Update on Beauty

Yesterday was a rough day. Gess had a seizure (details here ) and the vet confirmed that Beauty's cancer is back.

From the ultrasound it looks like the mass might be an enlarged lymph node, but the cytology report did not show any lymph cells. Not that I suppose it matters. It's cancer and it's back. We are scheduled to see the oncologist on Friday. The decisions that follow are going to be rough.

We also found out that she likely has Cushings, which occurs when the adrenal glands overproduce. Treatment is generally for the symptoms, but right now the only one that Beaut is exhibiting is increased water consumption. Given the cancer, this is of secondary concern right now.

Again, the good news is that Beauty doesn't act sick at all. She was running around and wrestling with her friend Pomps this morning and then has spent the rest of the day cuddled up with us.

Happy Birthday Beauty!

Beauty turns 9 today! And I am so sad because I haven't seen her :( With Gess's latest hospitalization, she is staying with our friends. When she gets home I am going to give her the biggest kiss and give her something fun for her birthday :)

In other Beauty news, she had her ultrasound on Thursday and was such a trooper! She didn't have to be sedated, which made me feel better. The radiologist said that her lymphnode is the size of a lime and it likely cancer. They were able to take a sample of the fluid in the node and sent that to the lab. We will get the results soon and we have an appointment with the oncologist this week. I think that the appointment is on Monday, but considering Gess is in the hospital I may reschedule (as long as I don't have to pay for a late cancellation).

In honor of her birthday, here's a baby picture of Beauty.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

I turned 32 about a week ago. Yep, 32 :) I really didn't feel like a birthday since it was only 2 days after my surgery. I actually ended up sleeping most of the day. Gess and I will will go out and celebrate when things settle down here.

For now, here's a pic from a birthday party when I was a kid. :)

Recovery

Surgery was on Tuesday and I spent most of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in bed sleeping. I had a follow up with my doc on Thursday and he said that things look good. He also commented on how muscular my calves are--which I suppose is a compliment :). Today my legs feel pretty darn good. I have been up and around on them quite a bit and there really isn't much pain. Some soreness and I bet I'd swear if you kicked me in my shins (so don't do that!). I can get on the bike or in the pool late next week! So, all in all, I think that things are going well! (At least on the leg front...the rest of life is still a mess--hubby was just admitted to the hospital, my dog's cancer is back, my dad has cancer, etc....sounds like a very bad country song!).

Tattoo Idea

I am thinking about another tattoo and can't get this one out of my head!  I wouldn't do exactly this, but it is good for inspiration ;)

(image from here)

Surgery

Today was my surgery for the fascia release for my compartment syndrome.  I was a bit nervous I admit--it is just not fun to have to go under anesthesia and go through recovery, etc.  Plus, there are always chances of things going awry.  Anyway, I had to be at Evergreen Surgical Center in Kirkland at 11:45 am.  (Note to self:  seeing a specialist on the eastside is going to mean lots of driving to other eastside doctors!). I got up this morning and kept myself busy with some cleaning, etc.  We set out for Kirkland around 10:45 am and we got there in no time.   

Somehow they had my birthday wrong and all of the paperwork said I was 64 years old!  So, new paperwork, lots of consent, etc.  I talked to the anesthesiologist and the surgeon and got in the OR around 12:45.  I don't remember much...just the doc putting in my IV, the nurse giving me O2 an telling me to just relax and let myself go to sleep, etc.

The next thing I know, I am awake in recovery.  Surprisingly I didn't really feel any pain.  The nurse gave me some apple juice and let me wake up some more.  I noticed that my IV was done and blood was starting to back up, so I let the nurse know and she removed my IV and said that I was doing so well she would send me into the next step of recovery.  I got dressed (note to readers, if you are having surgery, bring baggy easy to put on clothes.  For me, it was a pair of basketball shorts and a tshirt).  We moved to me to second recovery and put me a reclining chair.  The nurse couldn't immediately find Gess in the waiting room and he didn't answer his phone. Of course, he was on a work phone call :)  Luckily he was wearing an easily describable shirt and she was able to locate him quickly.  He came and she went over the discharge instructions.  We had to wait for awhile for the pharmacist to bring up my drugs, but as soon as she did, we were able to leave.

I was still feeling pretty good--not much pain at all.  I had to ride in the backseat with my legs elevated on pillows on the way home.  Got home and got all settled.  It did hurt a little to go up the stairs to my house, but it wasn't too bad.  Gess parked me in bed and got everything that I needed set up.  I feel asleep for a bit.  I keep getting hot flashes, which I suppose is caused by the pain meds.  It is annoying, but could be so much worse so I am not going to complain!

Chinese food for dinner and a chai latte (which during prep Gess burned himself :( ).  Now I am watching old episodes of the Closer (from my blockbuster mail order), "window shopping" on the net, and blogging :)

The doc says that the pain will be the worst tomorrow evening...so not looking forward to that, but also glad that the "worst" will be here soon and then on to recovery!  He said that I could swim and even bike (stationary) soon, earlier than I thought.  So, I am going to use this opportunity to get back into swimming.  Who knows, maybe I will even figure out how to breathe when I swim!!! :)

Pressure Test

I have had some questions about my pressure test, so I thought that a blog post was in order.  The doctor warned me that the test would be painful.  She made it sound like it was going to be awful so I prepared myself for the worst.  The first thing the she did was mark the locations on my legs with an ink pen.  She decided to test by the anterior compartment (which is where I have do much pain) and then the deep interior compartment.  After that she spray on some numbing agent and then she injected me with some lidocaine to numb the skin.  This hurt, but it wasn't too bad.  She warned me that she isn't able to numb the muscle, so the test would still be painful.

After all four locations where numb she measured the pressure at those four locations.  To my surprise, it really wasn't painful.  The numbing shots were much more painful.  These were the baseline measurements.  

The next step was the worse--getting my legs to hurt.  Fortunately it doesn't take long for my shin to flare.  She put me on the treadmill and had me jog for a bit and then walk.  About 5 minutes in it started to hurt like crazy and then she wanted me to go for a couple more minutes and I did.  I hadn't made my legs flare of up like this in awhile, so it definitely hurt.    Then we went back to the office and had to wait for 5 minutes before the rest of the test.  This was the most painful part of the test...my legs really hurt, but it is a pain that I know since I have been dealing with it for so long.  

After 5 minutes she measured the pressure again, which included 4 more pokes.  This wasn't really painful, but I think that it was because the shins hurt so much already.  And that was it.  Bandaids and orders to rest and not exercise for a couple of days.  

One of the good things is that you get the results immediately.  My results were very clearly positive, so that was really a relief.  I am so glad to see a light at the end of this tunnel!  This pain has been going on for way too long and it just seems to be getting worse.  I also talked to my ND and he said that compartment syndrome (especially with numbers like mine) can be dangerous.  So, as weird as it sounds, I am so excited for my surgery!  

Beauty

As everyone knows, my dog Beauty is my "girl."  I love her so much!  A week or so ago we saw what looked like urine on the kitchen floor with what looked like blood in it.  She wasn't showing any other signs that something was wrong, so we decided to just keep an eye on her.  We had to run to Yakima to deal with a family medical emergency (my father was/is hospitalized and being diagnosed with cancer) and Beauty went to her "second home" (our friends' house).  They noticed a bloody spot after Beauty jumped on the couch, so they let me know.  I figured that those two events were sufficient to warrant a trip to the vet, figuring that she had a UTI.

So, yesterday I took her to Bellevue to see the vet.  During the exam, the vet thought that she felt a mass (in Beauty's bum...the site of her previous cancer).  She ordered more blood work and did some x-rays.  She suspected that the mass was a return of the cancer.

Additionally, she noted a heart murmur.  She said that they rate them on a scale of 1 to 6, and that Beauty is a 2.  She explained about murmur and said that it could lead to heart failure, but it could also not progress much. So, it really is anyone's guess about what will happen.

Today the tests came back and the x-rays showed an enlarged heart, enlarged liver, and also a mass near her bowel that is pressing on her colon.  Beauty's liver functions were slightly elevated, but it is unclear what could be causing that.  She also has some crystals in her bladder, but there is no evidence of any stones.  There was blood in the urine sample, but based on the way that they collected the sample, the blood could have come from the collection process.  So, that is not conclusive, but given what we saw at home, she likely does have blood in her urine.  

The vet is recommending that we have an ultrasound done find out more of what is going on.  When I mentioned this to Gess yesterday he was immediately opposed.  He doesn't want to put Beauty through unnecessary tests that won't make a difference in our decision making.  I don't want her to have unnecessary tests either, but I do feel like I want to know more about what is going on so that we can actually make decisions.  

So...we are in a rough position.  Neither of us wants her to have cancer surgery again.  But, we don't want her to die either.  It just breaks my heart to even think about this.  She is my little girl.  

Gess just talked to the vet and says that he has updates for me, but I have to wait until he gets home to hear.  Luckily she is not acting sick and doesn't seem to be suffering.  In fact, she is up looking for her toys right now :)  

Surgery is scheduled...

For September 15th! Very soon! I am nervous, but also very excited. I can't wait to be able to walk/run without this horrible pain!! The surgery is too close to my birthday, but it's a sacrifice I can make!

In other news, I officially rejoined Weight Watchers in an attempt to lose some of this weight. I have gained some over the past couple of months, so I am really frustrated with myself. It sucks. I am mad, embarrassed, and all sort of other emotions. But, as a good friend reminded me today...I have had a lot going on, so I need to cut myself some slack. So...today is a new day and I am going to try to be easier on myself. Beating myself up is not going to help.