9-4-03: Today was out big day to travel 3 hours to Kansas State to start Syd's chemo. The student vet took us to a room where the oncologist joined us and asked if we had any questions which were answered. To remind everyone, Syd is part of a clinical trial on piroxicam. Thus he gets 5 treatments of doxorubicin every 2 weeks and gets 2 "P" pills a day (in the trial, we don't know if he's getting the actual drug or the placebo). I asked the oncologist if he could be given something to diminsh the risk of heart problems and she said that if he were a different breed, she would be more concerned, but rotties are not know to develop cardiomyopathy, so they took great care in administering the drug and monitoring the dog. She also said if he should develop sickness within 3-7 days after each treatment or had problems with the "P" pill, she could prescribe something for it and to call them back immediately. We took him to the chemo room and while walking down the hall, I was behind him and he kept stopping looking for me. So I got in front and he went into the room and kept looking back as if to say "don't leave me here!". I felt he was in good hands. As we were walking out, a HUGE Great Dane and his owner walked in and he had the large lump on the right front distal radius. My husband said "oh, boy. We know what he'll be going through". I had an urge to run after this man and tell him about this list if that's what it ended up being, but then thought it would be out of place as it might be something else. I hope and pray that he finds this list if needed. After 4 hours, we went back and they brought Syd out. He would NOT leave my side and kept standing there pressing his face into my thigh as I was trying to sign papers and talk to the oncologist. She said he did well with the chemo and his CBC looked good. She said I have to do another CBC next week (in the off weeks inbetween treatments) so they can adjust their protocol accordingly on his next visit. She said to watch out for nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, listlessness, no appetite, etc and to call them immediately if this goes on for more than a day or so. On the ride home, we stopped and he ate 2 Wendy's hamburgers. On the way home, there was a flagman on the highway where we had to stop to wait for oncoming traffic to go by before being allowed to proceed. We were the first car in line so we started talking to the flagman (er flagwoman). My husband mentioned we had been up to K-State with our rottie and she said she used to have a rottie and it got stolen from her yard one Halloween. She asked if she could pet Syd and he hobbled over and licked her hand. As we got closer to home, Syd started whining. We stopped at a turnpike oasis and while I went and got some soft drinks, he took Syd out to the grassy area away from everyone and he had to pee big time! As Syd was hobbling around, a guy in a Mercedes Benz pulled over and asked if he was a dobe. He started talking to my husband and said he used to have dobes until they passed away and that he has a cat now that he just spent $1500 on for it's ailments. He looked at Syd's incision site and rubbed behind his ears and said he's glad that we are the same type of owners who thinks their animals are family members and not just a dog or cat and are willing to do whatever they can to help them. So all in all, Syd was a good ambassador for rotties and cancer amputees that day! That night after we went to sleep, Syd came up to the 2nd level (all by himself) and slept beside my husband's bed. He would wake up crying a few times, but my husband would put his hand on his butt and he would relax and fall asleep. Now I wish I could rest at night. I somehow developed a very sore throat while up at K-State and felt miserable the whole day.
9-5-03: Syd is doing much better at getting down the stairs. He is bracing himself better at going down the stairs and takes his time going up. He gets tired easier and we just let him go at his own pace. He was getting vocal with my husband during lunch and is acting more and more himself (except for being tired quicker). He's still not eating a whole lot, but I figure he'll eat when he wants. Some days are better than others. Tonight, my stepson came over and Syd got up and hopped to where he was at to say hi. That's a marked improvement over the past week. My step-granddaughter was moved to the bed of the mini-pickup so she wouldn't be pushed over by the dogs and so she could see them and pet them. Syd (who is hyper around small kids sometimes) saw her and started his normal whining and looking at her, so I know he's feeling normal since they've been over since his amputation and he hasn't acted that way before! Some of the other dogs were going up 3 concrete block steps to the area above the retaining wall where we have some sand they like to lay in. Syd kept wanting to try it so he did. I told him to take it easy, but one of the last steps is different height than the other and he fell on his right chin, but got up and continued. I had him come down a different way. I gave all the dogs a brushing and decided to use a rubber brush called a zoom brush and lightly brushed over the area above and below the incision site. I thought he was going to just go to sleep right there! It must have felt good to him cause he just closed his eyes and relaxed. Later on, he wanted to come upstairs and he hesitated. I just left him alone and he came up without further incident! My husband went downstairs to work on the computer and I went upstairs on the 2nd level to watch TV. Next thing I know, here comes Runt (who always comes up to see where I'm at and is normally followed by Syd, his pal). And I almost started crying when through the darkness, here comes hopalong Sydney following his bud to see what I was doing! I was SO proud of him. Now he seems to be getting back to normal. He does seem to take a LONG time to lie down. And when he does so, it's with a huge plop. So, so far, so good with him and chemo. It's only been day 2, so we'll see how tomorrow and the next week goes. Hopefully he will do fine.
9-6-03: Syd ate his usual 1/2 can today. When I went down to feed them this morning, I found Syd laying on his dog bed on his side on the side of his incision! I told my husband that he hasn't done that since before his amputation! So that's a good sign that it's no longer that painful or tender. I'm sure he won't be able to do that on concrete floor, but at least he's doing that. Syd will trip over things once in awhile, but stays upright while hobbling, so that's good. He's coming along slow but sure.
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