Friday, February 2, 2007

January 26, 2007 (Friday)

I hand-fed Ashley, which proved to be difficult because of her “cold”, upper respiratory infection. She is extremely congested to the point of a very audible congested noise in her breathing and sometimes breathing through her mouth. Ashley got her Clindamycin dose at 11 a.m.

Ashley’s appt. with Dr. Harris in Dallas is at 2 p.m.

Ashley’s weight dropped from approx. 11 pounds to 9.6 pounds. As I mentioned before, her hind quarters were starting to hollow indicating body mass loss such as muscle. This seems to be common in cats with cancer, as two previous cats, Tigger and Gizzy, passed away due to cancer. Tigger dropped from 15 pounds to 5 pounds. He died December 16, 1999 at 16 ½ yrs. Gizzy was 12 pounds at his heaviest. I don’t know how much he weighed when he finally passed away in my arms November 20, 2003 at the age of 16 ½ yrs.

Dr. Harris examined Ashley and noticed the new area on the right side that seems a little swollen. She wondered if it is due to the cancer spreading or the severity of her upper respiratory infection.

Dr. Harris wanted to due a CBC (complete blood count) and give her another chemo drug. This drug is called Doxorubicin. (I assume the CBC is to check to see how she is handling the chemo treatments and to if she will be able to have the Doxorubicin.) They gave us an estimate of the charges for the CBC and chemo with all the other items needed to administer the chemo. In the list an indwelling catheter was listed. At first we thought this meant she would be catheterized for peeing. Afterwards, I realized they used something they called a catheter the very first time they injected her with the chemo in her legs.

They left us alone to discuss the treatment amongst ourselves. We were very concerned about her “cold” and the chemo. I was also very concerned about having to leave her there over the weekend. (At first, as mentioned above, we thought she was going to have to be catheterized and stay there.) I figured I can keep her at home and monitor her and get her to an emergency clinic if necessary. I was very concerned about her upper respiratory infection becoming worse over the weekend causing her death. I did not want to leave her to die in essentially a stranger’s care – or at least non-family. I did not want her to feel we abandoned her in her final hours.

We discussed these concerns with the technicians. They said she would not have to stay there over the weekend. The CBC would only take about 10 minutes. After the CBC, they would know whether or not Ashley could go through with this chemo treatment. She would be able to go home when the treatment was over; it shouldn’t take long. We asked if the emergency clinic next door had a way to contact Dr. Harris over the weekend in the event of an emergency. They said yes, but that Dr. Harris will be going away for a week. They can contact the technicians though, if necessary. Also, they told us to make sure anyone who needs to treat Ashley in an emergency knows she’s a chemo patient and what drugs she has been given and is currently taking.

They left us again to go discuss our concerns with Dr. Harris. When they returned, they told us Dr. Harris decided against the new treatment at the moment because of Ashley’s upper respiratory infection, the weekend and her being out the following week. She also told them to wait on the CBC (they were going to do it to see if she could handle the chemo while she has the “cold”)…no point in putting her through all that since she won’t be getting the chemo until she’s over the “cold”. They told us the new drug may make her temperature, which was a high normal of 102.4F, spike. It would also lower her immune system more. We all decided it was best to wait. Instead, they gave her an injection of 2mg of Dexamethasone. They told us to stop the Prednisone pills for 3 days, as they can’t be taken with the injection, but continue the Clindamycin.

On the way home, Ashley had a hard time breathing. We had to stop at Kroger for cat litter and Ashley rested.

I had to take Ashley out from under the couch for her supper. She had mucus draining from her left eye, her nose and mouth. After cleaning her up, I hand-fed her. She fought me a bit, but we got most of ¼ can down. She got a drink on her own.

Ashley has been very thirsty tonight with the meds. She has gotten up several times on her own to get a drink. She has been sleeping in 15 minute to 30 minutes intervals on the couch, the rug and in pillow-filled, towel-lined basket, as well as on me. She seems to be resting a little better as the night goes on.

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