Monday, February 15, 2016
I think I have decided that I really dislike Valentine's Day and the days surrounding it. I have never really had good luck in love, money or family around this day. As for love, there always seemed to be something that happened about this time. Either I was seeing someone who did not celebrate or forgot about the day, or I was ending a relationship about this time. This is fine. I really look at Valentine's Day as a day for the candy, flower, and card companies to make money. If you care and love someone then you should tell them or show them each day. As for money, it seems that I always had a car payment due, insurance due or some other large bill about this time of the year. This year is no different, again it is a cycle. Now for family, my father passed away from Esophageal Cancer on February 14th in 2004. Today, I find out that sweet Squeak has lymphoma.
I took her to the vet specialist again this morning. This time it was the one in Murrieta so there was no long drive for her. They had me leave her for the radiologist to be able to take another ultrasound and also to see if they could get the needle aspiration. While I knew what the diagnosis was going to be I was hoping against hope that it would not be something bad. However, when I went to pick her up, they said that while it is not 100% definitive because they have to wait for the cytology report it looks like it is lymphoma and have set me up to see the oncologist on Tuesday, February 16.
I am devastated. My little Squeaky has cancer and there is nothing that I can do to help her right now. We just have to wait to find out what the treatment options are. Then I have to make some decisions about her quality of life, her age, and the cost of treatment for her. I am so scared about the appointment tomorrow that I am not even thinking strait. All I have done is sit and cry today as she sleeps.
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| Squeak and Husky in the morning sun! |
The vet did give me some pills for her to help her with her appetite and they told me I could feed her whatever she would eat. I went to Petco to get some other food that is in gravy because that is what she is eating right now but she really wants tuna and I worry about that being too much for her tummy and her getting sick of it so she does not eat anything. I just want to sit and hug her tight so nothing can ever harm her. I guess it is a good thing that I don't have anything but fur-babies, can you imagine what this would be like if it was a human child?
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Today, I had a vet oncologist appointment at 4:00 pm. It was the longest day, knowing that I was leaving Squeak at home by herself and being unsure as to what I would come home to. I knew she would be alive but she was acting so weak the last few days it scares me. Ali, my friend from work, went with me to hear the diagnosis and listen to treatment options. The California Vet Specialists have a division called Angel Care which is specifically for animals with cancer. The head oncologist is Dr. Oligvie and when I got there with Squeak we found out he had two interns, one from UC Davis and one from Vienna who had come to study with him. They both spoke to us and then Dr. Oligvie came in to talk to me about Squeak. Here is the jest of what he said. She has lymphoma and there are some options. He cannot tell me which one will work and her life expectancy with either of them but in general here are the options:
1. Give her prednisone - this will help extend her life and boost her immune system so she can live a little longer. Without know exactly what stage, this would be 4 months or so.
2. Multiple Drug Therapy - this is a combination of drugs for her that will help slow the growth of the cancer and bust her immune system but again, depends on staging of the cancer but could be 6 months to a year.
3. Chemotherapy - this treatment option is designed to try and get the cancer to go into remission. It does not cure it but puts it at levels so low that it is not detectable. This is a 27 week cycle of treatments that she would undergo. If I chose to do this cycle then we would know by week 4 if the treatments were working and they should continue or go to option 1 or 2.
I asked about pain and what kind of pain and discomfort she would be in with each option. They said she would not be in any pain and the first sign she was in any pain at all they would stop treatment and let me know so we could re-evaluate treatment options but their goal was a high quality of life while she was still with me.
Now, please realize this is my baby and I have not been able to stop being upset about the situation and since I have never been through this before, I keep telling Dr. Oligvie and the oncology technicians they are going to have to let me know when she is in pain and it is time to stop treatments. Each of her team members agreed to do that for both of us. I also explained that one of the reasons I am so upset is because I am traveling so much this Spring with work and I am gone for extended periods of time so I am worried about her eating and giving meds. They told me they would medically board her for me, but I hate to do that to my Squeaky, she loves her mattress and sunbeam too much!
I think by now, you know that I have chosen Option 3 for her. Dr. Olgivie says the key is to make sure that she stays on her meds, gets her treatment at the appropriate time and to also be sure that she does not lose weight too quickly because she will get Fatty Liver Disease which can cause another host of issues and prevent the treatment from working. So now I am worried about her getting the nutrients she needs when she is already not eating and I am gone. They went ahead and did the first treatment that night for her and gave me encouragement that she would begin feeling better and eating. Thank god Ali was there with me. We left Squeak at the vet to get her first treatment and went to the drug store to get some things that Squeak will need. Ali let me know that she and Katja would be there to take care of Squeak while I left this upcoming week and for me not to worry too much. When we went back to pick her up she had her little arms wrapped in Coban bandages but had a sweet and happy look on her face. They gave me the meds and off we went to take Squeak home at 8:30 pm with the instructions to give her medications that night.
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| You can see her cute little paw they shaved for Chemotherapy. |
Now let me explain how laid back Squeak is. This is my cat that I can put over my should and walk around and clean the house with. This is the cat that I can move from one place to another and she just meows at me. This is the cat that eats anything I lay in front of her. She is also the cat that has NEVER BIT, SCRATCHED, or HIT any person with her paw. However, because she is not eating, it is hard to give her meds. She will not take them in a pill pocket and you cannot mix them with water because they foam. You cannot crush them up and put them in a syringe because they will foam and you will lose some to the sides of the syringe and you cannot crush them up and put them in her food because she is not eating. In addition, a pill shooter does not work because they are 1/2 of a pill, a 1/4 of a pill and they are too small for the shooter and if you put the shooter down her throat too far, she gags and they come back out. Sooooo, you have to push them down her throat. My baby Squeak does not bite and while she fights it is not a hard fight like some of the other cats I have had. I feel awful doing it to her. She did sleep with me cuddled up close through the next morning and she did eat some in the morning but not a lot.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
This morning when I was giving Squeak her meds I started wondering if I had made the right choice to go with option 3. I hate putting the pills down her throat seeming like I am hurting her but I know for the treatments to work she has to have these meds. I decided that I needed to do a meds schedule for her, especially if Katja and Ali will be staying with her this weekend. Today I spent the day wondering if I made the right decision on a lot of things. I am tired from this past weekend but I decided I need to cut back on some of the time I am out of town for several reasons. 1) Squeak, 2) my health - peace of mind, 3) to spend time with friends and 4) my job which I love. I worry about taking on too much and not doing a good enough job. While I have some decisions to make, I feel good about the decision.
I left rather quickly after school to go to the store and get Squeak a variety of food. The vet said just to make sure she did not lose weight too quickly and to try and keep her off of sugary foods that feed the cancer so I was off to find protein based foods. I got a variety of items from Petco and then also stopped at the store to pick up some shrimp, chicken and beef for her as well as eggs. Now this is hilarious because I am a vegetarian and this is one of the first times I have bought meat in a long time LOL!. When I got home I gave her a smorgasbord to choose from and she did eat some different foods, specifically some shrimp and some tuna. However, she DOES NOT LIKE ALBACORE tuna or regular chunk tuna in spring water. Picky Kitty!!! However, she does get to choose what she eats! Look at this layout!
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| Oh the choices she has! |
I also had a lot of trouble with her meds. I called the vet specialists to see if they had any suggestions and they said to put the pill in butter and freeze it for 30 minutes and then put it in her mouth, the butter will cause the pill to slide down and it gives her some nutrients. While she does not like this, it is working.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Today was a fairly uneventful day. I have been trying to get things set up and ready so when I leave work everything is ready for the next week. I am a little worried about being gone for a week from school during registration but if I have to be gone, I guess this week is as good as any time to be absent. I was able to get away 5:00 pm in order to get home. I new I needed to leave the apartment y 7:30 pm to make it to the airport on time and get through security. Ali showed up at the apartment around 6:15 for me to show her how I had Squeaks meds set up and how to give them to her. I had prepped a notebook with all of her information in it and a medicine administration schedule. This allows you to see the general time that you are supposed to provide the medication to Squeak but allows you to put the time you actually gave them to her timetable so that you can keep up with the four medications she is taking right now. One gets taken 1x a day, one is 2x a day, another is every 8 hours, another is 1x a day and the last is once time in the morning. Katja showed up around 7:00 pm and Ali said she would train her on the meds for Squeak as well.
So at 7:30 pm, I left the apartment and made it to the car before crying. I know that I will see Squeak in a week but I am still worried about her and that I am not there with her. I know that Ali and Katja will take good care of my baby and Husky. She will have great care, get to the vet and get fed but it is hard to leave at this time with her in this condition and not knowing if the treatment is working.
I did not sleep well on the plane, I was in an aisle seat this time and could not get comfortable. Besides the fact that I could not get comfortable I was worried about how Squeak would do this week, if I was prepared for the upcoming week and presentations and honestly, did I pack enough clothes? I really had a hard time packing for this trip because I could not concentrate. I would start and then could not think through what I was doing and became overwhelmed with the idea of looking up the weather and trying to figure out what to take. Then when I decided just to take things for hot, cold and presentations, I tried not to overpack and therefore I think I underpacked. This is so unlike me. I am usually on point and really can plan well and pack. This time it was just hard because my mind was in so many different places. I decided that I could just purchase what I needed and the first place I was going had a washing machine and dryer so I could always do laundry if I ran out of clothes.
Disney Time
I had a really good time at Disney. It was nice to be away and be back at Disney World after being away for 5 years. There has been a lot of changes in Magic Kingdom since they opened it up more the area and put in some things from recent movies. Below you will find some pictures of some of the area. It was raining one of the days I was in Magic Kingdom so there are not as many pictures as there could be.
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| This would be the top of Prince Eric's castle. |
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| Scuttle who can be found on The Little Mermaid Ride |
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Center of new Be Our Guest Restaurant
I tried to get a little of the turning. I think it might be loud in the room! |
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| Picture in Be Our Guest |
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| Picture in Be Our Guest restaurant |
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| Picture in Be Our Guest Restaurant. |
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| Rose from movie in Be Our Guest restaurant. |
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| Main dining room in Be Our Guest restaurant. |
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| Stained glass window in Be Our Guest restaurant |
I think I need new dishes and these will be them:
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| These are going to be my new dishes! |
The Magic Kingdom is where the majority of the changes have taken place over the last five years, but there are some things that stay the same such as the Jungle Cruise:
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| Ladies and Gentlemen: The Backside of Water!!!!! |
At Epcot, they are in the process of making some changes but they have not finished yet. They will be changing Norway and are doing some work in a few other areas. I did not take many pictures in this area but I did take some pictures of the amazing garden work at Epcot!
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| Snow White |
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| Phineas & Ferb |
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| Beast and Belle |
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| Luminear and Cogsworth |
The Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are still the same. Hollywood Studios did add a new show called Frozen Sing Along which is actually hilarious!!! The premise behind it is to tell the story of Frozen with a satire feel where they make fun of the Frozen Craze while still honoring the Frozen CRAZE!!! It was so good that I went to see it twice!
Another new things that is happening at Disney, which is pretty fantastic is the use of Magic Bands and the Interactive Disney App to plan your trip and keep up with everything. I think one of the reasons I am so impressed with this is because in 2006 I got stopped while I was in Epcot and asked to be part of a focus group where I answered questions that gave feedback to allow for something like this to be developed.
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| My Magic Band - Yellow of Course!!!! |
Overall it was a very enjoyable time with friends and family at one of my favorite places. While I know that not everyone enjoys Disney as much as I do and yes it can be expensive, I do enjoy the entertainment, good food, night time parades and events. I love that you can go to this place and everything is taken care of for you if you plan appropriately, which I am able to do for the most part since I have been there so many times.
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| For you Jamie! |
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| A Closer Shot! |
One of the things that I highly suggest and will do from now on as I go back is to do a dessert event where you get preferential seating for the evening event. We did this for the Magic Kingdom so that we could see the fireworks best and these are the dessert they provided. It was a buffet and let me just say that I almost went into a Sugar Coma!!!! It was nice to have a space without people stepping on you to watch the fireworks and enjoy the time!
One other thing to point out that is different about Disney is the Star Wars parts that are being added. It was fun to see what they are doing and see how they are honoring the former Star Wars movies and moving forward.
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| Lemon Cupcake - BB8 |
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| Darth Vader Cupcake |
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| Mural of Former Star Wars Movies! |
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| Millennium Falcon Model |
There was also a lot of Jawas walking around and Storm Troopers. The area is really well done and I enjoyed being there and seeing the old with the new. While I do not exude Star Wars, it is one of my favorite movie sagas simply because it was the first movie I remember my dad taking me to and watching these as part of holiday traditions where they show them all day! I remember being in my PJ's and watching them all day long as we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was interesting also to be there and hear people talk about who Rey is related to and her history. It made me smile.
Texas Instruments
So the real reason I am on the east coast this week is Texas Instruments. I am a T3 Regional Instructor and this is our annual conference. On Thursday, we had our Professional Development day where they reveal upcoming products and things coming out in the next 6 months. It is our chance to work with prototypes, see new educational materials and connect with my T3 family for collaboration. This year was no different. However, I did come away with some highlights of things that I need to work on as an administrator for my kids. I knew about these, but I am finding more of an urgency for this now.
- We need a SAT / ACT Prep class for our students - especially our girls!
- We need a computer science class on campus!
- We have to push coding and getting kids to understand the importance of coding.
- We need to really pull in ALL students into the STEM program whether it is afterschool or a pathway we create.
- Talk about the Slow Math Movement where teachers slow down and allow students to really understand the math before they move forward so quickly and fail.
These are things that I think a lot of other people know about. However, since I am not always attending content conferences but more leadership conferences or professional development that is targeted I don't always hear the up and coming events and needs. Since RUSD is doing so much in-house PD, our teachers are not able to leave to go to the conferences they need to make the changes they need to make. In fact, I am the only person here from the entire RUSD district that I know of. While there are other CA people here, the majority of them are T3 instructors who had to come for the PD day as well. I am very excited about the products, training and educational materials that are coming out from TI in the next year and I cannot wait to implement them.
Ending
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