On 4 Feb 2004 22:19:56 GMT Dimpled Chad whittled these words:
Frankie continues to improve behaviorally and in terms of his blood
chemistry. After bloodwork this week, his p count remains sky high (over
700k), and his liver enzymes, which had been very elevated, are all
precipitously dropping. They aren't quite normal yet, but they are all 2/3
lower than last test two weeks ago, and are trending downward.

Good good I like to focus on the good stuff.

We're dealing with ever new secondary symptoms. His mouth growths under the
tongue are unchanged, but the newer growths remain and have gotten thicker.
And he has a new skin problem. We noticed red sores under his ears, and what
we intially thought was flaky skin on the abdomen due to the cold cold
weather turned scaly and hard. The vets dont' know what they are.

*sigh* focussing on the good stuff, acknowledging the not so good but
moving on.

So, given the improved blood chemistry, we're going to do a battery of
biopsies tomorrow morning. They'll give him quick acting anestesia, and one
of them will biopsy in his mouth and the other will do his skin.

Thats where we are today. He's happy still, eating and doin' his business
like a champion. He's more active than earlier, and as we continue to
decrease the steroids he does ever better.

Yay! focussing on the good stuff!

Tomorrow we move to 5mg every
other day (the other day he gets a dose of imuran), which is no longer an
immune-suppressive dose. If his p count remains strong, we'll have to decide
whether to take him off the steroid all together, or to keep him on the lower
dose for a long spell.

Frankie sends his best to all his canine and human friends.

And we all send good wishes back.

Diane Blackman