Well it didn't happen yesterday. Emily's bloodwork came back with her white blood cells too low. Her platelets were down and so were her red blood cells. So no Chemo this week, we'll try again next week. It's just as well, she really has been lethargic and quiet. Although that's probably all due to her blood count being so off. I still believe this is all tied to the massive GI bleed she had 4 days before she started her first chemo treatment. She had started on Prednisone and an antibiotic at the same time, 3 days later - massive vomiting of blood and then tarry stool. When I say massive I'm not kidding. I don't freak out easily but if she had been a 200 lb human I still would have been freaked at the sheer volume. Her stomach has since settled. One thing I discovered is that cabbage has vitamins and minerals that are excellent for the health of the stomach lining. She's been getting a good dose of cooked cabbage which she loves!
While she didn't get her chemo treatment yesterday she did get her scheduled reduction in Prednisone. Thanks be to heaven!!! All the side effects we are seeing are most likely related heavily to the Prednisone. She's thirsty, pees a lot, unsteady on her feet, tired, moody (aloof and not as happy) and ravenous. When I say 'ravenous' I mean there are times when there is absolutely no way to satisfy her hunger. I was worried she had gained 5 lbs just in this past week but luckily she only gained .2lbs and she has some room to gain a couple so she's fine. There are times I've actually run out of ideas as to what to offer her to try and satisfy her hunger. Luckily she seems to find the ND diet satisfying when she's in that 'ravenous' mode. Quite a change from the week before when I couldn't get her to eat the ND diet.
As I mentioned on two days ago on Monday, Emily has started playing out in the yard again. She's still doing that and today she had a nice, pretty energetic bark at the neighbor dogs and then the neighbor, who she loves but still doesn't like it when he gets too near the fence. Now she's tuckered out.
So far today she's had 5 smelts, 2 sardines, a chicken wing, piece of carrots, a treatball with a handfull of kibble in it, couple tablespoons of her homemade diet mixed with yogurt. And that's besides her 1.5cups of homemade food she had for breakfast. I'm really hoping she'll start to feel the reduction in her Prednisone soon....
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