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...