1 Week Down, 3 To Go

Well, one week down! I am so glad that the catheters are out for the weekend! Poor little "Sweet Pea" doesn't have to wear the collar until Monday now. She loosened her catheter the very first night as we had a smaller (and more comfortable) collar on her, and she got to her catheter! These photos were taken in the the exam room yesterday. She and "Punky" have been absolute little troopers through it all. I would love to get some better photos of "Punky," but I would just upset her. It's bad enough upsetting her when she has to receive her medicine every 8 hours and then feeding her and cleaning her litterbox, etc. She would rather I just stay away from her. She is missing her Pops, but he will be up to see her middle of next week and maybe take her home with him for a few days! She doesn't have to be back to the hospital for a check-up until the following Monday. Below is a photo of "Sweet Pea" in her outfit!

Below is the rear view of "Sweet Pea." Is this not pitiful? Bless her little heart. But the oncologist said yesterday that they have an excellent chance of getting all of her cancer and curing her. So we have to keep trudging forward with the treatments! Just 15 more to go for her and only 1 more for "Punky." They can only do so many on the delicate area of "Punky's" face, and they recommended just 5.

Below is "Sweet Pea's" little back with the radiation markings drawn on it. This entire area will become scaly, then sunburned, and then about raw, I was told. This won't happen until weeks 3 and 4 of the treatments. Eventually, it will scab over and heal, but it will be a long process. So you can see the need for the little shirts she is wearing. Besides, she likes to lick her incision area yet, the lower part where she can get to it.

This is what greeted me the other day when I brought "Sweet Pea" back to her home. My daughter had hand washed her little shirts and was afraid they would shrink in the dryer, so she hung them up to dry. It caught me so off guard that I had to laugh when I saw them.

I met a woman at the animal hospital yesterday morning whose dog has cancer of the sinus cavity and was receiving radiation treatments. She was a beautiful dog, a fluffy corkie. This lady was just heartbroken. I have met such nice people there. You know me, I like to talk to everbody! I have heard some sad stories. It all goes with being a pet owner, sooner or later. After all those fun-filled kitten/puppy days, it eventually does comes to a sad end. After I had one of my cats put to sleep several years ago, I received a card in the mail from my vet. In it, he had written: "You have given Duffy one last gift....his release from suffering." His words have stuck in my mind every time I have had to have another pet put to sleep. That made me see euthanasia in a totally different light. When it gets near the end, we have to do what's best for our beloved little friends, not ourselves.