Daisy is now retired from agility because it has become too physically challenging for her. Instead she takes trips to the beach where she can jump waves to her hearts content. It is good for her because it lifts her spirit and she is able to pace herself and stop when she has had enough. I try to take her to as many doggie activities as possible where she can maintain her normal yet "less" physically active lifestyle.
These last few weeks have been difficult as Daisy struggles with this disease. She has been hospitalized twice because the chemotherapy seems to be wiping out her immune system. Daisy's bone marrow is still maturing and therefore takes longer to produce new blood cells. When her platelet and white blood cell count gets too low she becomes weak with a fever and needs hospitalization for fluids and antibiotics.
Daisy continues to receive the lymphoma vaccinations however it is a fine balancing act because the vaccine is supposed to fight against the cancer (and needs the immune system to do it) and yet the chemotherapy weakens the immune system while it is attacking the cancer. It is scary not knowing if Daisy will recover from these hospitalizations. Last week I thought I lost her for sure. It breaks my heart to see her sick and weak and not able to help her. I take her temperature often especially when her energy seems abnormally low. Or when she wakes up "panting" and begins "pawing" at me which started just this past week. Is she is pain? I asked Dr. Lurie. He said that sometimes panting can be a sign of pain or discomfort. He said her condition is not "critical" because it has not spread to her liver or spleen. He said it may likely be discomfort due to a urinary tract infection. Daisy was prescribed antibiotics for a urinary tract infection and Tramadol for pain.
I've been talking with Dr. Pat Lawman on and off from the Morphogenesis company regarding Daisy's struggle. Dr. Lawman who is passionate about finding a cure for lymphoma has high hopes for the lymphoma vaccine. We discussed the challenges of the "balancing act" and she mentioned that the success of the vaccine is much higher if the disease is caught early on. The challenge is that most dog owners don't catch it until they feel lumps under the dogs jaw area and by that time it is already in the advanced stages. Dr. Lawman mentioned a company in England called "Pet-screen" who have developed a screening process that reportedly will catch lymphoma in its early stages through an advanced lymphoma blood test. You can read more about it at their website: www.pet-screen.com
Thank you Dr. Lawman for your compassion throughout this challenging time period.
Dr. Lurie Daisy's oncologist at Miami Veterinarian Specialists did not administer chemotherapy to Daisy this week because of her low platelet counts. Daisy did however get her fifth dose of the lymphoma vaccine which hopefully will help Daisy this week. Dr. Lurie said to continue to let Daisy determine what activities she wants to do. So yesterday I did just that. I asked Daisy if she wanted to go to the beach and she immediately wagged her tail and ran to get her "purple" beach ball. Here is a short video of her trip to Haulover beach:
These last few weeks have been difficult as Daisy struggles with this disease. She has been hospitalized twice because the chemotherapy seems to be wiping out her immune system. Daisy's bone marrow is still maturing and therefore takes longer to produce new blood cells. When her platelet and white blood cell count gets too low she becomes weak with a fever and needs hospitalization for fluids and antibiotics.
Daisy continues to receive the lymphoma vaccinations however it is a fine balancing act because the vaccine is supposed to fight against the cancer (and needs the immune system to do it) and yet the chemotherapy weakens the immune system while it is attacking the cancer. It is scary not knowing if Daisy will recover from these hospitalizations. Last week I thought I lost her for sure. It breaks my heart to see her sick and weak and not able to help her. I take her temperature often especially when her energy seems abnormally low. Or when she wakes up "panting" and begins "pawing" at me which started just this past week. Is she is pain? I asked Dr. Lurie. He said that sometimes panting can be a sign of pain or discomfort. He said her condition is not "critical" because it has not spread to her liver or spleen. He said it may likely be discomfort due to a urinary tract infection. Daisy was prescribed antibiotics for a urinary tract infection and Tramadol for pain.
I've been talking with Dr. Pat Lawman on and off from the Morphogenesis company regarding Daisy's struggle. Dr. Lawman who is passionate about finding a cure for lymphoma has high hopes for the lymphoma vaccine. We discussed the challenges of the "balancing act" and she mentioned that the success of the vaccine is much higher if the disease is caught early on. The challenge is that most dog owners don't catch it until they feel lumps under the dogs jaw area and by that time it is already in the advanced stages. Dr. Lawman mentioned a company in England called "Pet-screen" who have developed a screening process that reportedly will catch lymphoma in its early stages through an advanced lymphoma blood test. You can read more about it at their website: www.pet-screen.com
Thank you Dr. Lawman for your compassion throughout this challenging time period.
Dr. Lurie Daisy's oncologist at Miami Veterinarian Specialists did not administer chemotherapy to Daisy this week because of her low platelet counts. Daisy did however get her fifth dose of the lymphoma vaccine which hopefully will help Daisy this week. Dr. Lurie said to continue to let Daisy determine what activities she wants to do. So yesterday I did just that. I asked Daisy if she wanted to go to the beach and she immediately wagged her tail and ran to get her "purple" beach ball. Here is a short video of her trip to Haulover beach:
A Prayer for my sweet little Daisy:
MAY THE SUN
bring you new energy by day,
MAY THE MOON,
softly restore you by night,
MAY THE RAIN,
wash away your worries,
MAY THE BREEZE
blow new strength into your being
MAY YOU WALK
gently though the world and know its beauty all the days of your life
~apache blessing
