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Aullido's Howl

The stone

Hey all! I almost died! and it all began with a lowly bladder stone.

Turns out my peeing wasn't caused only by my cancer medication: about a week ago, I started feeling really sick, I panted a lot and my tummy hurt but I couldn't pee very well. Mom took me to the hospital at 2 AM, where the vet found what appeared to be a bladder stone (and a tack stuck in my intestines, but that appeared to be the least of my problems).

The next day I was in the hospital, the doctor tried to insert a tube to reach my bladder and empty it but the tube didn't pass, meaning I had a urinary obstruction that had to be removed surgically ASAP.

Now, by itself, it's a pretty common procedure with few complications. However, due to chemotherapy, I was in a very delicate condition, with my defenses down and my healing capacity quite diminished.

I went into surgery on friday. I spent the night at the hospital but I developed a fever. I started getting antibiotics and mom & dad came on saturday. But rather than taking me home with them, the doctor asked them to leave me there for a while. I later learned this was because my condition was very delicate and the doctor wanted to keep an eye on me. But right then, I felt like I was going to have to stay in the cage forever.

Mom & dad visited twice a day on saturday and sunday, but they always left. I was really sad, feeling terrible and wondering whether they'd leave me there for good. Alone in a cramped cage, my tummy got really red and my elbows started to hurt. I refused to eat or drink water.

Happily, mom & dad picked me up sunday night and took me home. I was very happy about this, but I also felt weak, tired and everything hurt. Still we got home and I started recovering, quite slowly. I didn't feel like doing anything, just lying there, at least I'm home with my family. But mom & dad forced me to get up on my feet, walk around, eat, and stuff like that. Recovery is difficult but I'm glad my family was there to help me.

I'm now starting to eat normally, I can go for short walks and I'm having less and less trouble getting up. It's all thanks to mom & dad who have helped me and didn't give up on me even when I was being difficult and tried to bite them (just a warning, mom, I promise I wasn't meaning to hurt you). So thanks to them I'm here sharing this with you!

I'm off to rest a bit more, see ya!

Chemotherapy!

Hey all! Here i am reporting on my treatment. I started chemotherapy almost 3 weeks ago. I went to the vet and they gave me a shot. They also started giving me some weird pills. Now, I've noticed that when I get shots or medicine, I feel better. In this case it was the opposite: after a few days I was feeling a bit weird, I felt famished and felt the urge to pee a lot. Sometimes I couldn't hold it and peed inside the house, I was so embarrassed but mom & dad were understanding and didn't give me a hard time.

After about 10 days I felt a bit down, vomited and didn't want to go for a walk because I felt dizzy. However the next day I was much better.

I guess I'm getting used to it; mom & dad say the pill (prednisone) is the one making me feel bloated and pee a lot, but they also told me that the dose will be reduced and I'll feel a bit better.

I'm also starting a new chemotherapy drug tomorrow, I'm a bit scared because mom & dad are worried, but said they'd keep a close eye on me so I don't have any problems.

Yeah, it's chemotherapy and it can be tough on you; don't expect it to be a walk in the park. But I'm holding up just fine and hoping that all this results in my having a lot more time left with my family.

Off to take a nap, see ya!

My tumor

Hey all!

First for the good news: my wound is almost completely healed, which means I'm pretty much back to normal: I get to sleep upstairs with all my pack, and can go for normal walks. The last stitches will come out tomorrow. The surgery by itself was a success and I recovered just fine.

However, there's also bad news. My tumor was stage-II, meaning that, even though it was completely removed, the cancer is already spread at the microcellular level and will certainly come back at some point, although at the moment I have no other growths.

The doctor suggested chemotherapy, which he says will keep the cancer at bay for up to a year, during which I should have good quality of life, thanks to these medications.

He kept on babbling but I stopped paying attention because I sensed mom was getting very upset and wanted to help her but didn't know how. After we got out of the vet's office we went pick dad up at his work. He was upset and concerned too, but me, I was worried about mom, who was really sad. I love my humans and want to protect them but in this case I didn't know what to do, except to be with them.

Back home in the last few days we've mostly returned to our usual routine. That makes me feel at ease, although I still sense a certain sadness in my humans. Me, I'm not sad, as long as I'm with my family. I know they will help me through difficult times, whatever the outcome might be.

I'll be keeping you up to date on my progress. See ya soon!