she does.
i pray everyday that we have no setbacks, i cherish that she is still here.
perspective is easier to come by now cuz things have been MUCH worse.
many folks have been asking me for new pictures, i promise i will get some up!

still good...

shortly after my last post, sway was given another PCV.
she remained at 23%
i was silently hoping for a raised # since her retic count had spiked weeks earlier but i guess this is gonna continue to be an odd case.
i cant be disappointed, instead thankful.
im blessed that she is doing as good as she is, and its absolutely clear that she continues to improve.
23% is relatively low, but its remained stable for 65 days now and that is a benchmark im very proud of.
she is such a good dog, i love her so much, the best.
will put new pictures up soon.
my computer crashed 2 weeks ago and i just got it back up and running last night.

guarded relaxation

sorry for the lack of updates-
she hasnt been PCV tested since the retic count sprung up,
...and we're only testing her every 2 weeks which really goes to show how much her count has stabilized.
it has been good for her lately.
she continues to show slight improvements every day and i am just so thankful.

these next couple of weeks should ideally reveal a % increase,
and we are just gonna keep working hard and enjoying each day as they come.
sway is now able to get herself on and off the bed, jump in/out of the car, go all the way down the stairs, trot, even run a little.
she is continuing to gain weight as well, appetite is still strong.
things are good :)

its crazy cuz things were just so intensely hectic for months, and now days come and go without incident and all i can do is thank God.
i havent been posting much since things have been pretty calm,
but dont wanna lose sight of keeping this up to date with even the slightest of goods...cuz everything is important.
the impression that this disease is only peppered with bad experiences would be false and hopefully this site can reflect that.
AIHA/IMHA can be beat, i know so ... dogs have done it and hopefully sway will get to the point where this thing just fades into our past.

regeneration?

sway has been pretty even keel since my last post about her standing up.....
shes eating well and continuing to improve in many different aspects.

on saturday we had a full blood panel done, as well as another urinalysis in order to test the levels of her protein leak.
i received the results last night and am damn happy to report that not only is she still holding onto a 23%, but her retic count is up to 7.24!
that is key because a # that high shows the bone marrow has started regenerating its own cells...
its still a guarded optimism (due to the PCV being the same), but after 5 difficult months this is the start of what ive been praying to seeeee.

not only that, but the new urinalysis showed the protein leak has been drastically reduced.
...meannnnnnnning the looming fear of kidney failure is no longer blinking red and in my face!

oh yea, and she gained 4 pounds :)
at this point my only prayer revolves around seeing that PCV go uppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp

my verse on wonderwall...

is about finding sway,
i just recorded it about 2 hours ago.
check it out, its the song that plays automatically when visiting this page.
the version i recorded on is a cover of "wonderwall" sung by ryan adams ... the original was done by oasis.
liam gallagher (lead singer of oasis) said the song is about an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself.
its one of my favorite tracks ever so i had to put a verse on the front of it.

standing up

is what sway did today!
i dont know how ... but when i went home for lunch she had completely moved to the other room and was laying on the floor mattress.
there is no other way she could have gotten there.
this is a huge deal because she hasnt been able to get herself up from a laying position in almost a month.
i walked in and was immediately overjoyed when i saw where she was at.
she was also very receptive to my excitement...tail wagging, etc.
i really believe she knows she achieved something significant, its grrrrrrrrreat to see her body finally giving her a break!

a little strength returning

first off, sways PCV was around 22% on saturday.
its still holding in the general area so thats very promising.
we WERE going thru transfusions on a weekly basis so the current holding pattern has really been a blessing.
as of today it has been 26 days since her last blood transfusion...

within the last 48 hours she's started to eat alot better as well.
i took sway to dr. woods' office on wednesday (durabolin shot) and they were all very happy to see her walking around on her own power and showing the curiousity to inspect the food hallway.

you can tell that some of her strength is slowly returning...
its very subtle but she is now able to support herself when she walks down a decline, and for the most part she can turn without her legs buckling.
her walk is still rather slow, but its a revelation compared to where she was.
i might post a video of her walking tonight, its inspiring to watch her bouncing back in any form.

still makes me stress...

sway continues to have a love/hate relationship with her foods...
its challenging and envokes alot of worry when she refuses to eat for days at a time.
she was refusing again yesterday but to my suprise today she ate and wouldnt stop.
hot dogs, AD & yogurt, all down the hatch.
it really seems like they relate foods to how they are feeling that day, and if a pill or a certain medication makes them feel bad, they begin to deny that food with which it came.
mixing the options up is a way to stay ahead of the curve, and doesnt allow the animal to single out any specific food for denial.
thats the advice i was given & thats how it seems to be going with sway.

my friend patrice and i have been emailing back and forth about how our dogs are doing, and she sent along a really appropriate quote that could be applied to any kind of setback...
its good-

Courage need not Roar. Sometimes it's the quiet voice at day's end saying "I will try again tomorrow"

poem sent to me

someone online made my day this morning...
this is a poem that someone wrote for me & sway :)
good stuff, i know!
its from a member of pets.ca who had been following our thread, and very cool of them to write this for us.
thank you.

I have been following this thread and just today read your blog,
I Don't cry easy, But your blog brought overwhelming tears,
There is no words I can say to express my admiration for you and your beautiful Puppy,
You both are truly an exception pair,
Something I wrote for you and *Sway*
You both won my heart.

My shining light of Love

From riches to rags and rags to riches
I walked my path for all to see
I begged and pleaded, whimpered and cried,
You heard me not
As you rested contently upon your pillow
I shivered in the cold

Thru the mists and winds of many raging storms
I dreamed of hope, love.
Caste out in a world so big
In desperation I searched,
My heart was breaking.

My eyes lifted
Before me a stranger,
An outstretched hand
Trust me you said

I released my restrains
You said forever,
Come rest upon my Love
A heart so true,

You are my strength,
That’s always there.

Thru trial & many tribulations
We held tight to each other

Together we will always be

You will know us
By our name

VICTORY

scares happen...

i had one last night.
maybe not the hugest concern, but if you knew my dog like i do then this was a pretty big problem under the circumstances.

we had been rolling for 7 days now, literally almost flawless in our attempts to dodge any setbacks.
...well, until tuesday morning, and sway deciding (again) that she was no longer going to eat.
ok, that was cool, it was the morning and i was rushing to work.
when i came back for lunch, tried again, ... she still would not touch the same stuff she had gulped down 3x daily during the previous week.
this was a big deal because she is so frail to begin with...
if she starts refusing food then we could have a repeat of what played out 2 weeks ago.
(5+ days of no eating, mega weakness, feeding tube, etc.)
after work, i had to pull out the big guns, so i cooked sway a steak...
she had to eat that right? of course not.
she wouldnt touch it.

i was fearing that we were tipping the iceberg,
then i woke up this morning and she was all about eating first thing...
& she did, ate like a charm.

i guess what i am trying to say is, practice patience...
im not very patient to begin with so this issue was something that had me worrying.
its a very tough thing when you are dealing with something as multi-dimensional as AIHA, and then you see red flags that could potentially snowball ... devastating all her efforts from the past week in the process.
luckily, it was okay and things worked themselves out.

now, i also want to say that you should try and be as pro-active as possible in your approach to all things related to an AIHA dog,
but its a balancing act ... sometimes it could hurt your cause more than help if you freak out too quickly and overreact.
scares will happen.
just try to remain on an even keel ... you know your dog better than anyone else does, so react accordingly.
im just glad sway started eating man...

bone marrow = no cancer.

we went into vca for a checkup today...
while there they also told me that they had the results from the bone marrow aspirate.

good news x2...
sway is STILL holding onto her 24% RBC.
...and the bone marrow tap revealed that cancer is 'highly unlikely'
thank God.
this pretty much confirms that there is no regeneration happening at the bone marrow level, but rules out leukemia as the reason.
i can deal with that, and i have faith that in time (and the help of durabolin) those cells will begin to regenerate.
this is a good day.
oh yea, sway also got her feeding tube out!
with & without...

steady transition

she came home with the feeding tube still in her nose...
it allowed me to atleast get something down her if she chose not to eat again.

as far as her meds are concerned,
prednisone was decreased from 20mg 2x daily, to 10mg 1x daily.
imuran was stopped completely.
cyclosporine was changed from 100mg 1x daily, to 50mg 2x daily.

tuesday night was easy but wednesday morning she vomited in her sleep...
luckily i was sleeping right next to her and was able to take care of it.
i called off work because she was still unable to stand or even move herself much,
and with that kind of vomit it really becomes scary because you dont want her to choke in it.
she vomited a 2nd time hours later but continued to eat on her own as well...

thursday i went to work and when i came home for lunch she had threw up again.
this time she managed to roll herself away from it and was sitting up staring as i came thru the door.
she is definately getting stronger, little subtle things are beginning to stand out.

friday we had no accidents, and she seems to be holding her food down quite well.
she is eating the mini cans of hills AD, usually 3-4 times daily and seems to enjoy it.
i usually add a half teaspoon of 'pet tinic' in with her food twice daily.
she also had a healthy stool for the first time in weeks :)

saturday she did well yet again...
no vomiting, consistent eating and those big bright eyes reminding me everyday that following your heart is the way to go!

coming home!!!

i just got word that i can pick sway up from the hospital and bring her home :)
she is still holding that 20+ count,
in addition she has started to eat on her own.
my hero!

toughest, emotional weekend

september 28 - sway spent friday at dr. woods' office receiving fluids & plasma, she was incredibly weak.
i would pick her up after work and she would stay at home with me until the next morning. she was still refusing food, she could not stand & could barely support the weight from her own head.
thursdays mess, coupled with her anemia was really taking its toll.

each day when picking her up, dr. woods would speak to me and the outlook was obviously not very optimistic...
this was clear, but he would still take the time to throw around ideas and scenarios, while maintaining frankness.
he would tell me that he didnt have a good feeling about this one, but at the end of the day would still respect my view and make it known we could keep going.
this is why i am lucky...that is what you want in a vet. someone that is straight forward, listens, provides ideas and clearly has an emotional investment in the pet...
his office clearly does, and i could see that it hurt him and his staff to know that sway was doing so poorly.

friday afternoon he had highlighted his fear that a leukemia might be the culprit.
we had so many hurdles and others were seeming to pop up in addition...
the auto immune hemolitic anemia, the side effects from meds, the breaking down of sways body, the weakness, now she wasnt eating (+4 days), and was refusing all meds by mouth...
on top of this was the revelation that thursdays episode was most likely some form of a stroke brought on by heat or a blood clot.
and then the mention of cancer just doomed the entire situation.
i left his office on friday not knowing what i was going to do.
the only thing i did know was that i wanted to spend the next 12 hours with sway and make sure she knew how much i loved her.

friday night was emotionally the toughest night of my entire life.
some say she is "just a dog," or "then you must live an easy life..."
...these type of people are in extreme contrast to someone like myself.
have i been thru tough things? sure...
the divorce of my parents,
great relationships with a few nameless girls ending in heartbreak,
the cross country move from my home in ohio to california, by myself...& did i mention i had no job or any place to stay when i got there?
the next 3 years hacking it in a place where the cost to live is unbelievably high.
and dont forget the fact that i had to leave my entire family and all of my lifelong friends in the process...
i havent been home in 2 years, i havent even seen my twin neices in person yet.
this type of seperation from everything you "knew" causes a great amount of hurt on someone from an emotional standpoint, atleast with me it did...
...i dont say these things to talk up what ive been through, but rather to underline how important sway is to me.
i HAVE been thru some things...but trust me, this night was emotionally my toughest, ever, and i can say that with certainty. my heart was broken.

sway IS my family here...she is all i have and i love her with everything i got.
ive had family pets my entire life, but she was the first that i was solely responsible for...
6 years ago i found her abandoned as a puppy and she has been MY family ever since.
the thought of actually putting her down was unexplainable.
this fear had consumed my mind for months, the 'what ifs' and all that...but for the first time, i questioned whether i was doing the right thing by keeping her alive, and had to literally face the possibility of making that choice.
i spent 2 hours on the phone with my mom, and i cried more then than i have in years.
you can cry, and then you can have one of those cleansing cries...this shit was a cleansing cry.
i was a wreck, but i needed that talk and i thank my mom for it.
truth be told, i was more than likely going to put my girl down...i didnt want her to suffer for 1 second and the fear that something like thursday could happen again while i was at work, and that sway would die alone, was overwhelming. i WANTED to be there if and when she passed. this was a MUST.

september 29 - at about 4am that morning me and sway went to the beach...
i had no idea what i was going to do but i wanted to spend that time just talking to her and clearing my head in the process.
she always loved the beach, and we went out there and sat in the dark.
i had to carry her since she couldnt walk, but it was a good time and sway was alert.
thats the thing...even as her body was breaking down, from the shoulders up she was slowly improving and she was receptive as could be.
this is a picture i took of us @ the beach...


i chose to take her back in for another day of fluids.
dr. woods agreed that she looked brighter & she spent all day getting more plasma etc.
when i picked her up we had another in depth discussion about her condition...
he again underlined his fear that leukemia could be at the center of this, and told me straight that if i chose to go forward she would need hospitalized just to get her thru the weekend.
the bright spot was that, even with all of these issues crashing down on us, her PCV was holding strong at 20.
...that, along with the fact that i had a consultation with dr. dodds on monday was driving home the urge to still fight.
sways spirit was alive, but her body was like a starving child from a 3rd world country...
doc was clear that if we were to give sway a punchers chance of overcoming anything, she would need to be hospitalized the entire weekend...
this meant going to VCA and spending over a $1000 a day...
knowing my financial situation he was concerned that if leukemia was revealed to be in the bone marrow, we would then be up against nearly impossible odds.
...but if this was something that i had to do, take her and hospitalize her, and lets all cross our fingers.
it was pretty clear that laying inbetween didnt make any sense for sway, we needed to go to superhuman levels and get her thru this weekend in blind faith, or simply put her down by allowing her to pass.

my heart said she can do this, she is trying hard, she has plenty of life left, faith is a strange thing but i trusted it.
even tho i am currently pretty faaar in debt, $ was not playing a part in this decision.
i have 4 credit cards and 1 was blank...
if i had to max it out to give her 1 last shot i would.
it was almost like if i didnt then i wouldnt be able to live with myself, and each person will have to work these issues out within themselves...
i chose to take her into vca for the weekend, and dr. woods immediately shifted into the mode of steering the ship...
he gave me a blood sample and prepped me for what to expect, then called over and spoke to one of the doctors personally to bring them up to speed with sways case.
dr. woods is a great vet!!! and i cant emphasize enough on how key having one you trust is in battling this disease.

leaving the office, it was literally like a do or die feeling...
i knew this weekend would either be a turning point, or potentially sways last.

when we got to vca sway was weighed in at 27 pounds...
she had slowly been losing weight but no number stuck out to me like that moment did.
this was a 40 pound pit bull just 6 months ago.
they immediately took her back to start fluids and hemit, & i left there with a broken heart and hope that God would work a miracle.

september 30 - when i came back to visit the next day, her PCV was still holding steady :)
21, 20, 21, 25 (what???)...she is an impressive lil' girl.
it had risen on its own for the first time in almost 4 months.
i spoke at length with the primary vet overlooking sways care, dr. jane armstrong.
she provided some guarded optimism but my dog was VERY sick and there was no way to sugarcoat that.
another full blood panel was taken and the results would be back on monday...
when i went back to visit her at night her ears and gums were flush with a red glow :)


october 1 - monday came and sway was still in the hospital...
i was at work and about an hour before my consultation with jean dodds i got a call from dr. armstrong.
the blood panel was back and sway was still holding on to her RBC count.
bad thing was that she was leaking tons of protein into her urine.
sway had a UPC rating of 22% (a normal dog should be below 0.)
dr. armstrong informed me that damage to the kidneys seemed evident and this was usually something that happens prior to going into full renal failure.
if this happens to be the case, the prognosis given to me was 2-6 months...
ouch. what a blow from the blind spot.
hurt again and again, its a rollercoaster.

i finally got to see dr. dodds at hemopet and brought her up to speed on the new issues.
she called and spoke directly to dr. armstrong while i was in the room.
we think that the durabolin is clearly the biggest attributor to the steadyness of sways RBC count.
dr. dodds also gave me hope that the random kidney issues could be something that was caused by the heat stroke sway had on thursday.
she also said that since this was so out of the blue, it might end up being something that would eventually correct itself.
outside of the specifics i mention here, jean dodds has just really inspired me to hang tough during this battle.
shes replenished me with hope and told me that i should not focus on what sway looks like, but rather we just adjust and establish a plan that will eventually make sway better.
...dr. dodds is truly an angel amongst us, and i am so thankful to have her in sways corner.

monday night sway looked better & her PCV was still holding steady...
earlier it had dropped to around 18 but i was told not to worry.
they explained that it was due to all the fluids sway was on, and at times that could dilute the blood...
sure enough, by the time i went in for a visit it had risen back to 22-25.
she was more alert than usual and wagging her tail when she saw me turn the corner.
she was wide awake.

bad week

sunday night her breathing was very labored.
it woke me up around 4 am and her mouth was open slightly, body crashing up and down in an attempt for more air.
i held onto her and wasnt sure how things would pan out.
this has been becoming more and more prominent lately, ups and downs concerning her pace of breathing.
the fact that she just received a 2 unit transfusion the day before was glaring, because it seemed to me as if it wasnt holding in any way.
we went outside to pee and for whatever reason, she settled down and her breathing stabalized once we had layed back down.
i dont know if it is her expanded stomach pressing on her different organs that brings upon the quicker breathing...but it seemed as if getting her outside to pee had done the job.

monday came, sway did not eat.
later that night we headed out to the ledge in newport...
the walking path overlooks the entire city and its a pretty dope park.
sway was entertained and had it easy cuz i had to carry her everywhere!!!
she wanted badly to chase a rabbit that came up to us, but was ok with just watching it.
she is still very much interested in what is happening around her, and still pulls just as many compliments, even with her cone shaped head!

tuesday came and went, sway ate some scrambled eggs but this was only the 2nd time she had eaten since friday.

wednesday-
with her breathing ups and downs becoming more prominent, i thought it best that while i was at work, she spend the day at the vet.
she was physically withering away and i just assumed that another transfusion would probably be needed.
...based around the knowledge that her last 3 transfusions had only lasted for about 4 days each, i fully expected her count to be below 10%.
she looked worse, she was no longer able to sit herself up, and her appetite was next to nothing.
dr. woods called me to say her count was at 21%...
whoa.
no signs of regeneration, but the fact that she was holding such a decent count (for her) was a promising thing.
was the steroid helping? we didnt know.
was something finally beginning to turn around for the better? time would surely tell.
when i got her home she was once again refusing all food, this is becoming a huge issue.

thursday i almost lost her.
in the morning things were normal,
i left her sleeping in my bed because she likes to be by the window and at times there is a decent breeze.
every single day i come back from work on my lunch break so i can visit and take her out.
today i was running late because a call i was on ran over like a half an hour.
when i got home she was under the covers with the sun beating in the window...
she was laying in her own pee & vomit, and was breathing 100 miles an hour with her tongue completely swollen out of her mouth.
she couldnt even move from that position...
internally i was freaking the hell out.
i rushed her to my car and she was dying in my arms.
california traffic was just stupid, sitting, i jumped in the car pool lane and hoped the cops wouldnt be pricks.
once we got to the vet sway was literally lifeless, but her eyes were still open and she was still breathing.
she had a temperature of 107.
i wanted to try.
my vet put her on fluids immediately and within the next hour her temp had came back down to 98.
i sat with her for the next 4 hours.
a billion thoughts ran thru my mind, this hurt bad.
my vet told me that we could continue to fight but it would be an extremely steep uphill battle.
he mentioned that it could also be appropriate to put her down.
obviously the decision was mine and i couldnt do it.
he was supportive of my choice; to keep going, and thats where we are.
the entire time i sat in with sway while that fluid bag was dripping, she was looking right at me.
eyes open. staring.
i was talking to her the whole time.
i know she wants to live, but does she just want to live because she knows i want her to live?
my mom told me that i need to give her permission to go,
and later on that night...i did.
i cant even begin to describe how difficult this whole thing is, so for now i wont even try.
sway didnt eat, she couldnt...
the swelling in her tongue hadnt went down, she couldnt chew or really swallow.
we slept ok.
in the morning it seemed to have improved because she gulped down a full bowl of water.
she is now at the vet getting her 2nd fluid treatment.
im so proud of her, she is so strong and she tries so hard.
hopefully a corner will be turned soon.

durabolin

this was added to her treatment since she is becoming a rare case, with still no regeneration in the marrow.
its a human anabolic steroid that took some major effort to get my hands on.
she was given her first shot on wednesday and at this point will receive a 15mg dose once per week.
im praying something helps soon...

blood transfusion #8

coming home after getting her 8th blood transfusion.
my girl is a strong champion.

body changes

these are tough images to look at...
unfortunately, the prednisone and other meds used to regenerate cells will cause side effects to the animal.
this is the nature of the beast, and you have to always remember that the goal is to make sure the red blood cells begin to recreate.
it is hard to see your dogs body break down in front of your eyes but they will regain form when the cells react and you are able to then ween them off the meds.
sway is still in this stage, but i talk to many people who have been there and got thru it, able to see a better day, so i will try to stay focused.

before AIHA

up to speed...

before i get into future updates, i wanted to summarize what we've been thru thus far...

end of june - this all came out of the blue when i had her yearly blood panel ran.
a dog's red blood cell count should normally be around 45-50%
...sway was 29%
this was strange but not too alarming, so we planned to run another CBC to verify that this wasnt a mistake.
it wasnt.
over the next few weeks she had dropped to 21%

this is the disease we are looking at...
AIHA (auto immune hemolytic anemia)

july 27 - sway was at 18% and we decided to go ahead with an ultra-sound.
this was to basically rule out any tumors or internal bleeding, 2 potential reasons for the drops.
the ultra sound revealed no red flags, so as it was great to know that there were no tumors/bleeding, we still had no specific reason as to why this suddenly was brought about.

from there we looked to rule out another potential reason...
ticks.
she was put on doxycycline, which ideally would take care of all versions besides 1.
for the one rare tick, a babesia titer was ran and sway was in the clear.

july 28 - we started medication to counter the possible AIHA.
10mg of pepcid ac 30 minutes prior to meds/food.
carafate 30 minutes prior to meds/food.
20mg of prednisone 2x daily.
25mg of imuran 1x daily.
down the line we added other meds:
soloxine & RX hepatosupport (liver protection) are to be given 60 minutes prior to meds/food.
100mg of cyclosporine 1x daily 60 minutes after meds/food.
the cyclo was later stopped because sway's digestive tract is unable to handle it...most dogs do fine on this tho.
& finally a liver cleansing diet was suggested, you can try that here.

we chose not to run bone marrow tests, or any other tests for that matter...
reason being,
regardless on how the results would pan out, she would end up being on the same medication...
also, the $ for those tests would really take away from my ability to get her the treatment she needs....
im single, i dont have a great job, i dont have alot of money, and i live by myself in the most expesive county in the country.
i 'barely' kept my head above water before all of this,
now it will be 1 day at a time & i will just find a way.
...we decided to cross our fingers and wish for the best.

august 4 - 15.5%

august 7 - 15.5%

august 9 - 12% (blood transfusion #1)
this was also sway's first blood transfusion.
this procedure is basically hooking your dog up to an IV and running fresh blood into the vein thru a drip.
from what i have been told, sway tolerates these quite well and they usually will provide a boost.
however, if there is still no regeneration of cells, this fresh blood will soon be attacked and destroyed.
the point is to buy you important time while the medication is given an opportunity to work.

august 13 - 17%

august 17 - 13% (blood transfusion #2)

august 21 - 16%

august 28 - 12% (blood transfusion #3)

august 31 - 9% (blood transfusion #4, double unit)
i knew something was drastically wrong.
my girl was falling over when peeing outside and she could not walk straight.
her breathing was erratic as well and i was in a panic.
unfortunately my vet was closed and i was sure sway needed attention asap.
this meant going into the 24 hour care, and that meant me paying $1,200 for a one night visit.
i was right tho, because the 9% was the lowest she had ever been and after a long night of getting transfused sway was back up to 26%

september 1 - 28%

september 4 - 16%

september 6 - 13% (blood transfusion #5, double unit)
the meds are really beginning to re-shape her body...
the skull is taking on a cone shape, and the muscle is being evaporated from the pred.
alot of the time she has a hard time turning or squatting to pee without falling completely to the ground.
these are the effects of the disease, mixed with the effects of the treatment.
it is part of the path to a potential recovery. it is hard.

september 11 - (blood transfusion #6, double unit)

september 15/17 - (blood transfusion #7, double unit)

as i type this we have yet to see ANY regeneration of new red blood cells.

everyone is working hard though, and her doctors have been GREAT thru the entire process... (dr. woods / dr. dodds) THANK YOU!

i gain strength from a prior case that dr. dodds worked on, where a dog took 9 months before it began to create new cells in the marrow.
it is hard.
it is disheartening.
it is brutal at times emotionally.
you never want to see your family member stricken with such an unfortunate thing.
but better days do come, and i have faith in that.

no matter what she is dealing with, she is still a happy girl...
she still wags her tail feverishly when i walk in the door,
she still loves waiting in anticipation as i cook her patties, the fish or the boiled chicken,
and scarfs them down in record times!
still loves to wrap herself under the covers and make sure she cant be seen,
and loves to sit on my lap in the car so she can try to eat the air,
still hates baths,
still hates taking pills,
& still hates when i leave her...but i will always come back.
and i will never give up on her.

hi.

my name is josh...
& my dog 'sway' is deep in the trenches against a devastating disease known as AIHA (auto-immune hemolytic anemia).

i have watched her go from an energy bundled 6 year old pit bull, to a frail and fragile being that needs consistent medical support to stay alive...& in a matter of months.

this is a treatable condition, striking hundreds of dogs a year, yet has layers of complications and can be extremely dangerous in certain situations...
unfortunately, there is very little out there from the perspective of someone that has went thru it.
i know because when she was initially diagnosed, i did, and still do, spend hours online searching for any new piece of information that i havent already read multiple times.

luckily the internet isnt stark empty on resources, and there is great spots like meisha's hope & the vetnet community, which has a message board soley dedicated to the pets & owners who are going thru this.

there you will find great people who are willing to share there stories...
those who are, as we speak, in the same battle as us,
some who have pets in remission,
and those who have unfortunately lost there pets to this terrible disease.

there will no doubt be thousands more dogs that fall victim to this, and at that point i would hope that there owners will fight for them.
alot of that fight needs to be built up thru hope, thru information, & thru proof that a better day can be had.
that is why i make this blog now.
to begin, 3 months in, with documenting the trials and tribulations of what this disease does, and how it can be beat.
because i dont plan on losing my girl to this. and we will fight it till the very end.
sway's eyes tell me that she has tons of fight left, ...tons of LIFE left.
& we plan on living it.