The Dude Abides
Sydney is eating reasonably well and doesn't seem to be in pain, especially with the tramadol. He is obviously uncomfortable with stuff on the right side of his face (where the tumour is), but that might be as much because of his increasing loss of vision as with any kind of pain.
He's eating well, but dislikes bowls or anything that touches his whiskers. He walks around, and tonight he came over to me and went into the pose he takes when he's about to do his trick. It was heartbreaking, and of course I gave him treats. Today he also ate a can of special weight gain catfood, a little bit of liverwurst pate, and half a can of tuna.
On the whole, if he were human, I'd say he was doing OK but preparing for the end. Unfortunately, his reasonably good health is overshadowed by the growing occlusion of his eye. The tumor is visibly swelling and his nictitating membrane closes over more of it every day. It oozes fluid much of the time, although the initial scabbing from yesterday morning has flaked off.
We get the biopsy results back by Friday. At that point we can take him to an oncologist if we want to. I'm not sure what to do about his eye, I need to call the vet and ask. Both Sydney's regular vet and his opthamologist have been really good about this. I mean, I guess, on the one hand, they're getting a lot of cash out of us. But on the other hand, they're also taking regular phone calls and handling us rushing in hysterically insisting that Sydney be seen immediately, and being very sympathetic throughout. Maybe that's just "calm down the woman who can't stop crying" but I like to think they actually care. Dr. Smith, at least, has known Sydney for more than ten years.
On a personal note, I totally lost it at work today. I basically started crying the minute I started talking and couldn't really pull myself together. I guess I hadn't spoken out loud to anyone but the vets, the Humane Society staff, and Erich for three days, and the strain hit. Luckily it was in a leads meeting, and I sort of struggled through my presentation and then my boss tabled my other issues until next week.
Tomorrow afternoon I fly to SF to attend the Exploratorium After Dark on nomadic communities. I'll work in the morning, fly in the afternoon, attend the event in the evening, stay with Splat and Andrea overnight, then go to the office on Friday morning and fly home late Friday afternoon. I'm hoping getting out and seeing people will help me get my emotions under control, because crying all the time sucks ass.
Erich will be handling Sydney's drugs and feeding while I'm gone. We've planned things out such that he should miss, at most, one pain pill dosing and will have someone at home to offer him food for at least four hours after each dose of appetite stimulant.
He's eating well, but dislikes bowls or anything that touches his whiskers. He walks around, and tonight he came over to me and went into the pose he takes when he's about to do his trick. It was heartbreaking, and of course I gave him treats. Today he also ate a can of special weight gain catfood, a little bit of liverwurst pate, and half a can of tuna.
On the whole, if he were human, I'd say he was doing OK but preparing for the end. Unfortunately, his reasonably good health is overshadowed by the growing occlusion of his eye. The tumor is visibly swelling and his nictitating membrane closes over more of it every day. It oozes fluid much of the time, although the initial scabbing from yesterday morning has flaked off.
We get the biopsy results back by Friday. At that point we can take him to an oncologist if we want to. I'm not sure what to do about his eye, I need to call the vet and ask. Both Sydney's regular vet and his opthamologist have been really good about this. I mean, I guess, on the one hand, they're getting a lot of cash out of us. But on the other hand, they're also taking regular phone calls and handling us rushing in hysterically insisting that Sydney be seen immediately, and being very sympathetic throughout. Maybe that's just "calm down the woman who can't stop crying" but I like to think they actually care. Dr. Smith, at least, has known Sydney for more than ten years.
On a personal note, I totally lost it at work today. I basically started crying the minute I started talking and couldn't really pull myself together. I guess I hadn't spoken out loud to anyone but the vets, the Humane Society staff, and Erich for three days, and the strain hit. Luckily it was in a leads meeting, and I sort of struggled through my presentation and then my boss tabled my other issues until next week.
Tomorrow afternoon I fly to SF to attend the Exploratorium After Dark on nomadic communities. I'll work in the morning, fly in the afternoon, attend the event in the evening, stay with Splat and Andrea overnight, then go to the office on Friday morning and fly home late Friday afternoon. I'm hoping getting out and seeing people will help me get my emotions under control, because crying all the time sucks ass.
Erich will be handling Sydney's drugs and feeding while I'm gone. We've planned things out such that he should miss, at most, one pain pill dosing and will have someone at home to offer him food for at least four hours after each dose of appetite stimulant.