The Good News

The good news is Arrow is home. And she is more than half way through her treatment. Ten treatments down and nine more to go! So far the radiated area looks OK. It's a little red and irritated, but it doesn't seem to bother her yet. We start her on her anti-inflammatory tonight and hopefully it won't get too much worse.

The other good news is she is feeling somewhat at ease in the hospital. Amy, her friend came out to talk to me today. Arrow saw her, wagged her tail, and went right up to her. Clearly they have bonded. Amy told me that when she got to work this morning at 8am, the oncology team had taken Arrow out of her kennel and kept her in the conference room with them. As Amy came in, Arrow greeted her, and then followed her around from room to room. Then Amy got a blanket and a pillow for her and put it in the corner of the conference room and Arrow curled up in it hanging out with the medical staff until it was time for her treatment. I think they like her.

An update on her GI distress. On her discharge papers they mentioned her diarrhea and said they put her on medication to help. They also said that if it doesn't resolve then they might want to do some testing to make sure nothing else is going on. So of course that made me anxious. When I talked to Amy, I asked her if I should be concerned. She said, they all think it is pretty normal. When a dog undergoes radiation it is really a disruption of their routine. The travel, the new people, the boarding, all contribute to the anxiety. I pushed the issue a little pressing her about whether I should be worried. She said, "No, really, I'll tell you this. When we first met Arrow, we noticed she was a little bit anxious" (I know, I know, I haven't always been the best influence on her). She continued, "One of the residents said, let's take bets on when she gets diarrhea." Amy's point: they expected this kind of reaction. In the mean time, she's back on turkey and rice.

We're looking forward to a good weekend. And by the way, she's perky!