Dave's Journal, October 2018
Modern stuff may be cool, but these old classical paintings are amazing.
Speaking of artwork, Deb and I created this pretty piece. She did the coloring, I fine tuned some effects. Pretty, I think.
Rough day today. my baby girl, Lexie (our cat) is staying a few days in the Westford Emergency Hospital. Long story behind that, but all the test results they are feeding us are life-threatening ("spleen, bone marrow, platelets, FILV, liver nodules ....").
We're trying to Zen our way to stress relief ("breathe deep, exhale slowly, hum . . . "), but it ain't working.
Good therapy for me is getting lost in other-worldy pictures, so I twiddled with another of Deb's colorings, while sipping (slugging down?) on some wine. Took my mind off the real world for a while.
Well .... our cat Lexie has the same form of cancer that Mom struggled with, Multiple Myeloma - a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. Plasma cells help you fight infections by making antibodies that recognize and attack germs. Multiple myeloma causes cancer cells to accumulate in the bone marrow, where they crowd out healthy blood cells.
If caught very early, it is effectively treated in people. Dogs also. Cats are another story. It is very rare in cats and the treatment statistics are scarce and generally not good (the cats usually die).
We met with a very decent oncology vet and talked over the options. Straight talker, this guy, which is good because we were in no ####ing mood whatsover for any bullshit today.
Lexie is now back home. As of noon today, we were thinking she had less than a week at home before we ended the story. After our meeting, we decided to try a 2-3 weeks of chemo (pill once a week) and prednisone (pill, twice a day).
Vet told it straight - odds are not good, and at best we are adding 3 - 6 good months to her life. Probably not, but maybe yes.
So, that's the path we're on. We bought some time for us and for Lexie to come to grips with this. It's like she just fell off a cliff last week, from "I'm doing fine" to "I'm actually dying". Scary as shit. By the time you have symptoms, it's too late !!
Under major stress, I reach for Godzilla or King Kong to pull me through. Today, it'll be KK.
And Tom & Jerry often help ...
I should compile a set of video clips that make me laugh. . . . Tom & Jerry, Lucy, Laurel and Hardy, George Carlin monologues . . . . . must follow through on this.
Lexie is dead. Died in my lap a little while ago. My baby girl.
This happened incredibly fast:
Loss of appetite Tues.Sept.25th
Called vet Thurs.Sept.27th
Saw vet Mon.Oct.1. Take blood for overnight testing.
Tues.Oct.2: vet calls early morning (wakes us up!) - "Get her to Westford Emergency Hospital right now". We take her and she stays overnight at Westford.
Wed.Oct.3: "She has multiple myeloma." Gets first dose of chemo & Prednisone. Comes home.
Thurs.Oct.4 morning: clearly she is at death's door. I wake Deb up to "say goodbye".
I start up the fireplace and set her there on blankets (her favorite place to be). (It's 70degrees oustide!)
Thurs.Oct.4 evening: Lexie dies in my lap.
Ten days from her first obvious symptoms to being dead.
My baby girl.
