January 20, 2007
“Leaden skies” describe the view today with the birds very active at the feeders as all of us await the predicted snowfall. There are frequent warning cries from the blue jays and upon hearing them, the gathering of birds fly up and into the bushes in flurries, returning almost instantly to resume their places at the feeders. When the cries signal the presence of the sharp shinned hawks, the birds not only fly away, but once inside the interwoven branches of the trees, remain very still and hidden until the danger is past. From my second floor vantage point, looking through the large south windows out over the nearer yard, across the wetlands, and up the pasture hill to the forest, I see this constantly moving avian drama. The bird feeding seems mutually beneficial – they have food in winter’s cold and I have the joy of watching all the action.
This morning I completed my fifth day of Vidaza injections in this 9th round of Chemotherapy. Nausea, stomach cramps, fatigue, etc., have checked in, and since none of these bodily responses are new, one could optimistically report that the signs of the Vidaza working as it should are in place. I tend to get “weepy” during these times, and as I lay in bed at night thinking about this and many other things, I find that I am tracing the chemical’s progress from fatty tissue into the blood stream. Since the efficacy of the drug is its ability to unwrap evil proteins from various blood cells, I see my “Get a Grip” molecules caught in the crossfire and unmoored, floating helplessly away.
Alphie spent three days at the Animal Hospital this week, having had an illness wherein he groaned in pain and had bowel movements consisting of nothing but bright red blood – all within hours. We rushed him to the Vet, thinking perhaps that he had ingested rat poison or something like it. (I actually checked to make sure he hadn’t somehow swallowed the warfarin tablets that I take to thin the blood because an overdose of that could cause intestinal hemorrhaging as well) After being hydrated, given antibiotics and Vitamin K, Alphie appears to be as good as ever, and the Vet told us that it was not a poison, but very likely a “dietary indiscretion” which is a refined way to say that he ate something horrible that he found on his travels through pasture and forest. The veterinarian went on to say that he found this to be fairly common with country dogs; they eat something that wreaks havoc with their intestines, and in some cases, death is the outcome. I asked how one might defend against such a thing happening again, and he said we could only hope that Alphie had learned his lesson. (I did not comment on how really funny that statement was – this is the dog that apparently has found every rotting carcass Sanctuary has ever been host to and has carried it about with great delight, chewing away and appearing to say “Yum!”) We’ll just have to go on in hope that this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for him.