My dog had Cancer; November 7, 1989

After the one o’clock feeding Samantha woke up at three o’clock. I picked her up and she fell asleep almost right away. I put Samantha back to her crib and went back to sleep myself. Samantha woke up again at six o’clock and nine o’clock. After the nine o’clock feeding I had a shower and got dressed. Alex had a bath earlier, gotten dressed and was having his breakfast. I had my breakfast as well. After breakfast I expressed my milk and sterilized a bottle. Alex turned the TV so loud that it woke Samantha up. Luckily she went back to sleep. Charlie told Alex to turn the TV down he had woken Samantha up. Alex said So what I don’t care! I said What! Do you want to watch TV down in the basement. Alex just laughed. We are having quite a time with him. I did a few loads of laundry and put the garbage into the compactor. After Alex had his lunch I asked him to get ready for school. Alex had come to tell Charlie that Kelly was having a seizure. Kelly had one last night at nine o’clock. I had talked to Dr. Hi this morning. He said to stop the valium and to give Kelly Rivotral three times a day, a dose of 2 pills. Dr. Hi said it looks like Kelly has a tumour because epilepsy can be controlled with medication and Kelly’s seizure doesn’t seem to be controlled with medication. I told him Kelly was disorientated, walks in circles and looses control of his bladder. Dr. Hi said that’s from the tumour not the medication. Dr. Hi said at some point you are going to have to make a decision. I tided up the house and got Alex ready for school. Alex didn’t want to wear what I had picked out. They’re having their pictures taken today. Alex actually wanted to wear a sweat suit. Alex finally agreed to wear the sweater and cord pants I had picked out. I took Alex to school while Charlie stayed at home with Samantha. When I came home Charlie went grocery shopping. Marla and Paxton came before Charlie left. They brought Samantha a present, socks with rattles in them. They didn’t stay long as they had to go get Lanie. Samantha and I went to get Alex. By the time we got there, Alex was coming out of the school. When we got home I fed Samantha and put her in her crib. I started to cook dinner, clean up the kitchen and wrote in the journal. We ate dinner at six o’clock. Samantha had another feeding at six thirty, she had a long feeding for twenty minutes. I put her back in her crib. Alex put away his toys and got ready for bed. He watched Cosby of course. I read him a story then he went to sleep. I watched TV and wrote in the journal. It’s now almost nine thirty I’m going to go to bed.

My dog had Cancer; November 2, 1989

Samantha woke up for her feeding at three thirty. After I had put her back to her crib I checked on Alex. He woke up and told me he was hot and had a headache. I took his temperature, it was a bit up. I gave Alex Tempera but Alex still didn’t feel well. Alex started to cry that his head really hurt. Charlie was awake by this time, he said Alex could sleep with me. I told Alex he couldn’t cry when he came into our room as he might wake up Samantha. Alex said okay, he asked me to put my arm on him while we slept. Samantha woke up again at eight o’clock. Mom and Dad were already up. Her next feeding was at noon. Alex wasn’t well today, he didn’t go to school today. He followed me every where I went and wanted me to sit with him. It was rather difficult as I had to look after Samantha as well as do all the chores. Alex’s temperature was up, I gave him Tempera throughout the day. Maybe Halloween was too much for him. Mom had made dinner as usual. I feel rather guilty that she has to go to so much trouble. They want to use up their meat. They have a whole freezer full of meat. Mom said she thought she would be using it when Blair came down but Blair ate at the hospital. Samantha ate at four o’clock and again at eight thirty. Charlie and I picked Kelly up from the vets at six o’clock. Kelly sure doesn’t look very good. He looks so upset and his eyes are blood shot. Kelly is very dopey from all the medication they gave him today. The vet said Kelly is a severe epileptic, he put Kelly on valium as well as Rivotral. It sure is bad seeing him like this. Alex seems to be feeling a lot better now. He got ready for bed at seven thirty. I went to bed at nine o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; November 1, 1989

Samantha had a one thirty and five thirty feeding. Then she had an eight o’clock feeding. I gave her a bath before her noon feeding. In between that, I had a shower, got dressed and had my breakfast. I also did the laundry and emptied the garbage. I took Alex to school, Mom watched Samantha while I was gone. I rested until it was time to get Alex. I fed Samantha at three thirty. We ate dinner at five o’clock. Alex, Charlie and I went out while Mom and Dad watched Samantha. We went to Canada Trust, I needed to sign the T-Bill account. Then we went to London Drugs and came home. When we got to the driveway Dad was waiting for us, he looked very upset . My heart dropped when I saw him. Then Mom came out too. They said Kelly was having seizures and they couldn’t get them to stop. Mom figured Kelly had about seven seizures by the time we got home. I phoned the Port Coquitlam Animal Hospital. I was told all the doctors had gone home. They finally gave me an emergency number which was for Eagle Ridge Animal Hospital. I phoned Dr. Hi at home and told him the problem I was having. Dr. Hi said he would meet us there. Charlie put Kelly into Dad’s station wagon. Charlie, Dad and I took Kelly to the vets. Kelly had two more seizures in the car. Dr. Hi said he would started working on Kelly right away and he would phone us tomorrow morning. Not long after we got home the vet phoned he said Kelly had a temperature of 106F and they had been able to get him stabilized. He said he would phone again tomorrow. It sure is an awful feeling when Kelly has seizures like that. It’s bad enough when he has one let alone continually. Dad kept asking me if I was alright. I stayed upstairs for quite awhile. Alex went to bed at eight o’clock. After Samantha’s nine thirty feeding I went to bed.

My dog had Cancer; September 24, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. I had another night where I didn’t sleep very well. The baby did a lot of kicking, he or she didn’t like the way I was lying down. Once I changed positions the baby stopped kicking so much. The other problem is my bladder kept on getting full and there was a pain. I don’t know if it was my bladder or something else. I had my shower, got dressed and had breakfast. Alex was already up, he was watching tv. Later in the morning Alex asked me if today was Kelly’s birthday today or tomorrow. I said today is Kelly’s birthday and he’s eight years old. Alex said we should make something and put a candle on it. I said putting a candle on something isn’t a good idea. Kelly will be scared of the fire on the candle. How about a rice crispy square, Kelly really likes them. Alex said okay. We went out to the back deck and sang “Happy Birthday” to Kelly and gave him his treat. Charlie came back from grocery shopping. Alex told him what we had done. Charlie thought that was pretty silly. After lunch we went to Metrotown. I need to buy a bathrobe and a pair of slippers. I found the bathrobe at Woodward’s and slippers at Sears. I had trouble getting the slippers to fit. My feet are swollen still and I can hardly wear my shoes. We went to the Won Ton House in Vancouver to buy barbequed meat. Then we bought a submarine sandwich for Alex and myself. I have a lot of cravings in this pregnancy then with Alex. Actually with Alex I didn’t have any cravings at all. Alex and I ate dinner when we got home. Charlie went to cut the lawn. After dinner we watched tv. Alex went to bed at eight o’clock. I watched tv and went to bed at eleven o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; July 20, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. Alex and I got up about the same time. Alex watched tv while I went downstairs to check on Kelly. Kelly had been howling so I wanted to see what was the matter. Kelly had to go out and couldn’t wait. Kelly had blood on his fur and the floor. He must have had another seizure this morning. That’s a total of five seizures in three days. He sure isn’t doing very well. I left a message for Dr. H on Tuesday morning but I never got a call back from him. Then on Wednesday morning I left another message. Dr. H wasn’t there so I left a message with Dr. R. by four o’clock I hadn’t heard from him either so I phoned again. I was concerned about Kelly and I didn’t know whether to increase his medication. The nurse said he was on a call but would phone back as soon as possible I never heard back from him again. We had gone out at five so maybe he called later. I had my shower and we had breakfast. I phoned the vet again. Dr. H and Dr. R are both not in today. Dr. I phoned me back, he said to start giving Kelly two pills twice a day. I asked him about the blood in his salvia. Dr. I said he could have bitten his tongue, broken a tooth or put too much pressure on his gums during his seizure. I said I wondered if it was coming from somewhere else. Dr. I said the blood could only come from somewhere else if Kelly had thrown up. Dr. I also said if Kelly has any trouble chewing or eating we should bring him in. Kelly is doing a lot of pacing right now and sniffing everything in sight. He seems to do alright during the day but once evening comes that’s when the seizures occur. Dr. I said that was because the brain is not so active in the evening and early morning, as it is during the day at least I have an explanation as to why they happen more at those times. After lunch Patrick came over to play with Alex. Later on they played in the sandbox. Mom and Dad came over, they brought Alex two t-shirts for when he starts school. Mom said she was feeling okay, they had been to Metrotown. They didn’t stay long as they had left Geordie in the house since early this morning. I did a lot of laundry today, six loads of laundry. Then I put away Alex’s toys while they were in the sandbox. Patrick went home around three o’clock. Alex stayed out in the sandbox for about fifteen minutes then he watched tv. Charlie came home at four o’clock. He said my car started fine both times. Kurt phoned Alex at five o’clock, he came over. Benjamin came to the door at five thirty but I told Alex to tell him we would be having dinner soon. We sent Kurt home before six o’clock. After dinner I exercised, put away Alex’s toys with the help of Alex, watered the plants, swept the kitchen floor and collected the garbage. Alex went to bed at nine o’clock. We watched tv and went to bed at eleven o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; July 19, 1989

I woke up after seven o’clock. Kelly had woken me up, he was barking. I went downstairs to see what he wanted. Kelly wanted to go out. He had a seizure at four o’clock this morning. I didn’t know he was having one but Charlie told me when he had come back to bed. So when I came down at seven o’clock, he had another seizure. This time there was blood all over his fur. I had given Kelly a pill after four o’clock and then again after seven o’clock. I don’t know if it was a good idea but I wanted to make sure he didn’t have another seizure. Kelly seems to be okay, he bounces right back. I had a shower, got dressed and had my breakfast. Alex woke up shortly afterwards. He had breakfast and got dressed. Alex phoned Kurt at nine o’clock. He asked Kurt if he wanted to play and he cold come over to Kurt’s house if he wanted. Kurt said no he didn’t want to play. Alex was upset that Kurt didn’t want to play. Alex phoned Patrick a little later but he couldn’t hear Patrick so he had to hang up the phone. By this time Alex was pretty upset, he said now what am I going to do? I said try not to be too upset, there’s nothing I can do if your friends don’t want to play. Alex played in his room for awhile then Patrick came to the door. I have no idea what he said on the phone but maybe he told Alex he would be over later. They played in the sandbox form eleven o’clock until noon then Patrick went home. After lunch we went to the T.D. Bank at Prairie Mall. When we came out to the car the car wouldn’t start. I tried for quite awhile but it still wouldn’t, it’s the battery again. I called BCAA but they didn’t come for more than half an hour. It was really hot waiting for them to come. I started to feel sick, just not my day! We came home right away, I didn’t want to get stuck somewhere else. When Charlie came home I told him my car needs a new battery. I said I want the car fixed. Charlie said so what do you want me to do about it, we can’t afford a new car. I said I didn’t say anything about a new car. I’m not well, I’m sick and it’s very hard on me to be getting stuck every time I want to go somewhere. I think he might have finally got my point. I said I was going out later in his car to finish my shopping Charlie said we might as well go together. We went to Coquitlam centre mall then we went to see Mom. She had to have minor surgery this afternoon. She had a polyp in her colon. A terrible operation, Mom wasn’t able to eat anything since Monday (2 days ago) she was able to have jello and pop. She had the surgery at Royal Columbian Hospital. Mom had freezing in her hip and valium put into her vein. She said the doctor asked her to count to ten and then she doesn’t remember anything after that. She woke up and asked Dad if she had it yet. Dad said yes you’re all finished. Once she was able to get up they let her leave. They had an appointment at Van City so they went there afterwards. Mom said the doctor left her a message that they had removed two polyps and to phone him next week for the results. She said she was glad to get it over with. I asked her how Dad took it all, was he beside himself with worry? Mom said yes, he didn’t like the idea of her having the surgery. She told him by three o’clock it would be all over with. We played a game of cards while Alex fell asleep on a blanket on the floor. He must have been really tired. We came home at nine thirty. Alex said he wasn’t feeling very well but he couldn’t tell me what was the matter. Alex had a snack and went to bed at eleven o’clock. I had my snack and was going to bed when I heard Kelly breathing really heavily. Kelly had another seizure, there was blood on his fur again. Charlie cleaned him up and gave him another pill. We got to bed by eleven thirty.

My dog had Cancer; July 18, 1989

I woke up at eight o’clock. Alex had already woken up and was watching COPS on tv. Alex came running into the bedroom to tell me that Kelly was running around. He said I think Kelly is sick. When I went downstairs Kelly was having a seizure. After he had finished I gave him a pill I noticed there was blood in his saliva, maybe he cut his tongue but I couldn’t see anything. After breakfast I phoned Dr. H and left him a message that Kelly had a seizure. Then I did the laundry, changed our sheets and exercised. Alex watched tv while I wrote in the journal. He seems to be still recovering from the weekend, he’s still quite irritable. After lunch I exercised again, it seems to make me feel better. The baby is sitting low and putting a lot of pressure on the lower abdomen. I find I have to go to the bathroom quite a bit but it doesn’t do me much good. The baby is moving around a lot, kicking and punching a lot more active then I remember Alex to be. Charlie came home at four o’clock. We ate dinner at six o’clock. Alex had been playing in the sandbox before dinner. He sure gets himself dirty. When Alex came in for dinner I asked him to change his clothes and wash his feel. Alex wanted to wear his Ghostbusters sweater and sweat pants. I told him if he went outside to the sandbox like he wanted to, he would have to wear a short sleeved shirt. Alex said forget it then I’m not going out again. I said okay, if that’s what you want to do. When Alex got his sweater on it was backwards. I told him to put it on properly. Alex was mad about that and said who can tell the difference nobody will know. I said just wear it properly. Alex took it off and said no way. Finally Alex did put it on after a big production. After dinner I exercised and put away Alex’s toys with Alex’s help. Charlie and Alex played Mousetrap before Alex went to bed. I watched tv and went to bed at ten thirty.

My dog had Cancer; July 1, 1989

I woke up at nine o’clock. Alex and I had breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. Charlie kept on saying he had to watch the fireworks tonight in Vancouver. I was thinking of going but then I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand for very long. Charlie phoned Mitch in the afternoon to ask him if he wanted to come. Mom asked us to come for dinner. We didn’t do too much in the afternoon. We went down to Mom and Dad’s before five o’clock. Charlie, Alex and Mitch went to the fireworks around seven o’clock. There were other things going on before the firework display. Kelly and I stayed at Mom and Dad’s. Kelly started to act funny around nine o’clock. I quickly gave him a pill then I had to hold onto him because he was very jumpy. Luckily the pill stopped the seizure from coming on. It must have been very close in coming. When I left at eleven thirty I had to carry him up the stairs, Kelly was really out. Charlie, Alex and Josh were just coming back when I left. Alex had a snack when he came home. He said he had a good time tonight. We went to bed around midnight. Alex thanked Charlie for taking him to the fireworks.

My dog had Cancer; June 30, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. Alex and I had breakfast then I gave Kelly his pill. Kelly must have had another seizure this morning. His mouth had salvia on it as well as the side of his face. Then I had a shower and got dressed. We went to the City Hall to pay the taxes then we went to the library to photo copy Alex’s schedule. By the time we got home it was time for lunch. After lunch I phoned Dr. H. he phoned back later in the afternoon. He said to increase Kelly’s medication to 2 ½ pills daily. I told Dr. H about Kelly’s breathing that it was quite rapid then he starts to pant and drool. Dr. H said that was alright. I really don’t like it when he breathes so heavily. When Charlie had come home from work we went to the mall. I looked for a present for Mom’s birthday but I couldn’t find anything. I said I would go by myself tomorrow. We came home around eight o’clock. We watched tv and Alex got ready for bed at nine o’clock. I watched tv and went to bed at eleven o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; June 23, 1989

I woke up at seven thirty, Alex and I had breakfast then I gave Kelly his medicine and had a shower. I phoned the vet but Dr. H is off until Monday. I left a message for Dr. R. We went to Coquitlam Centre at nine thirty but it doesn’t open until ten o’clock. We sat down until the stores opened in the mall. After Alex looked in the toy store we went and bought Charlie a couple of t-shirts for his birthday. Then we bought Alex’s hospital prize. Alex wanted micro masters, the patrol set and a Ghostbusters puzzle. We got home at twelve thirty, after lunch Alex phoned Patrick. Patrick said he didn’t want to play right now. Alex was upset about that, he said what am I going to do now. I said I don’t know. Then later I suggest he phone Mitch and see if he wanted to come over. Alex wasn’t too sure about that at first but later decided to phone anyways. Mitch said he would be over soon. Dr. R had phoned while we were out. I phoned him back and was able to talk to him. I explained to him what happened last night and I wanted to know if it was normal. Dr. R said it was quite normal, that it must be very frightening for him and he’s probably trying to get away from the seizure. He said once they have a seizure they don’t know they’re having it. Dr. R said this information is based on people having seizures. He asked if Kelly was still throwing up. I said no he seems to be okay. Dr. R said to keep his medicine the same. I wrote in the journal most of the afternoon. Charlie came home at four o’clock. Charlie was going to open his present when he got home but we wouldn’t let him. We went to Mom and Dad’s for dinner. Mom made a black forest cake for dessert, it sure looked good. Alex said I couldn’t have any unless it was on my list! To say the least I didn’t have any. Charlie opened his presents, Mom and Dad gave Charlie two t-shirts, Alex and I gave him two t-shirts. We came home at ten o’clock. Charlie was very tired he had been up at four o’clock. He said he couldn’t sleep. Alex had a snack then he got ready for bed. I went to bed at eleven o’clock.

My dog had cancer; June 22, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. Alex and I had breakfast, Alex had a bath then I had a shower. We went shopping, I had to buy dog food, get gas, get my prescription fill and buy a few groceries. First of all Alex didn’t want to go and told me he was going to be bad in the store. Some how or other he changed his mind. Especially when I said we either go in the morning or in the afternoon when Patrick might be coming over! We had lunch when we got home. Alex asked me to set up his pool in the backyard. He didn’t go in it for very long as it was cloudy then sunny then cloudy again. Alex was getting cold he said. Charlie came home at four o’clock. We ate dinner at five thirty after dinner I went for a nap. Alex said he had to have one too. I was really tired and not feeling good at all. When my back or leg starts to bother me it really tires me out. I didn’t sleep very long as the phone was ringing. About five or ten minutes later I heard voices, it sounded like Mitch to me. I woke Alex up that I thought Mitch was here. Alex jumped out of bed to see then he went to hide. What a silly boy he is. Just this afternoon he was so upset because he hadn’t asked Mitch over yet. Alex is so afraid Mitch will go home before he comes over. Mitch stayed until nine thirty. He had ridden Dad’s bike up and it was starting to get dark. Alex said he had a good time playing with Mitch. After they had played in the spare room and Alex’s room they played video games. Kelly came to us and he looked really scared. I got up to give him a pill but it was too late. He started running like he was trying to run away from the seizure. To me he looked like he was going crazy, I had never seen him act like that. Charlie gave him a pill after Kelly was alright. I put Kelly outside and left him downstairs for awhile until he had calmed down. We watched tv for awhile then Alex got ready for bed. I had quite a time with him, he didn’t get to sleep until after midnight. I was trying to keep him in his own bed. Alex took a lot of stuffed toys up to bed and a couple of COPS and crooks. The problem was that Alex had a nap earlier and he just wasn’t tired. I finally got into bed after midnight.

My dog had cancer; June 20,1989

I woke up at eight thirty. I had my breakfast and while I was having it Alex woke up. I made Alex his breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. I put away my laundry, did the dishes, made the beds and wrote in the journal. Kelly threw up water this morning. I put him outside and when I checked on him later he was eating grass. We took Kelly to the vet in the afternoon. Alex was really good, he didn’t interrupt me once while I was talking to the doctor. Dr. H said Kelly looked a lot better today. He said he was really worried about him last week. He thought he was going downhill. He said it could have been from all the seizures. I asked if he could find out exactly where his growth was. Dr. H said he was very hard if not impossible. He said x-rays don’t show tumours on it until they are very large and even the brain doesn’t show up. Usually only bone maters show up on the x-ray. A cat scan can be done but they don’t have the facilities for it in B.C. I told him one of the other vets told me about a dog having it done at UBC hospital. Dr. H said that particular case the owner was a technician at UBC Hospital for the cat scan. He said unless you know someone they won’t do it. Dr. H said the teaching facilities do it but the closet ones are in Saskatoon and Spokane Washington. He said even if they did find a tumour on Kelly’s brain chances are they wouldn’t operate. He said they don’t like to as they don’t know what the dogs chances are for being normal. Dr. H said the other thing that could be causing the seizures is a cyst on his brain. That would be much better since a cyst doesn’t grow and he would be alright. He said you just have to hope for the best. Dr. H said try not to let Kelly eat too much grass, it wouldn’t be good for him because of his past history of pancreatitis. He said he didn’t know why he was panting more and having to drool. It could be his medication but more it was due to his growth. We then came home, Alex phoned Patrick but he was out playing. However Patrick did come over about half an hour later. When Charlie got home from work, I left to go to the doctors. I sure seem to have the problems, it sure is different from when I was pregnant the first time. I went to Safeway to buy milk and a few other things then I went home. Charlie and Alex had already eaten dinner. I ate as soon as I got home. After dinner we watched tv then Alex and I put away his toys. Alex went to bed at eight thirty. I watched tv and went to bed at ten thirty.

My dog had cancer; June 16, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. Alex and I had breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. I wrote in the journal after I had done the dishes and swept the floor. In the afternoon Patrick came over to play. Kelly’s still eating a lot of grass and he doesn’t look very well. I phoned the vet but Dr. H wasn’t in, he’ll be back on Monday. I asked to talk to Dr. R, the nurse said she would get him to phone me at five o’clock. I still hadn’t heard anything so I phoned back. The nurse said Dr. R was very busy and hadn’t been able to phone back. I told her I would be going out in the next few minutes so I didn’t want him phoning when we wasn’t home. The nurse said she would try to get him to phone in the next five or ten minutes. Dr. R did phone in about ten minutes. I explained to him that Kelly was throwing up from eating grass. Dr. R said the side effects from Rivotral are depression, sleeping all the time, not eating and drooling. Everything he mentioned Kelly has. Dr. R said to give Kelly 1 pill twice a day. I asked if I thought Kelly was about to have a seizure and I gave him a pill should I give him another one at his usual time. Dr. R said not unless he seemed like he needed it. It told him when I gave it to Kelly a couple of hours earlier he went to sleep. Dr. R said then he shouldn’t have another one at the usual time. He said you can’t hurt them by giving them more. We sent Patrick home then we went to McDonalds for dinner. We went to Coquitlam Centre and came home. Alex went to bed at nine o’clock. I went to bed at ten o’clock.

My dog had cancer; June 15, 1989

I woke up just after eight o’clock. I had my breakfast and read for awhile then I gave Kelly his pill and had my shower. Alex woke up around nine thirty. I gave him his breakfast, he’s been wanting hot cereal for the last week or more. Kelly sure isn’t feeling well today, it really pains me to see him like that. Yesterday after having his second pill, Kelly starting panting and breathing quite heavily. Today he’s trying to throw up but nothing comes up. It’s rather surprising since he did have his dog food this morning. He keeps on going outside and chomping down grass like he just couldn’t get enough. After lunch I took Alex to his last gym class. I went to K-Mart and bought Dad his video game. Dad had said he wanted to get Zelda next, so that’s what we got him. Then I went to Safeway to buy milk and bread. Alex said he really liked his class, the teacher gave them a piece of gum and a sticker. We came home after his class. Alex phoned Patrick but he had gone to someone else’s house. Alex watched tv while I wrote in the journal. He seemed to be quite tired today, he laid on our bed and watched tv. We ate dinner at six o’clock. After dinner Charlie, Alex and Kelly went for a walk. First of all Kelly didn’t seem to want to go, he sure is feeling sick. He was outside earlier chomping down grass. Kelly did throw up but it was just grass that came up. When Kelly came back from his walk he was drooling. It’s hard to know if it’s from the growth or from the medicine. We watched tv then it was time for Alex to go to bed. It took him an hour since he wanted to play on his bed. He tends to take longer and longer playing. He was really making me mad, I told him from now on, no more playing just before you go to bed. By the time he was in bed it was ten o’clock. I went to bed at eleven o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; June 14, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. Alex and I had breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. I phoned to make an appointment with Dr. C but all I could get as an extra. The receptionist said to come before noon. I wrote in the journal for awhile. Mom phoned at eleven o’clock. She said Dad’s treatment had been cancelled because of the nurse’s strike. I told her about Kelly, I think it really upset her as she remembers how it was with Missy. I said I was waiting for the vet to phone back this afternoon. We left to go to the doctors office. We had to wait a very long time. Dr. C checked me while Alex played in the hall. Dr. C said she thought it was from the pressure of the baby but she sent a sample to the lab. I told her I also felt like I had to go to the bathroom all the time. D. C said you should have a urine test as well. By the time we got home it was after one thirty. I had lunch and Alex phoned Patrick to come over and play. Morgan came to get Patrick at two o’clock. They had just gotten home. I think Morgan was happier to see Patrick than Patrick was to see her. I phoned Dr. H, he said he compared the blood test to the one in March. The WBC was a lot higher than before which indicates a growth in Kelly’s body. He said it must be in his brain because of his eye sticking out further. The pancreas, liver and kidney were all okay, so something must be attacking his vomiting system. Then he said we would have to decide with Kelly what to do. If he had too many seizures, if he had to be sedated too much or if his quality of life wasn’t good. So all along he wasn’t epileptic, that makes me mad that it took a month and a half for them to figure out what was really wrong with Kelly. Dr. H said he was sorry to have to give us such bad news. Talk about depressing news it’s hard to know what to think. When Charlie got home I told him what the vet had said. I said I wouldn’t be surprised if it hadn’t had something to do with the heavy power lines at the back. Charlie said it was just a coincident. I find it a bit hard to believe. We went to the mall, had dinner and looked for the video game. K-Mart seems to be the cheapest place to buy it. We also bought Charlie’s Father’s Day present, he wanted a pair of shorts. We got home at seven o’clock. I put away most of Alex’s toys. Alex put away the COPS stuff in the kitchen. Alex got ready for bed at nine o’clock. I watched tv and went to bed at ten thirty.

My dog had cancer; June 13, 1989

I woke up at nine o’clock. I sure had a good sleep for a change. Alex was still in bed. I had my breakfast but I hadn’t finished when Alex woke up. Alex said he wasn’t feeling good. I asked him if he had a headache or if his stomach hurt but Alex said no. I gave Alex his breakfast, he wanted fruit cup but we didn’t have any so I had to give Alex canned pineapple. Alex also had hot cereal. I said to Alex I was going to have a shower. Alex said he had to have one first. Luckily he didn’t take too long so there was enough hot water left. I phoned Dr. H to let him know Kelly had another seizure last night. He phoned back after eleven o’clock. I also told him that Kelly couldn’t go on Biosol-M because when I give it to him he throws up right away. Dr. H didn’t seem to like that. He said he wanted me to bring Kelly in today to do some tests. I talked to the nurse and she checked with Dr. H who said Kelly could be dropped off while they do the tests. I said I would bring him in after lunch, the nurse said that would be fine. Patrick had come over to play earlier. His Grandma phoned and asked if Patrick was there. I said yes and she said please send him home for lunch. We had lunch then we took Kelly to the vet. The nurse said Dr. H would phone us later in the day. We came home. Alex played for awhile then Patrick came over. I worked on Alex’s sweater I’m making him. Dr. H phoned at two thirty. He said Kelly’s right eye was out and his abdomen was tender. Dr. H said he was sending Kelly’s blood test to another lab. He wanted to do an x-ray because of his eye, to see if there was anything there. I asked when I could get Kelly. He said in an hour. I said I would come at four o’clock. When Charlie had come home from work I went to get Kelly. I saw Dr. H, he said nothing showed up on the x-ray but he wanted to wait for the blood test. He said Kelly can’t continue on having so many seizures. Pretty bad news for Kelly, it’s heart wrenching just thinking about him not being around. After I got home I told Charlie what the vet had said. He was really upset, he said how can he say that it’s not his dog. I explained that ever time he has a seizure some of his brain cells die and he can’t continue on that way. Charlie said well he looks fine when he’s not having a seizure. We at dinner at six o’clock. After dinner I worked on my knitting. I talked to Dr. C at five o’clock. I’ve been having a pain in the lower region and I wanted to know if it was the same as the pain I had in the lower abdomen. Dr. C said no it wasn’t the same but she would have to look at me. She said it could be from the baby pushing down. At seven o’clock Alex and I put away his toys. Alex went to bed at eight o’clock. I went to bed at ten thirty.

My dog had Cancer; June 12, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. Alex and I had breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. After I had given Kelly his pills he threw up. I had talked to Dr. H yesterday. He had said to give Kelly Biosol-M again to help him get over his pancreatitis and to start on Rivotral, 1 pill twice daily. This morning when I gave Kelly the Biosol-M he threw up five minutes after he had it. I phoned the Animal Hospital and talked to Dr. H this morning. He said to stop the Biosol-M and to keep on giving the Rivotral twice daily. I changed the sheets on our bed, did the laundry and did the dishes. Then I wrote in the journal. After lunch Patrick came over to play. He left before three o’clock, he said he wanted to go home. We had to go out anyways so it worked out okay. Alex said he was too tired to go anywhere. I said that’s too bad because I have to buy milk. We stopped at Mom and Dad’s on the way back to pick up the video game. Alex played before we left. On the way to the video store we saw Charlie but he didn’t see us. We ate dinner at five thirty. After dinner I exercised and put away Alex’s toys. Alex helped me about half way through. Alex, Charlie and Kelly went for a walk at eight o’clock while I wrote in the journal. Alex went to bed at eight thirty. We watched tv and I wrote in the journal. Kelly had another seizure at nine o’clock. It took him about five minutes before he got up. He was breathing very fast after the seizure, it must be hard on his whole body. I gave Kelly a pill. I watched tv, wrote in the journal and went to bed at ten thirty.

My dog had Cancer; June 10, 1989

I woke up to hear Charlie vacuuming before nine o’clock. He never picks up Alex’s toys before he starts so I had to pick them up. When I was vacuuming I always did it before I started, it makes it a lot easier. Of course if there are toys in the spare room, Charlie just wouldn’t vacuum there. Alex helped me so that was good. I had my breakfast, Charlie had already gotten Alex his breakfast. I gave Kelly his pill, he had a seizure last night while we were out. I talked to the vet and he said to increase the dosage to three pills a day. Dr. H said once they’re on medication they shouldn’t have any seizures. At eleven o’clock we left to go to Science World. Last year they had a dinosaur display but his year it was gone. I wasn’t impressed with it at all, I like last years a lot better. We went to the laser show but I had to leave, it started to make me feel dizzy. We left at two thirty. We dropped my clothing off at Salvation Army then we went to Produce City to buy fruit. We came home around four o’clock. Kelly must have had another seizure again. I called the vet but he was gone so I left a message. I wrote in the journal then it was time to cook dinner. We ate before six o’clock. After dinner we watched tv. Alex went to bed at nine o’clock. I watched tv and wrote in the journal. Charlie fell asleep as usual and then wanted to know what happened in the movie. I went to bed at eleven thirty.

My dog had Cancer; May 27, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. I had breakfast then I gave Kelly his pill and had a shower. I took Kelly to the vet, we had to wait about half an hour before we went into the examining room. Dr. R came in and said how are you Tanya. I said this is Kelly and were suppose to see Dr. C he went out and said he would straighten it out. Dr. C finally came in and said she could increase Kelly’s medication or run a few test to make sure nothing else was wrong. Dr. C said the tests were all okay, she showed them to me. She said the only other thing it could be is a brain tumour but the only way to check that is to do a brain scan. Dr. C said they do them at UBC Hospital but it’s very expensive. On the other hand he could have epilepsy anyways. I asked if I could increase the Valium to one pill. She said yes, start with one pill twice a day and you can go to three times a day. No more than that. Dr. C said Kelly would have to go to another medicine. She mentioned another medication but I can’t remember the name. She said it would make him sleep for the first few days but after a week he would be okay. When we came out of the examining room there were at least five dogs in the waiting room, mostly big dogs. We had to wait awhile before we got the bill. A lot of people asked me about Kelly, they all thought he was a girl! We got home before noon. Charlie left to go grocery shopping. I did the dishes and tided up the house. Mom phoned in the afternoon and invited us for dinner. She asked about Kelly and I told her what had happened. She was really mad, she said they should x-ray his head. I said that’s what happens when an animal has epilepsy they don’t have the equipment to do the test they do with people. I put away Alex’s toys and tided up the house before we went to Mom and Dad’s. After dinner we play Trivial Pursuit. We got home around ten thirty. Alex had a snack and I had my snack. Then Alex got ready for bed. I read him a story and by the time he got into bed it was after eleven o’clock. Alex had a nap at Mom and Dad’s. He must have been really tired. I went to bed at eleven thirty.

My dog had Cancer; May 26, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty. I sure was tired. Alex had woken us up at five thirty. He said he couldn’t sleep anymore. I asked him if he wanted to watch tv. Alex said he didn’t know if there was anything on tv for him. I went to the living room with Alex and marked down all the shows for him to watch and got him his blanket. I went back to bed and woke up at eight thirty. I had breakfast, gave Kelly his medicine and had a shower. Alex said he was tired. I told him of course he was tired he didn’t get enough sleep and he needed to have a nap. Alex didn’t like that idea. I told him it would be better in the morning than the afternoon, because his friend might come over. Alex thought about it for awhile and decided to have a nap in the morning but he had to have a shower first. Alex had his nap at ten thirty. I wasn’t feeling that good and I couldn’t exercise since I figured it would probably wake up Alex. I did the dishes and made the beds. After lunch I wrote in the journal and Alex played. I put away Alex’s toys while he was watching tv, I hadn’t finished when Kelly had another seizure. The seizures seem to be getting worse, this time he moved his legs a lot like he was running. When Kelly was able to get up. I took him downstairs and gave Kelly a pill. Then I phoned the vet. Dr. H wasn’t there so I talked to Dr. C. She thought it would be better to do some tests first to make sure Kelly was okay before changing his medication. I made an appointment for tomorrow morning. Alex and I left to go to the bank and McDonald’s. I had phoned Mom earlier to ask her if they wanted anything. Mom said just fries since they had already taken steak out. When we came out the car wouldn’t start. I was really mad after all the repairs that had been done. We went back inside and ate our food. We went back to the car to try again before I phoned BCAA and it finally started. I had to give it a lot of gas before it would start. We went to Mom and Dad’s they must have wondered what took us so long. I explained that the car wouldn’t start but finally did start. Alex and Dad played video games, much to Mom’s disgust. She doesn’t like video games at all. We went home around nine o’clock. Alex had a snack and went to bed. I had my snack and went to bed at eleven o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; May 15, 1989

I woke up at nine o’clock. I gave Kelly his pill and had a shower. Then I got ready to take Kelly to the vet. We saw Dr. H., he checked Kelly all over. He took Kelly’s temperature which he said was normal but he wanted to check it under the microscope. When he came back he said that Kelly’s bowels were enlarged which were due to his pancreas. Dr. H. said Kelly’s pancreas is having trouble digesting the fat in his body. He said he’s had this problem before and I’ll give you an antibiotic which should clear up the problem. I said I was out of the Valium. Dr. H. said he would give more as well and to stay with it three times a day. We got home at eleven o’clock. After lunch Patrick came over to play and I watched tv. Morgan phoned twice, first to ask Alex to send Patrick home and then she asked Alex to call me to the phone. Morgan said since the boys play together so much we should get to know each other. We decided to meet at her place tomorrow morning. Alex and I had dinner at five thirty. After dinner we watched tv and exercised downstairs. I didn’t feel very good after exercising, it seems every time I exercise the baby sits very low and pushes down on my bladder which is very uncomfortable. We watched Cosby then it was time for Alex to go to bed. I watched t v and went to bed at then o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; April 29, 1989

I woke up at nine o’clock. Alex and I had breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. I took Kelly to the vet, he’s being having more seizures. Dr. H said he wants me to increase the dosage to three times a day at ½ a pill. It sure is hard when Kelly has these seizures and there doesn’t seem to be anything they can tell you. They do tests but they can’t say yes your dog has epilepsy. They just presume he has epilepsy. Kelly and I came home. We went out for dinner then we came home. Alex went to bed at nine o’clock. I went to bed at eleven o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; April 25, 1989

I woke up at seven o’clock. I didn’t sleep very well last night. I was worried that Kelly would have another seizure. I gave Kelly a pill and went back to bed. I slept for a few hours but I was still tired. Alex woke up, he was the one who woke me up. He was calling me to come to his room. He does this every morning. Alex had a shower, got dressed then we had breakfast. After breakfast I made the beds, did the dished and tided up the house. Alex played with Kurt for a little while then it was time for lunch. Patrick came over just when we were having lunch. I told Alex to tell him we were having lunch and he could play later. When Alex had finished his lunch and he phoned Patrick back but Patrick wasn’t there. I watched tv, wrote in the journal and rested. We went to get the mail in the afternoon. When we came back Kelly was upstairs, I told him to come downstairs. When he came downstairs he fell the last few steps. He really doesn’t have the control of his body. Then when I got upstairs Kelly had peed on the living room carpet. Before I could say anything I heard Kelly going downstairs. Kelly was really upset. I phoned the vet and talked to Dr. H. I had talked to him earlier this morning. I had wanted to find out what Kelly’s problem was. Dr. H said it’s very hard when they have seizures to find out what the problem is. He said they think Kelly has epilepsy and that he’ll have to be on medication for the rest of his life. This time I told him Kelly had lost control of his bladder. Dr. H said his medication was too strong he should be taking ½ a pill a day. He also said if Kelly is still having problems on Wednesday he should be checked. When Charlie got home I went to Super Valu. I started to cook dinner when I got home. After dinner I did the dishes then we watched tv. Alex got ready for bed at eight o’clock. It sure is hard getting him to go to bed. It takes him so long just to get ready. I watched tv and wrote in the journal. I went to bed at ten o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; April 24, 1989

I woke up at seven o’clock. I didn’t sleep very well last night. I was worried that Kelly would have another seizure. I gave Kelly a pill and went back to bed. I slept for a few hours but I was still tired. Alex woke up, he was the one who woke me up. He was calling me to come to his room. He does this every morning. Alex had a shower, got dressed then we had breakfast. After breakfast I made the beds, did the dished and tided up the house. Alex played with Kurt for a little while then it was time for lunch. Patrick came over just when we were having lunch. I told Alex to tell him we were having lunch and he could play later. When Alex had finished his lunch and he phoned Patrick back but Patrick wasn’t there. I watched tv, wrote in the journal and rested. We went to get the mail in the afternoon. When we came back Kelly was upstairs, I told him to come downstairs. When he came downstairs he fell the last few steps. He really doesn’t have the control of his body. Then when I got upstairs Kelly had peed on the living room carpet. Before I could say anything I heard Kelly going downstairs. Kelly was really upset. I phoned the vet and talked to Dr. H. I had talked to him earlier this morning. I had wanted to find out what Kelly’s problem was. Dr. H said it’s very hard when they have seizures to find out what the problem is. He said they think Kelly has epilepsy and that he’ll have to be on medication for the rest of his life. This time I told him Kelly had lost control of his bladder. Dr. H said his medication was too strong he should be taking ½ a pill a day. He also said if Kelly is still having problems on Wednesday he should be checked. When Charlie got home I went to Super Valu. I started to cook dinner when I got home. After dinner I did the dishes then we watched tv. Alex got ready for bed at eight o’clock. It sure is hard getting him to go to bed. It takes him so long just to get ready. I watched tv and wrote in the journal. I went to bed at ten o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; April 23, 1989

I woke up at nine o’clock. Alex had a shower and got dressed then we had our breakfast. After breakfast I had my shower and got dressed. Charlie was vacuuming the house so Alex and I quickly put away his toys. Otherwise Charlie won’t vacuum Alex’s room or the spare room. It sure takes a lot out of me putting anything away. In the afternoon Charlie went grocery shopping. He hadn’t been gone very long when Kelly had another seizure. I phoned the vet once it was over and Kelly seemed to be okay. The vet didn’t phone back right away so I thought it would be better if I gave Kelly a valium. Dr. R phoned back. I explained that Kelly was still having quite a few seizures. The vet said that was too many and too close together. Dr. R said he was going to start Kelly on a different medication. Patrick arrived before I talked to the vet. Morgan came to get him shortly after he arrived. She asked Patrick if he wanted to go to the park with them but he said no. Once he saw his mother he ran upstairs rather strange if you ask me. Morgan said they would only be gone an hour. I said that was okay with me. At two o’clock I phoned Morgan and told her husband I was sending Patrick home now. We took Kelly with us when we went to pick up the pills. Kelly was really upset, he whined the whole time I was in the vets Charlie said. We went to the park afterwards and then to DQ. Kelly was acting pretty strange most of the time. He sniffs everything, paces continually and looks totally out of it. We got home around four o’clock. At the vets the nurse said since he had a valium he wouldn’t be able to start the other medication until tomorrow morning. We went out for dinner to a Won Ton House. I thought of bringing Kelly with us but it’s better for him in the house if he does have a seizure. He might hurt himself in the car . After dinner we came and got him, Kelly had another attack. We went to Mom and Dad’s for a visit. Kelly kept on bugging us for some attention especially Mom. Kelly barked at Mom at one point to pat him. It must be very upsetting for them when they don’t know what’s happening We came home at nine o’clock. Alex had snack and got ready for bed. I went to bed at ten o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; April 22, 1989

I woke up at eight thirty to hear a crash down in the basement and knew right away that something was wrong with Kelly. When I got downstairs Kelly was having another seizure. Once he was able to get up I put him outside, he really needed to go. I phoned the vet and made an appointment for 11:45 a.m. today. At nine o’clock I phoned Mom and Dad. Dad answered and I asked if they could look after Alex while I took Kelly to the vet. I explained what had happened to Kelly. Dad said that would be okay. The rest of the morning I spent getting ready to go. I took Alex to Mom and Dad’s at eleven thirty. Mom gave me cheque to pay for the vet which was really nice. I saw a woman vet, I had never seen her before. She did a urine test which showed that Kelly was okay. She wasn’t sure why he was having the seizures. She said she wanted me to monitor how many seizures he has the next month. The vet gave me a prescription for valium, Kelly is to have ½ a pill every time he has a seizure. I wasn’t too pleased with what was done. It seemed to me more tests should be done. We went to Mom and Dad’s. Alex and Mom had made chocolate chip cookies. I had cottage cheese since I can’t have any food with sugar in it. We came home at two thirty. I rested and watched tv, Alex played in the spare room. When Charlie got home we went out for dinner. The vet said Kelly may not have another seizure, so I thought it would be okay. After dinner we went to the Chew’s. I was telling Laura about Kelly. She said maybe he’s going crazy. I thought that figures coming from Laura. We didn’t stay very long but when we got home Kelly had another seizure. I gave Kelly a pill and hoped he wouldn’t have another seizure. Alex went to bed at nine o’clock and I went to bed not long afterwards.

My dog had Cancer; March 22, 1989

I woke up at nine o’clock. Alex and I had breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. Dr. H phoned this morning, he said the test results showed that Kelly has a kidney infection. He said he wants Kelly to start on antibiotics which I could pick up today. This should stop the seizures. The reason why Kelly was having seizures was that he wasn’t getting enough blood to his brain due to the infection in his kidney. It was a relief he didn’t have a tumour, I don’t think I could of handled that right now. I picked up the medicine after lunch. It has to be given every eight hours so we figure two o’clock p.m., midnight and eight o’clock a.m. Charlie said he would give Kelly his midnight pill. We ate dinner at five thirty. After dinner we watched tv. Alex went to bed at ten o’clock. I went to bed as well.

My dog had Cancer; March 21, 1989

I woke up at nine o’clock. Alex and I had breakfast then I had a shower and got dressed. Charlie took Kelly to the vet this morning. Kelly had a seizure last night. It has to be one of the most horrible things to watch since you can’t do anything but wait. Kelly also had one this morning. On the stairs. I had talked to a vet last night, he said he could have epilepsy but couldn’t be sure. This morning I talked to the Animal Hospital, they said they didn’t have an appointment available until this afternoon. I told them Charlie was going to work in the afternoon. They said we could bring Kelly in but we would have to leave him there until someone could look at him. Dr. H phoned in the afternoon. He said Kelly’s blood count was quite low and he was possibly anemic. Dr. H said Kelly could have a tumour, kidney problem or epilepsy. He wanted to send a blood sample to another lab first. Dr. H wanted to keep him overnight but I said I wanted to take him home. Dr. H said to give him until four o’clock. I took Alex to Mom and Dad’s while I went to get Kelly. They said the doctor had given Kelly a shot to fight off any infection. Alex and I had dinner at five thirty. After dinner we watched tv. Alex went to bed at eight o’clock. I went to bed at ten o’clock.

My dog had Cancer; 1989

This blog is taken from a journal I wrote about my son, when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. http://diagnosisleukemia.blogspot.ca The journal started in April of 1987 when my son was first diagnosed. My dog Kelly had his first seizure in March of 1989. At that time the vet thought Kelly had a tumour, kidney trouble or epilepsy. In December of 1986 we moved to our home, not realizing there were high voltage power lines across the street from our home. In November of 1989 we moved out of that house, feeling it was a health risk for our family. I will blog only the days that pertain to Kelly having seizures, his medication or visiting the vet. It was a very difficult time for me. I blogged about my son’s treatment of Leukemia and now I feel it is time to blog about Kelly’s treatment for his seizures.