Sept. 30, 1998
If you want to do a brief update on Ollie, here's the scoop-She was coughing more than usual for the past couple of days, but seems better today. She goes to have her "digoxin level" bloodwork done tommorrow at 4, the results take several days to a week. She remains on a high doseage (25mg. 3 times a day) of the lasix, along with the Enacard & Digoxin. She is eating & drinking well, she is even playing her "eating while playing ball" game, which is now played like this--Mommy throws my tennis ball to me, I eat a couple of bites of that yucky "heart diet" food, I take the ball back to mommy (or close to her, I like to tease!) she throws it, I make a fantastic catch, & then I go & plop on mommys lap to rest. After I rest, we start the game all over again. Its the ONLY way to eat!
Oct. 7, 1998
We were at Cornell for over 7 hours, but we did not walk out crying like I had expected! Dr.Rishnew is excellent, & he covers all of his bases. He did an EKG, ultrasound, more x-rays, & the most complete physical that Ollie has ever had.(She was NOT thrilled about any part of today) He did a lot of feeling around with his hands, & when he listened to her heart, he was so intent on listening that he actually closed his eyes at one point--if a pin had dropped,we would have heard it.
He did warn us that dogs with heart problems can die suddenly, but I don't think that it happens often--all doctors have to tell you that anything can happen.Ollie does have severe heart problems & a "guarded" prognosis, but he says that he can try a few different things (medication changes, etc.) to help her.The radiologist that did Ollie's other ultrasounds told our vet that nothing more could be done for her medically,& they had us thinking that Ollies time was very limited. Dr. Rishniw thinks that he can buy her some good quality time. I found out why heart surgery to replace valves is not done often. When dogs are operated on for heart problems, they tend to throw blood clots, or have strokes.That is why it is not done often. I have more to tell you, but I am faling asleep on my keyboard. Ollie is having meds changed & we have to call Dr.Rishniw in 2 weeks. If she has not improved, he will do more with her meds, if she has improved,he wants to see her & repeat some tests for comparison.The charges for today were $327, (1/2 will hopefully be covered by the grant) but it would be worth a million times that to hear that he may be able to give Ollie a little more time.Thanks for the prayers.
Oct. 9, 1998
I am a bit more awake now & I thought that you might like to know the specifics of Ollie's diagnosis. This is coming right from the cardiology report, & there are several medical terms that I do not know the meaning of, but you might.This is a condensed version because it is very long. Radiographs show-marked left ventricle & left atrium enlargement. Electrocardiogram--Sinus arrhythmia with APCs. Echocardiogram-marked left ventricle enlargement,marked left atrium enlargement,right pulmonary vein appears very large, the mitral valve has flail & chordal rupture,as well as mild prolapse. (there is a lot more to this,but it is even harder to understand so I did not bother to copy it to this post) Diagnosis:Mirtal valve insufficiency Prognosis:Guarded
Oct. 24, 1998
The Vestal Vet has received 11 donations for
a total of $175 (as of 10-21) which brings Ollies balance down to
$379.54. The donations took a big chuck off of the bill, & its a relief to have it under $400. They only require a minimum monthly payment of $20, & since Ollie will mainly be going to Cornell from now on, I'l get Vestal paid off one of these years.
Here is the latest on Ollie--She had us a bit worried last night because she did a little bit of coughing, but it was cold out, & temperature change can cause coughing to act up in heart patients (canine ones anyway). We are still waiting to hear back from Cornell about setting up an appointment for Ollie. Dr. Rishniw told us to call him 2 weeks after he 1st saw & ran tests on Ollie (it was 2 weeks on 10-21). He told us that if there was even a slight improvment with the medication change,
(which there has been) that he wanted to repeat tests for comparison to the initial tests.
I have called Cornell twice & left messages for Dr.Rishniw, & I even sent him an e-mail Thursday evening just in case he had not gotten my messages. I will send another e-mail on Sunday, & I
will call again Monday if I do not hear fom them. If Dr. Rishniw wants to repeat tests as part of his treatment plan for Ollie, I don't want to just skip them because I am not hearing back from Cornell. I do not want to take any chances with Ollie's health due to a possible "message mix-up".
Oct. 29, 1998
Finally! Ollie has an appointment at Cornell for her follow-up visit with Dr. Rishniw.The appt. is this Friday, the 30th, at
11:30. So even if we are there all day again, I should be able to post a progress report about how it went when we get back &
get Ollie calmed down.
I want to thank Karen & the Other Angels for their posts about helping us to get through until I get my settlement.What Karen
said is a fact, it is because of the help of all of Ollie's Angels that we survived October.(I WILL send a goup e-mail about the latest on my lawsuit).
I will rob Peter (the $68 car insurance installment) to pay Paul (to try to pacify Cornell) & take it one day at a time.I hate to
play around with the car insurance installment, because I,ll still have to pay the 11-27 installment, but we have the grace period,so we we still be covered, & MAYBE, just MAYBE, my lawsuit will settle out of court before the trial starts on the 16th.
I also meant what I said about re-paying anybody that wants to be paid back for helping us--please just let me know.But just so
you know, even if I don't end up with a ton of money,I plan to use whatever I do get to pay off debts (# 1, the landlord!) Get a
halfway decent ,SAFE car (we drive a 1978 Nova that nickel & dimes us to death--don't worry,we borrow my mom's car
when we go to Cornell,grandma takes no chances with HER little Ollie!) & hopefully have enough to buy a duplex, & invest
some money too.But I have already thought about things that I can do to repay the kindness of Ollie's Angels. I can think of
nothing that any of the Angels would like better than to see money donated to help with BT rescue, am I right? And if by some
miracle I do end up with a LOT of money, I have so many ideas to help animals swimming around in my head, it makes me
dizzy (& excited!).Naturally, bostons will always be at the top of my list, but I love all kinds of animals, & if I can help them, I will.People too, I would love to be able to help poor homeless people.Not the drunks & druggies, but people who (a lot like us) got hit hard with a lot of lousy luck, & unfortunately, ended up on the street.When I can't sleep at night I will come up with a
little "fantasy plan" about seeking out a homeless litle out lady or man, with a mangy (but well fed) dog, that is not only their best friend, but their most prized posession in the world.In my fantasy,I would bring them home & feed them & clean them up,get
them checked out by their doctors, & find them a place to live. In my fantasy, this home has a big fenced in yard,a fully stocked
pantry, an old fashioned "parlor" with big comfortable overstuffed furniture, a "Florida room" or sun porch, & lots & lots of windows, plants, & flowers! I can envision "my" little old lady sitting in her parlor with her baby on her lap, both snoozing with contented expressions on their faces.O.K., now that I've bored you to tears with my fantasy, I'l shut up already.
Oct. 30, 1998
My morning started at 5:15 with a call from my mom. She is having a problem with her dialysis catheter (it gets plugged up with a substance from her pertineal cavity called "fibren") & I have spent my day at the dialysis unit with her.
We use her car to take Ollie to Cornell, & mom can't get into my car without a lot of pain, so we have to reschedule Ollie's appt. for (probably) next Friday. Mom is still at the dialysis
unit, I just "ran" home to check on Ollie, (she is fine, but pouting) so I have to get back there.
My my will be o.k., this is one of the many time-consuming problems that dialysis patients have to deal with, but its fixable.
My mother-in-law called for us, Dr. Rishniw said that as long as Ollie is stable, waiting a week won't hurt anything--you all KNOW that I don't take any chances with my Ollie!
Nov. 11, 1998
Ollie is going to Cornell on Thursday at 9:00 to see Dr. Rishniw & to have tests repeated. She has been doing some coughing for about 4 or 5 days, (especially when she is very active) & this had pretty much stopped shortly after her 1st trip to Cornell. But, she has also sounded like her nose is stuffy for a couple of days, so I am hoping that maybe she has a cold & that is the reason for the coughing. Please say some prayers for her.
Nov. 13, 1998
Ollie's heart has not gotten any larger since
her last appt. Dr.Rishniw said that it will never get any smaller than it is, but at least it is not any bigger than it was 3 to 4 weeks ago. And her heart rate is slightly slower, (hey, I'll settle for "slightly" as long as it is good news :-) so increasing the Enacard (THANK YOU JANET!!!) from 5mg to 10 mg. (twice a day) has helped her heart rate. & the schedule change with the lasix have really improved the quality of her life. She likes the Purina CV prescription food MUCH more (THANKS AGAIN
JANET,for sending 2 CASESof "CV" to Ollie!!) than the Hills science diet brand, so she is eating better (& more) than she has in a long time. She had her x-rays repeated today, & her lungs looked "slightly" better than the last ones did.About her recent increase in coughing--it has been "slightly" better today & yesterday, & Dr. Rishniw said that coughing goes along with Ollie's heart problems, OR, that she might have a cold. She has also been doing a lot of scratching, & I have always used Cortizone 10 (sparingly) to relieve the itching "hotspots". She has had to take prednisone for her allergies several times in the past, & he said that we could give it to her again if it was needed. I have always been very anti-steroid because of all of the possible side effects, so I want to avoid using it ever again (if possible) because of her heart.
So all of those "slightlys" added up to a pretty good re-check exam, better than I had dared to hope for. I told you that the Ollie's Angels prayer chains are mighty powerful!
The only part of the visit that was not "slight" was the bill. I had been told that a re-check exam & x-rays would cost about $50 or $60, & even if it was $60, I had stashed away (THANKS in part to Munia & Aggy) almost the whole $60. Ollie is worth all of the
money in the world, & I'm NOT complaining, but after I got hit with the bill for $89, I had $6 to last me until Monday. But it turned out fine, there was a surprise waiting in our mailbox (THANKS PAT,ERIK,SHAKES & JJ!!) that will help to get us through the weekend.
Feb. 28, 1999
To each & every one of "Ollie's Angels on earth", I
told you that when Ollie's Angels pull together to
try to accomplish something, NOTHING is impossible.
And once again, you came through for us & proved it.
As you may already know, your little "adopted" Ollie
is this weeks winner in the "Too Cute" photo
contest!!
We want to tell you how much we appreciate your
support in the contest, & how very grateful that we
are to be blessed with having such a wondeful &
caring group of people for friends. Your friendship
really means a lot to us, & we thank you!
April 27, 1999
We have had a few rough days with Ollie, & we need your prayers. Her
coughing that is being caused by her enlarged heart pushing against her
trachea has gotten worse. Ollie has started keeping her neck
outstretched a lot because she has figured out that the coughing
decreases if she does this, so she is more comfortable. Sometimes the
coughing starts if she lies down, so for the past 2 days she sometimes
is hesitant to lie down & she justs stands on the floor.
Dave called her cardiologist at Cornell today, & he wants to see her on
Wednesday at 11. He does not understand what could be causing her to not
want to lie down. She has been taking cough pills with codiene in them,
& a dose of 1/2 of a tablet helps her some, but not enough. We want her
to be able to get more rest than she has been getting, so her doctor
told us to give her a whoe pill instead of the 1/2. We are going to try
the whole pil for the 1st time in about an hour (1/2 hour before her
lasix dose is due) & hoefuly she will be able to have a better night
tonight.
She is drinking & eating (sometimes you have to coax her a bit with the
food) & she still shows interest in playing ball, but any exertion makes
the coughing start, so it is frustrating.
When Dave asked what the problem could possibly be, Dr. Rishniw
mentioned a collapsed trachea, but it seems to me if he really thought
that this was the problem, he would not want to wait until Wednesday to
see her.