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.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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.
& 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
