I am eight months along now!
Saturday was probably about the worst day I have had in as long as I can remember. Notably it was also the 20th anniversary of the death of my Grandma Hernandez which my mom could not dedicate a mass to at church because apparently there is a two dead person dedication limit. How dumb is that!? The day started with a depressing trip to the vet’s office. A little over a week ago we noticed enlarged lymph nodes on the sides of Betsy’s throat. This is common when someone has an infection so we just decided to keep an eye on them. By Thursday they were noticeable bigger and harder and we observed that she was making some grunting sounds when eating and exerting herself as if they were pressing on her esophagus and windpipe so we made her a vet appointment for today. We took her in to see the vet today and he did a lymph node biopsy which showed that she has Lymphosaroma. This is an incurable cancer in dogs. Our three shitty options were to do chemo for $5000 which may buy us 6 months to a year with her, put her on steroids which are more for comfort but may shrink the tumors and will give us 6 weeks to 6 months with her, or let her go. All of the options suck because they all end in us losing our beloved beagle. We chose to go with Prednisone and a whole lot of love. I spent most of the morning crying. Once, she came running over and pressed up against my leg to comfort me. What a sweet and selfless pup. I had to pull it together to pick up Rachel from the airport which was yet another nightmare. We got there only to find out that her flight was severely delayed (in 10 minute increments, mind you) and the mean lady at the check in said that only one of us could go past security to the gate to get her. Clearly that would be Paul which meant that I had to wait in the crazy crowded check in area which had no seats. Since her plane wasn’t even in the air yet and we weren’t really keen on waiting in separate areas while paying $10/hour for parking, we decided to leave the airport until we got a call from Lisa saying that she was in the air. We went to a nearby Bob Evans where I broke down yet again. We had lunch and waited forever. The waitress kept coming by to see if we needed anything else and to confirm that she gave us the check. We finally got the call that Rachel was in the air and headed back to the airport. We got back in line to see if they would give me a gate pass and this time they did with no problem. I don’t know what was up with the first lady! We sat forever until Rachel’s plane landed (about 2.5 hours behind schedule) then fought the crowds at baggage claim until we were finally out of the airport a mere six hours after first arriving there. What fun! We decided to delay telling Rachel about Betsy so I had to stay composed all evening but I went to bed very early without dinner because I just wanted the whole entire nightmare of a day to be over with.
Sunday we were pretty lazy. We told Rachel about Betsy and she was sad, of course. She wrote about it in her journal and taped in a dog hair and a picture to remember Betsy by. I thought that was very sweet. Since Rachel was in New York during Paul's birthday, we made him a cake and celebrated his belated birthday Sunday evening. I always make him some kind of crazy cake for his birthday. This year it was a giant bloodshot eyeball.
Saturday was probably about the worst day I have had in as long as I can remember. Notably it was also the 20th anniversary of the death of my Grandma Hernandez which my mom could not dedicate a mass to at church because apparently there is a two dead person dedication limit. How dumb is that!? The day started with a depressing trip to the vet’s office. A little over a week ago we noticed enlarged lymph nodes on the sides of Betsy’s throat. This is common when someone has an infection so we just decided to keep an eye on them. By Thursday they were noticeable bigger and harder and we observed that she was making some grunting sounds when eating and exerting herself as if they were pressing on her esophagus and windpipe so we made her a vet appointment for today. We took her in to see the vet today and he did a lymph node biopsy which showed that she has Lymphosaroma. This is an incurable cancer in dogs. Our three shitty options were to do chemo for $5000 which may buy us 6 months to a year with her, put her on steroids which are more for comfort but may shrink the tumors and will give us 6 weeks to 6 months with her, or let her go. All of the options suck because they all end in us losing our beloved beagle. We chose to go with Prednisone and a whole lot of love. I spent most of the morning crying. Once, she came running over and pressed up against my leg to comfort me. What a sweet and selfless pup. I had to pull it together to pick up Rachel from the airport which was yet another nightmare. We got there only to find out that her flight was severely delayed (in 10 minute increments, mind you) and the mean lady at the check in said that only one of us could go past security to the gate to get her. Clearly that would be Paul which meant that I had to wait in the crazy crowded check in area which had no seats. Since her plane wasn’t even in the air yet and we weren’t really keen on waiting in separate areas while paying $10/hour for parking, we decided to leave the airport until we got a call from Lisa saying that she was in the air. We went to a nearby Bob Evans where I broke down yet again. We had lunch and waited forever. The waitress kept coming by to see if we needed anything else and to confirm that she gave us the check. We finally got the call that Rachel was in the air and headed back to the airport. We got back in line to see if they would give me a gate pass and this time they did with no problem. I don’t know what was up with the first lady! We sat forever until Rachel’s plane landed (about 2.5 hours behind schedule) then fought the crowds at baggage claim until we were finally out of the airport a mere six hours after first arriving there. What fun! We decided to delay telling Rachel about Betsy so I had to stay composed all evening but I went to bed very early without dinner because I just wanted the whole entire nightmare of a day to be over with.
Sunday we were pretty lazy. We told Rachel about Betsy and she was sad, of course. She wrote about it in her journal and taped in a dog hair and a picture to remember Betsy by. I thought that was very sweet. Since Rachel was in New York during Paul's birthday, we made him a cake and celebrated his belated birthday Sunday evening. I always make him some kind of crazy cake for his birthday. This year it was a giant bloodshot eyeball.
Monday, Rachel stayed with her friend Kassiana while we worked. Kassiana’s parents, Pat and Auriel, hosted gathering after work with appetizers then we all went out to dinner. It was a gang of people that Paul used to live with and hang out with including Chris Heil whom we haven’t seen in a long time. It was fun but we didn’t get home until quite late so we were tired on Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon, we received a call that the slides the vet sent to a pathologist were confirmed to be Lymphosarcoma. We knew it, of course, but I will still holding out for a miracle. She is not as perky as she used to be but still runs around outside with vigor and hasn’t lost her appetite. We did have to switch her to soft foods, though, which are easier for her to swallow.
Wednesday was Christmas Eve. Paul had the day off and I only had to work a half day. I made Paul get a picture of Rachel and Betsy in front of our “Eagle Run” neighborhood sign so that I can later Photoshop it into saying “Beagle Run” as we always call our neighborhood.
We have been meaning to do that for quite a while and now time seems to be running out. I got home at noon, did my makeup, changed, then we pack ourselves, our presents, and Betsy into the car to go to my parent’s house. One of the side effects of her illness is increased thirst, therefore increased drinking and increased urination so we didn’t want to leave her alone for too long. We went to Christmas mass at St. John’s then stopped back at my parents’ house to walk the dog and gather stuff for dinner at Grandma’s with Lee, Robin, Ashlee, Jeremy, and Todd. It was a really nice evening. The rain earlier in the day that had melted all of our pretty snow turned the roads to ice so our drive home was super slow. We didn’t get home until after midnight and didn’t get to bed until about 1:30am. We were exhausted.
On Christmas morning, Rachel woke us up at 8am. We had fun opening gifts but my enjoyment was hampered by the dog seeming to have difficulty breathing. It appeared to be a positional thing and when she got up from the way she was laying, her breathing improved. Her lymph nodes were even bigger, though, so I know that her time with us is quite limited. After presents, we had breakfast, got ready, and went to my parents’ house to open gifts with them. We brought the dog with us as we were going to be gone for a long time again.
On Christmas morning, Rachel woke us up at 8am. We had fun opening gifts but my enjoyment was hampered by the dog seeming to have difficulty breathing. It appeared to be a positional thing and when she got up from the way she was laying, her breathing improved. Her lymph nodes were even bigger, though, so I know that her time with us is quite limited. After presents, we had breakfast, got ready, and went to my parents’ house to open gifts with them. We brought the dog with us as we were going to be gone for a long time again.
We somehow got way behind schedule which was made worse by the fact that we hit a pothole on the way there and blew out a tire. Poor Paul had to change the tire in the slush in his nice clothes. Of course, to get to the tire, he had to unload all of our gifts and the dog crate onto the side of the road which was lovely. We finally got there and did a nice gift exchange with them. My parents got us a really nice HD camcorder to record special baby events. (NOT THE BIRTH!) While we were getting ready to leave their house to go to Gloria’s for dinner, Paul gave Betsy her dinner and I gave Betsy her medicine wrapped in a piece of cheese. I totally wasn’t thinking and gave her a piece that was too big for her to currently handle but a size she would have downed in a single bite just a week ago. Seconds after swallowing it, she fell over backwards convulsing. Having just renewed our CPR certification, Paul started doing back blows and chest thrusts while I rubbed her throat and tried to comfort her while she choked. My dad meanwhile was shining a flashlight in her mouth to see if he could see the obstruction while my mom tried calling the emergency vet and Rachel hid in the basement. We stopped CPR to let her die peacefully but somehow Betsy cleared the cheese. I call it a Christmas miracle. I was so stressed that she was going to die and it was all my fault. She was pretty much drained for the rest of the day, poor thing. She breathed okay from then on although her snoring is getting quite loud. We had a good visit at Gloria’s but I was distracted reliving the horrible incident over and over in my head which pretty much ruined the rest of the day for me. We left Rachel at my parent’s house that night because we had to work on Friday. We got home late yet again then had to unpack the car so we didn't get to bed until around 1 a.m.
Friday I was beat from all of the stress and lack of sleep. It is never a good time to lose a beloved pet but especially over the holidays when everything is supposed to be happy. Plus emotional pregnant women shouldn’t have to deal with stuff like this. Work was fairly uneventful. We were supposed to spend the evening packing to go up north for the weekend but Paul’s parents called us to tell us not to come due to the weather forecast for flooding on Saturday and refreezing of the roads with lots of snow on Sunday. Rachel was supposed to stay the week up there with them but luckily my mom volunteered to let Rachel stay with her instead. I feel bad that we missed spending time with them at Thanksgiving and now at Christmas but the weather up there has been horrible. Plus it’s probably best for poor Betsy not to do so much traveling although she does greatly enjoy the great white north. Her energy was pretty low today. I am worried. It has only been a week since diagnosis but she is going downhill so quickly.
On the baby front, the kicks are still intense and frequent. My hips have been pretty good this week. I get full so fast that I couldn’t really enjoy all the holiday food.
News from the womb…
The iris of the baby’s eye has begun to respond to the intensity of light by opening under dim lighting conditions and closing under bright lighting conditions. This activity is automatic and is called the pupillary reflex. The baby’s toenails are now fully formed. The baby weights about 3 to 3.75 pounds and measures 1 foot in length.
Friday I was beat from all of the stress and lack of sleep. It is never a good time to lose a beloved pet but especially over the holidays when everything is supposed to be happy. Plus emotional pregnant women shouldn’t have to deal with stuff like this. Work was fairly uneventful. We were supposed to spend the evening packing to go up north for the weekend but Paul’s parents called us to tell us not to come due to the weather forecast for flooding on Saturday and refreezing of the roads with lots of snow on Sunday. Rachel was supposed to stay the week up there with them but luckily my mom volunteered to let Rachel stay with her instead. I feel bad that we missed spending time with them at Thanksgiving and now at Christmas but the weather up there has been horrible. Plus it’s probably best for poor Betsy not to do so much traveling although she does greatly enjoy the great white north. Her energy was pretty low today. I am worried. It has only been a week since diagnosis but she is going downhill so quickly.
On the baby front, the kicks are still intense and frequent. My hips have been pretty good this week. I get full so fast that I couldn’t really enjoy all the holiday food.
News from the womb…
The iris of the baby’s eye has begun to respond to the intensity of light by opening under dim lighting conditions and closing under bright lighting conditions. This activity is automatic and is called the pupillary reflex. The baby’s toenails are now fully formed. The baby weights about 3 to 3.75 pounds and measures 1 foot in length.
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