Month: July 2018

Week Two is Done!

so, today I finally hit the halfway point in Buster’s 18 sessions of radiation. I knew this was going to be a slog and it really is. Going to the vet every day and having my pup put under anesthesia every day is not the best time for me or for him. Also, I have now heard him twice do kind of a weird cough I’ve never heard before, because he’s being intubated every day and that can start to irritate his throat a bit. They did warn me about this, and so far it hasn’t been bad at all.

i may finally be starting to see the slightest redness at the radiation site, I’ve been in a little bit of denial about that, but he is likely to get a pretty significant burn there which is likely to start showing up pretty soon.

but so far, Buster is still doing very well. Groggy and a little anesthesia drunk for a short while after he gets released to me. His eyes also look a little slimy when they bring him out, because they put a lubricant on them so they don’t dry out because they don’t fully close while he’s in anesthesia.  but then good energy and mood the rest of the day. He still likes the farm. We’re back at my house tonight and he seems happy in his spot on the couch.

9 sessions down and 9 to go!

 

Same dog

In between Buster’s amputation and our “move” out to Virginia for radiation, I gave Buster one day at daycare to say hi to his buddies there as his new three legged self.  He’s gone to the same daycare for nearly 8 years because he’s spoiled rotten.  I was nervous about how he’d do, but when I picked him up at the end of the day and asked how he did, what I got was, “Same dog!”

He did just fine.

He’s still doing fine even going through radiation, at least so far.  This morning was Session #6.  When I brought him back to the farm after he was done so I could get logged in and get to work on my laptop, he did more whining than usual, and seemed uncomfortable for a while.  But I gave him a few good short walks and then one longer one where I let him off leash and threw his tennis ball for him.  It was the first time I’d done real off-leash-fetch with him in a while since I don’t have a big yard at home.  And he did great.  He ran.  He wagged his tail and did a play pose to make me chase him.  He had a good afternoon.

Same dog.

Cardiology + Session #5

This morning Buster had his cardiology appointment to figure out why he had a heart rate drop and some arrhythmia last week during anesthesia.  So we went down the street from the oncology office to the cardiologist office, and they did an echocardiogram.  This didn’t require anesthesia, just a vet tech holding Buster lying down.  Buster was displeased, but resigned to this latest indignity.

It was weird to see Buster’s heart bouncing around up on the screen.  He had some normal age-related deterioration, and a mild heart murmur, but this appointment was good news — no serious abnormalities or issues.  A minor tweak to his anesthesia regimen to prevent a recurrence.

Then we went straight to the oncology center for his fifth radiation session.  It went fine, they employed the new medication protocol, and this time he had no heart issues.

We are back at the farm and Buster is taking his midday nap to recovery from the morning’s unpleasantness.

Week One is Done

Home sweet home!  I’m sitting with Buster on my sofa at home in Washington DC after finishing Week One of Buster’s radiation treatment.  I really lucked out finding a great Airbnb with super-nice hosts (on a farm!) near Leesburg VA, where Buster is being treated.  As great as it is there, I’m very happy to be back in my own house.  Nowhere in DC has the necessary veterinary radiation equipment, so the far, far exurbs have been the best option.  We’ll go back out on Sunday night for Week Two.  Spending the weeks in the country and the weekends in the city is the exact opposite of what many DC’ers do, but so it goes in this unique situation.

Buster did pretty well during his first week, although we’ll have a cardiology appointment on Monday morning before radiation to do some diagnostics on the arrhythmia and low heart rate he experienced this week.  Veterinary medicine is like people medicine in that once you’re in the system, the system has you, and there is no end to the appointments and precautions and additional findings to be probed.  My poor buddy is in the system, but we will follow the doctor’s orders to get the cardio workup done.

After 4 sessions there have been no obvious side effects, including at the radiation site.  Mild wooziness for about an hour after each session due to the anesthesia, but Buster has been his wonderful goofy, lively, loving, and occasionally obnoxious terrier self in the afternoons and evenings.

More next week, if not before.