My Heart is Breaking

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by hexe on 20 January 2012 - 00:01

There's an old curse that goes like this:

"May you live in interesting times." My general attitude to that is, "No, thank you." It seems present times have been far too interesting for you and yours in recent months. Time for boring.

It's precisely because of your nursing experience that I'm now worried about your health, Jackie....just promise us that you'll pay attention to your body if it tells you that the pneumonia is stalled or heading the wrong way, OK? If for no other reason than because Carl can't cope with the 'icky' stuff like lymphatic drainage, and Kali's advanced recuperation progress is largely due to the professional level of care she's getting in your hands. :)

There may not be any link, but it took longer than normal for the path report to come back from Michigan State with the results from the biopsy on Max's foot mass, too, which finally was dx'd as calcinosis--they said they double- and triple-checked the mass, and ran extra slides, just to be sure that it was just simple calcinosis and they weren't missing anything more insidious. So I'm going to hope that UofP's paths are doing the same thing, making sure they've ruled out every single other remote possibility before saying it's just CC.

Now that I'm thinking more about these skin lesions Kali also developed...is there ANY possible way she could have been exposed to something contaminated with tuberculosis? In the far back reaches of my mind, I'm remembering a dog we saw in the clinic 25+ years ago that presented with weird masses and skin lesions, all of which defied definition and didn't respond to treatment. Eventually, during a discussion with the owners about how bizarre whatever we were looking at was, one of them mentioned a family member who had lived with them several years earlier, and that person had contracted the avian form of tuberculosis secondary to an immunosuppressive illness they developed. The dog used to raid the family member's trash can and eat the used tissues it found there...many of which contained mycobacterium-laden sputum. Nobody really gave it a thought, and it took several years for the dog to develop clinical signs...and when it did, it manifested as a cutaneous form. I want to say that the dog was referred (probably to UoP, since we were in South Jersey) and treated with a long-term regimen of ketaconazole....but I can't swear to that, as it has been so damn long ago.

I need to go do some reference-digging and see what I can turn up. The spectre of things fungal-like is hanging around in the back of my head now, and it won't go away until I review all the literature I can find on the subject. If I find anything applicable, I'll let you know.

OK, everybody, let's keep the noise down tonight so Jackie can get some *REST*, alright?

[the curse is usually attributed as being Chinese in origin, and actually has three parts...the first part as above, the second being "May you come to the attention of those in authority"; and the third part is, "May you find what you're looking for" All sound great until you think about them from every angle....]

by Kalibeck on 20 January 2012 - 03:01

Thank you, Hexe. I promise to take care of myself. Have no doubt I'll sleep tonight, it's been about 4 or 5 days since I've had a good rest.
Well Kali is already on to the hot dog hiding spot! I'll have to pick up some liverwurst tomorrow....LOL--tonight she took them in some lemon meringue...talk about spoiled!
Funny you should mention TB. That rings a bell for me on a couple different levels. I'll be talking with the vet again tomorrow, too, & I'll mention that. I certainly appreciate your efforts, I totally feel as though there is something I should be seeing, & I'm not. I hate that feeling. It's very frustrating. It's nice to know that clearer minds than mine are considering her situation, thank you.

To Eldee, God bless you for having given your dog such a long, happy life! Kali's dam was 14 when she passed, I kind of always expected Kali to have that longevity. Any way, we're not giving up just yet.
Brandi-thanks for your prayers & support. It means so much to us!
To every one else who have supported Kali & I through our many trials & tribulations, I am always amazed by your support & your generous spirits. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
jackie harris

g'night!

by Kalibeck on 21 January 2012 - 16:01

OK. Now my heart is slowly shattering. Kali's path report came back. Adenocarcinoma, origin lung or epithelial cell. Since her lungs are clear, probably epithelial. Our vets are researching treatment options. I wish there was a cuss word bad enough to show how I feel right now, but there aren't any strong or bad enough. My poor, sweet, very best friend. jackie harris