Happy Birthday Ella

Happy Birthday to my Goddaughter Ella.

Chondroyousucksarcoma

So, we got the results on Willy's pathology. It came back as malignant, a chondrosarcoma. So, the toe has to be amputated. It was scheduled to be done yesterday, but the Vet had some medical problems of her own and was in the hospital.

We have rescheduled it for Monday.

Chris has been so wonderful and supportive through all of this.

I have been such an emotional basket case about this. My brain tells me that the amputation is the right thing, the only thing to do. I know this, and that is the route we are going. On the other hand, my heart is so heavy about it all. The thought of him losing his toe is so hard to think about, but if it gets rid of the cancer, it will be worth it. I feel so badly because I can't explain to him what is happening to him. He has always picked up on my moods - when I am sick, or hurting, he is right there next to me, or lying on me, taking care of me. I'm trying hard to stay positive because the day I got the diagnosis, I lost it at home, and he picked up on it and got upset himself. Today, I had a migraine, and there he was, right beside me. He knew I wasn't feeling well.

At least he is going into the surgery on Monday so much better than he was on Thursday. He'd had a rough few days, so at least we had a little extra time for him to get stronger. A few more days for the vet to get stronger and feeling better, and a few more days for me to feel better emotionally about all of this. I've enjoyed seeing my little guy back to being his usual self. I needed that.

And yeah, chondroyousucksarcoma... but we're going to beat you.

Catching up

Chris pointed out to me that I've been neglecting my blog. So, here's my catch up post.

Last post, I was recovering from my right hand surgery. I had my left hand done on Feb 17th. At least I knew what to expect. It was a little easier in the respect that wasn't my dominant hand. It was a bit harder otherwise... one reason, I stumbled and caught myself, using my left hand... ouch! It's over a month later and it's still swollen. They are both somewhat tender, but not too bad.

We had snow on Feb 12th. It was beautiful. It came in quickly. We got several inches at our house.

When I got home after work just as the snow was starting, I went inside only to find Willy in distress. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally, I figured out that his toe was swollen and seemed to be causing him pain. Got him comfortable and he calmed down.

Chris wanted to go for a ride on his motorcycle while it was snowing, so we put on our new cold weather motorcycle jackets and loaded up and off we went.

The next morning, I got up and loaded Willy up in his carrier to take him to the vet. It took me 30 minutes to clean the windshield on my car. There was a layer of ice underneath the snow.

The vet told me he had an infected nail bed, but of more concern was that he was jaundiced. Some bloodwork was done, long story shortened... he was diagnosed with hemobartonellis. A parasite that attaches to the red blood cells. He was severly anemic. So, we had to treat him with antibiotics for the parasite and the nailbed along with Prednisone for two weeks.

When I took him back for a follow up, he was better, but still needed treatment. So, he got an Imidocarb injection. She had told me two weeks before that he was so badly infected that the injection would kill him. His blood work had improved, but she wanted to go ahead with the shot. I was a nervous wreck all night. But, he did fine and got to come home the next morning. She only kept him overnight because he was 'critical'.

Two weeks rocked by and it was time for his second injection. I was feeling better about it because he did pretty good with the first one. I asked her to take a look at his toe again because it was still swollen, but he didn't seem to be in any pain.

When I picked him up, she had bad news about his toe. She had done a needle aspiration on it and it wasn't an infection. It was a tumor. I was about knocked off my feet. We scheduled him for 10 days later to come back and have it surgically removed and sent off for pathology.

I was able to take him home after work. By the time I got him home, he was in a full blown reacation to the second shot. A call to the vet, and I got advice to get us through the night, with the promise that if he got worse, she would meet me at the clinic and admit him. I set a clock and got up every hour throughout the night to check on him. We made it. It took him until Sunday night to really feel better.

His toe is still causing us some anxiety. He had the surgery, the tumor was attached to the bone, so she wasn't able to get it all. We have to wait 10 days for the pathology to come back. If it's good, then we are done. If it's not, then he has to have the toe amputated. They put an e-collar on him so he wouldn't mess with his toe... that lasted about a minute. The collar that is. He managed to get out of it every time we put it on.

Finally, we just let it stay off. He seemed totally uninterested in the toe and didn't bother it. Prayers are still being said for good results on his pathology.

Tomorrow is Chris's grandmother's 90th birthday. His family is throwing her a huge birthday bash. So, last weekend, I made four batches of cookie down and froze it. Today, I've been baking up a storm. Approximately 500 cookies, 200 turtle pretzels, 2 Crack Bars (mmmm... good! They are adictive!), and a batch of toffee. Throw into that mix that I stopped to cook supper. I'm tired.

My nephew Tyler competed in the State Championship for Drill Team today. I'm so proud of him!

KB had her 6th birthday.

Bebe and I entered an amateur photo contest. I did not even place, but Bebe won BEST IN SHOW! I'm so proud of her. The photo was one she took of her mother watching AG eat an ice cream cone. It is a great photo. Way to go Bebe! The photo is even more special because of the people who are in the photograph. I hear that I did win the KB award though. After going through the exhibit and looking at the 362 entries, KB picked her favorite. It was one I entered. It was of a kitten looking at a grasshopper perched on a blade of grass. She had no idea that I took the photo when she decided it was her favorite. Thanks KB! Bebe won a $250 prize for best in show, she donated it to a local charity. Her photo will be on display for the next year and will be one of the photos featured in the calendar that is being done highlighting all of the winners.

But, I'm also now caught up on my blog. At least I think so. Those are the highlights.

Happy Birthday KB

Happy Birthday Katie Beth!

Happy Birthday Bene'

Happy Birthday Bene'

Happy Birthday Jess

Happy Birthday Jessica

Update on my hand

I'm making good progress in my recovery. Most days, the palm isn't tender. The strength is coming back smidges at a time. I was gauging the improvement by when I could open a water bottle by myself. I managed that feat last Tuesday, at about 3 weeks post op. It's a struggle, but I'm doing it!

The scar looks good. It's itching some, which is part in parcel during the healing process. I'm using the memory foam block he gave me to strengthen the hand. I'm trying to use it on the left hand to so it will be stronger before the surgery on it.

I go back for my next post op on Thursday this week. We will schedule the left hand at that time.

So, all in all, it hasn't been a bad experience.