Another Song Stuck In My Head

Oh well, at least it's not that Nicki Minaj song! This one is definitely getting replays over and over on my ipod. A great running song too!

This is going to be a short post tonight. I had a long drive back home after going to Birmingham this weekend to do another open house. We now have three different families that are interested, but have houses that they need to sell too.

Phantom went with us and enjoyed all the people that he thought were coming just to see him. He got lots of attention from them and from us all weekend. He decided to jump on the bed at 5a.m. every morning purring loudly in our face, ready to be petted. I almost died when Phantom climbed on the Murph's chest and started making biscuits with his paws while his face was right in the Murph's face. And he was purring very, very loud and sounded like a bumble bee on steroids.

While this is so NOT cool with my husband who doesn't really approve of cats on the bed, he gave Phantom a pass since the poor kitty has cancer. I am just so happy that Phantom seems to be feeling better and purring!

We are still giving him the Palladia every other day or so (I don't give it to him if it falls on a travel day) and the Advanced Immunity Restoration Protocol when I can get it down him. He doesn't like it and I haven't mastered the syringe yet. The syringe keeps sticking and something gets all screwy with the suction. I end up getting the concoction everywhere but in Phantom's mouth. I've tried sprinkling a little on a pill pocket and mashing it in and that works, but I can't get the full dosage in even three of those pill pockets. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the stuff down him.

Any suggestions?

The Celloquent is a power and he has to take 3/4 tsp and the vital pet lipids are liquid and he takes 1/4 tsp. I've been mixing it all together with a tiny bit of water and trying to syringe it in his mouth. It would work if the syringe was a little more friendly.

Phantom and all the other cats are eating only organic food with Nu Pet Granular super food  and some milk thistle drops sprinkled in it and drinking filtered or distilled water. I also give Phantom a few drops of Life Gold Cancer drops a day in a tiny bit of cat milk. He's still on the Atenolol and lasix for his heart too and seems to be doing fine there.

It's a lot of work and time, but it seems to be working.

And then, of course, there's prayer. Always prayer! None of the above things would ever work without it.

It's Me! Remember?

image from shareinspirequotes.blogspot.com

Hello.

Remember me?

The one who has sadly been neglecting her blog, her half ironman training and just about everything else as she does anything and everything possible to save a sick kitty. I've purchased new and miraculous herbal concoctions which Phantom, the sick kitty, hates. I have become a creative genius in hiding it in tuna, cat food, cat milk, etc to get him to eat it. When all else fails I get someone to hold him down (that would be my reluctant husband) while I syringe the awful tasting stuff down his throat.

He's been a good sport! Bless his heart! And his coat has become shinier and glossier than ever. He's the plushest he's ever been!

Our entire house smells of dead fish, probably something called "krill oil".

My husband is concerned by my sudden interest in potion mixtures and energy healing and has been calling me a "witch". How could he not when he sees me with all my vials of stinky liquid goodness. One of the concoctions has krill oil in it. I'm not sure what krill is, but I know it stinks and it is almost impossible to get the stinkiness off your hands when you accidentally touch it or squirt it across the room or all over your clothing or in the face of your spouse.

This is me. This is the part of me that being an autism parent has created over the years of being told "no", of being told something was impossible. Basically, being told to just give up. Don't even try.

Impossible.

NEVER TELL AN AUTISM PARENT THAT SOMETHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

This applies to autism cat parents as well.

If I had listened to all the negativity, my son may not have graduated with a regular high school diploma. He may not have gotten into college or done all the things he's done over the years.

If I had listened to all the negativity, I would never have thought I could finish an Ironman, much less two.

If I had listened to all the negativity, who knows what condition my family pet might be in right now. Probably not purring and begging for food or chilling out to his favorite jazz cds.

Yes, the Murph has figured out all Phantom's favorite jazz cds and plays them in the evening just for Phantom's listening pleasure.

Who knows what the future holds, but never listen to the negativity. Think positive thoughts only, no matter what!

We've even called on an energy healer that we met at a restaurant in Pensacola Beach a couple of years ago. She "healed" the Murph's chronic shoulder problem and helps patient's who are dealing with pain and cancer among other things. She has worked miracles with people, so why not pets?

There's also the chemo drug, Palladia that I am still giving to Phantom every other day. He's become very adept at hiding the pills and spitting them out when I'm not watching. He's a sneaky one!

The yellow spot on his paw gave him away the other day.

We couldn't figure out where the spot came from until I took a closer look at his mouth. His entire tongue and mouth were stained yellow as well as his teeth from the yellow chemo pill. He had somehow hidden it in his mouth even as I was giving him the blue pill. Then he went into his bedroom, spit out what was left of the pill (about half) and came smugly back into the family room.

He was busted by the paw stain!

At the moment he is doing great! A huge turnaround from a couple of weeks ago. In a couple of days we take him back to Auburn for more blood tests. The Murph and I will probably have to kill time visiting an arboretum or something while Phantom gets poked and prodded again. As long as he keeps getting better, I'm all for a "tour of Auburn". We'll probably be exhausted as usual when we get home. Those museums and arboretums can really take it out of you. Wine and vodka helps.

One day we will be back to normal. One day our house will smell all floral like again. One day I'll get my 5k time under 23 minutes, do a 50 mile bike ride and swim a couple of laps in the pool and be ready for my upcoming Fall triathlons. One day I'll wear fashionable clothing that doesn't have krill oil stains, take some pictures and Friday will be Fashion Friday again. One day, fingers crossed, our cat will kick cancer's butt.

But for right now, this autism parent is on a mission....

Taking Phantom To Auburn University Veterinary Hospital

Last Tuesday we took Phantom to the veterinary hospital at Auburn University to let an Oncologist look at him in hopes that there is something we can do for him to stop the cancer that is in his liver.  We left early and headed down there knowing it would be a long day. I never realized how long a day it would be or the effect it would have on us the rest of the week. I'm still not totally recovered and back on schedule! I guess I could also blame it on the holiday weekend.

 Five days later and things are still not back to normal routines, including my 70.3 training program. It has been put on hold temporarily and I haven't even been in the pool all week or on my tri bike and my gym workouts have even been short and easy. I just can't seem to get motivated and my mind is focused on this horrible thing that is happening to my cat and what can I do to help him.

Tuesday we arrived at the hospital about 30 minutes before our scheduled appointment and filled out the paperwork.

New Animal Hospital Under Construction

Phantom was calm, but curious and did great the entire day despite being cooped up in the carrier with no food, water or litter box. 

After looking over Phantom's records, the doctor said they would do a biopsy of the liver with an ultrasound and a cardiologist would be brought in to do an echocardiogram of his heart since he has an enlarged heart and heart disease. That would be done first to make sure it was safe to sedate him for the biopsy.

We were in the room waiting for a couple of hours before they took him for the biopsy. I took pictures of all the newspaper articles and pictures of former patients that were hanging on the wall and the Murph wrote "Phantom was here" all over the dry erase board that was on the wall. I took an Instagram picture of it but forgot to take one with the camera. Click Here to view the photos I took on Instagram.

Other Oncology patients

Finally they came to take Phantom for his biopsy. We said our goodbyes to him and left him in the good hands of the vets at the hospital.

To kill time as we waited for Phantom to have his biopsy, the Murph and I had lunch and then went in search of some local attractions. I had never been to Auburn University campus. We typed in "attractions" on the GPS and Pebble Hill came up first and was nearby so that was our first stop.

As I was taking pictures I wondered if later I would see some ghostly apparitions from former house residents somewhere in the photos. I don't know if I was disappointed or relieved when I didn't find any. The picture below was the only "ghostly" one in the bunch due to the sunlight coming through the windows by the door.

A family of cats that look kind of like Phantom were hanging out and probably live at Pebble Hill. I took that as a good sign. I was grasping at any sign that was good at this point.

The back porch of Pebble Hill was very nice. Kind of reminded me of our house in Birmingham.

Then we drove around campus and decided what to do next.

The GPS "attractions" feature showed that there was an art museum nearby so next stop was the Museum of Fine Arts.

I snapped this photo before being told that I wasn't allowed to use flash. Since I don't know how to stop the flash on my camera and the battery was almost dead anyway, this is the only picture I took inside the museum.

The grounds outside were very nice though. It was hard to be stressed out when you are surrounded by this.

The Auburn football stadium where it all happens. War Eagle! (being an alumni from U of A  ((Roll
tide!)) saying, or typing, "war eagle" is a tough one!) It's a southern thing.

We waited until about 4pm and headed back to the hospital. They brought a very drugged up Phantom into the room with us while we waited for all the test results. I've never seen Phantom this happy to see us! I doubt he remembers any of it! It's without a doubt the most loving I've EVER seen Phantom and the most obedient. He was stumbling over his feet to get to me whenever I said his name, which I had to do several times as he tried to get behind this very large desk that had electrical cords running everywhere and didn't look too safe for a drugged cat to be hanging out.

The news was not good. While his heart is no longer enlarged thanks most likely to the atenelol and lasix he's been on these past months, his liver has a large 4 cm carcinoid tumor and more nodules spread in other areas of his liver. It isn't lymphosarcoma like we originally thought, but a more rare neuroendocrine tumor that has taken over much of his liver. His prognosis is poor, but the vet did suggest one drug that is similar to a chemo drug. It is called Palladia and has been used mostly in dogs but may help cats as well. He will stay at home with us and take it every other day and then go back for blood tests in two weeks. He will have to be monitored carefully while on the drug.

We left Auburn around 6pm and got home late and exhausted. Phantom was very happy to be home!

And somebody else was sure glad when we got back home!

Phantom seemed in fairly good spirits the next morning just minus some fur in spots.

The Boy came for a short visit to see Phantom over the 4th. Phantom ran under the bed when he first heard a stranger come in, but the minute he heard the Boy's voice calling for him he ran back out and over to sniff the Boy, who was hardly recognizable since he FINALLY got a haircut. I'm so glad he decided to get one and went on his own to do it since he had an interview last week. Maybe there is hope for him after all!

We started the new cancer drug and Phantom will take it every other day as long as he doesn't get any GI issues. So far he is eating and drinking, but not as much as he normally does. He's taken the pills two days now and is more withdrawn on the days he takes them so I'm guessing he doesn't feel really good on those days. It is really tough to give him pills that I know make him feel sick. I can only hope for good results long term.  This is one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make. I hope I'm doing the right thing for him.

Cancer sucks!