O, Christmas Tree

Christmas has long since passed, but we still have our small tree up in our bedroom. That tree is staying up indefinitely. It seems silly, but I refuse to take it down until Sydney is gone. This may eventually change, but for now the tree stays. One of my favorite things during the holiday season is to wake up and see Sydney lying on the floor with the glow of Christmas lights illuminating her. I can't imagine no longer having that experience, and I want to savor it for as long as possible.

This picture doesn't do justice to what I see when I wake up and see Sydney under the Christmas tree. 

Given Sydney's last blood work, we were having a difficult time being optimistic. Then, last Friday happened. Red blood count, while still low, has improved. Kidney function is normal. Needless to say, I cried tears of relief with that news. In that instant, the stress that I did not know I was experiencing was suddenly gone.

That tree almost came down that day, but now it has a superstitious quality to it. If I take it down, will things decline? It's almost like someone wearing the same hat when their team plays. I am not willing to take that chance, and I am thankful for every morning I see that sweet Blonde Bear under the Christmas Tree.

Chemo, What's it Good for?

Sydney has officially been on chemo for two weeks now. To be honest, it seemed to be going rather well. No major side effects, except for a slight upset stomach. This being evident from many of Sydney's actions and the intense rumbling we could hear coming from her stomach, none of which actually ended in vomiting, thankfully. We picked up a new medicine to help coat her stomach. That seems to have helped with the stomach upset, given that there is no more grass eating or excessive gulping.

We have really felt positive these last two weeks, and I have to admit that is no small feat given what we went through with Katie in the end. Sydney's first chemo blood work was done on Friday. We weren't even worried about how it was going to turn out. This girl has always handled every medical problem that has come her way, and there have been plenty of those. Needless to say, we were a little disappointed. Her red blood cell count has dropped slightly, so she is anemic. Her BUN (blood urea nitrogen) has gone up. It has only gone up slightly, but I am terrified that those numbers will only continue to deteriorate. After Katie, I have a firm grasp on what an increase in BUN means. Sydney's is only 6 points above normal, whereas Katie's was well over 100 points above normal in the end. Regardless, I have a sense of deja vu.

Because it is apparent that Sydney's body cannot handle her current does of chemo, we have cut her current dose in half and will recheck her blood in a week. I am hopeful that her numbers will return to normal, but it is difficult to remain optimistic. Additionally, we have to hope that this smaller dosage is enough to keep the cancer from spreading.

There are only three weeks until my blonde bear turns 15. I have never wished more for such a milestone. A lot can happen in three weeks, but no matter what, I know that we are so lucky that she has been our rock for so long.

The Cocoa Bean

After Jack arrived, we decided that we were done adding pets to our family for awhile. Small house, two humans, three animals -- we were to capacity. The universe had other plans for us, however. We did, in fact, add a fourth furry member to our family.

Cocoa came to us at the age of five and a half. This rambunctious, hyper, and sweet girl has experienced a lot of loss in her life. She belonged to Christian's parents. Christian's dad trained her so well. He would leave a row of treats out, and she would only grab one a day. She also did not bark. She would make this very small sound that sounded like a whisper of a bark. As a young dog, she would stay beside Billy when he returned home from his dialysis treatments. Three and half years ago, Billy passed away and Cocoa lost an important person in her life. Fast forward to December 2012 -- Christian's mom became unable to care for Cocoa prior to her passing, and Cocoa came to live with us. Four animals were a lot, but she was such a great addition. She kept everyone on their toes.

I am not going to lie, there were some ups and downs. Cocoa can be very submissive in some situations. Initially, we had to be very careful how we said anything to her, otherwise we might be cleaning up a small accident. The frequency of these accidents has improved, but we still have to be careful sometimes. Additionally, Cocoa will put herself to bed if she thinks she has done something wrong or if she thinks someone (human or animal) is upset with her. Talk about sensitive!

Cocoa quickly acclimated to her place in our home. Within a week, she found her voice. No more barking whispers. She could make as much noise as any of the others. She also, eventually, made friends with Jack. Jack was rather hostile towards her at first. Having never heard him hiss, I was shocked at his reactions to Cocoa. Of course, he got over it. As Cocoa laid on the couch one night, Jack slowly inched up and smacked her in the face, TWICE. The rest is history. Now they are the best of friends. They run, play, wrestle and create havoc. It is wonderful!

A year later, we are so thankful Cocoa Bean joined our family. She brings us a lot of joy with her lovable, infectious nature.

That Darn Cat

A cat, not for us, but thanks anyway. Insert hysterical laughter. First, let me point out that Christian is allergic to cats, and I don't mean just a little bit. Prime example of this includes the time his grandmother brought him a t-shirt from Florida. She stayed with Christian's aunt and uncle that had a cat, and like all cats he was fascinated with her luggage. Christian puts on said t-shirt on and within an hour his eyes are watering and practically swollen shut.

So imagine our surprise when a cat picked us. One September night we are hanging out on the front porch while Sydney and Katie are doing their business, and strolling down our walkway was the most beautiful black and white cat. Well, in my very candid way of putting things, I said, "that is either the bravest cat or the damn stupidest cat ever." Within seconds of that, Sydney and Katie managed to chase him under the car where he just sat and looked at us after we took them inside. Now I am not going to lie, I fed this cat (gender yet to be determined) tuna that night. I am a sucker that way. I know, I know, that is a sure sign that a cat is going to stay. However, that is the last time I fed him for four days. Four of the rainiest days I can remember. Four days that he lived under our porch. Every time we would walk outside he would pop out from under the porch to say hello. Going to work? Yep, he would follow along and hop in the car.

Finally on the fourth day, our willpower to ignore this little creature ended. This may have been due more to the unrelenting rain than anything else, but it was one of the best decisions we ever made. Christian, of course, was not inclined to pick up this cat due to his allergies, and I was just plain freaked out by the idea of claws. Basically, this meant that Jack went by the name Sophie until I had the nerve to pick him up. He has a lot of hair, therefore making it impossible to tell his gender.

Once we discovered that we had given Jack a gender crisis, we set out to determine his name. Jack is named for two TV characters - Jack Bauer from 24 and Jack Bristow from Alias. At the time, we had planned on letting Jack explore the great outdoors, so giving him the name of two bad ass TV personalities was meant to bode well for his outside adventures. Of course, watching him cross the street with total abandon ended this freedom. He is now an indoor cat, but he has a very nice screened-in porch to enjoy the great outdoors.

Jack was a great addition to our household. He creates havoc and entertainment every day, and Christian's allergies have lessened with time. Here's to stray cats and forever homes.