Ty, August 31, 2012, morning update

First and foremost, thank you, everyone, for your continued prayers and support.  I am out of words to sufficiently express my gratitude, but please know that my appreciation is immense.

I have some slivers of progress to report, and while some things are a bit worse, a few things have improved.  A long conversation with Dr. Karen yesterday gave me framework for where we are within the progression/treatment of the disease, and while I didn't love everything she had to say, there is value in knowledge, and I gained a fair bit yesterday.

The good:

• Last night Ty had a good rest.  He was not up and down, panting and pacing, like he had been the night before.  This meant I slept, too, and I sure needed it.
• Late yesterday afternoon the panting was a bit less, and he had extended periods of breathing through his nasal passages that were clear, and free of gurgling and whistling.
• There are no new mouth lesions in the last 24 hours, which is the best news I have to report this morning.  There is no question any halt in progression is a very good sign, and we are holding onto the 'good' in that.
• His spirits are up, though I see that he is not his usual self, the happy dog is still will us.  This tells me he wants to fight on.
• NO eye discharge in 24 hours!
• No blood in the stool in the last 24 hours.  He has had very good stools through it all, and while we did see some blood day before yesterday, it appears to have been a 'one off' thing.

The bad:

• Nasal passages are a bit more clogged this morning, but I could *almost* put this on the 'good' list, because I *think* the clogged passages might be the formation of more solid discharge vs. oozing, which might indicate some healing of the lesions.  I'm really guessing here, but this is my take (hope?).
• A slight recession of his eyes.  While very slight, it draws the inner lid up a bit.  I understand this can be a product of the medications vs. the disease, but until I better understand what's going on, I'm putting this on the 'bad' list, though it may not be a precursor of anything bad, but rather part of the process.
• He is slow to respond to the medications, which indicates the disease has a pretty significant head-start.
• He is occasionally refusing to jump up on the sofa, into the car or up on the bed, and appears to have a bit of rear-end weakness.  I'm not sure what to think of this, and it could be a by-product of many things.  For now, I'm not forming any opinions, just making observations.

My call with Dr. Karen yesterday was informative, and sobering.  She told us that some dogs start to respond to treatment right away, and others take a bit of time.  She prefers to have medications on board for a full 6-8 days before drawing any conclusion, but at that time expects to see stabilization, at a minimum, and preferably progress.  The current symptom re-emergence put us about 4 days behind the 8-ball, so we have some catching up to do, and she noted that yesterday

Because Ty's system is so suppressed by the medications, Dr. Karen put him on Baytril yesterday, and he had his first dose last night.  He had been through a course of Cephalexin, which we finished a few days ago, but concerned about secondary infection, she chose to put him on the Baytril.  I'm past the point of challenging her.  The goal is to stop the progression of the disease, and keep any secondary infections at bay.  We can re-build him when he stabilizes, but if he doesn't stabilize, all the re-building in the world won't amount to a hill of beans, and his situation is precarious right now.

Dr. Karen inferred that his prospects would not look good if we could not stop the disease progression in the next 4-5 days.  Dr. Leslie, Ty's homeopathic vet, inferred the same thing.  In her words, "this is an aggressive auto-immune disease...we are walking a fine line, with few options."

Both Dr. Karen and Dr. Leslie are in agreement with one another.  This does help, in some way, as I don't question an 'either/or' strategy.  They both see the current path as the right one, which takes some of the guess work out for me.

Yesterday was a hard day, and I cried a lot.  Talking to Dr. Karen, while sobering, in terms of what we are facing, was informative, and gives me something to work within.  I think that helps.

As an aside, I have gotten several private emails from folks who are following Ty's story because they are facing auto-immune challenges with their own dog, and they report the updates give them some hope, and a connection to someone facing the same thing with a beloved dog.  For me, that's enough to keep it up.

Thank you, again, for all the support.  It helps...a lot.  I thank you.  Cliff thanks you, and I know Ty would thank you, too, if he had the words.

Ty, August 30, 2012, morning update

He had a very restless night, until about 3am, when he finally seemed to settle down a bit.  Sleep has been punctuated with periods of panting, sneezing, and a lot of nasal gurgling.

48 hours ago, a small crack popped up on his nose leather.  This morning is it much more pronounced, with a lesion seen within the nasal cavity...

These are the kinds of lesions seen throughout his mouth, as well, though I did not open his mouth to shoot photos.  It clearly bothers him.

I'm concerned about the very small cracks beginning to form on the more clear nostril, as I believe that is the only clear passage for air, aside from panting, that he has.

We are on day three on 80 mg. of Prednisone/day, as well as 25 mg. of Azathioprine/day.

In the last 30-40 minutes I can hear a rasp from him when he's panting, and his bark has taken on a raspy-ness, as well.  I know the larynx can be affected, as well, and I suspect that has happened.

I will fight as long as you tell me you want to keep fighting, baby boy.  I won't give up on you.  If you no longer wish to fight on, I trust you will tell me.  Until then, we march on...I love you, with all my heart.  I think it goes without saying that I will never be ready to lose you, but I love you too much to push you to fight if you decide you are no longer able.  I am listening...

Ty, August 29, 2012, afternoon update

It has been 24 hours of changes, and not for the better.  I feel like we had a grip on him until 4 days ago, and now I feel like he is in a free fall.

Everything is worse, and today we have blood in the stool.  The roof of his mouth looks like someone took a razor blade to it, and the discharge from his nose and eyes is significantly worse.  We tried to drain his nose mid-day with a bulb syringe, but I don't know that it helped much.  He seemed more agitated afterward.

He remains upbeat, and happy, if not just a little restless.  His mouth very obviously hurts him, but his spirits are strong.

I'm scared...really, really scared.  I love him so.  It hurts me, in a way I never imagined was possible, to watch this disease take such a horrible toll on him.  I don't think I have ever felt so helpless.

 

I love you, Ty, with every fiber of my being.  Please get well, baby.  If only love could restore your health.  We have a lot of that, you and me...

Ty, August 28, 2012, afternoon update

It has not been a good three days for Ty.  Following his visit on Friday, when he looked and felt so great, he started a fairly punctuated down-turn.  A new eruption of all the symptoms I thought we had gotten on top of, or were getting on top of.

The rancid breath is back, mouth sores are rampant, and painful, a lot of face pawing, green discharge from the eyes, and milky discharge from his nose.  The only thing we haven't seen is a renewal of eruptions on his face, and I'm thankful for at least that much.

In spite of it, he seems fairly happy, and upbeat.  He went to work with Cliff this afternoon, which is one of his most favorite things to do.

After a chat with both vets, and with a lump in my throat, I agreed to increase the Prednisone, again, from 40 mg./day to 80 mg./day.  At this point, if we don't get on top of this outbreak, we will lose him to it, and I still see a happy, functioning dog, albeit one that's in some discomfort, so I'm going to keep fighting for him.

It goes without saying that we need more prayers...

Next week we had a bit of a vacation planned.  With the dryer repair on Friday, which turned out to be about three times the expense we had expected, and Ty's new meds, I think we will be sticking close to home, with one exception.  He loves the beach.  Come hell, or high water, we are going to take him to the beach, so he can chase waves and eat sand until his heart's content.

DIY Greenhouse

Now that I have successfully made my own compost, and have determined I have some gardening aptitude, it's time for a greenhouse.

A word about my compost.  It's freaking fabulous!  I can't wait to use it next year.  Who knew, taking something 'free' (grass clippings and woody debris, including shredded paper), would turn into a rich, beautiful soil, teaming with all things good.  I can hardly wait to use it next year in my vegetable starts!  I will definitely be making more next year...a LOT more!

Back to my greenhouse...

A cursory search for greenhouses and kits returned some rather costly options, making it less viable for us.  Several less expensive options were also available ($200-$300), but very flimsy.  The reviews weren't all that great, either, and who am I kidding, that's still a LOT of money.  Perhaps in another life, when money flowed more freely through our economy, I might feel differently, but every penny is precious around here.  We don't spend them lightly.

Aside from the joy of growing one's own food, this project has a cost savings purpose.  By growing our own produce, and canning what we don't eat in the summer, for use in the winter, we will be taking a pretty big chunk out of our grocery bill.  We already feed the occupants of this house for about $30/week, but this will help even more, and while I have discovered a love of gardening, this project is more about cost savings, than anything else.  The more we can extend the growing season, the more we can produce.  The greenhouse will enable that!

We live where snow is a part of life.  Any structure would need to take a bit of a snow load, and anything without a rigid roof won't cut it.  Most less expensive options didn't look as though they would take rain, much less snow.

Sunday, while we were doing errands, we talked about building our own greenhouse, from the ground up, but a full blown building project wasn't really something we wanted to commit to.  Surely there was a way to re-purpose something, and do so on the cheap.  We also wanted something we could disassemble, and move, if the need ever arose.

I stumbled upon a Google link with photos of a dog run that someone had wrapped with plastic sheeting, and reported good success using as a make shift greenhouse.  The dog run they had used was just 4' tall, which wouldn't work for us, but it sparked an idea.  I figured if I scoured CL ads, I might find something we could use (just the framework, provided it had roof supports), and I was right.  We found a 6'H x 8'L x 5'W kennel.  As luck would have it, the chain link up front was pretty damaged, which made for a great negotiating point.  We would be taking it off, anyway, so damaged wasn't a problem, and if it helped us get it cheaper, all the better.  The seller also just wanted it gone.  Such a great combination when searching CL for a deal!  The result?  CHEAP!

Oh, and the seller's measurements were a little off, too, as I just discovered.  It's actually 10' long vs. 8', so another two feet to work with.  So cool!

Cliff removed the damaged chain link yesterday afternoon, and we are left with the framework, which was what we wanted.  What a deal!  We will be adding the fiberglass panels next week.  I will be scouring CL for shelving supplies in the coming weeks.  We just need to be ready to go come February/March, so I have plenty of time to scavenge the 'free stuff' on CL and the Nickel Ads.  Here's hoping I can find everything else for free, or pretty close to it!

Ty, August 27, 2012, morning update

Every time I post a good update, it seems it's followed up with a decline in Ty's condition.  Perhaps this is just the progression and treatment of this disease.  It makes me hesitant to post the good updates.  Perhaps I am jinxing him...

He had such a great day Friday, and into Saturday morning, then he started to paw at his face.  This, I have learned, is not a good sign.  While his spirits have not diminished, there are new sores in his mouth, and the discharge from his eyes just will not stop.

Last week we went from 20 mg./day of Prednisolone (a variation of Prednisone), to 40 mg.  For me, this was not a happy change.  And, of course, it has not stopped the progression of the disease.  Now the conventional vet wants to go from 40 mg. to 80 mg.!  When I used to take Prednisone for my asthma, I took 30 mg./day, at the highest dose.  And my conventional vet is murmuring 80 mg./day for my dog, who weighs a fraction of what I weigh?  When is it time to just say "enough is enough", and let things falls where they fall?

I do not want to give up on my dog, but when is the treatment worse than the disease?

Through it all, he has remained the happiest, sweetest boy...never resenting anything we had had to do to, and for him.  Always greets the vet with joy, and a snuggle.  Always agreeable, no matter what they do to him.

I'm not looking forward to my chat with the conventional vet today.  I don't know what to do.

I could just take the Prednisone plunge, or hold off, and hope the Chinese herbal therapy kicks in...the 'blood heat'.  The homeopathic vet suggested it would take at least 14 days for that to kick start healing.  Do I drag this out another 14 days (well, 11 now)?  Another 11 days of up/down?  Another 11 days of pain and discomfort for my dog?

This is so horribly difficult.  What a bitch of a disease.  I hate the words "auto-immune".  If I never have to hear them again, it will be too soon.

Lemon lavender shortbread

The last time I saw my eldest niece, she made an assortment of shortbread cookies, ranging from sweet to savory.  Beautiful shortbread, with some very interesting combinations.  One that stood out, and was definitely my favorite, as well as my husband's, was her lemon lavender cookie.  Light, fragrant and beautiful to look at, it was the essence of summer, and her shortbread recipe was just a 'melt in your mouth' experience.

As I looked at the lavender in my garden, I thought of my niece's cookies, and decided it was time to give them a 'go'.

Mine turned out really well, though very different from my niece's...I owe my cookie to her.  Her beautiful cookies inspired my own version.

I did not have my niece's recipe, but I do have a favorite shortbread recipe, so I just needed to get an idea of quantities of both the lemon, as well as the lavender.  In my search, I found one lemon lavender shortbread cookie recipe after another...literally hundreds of them.  Okay, good, but the trouble was finding a quantity of lavender that would make it obvious they were cookies to be eaten vs. bars of soap to wash with.  Too much lavender would make one wonder.  Unfortunately, quantities were all over the map.

I decided to start small.  I figured a little less would be better than a little too much.  As it turned out, a "little less" was exactly right.  This is a beautiful, fragrant flower.  A little goes a long, long way.

I also chose to add my lemon in the form of a glaze of fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar.  It turned out to be the perfect way to add it, and it made for a truly beautiful, 'finished off' looking cookie.

It really matters not what shortbread recipe you use, and if you have a favorite, don't be afraid to use it, just add 1-2 teaspoons of dried lavender to the flour and sugar before you process in the butter.  In mine, the lavender was almost turned to powder in the food processor.  At first I was disappointed that I couldn't see the bigger flowers throughout the dough, but after tasting the cookies, I'm glad it turned out the way it did...I think it released the flavor a a little better.

I used a brownie pan I bought on sale at Walmart a number of years ago.  It was perfect for these cookies, and I didn't have to roll out and cut shapes.  Just press dough into the pan, press the 'cutter' into the dough, and bake.  Worked like a charm.

I prefer shortbread recipes that call for either powdered sugar or ultrafine sugar.  I'm not a fan of those that call for regular, granulated sugar, but to each his own.  This is why I say use the shortbread recipe of your choosing.  My only tip is use good butter.  Shortbread is flour, sugar and butter, with butter lending the most powerful taste and texture.  Cheap butter will work, but if you want a truly buttery, melt in your mouth shortbread cookie, use really good butter.

The cookies turned out perfectly baked, and the pan gave me the shapes without the mess.  This pan has a removable bottom, as well, just like a tart pan, so the entire tray of cookies lifts right out.

After the cookies cool completely, make your glaze  The glaze is simple.  About 2 cups of powdered sugar, and enough fresh lemon juice to smooth it out and be spreadable, without being too runny.  Start with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, then add just a little at a time until it's smooth.  It's easy to go from not quite enough liquid, to way too much, so go in small additions.  Once the consistency is right, spread it on your cookies.  Right after spreading the glaze, top with some lemon zest.  Let it set for just a couple of minutes, then add the dried lavender buds.

I think I used a total of about 12 cents' worth of lavender I picked up in the bulk section of my local market.  The butter will be your biggest expense in these cookies, but for a really beautiful cookie, bursting with flavor, these were pretty cheap to make.

After trying these, my husband said, "you better eat what you want, because I won't be stopping to let you catch up!"