the bubs...

is hanging in there...we took him to the vet on friday morning cause he couldn't walk or get up by himself on thursday...he is sort of like a rag doll...his legs are floppy and he kind of lays as he falls, legs askew...we try to get him down gently, but a few times he has sort of faceplanted cause he is large and hard to direct when you only have one person on one side and he starts going down the other way...

the bad news...

he DOES have: a large splenic mass and 2 bad knees and he's anemic...

he MAY have: lymphoma and/or an infection from a bleed of the spleen...

bloodwork levels also revealed some highs and lows...

the good news...

chest x-rays show a GOOD heart and lungs, no metastasized cancer...

he is alert and content and does not appear to have any pain, just an inability to control his legs (mostly rear, but the front are not "dependable") very well if at all at times...

the current plan is prednizone...the steroid should help with several aspects, but mostly it should take down some swelling and relieve some pain...but it also is encouraging more drinking and more peeing to flush out some of the bloodwork issues...he is also on an antibiotic in case there is an infection from the spleen issue...

so far - the good news...he has been able to get up on his own a few times and is going out and walking under his own power a little more (we still sling him under the belly with the towel for some support and to catch him when he falls)...he is only going a few feet into the yard and back but it is good...

he is eating, drinking, and peeing great amounts...he is smiling...he is thrilled with all the treats he gets that he never got before...whipped cream...ground beef and rice...a bite here and there of whatever we are eating...

the bad news...the vet called today (sunday afternoon) to see how he is doing and he was hoping to hear some better progress...he is keeping him on the higher dose for a full 5 days instead of 3...

and he hasn't pooped since he left the vet on friday...doc said movement is the best remedy but as many times as we try to get him out and walking he wants to go pee then tries to get back inside as soon as possible...doc recommended a warm soapy water enema, and as much as bear and i are fighting over the privilege of getting to do that one, we decided that we might have to let the vet have that honor and my have to swing him by tomorrow for that if he can't make some poo tonight...i wish he understood that...it would SURELY scare it out of him!

if after 5 days there is no improvement we will try a non-steroidal treatment...but we are hoping this one works...

dr. miles said we may get 1 month, maybe 2, maybe 12...maybe none...you just can't tell...but at 12 1/2 years, it's definitely measured in months...

we are trying to explain to palmer what may be coming soon...it SUCKS...

two years ago...

two years ago, palmer was a mermaid...this year? - same costume...it was a little long then, and a little short now!
two years ago, she got her first haircut...
just a few days ago, she got a trim with my friend melissa...(and in case you were wondering, she was a giraffe her first halloween, and a bee for her third!)

the island hopper...

**(i realize i'm a little behind here, and i still haven't posted our trip to thailand over a month ago which i am reminded about repeatedly, but come on, it's picture heavy and will take forever!...i'll get to it! - i swear!)

well, there are several reasons to take the island hopper when traveling to hono...one? - getting bumped from the direct!...no one ever said stand-by travel was easy!...but nonetheless, the perks are good!

the other reasons to take the hopper, which by the way leaves at about 8am or so, and lands at 2am (although that's only 10pm guam time), is because you can take that 14 hours (instead of 7 on the direct) and experience some of this!

the first thrill of this 6 leg journey, that travels from guam to chuuk to pohnpei to kosrae to kwajelein to majuro and finally to honolulu, is that each leg is a sort of travelling russian roulette...you just might get bumped off on one of these remote islands and have to wait several days for the hopper to get you back out later...non-revs are not cleared for the whole trip so we must get off at each location and get cleared again for the next leg...hopefully you remembered to check loads before you left!


ahhh, but once you're on that plane once again you can really sit back and enjoy the scenic route!...i can't say for sure quite where this is, but i'm fairly confident it's going into pohnpei or kosrae...i wasn't in good position for any other great shots, i have a knack for getting a seat on the wrong side of the plane for majuro and kwajelein or being right over the wing!

when going in/out of chuuk, look for the shipwrecks, apparently you can see them from the air but i haven't yet...i guess i need to try again!...i have heard the wreck diving in chuuk is hard to beat, we have had friends give rave reviews for pohnpei and "the village", and have dive instructor friends in kosrae right now posting about how great it has been...kwajelein is a military installation and they don't even let transitting passengers off the plane so i don't know anyone who has been there, but majuro is the coolest looking place and quite the landing strip (well, they all are in a 737 with 5000ft of runway!), but i wouldn't want to be there in a tsunami! - there is literally nowhere to go!

another reason to go to kosrae is these little delights...green tangerines...sort of like marrying a tangerine and a lemon...yummy! - they sell bags of them in the airport, more than you can eat and i think it's only a few dollars...but you can't take them into hono or guam, so you gotta eat 'em on the plane...they also have a spicy fire salt that alot of people dip their tangerines in...it is HOT though...one dip gave me instantaneous hiccups...

bear had two hopper trips in october and we were fortunate enough to make it on both of them...hopper out and direct back...a lovely little 2 day hawaiian vacation!...learned to surf, starbucks for me, coffee bean for bear, and old navy and target to stock up on cheap kid's clothes and "stuff you can't get on guam"!...happy times!

my sweet, sweet, baby boy...

last week hunter gave us a little scare...he appears to have had a mini-stroke...there came a point where we thought for sure he wasn't gonna make it through the night...but he has rebounded to what we would call a full recovery for a 12 1/2 year old dog...

i wouldn't say he'll be running the sleds, but his eyes are back to "little old man" status...he has always had a very expressive, sweet, sorrowful old soul to him..a furrow of the brow, a wag of the tail and a nudge of your hand for a pat on the head...

which is good news for his number one fan...not sure how any of us will deal with it when his time is really here...
this is from back in the day when he used to volunteer at the akron children's hospital...not a flattering picture, his hair was too recently cut, but he was all primped to go lay on some beds with some kids so we liked him short and clean!he truly is an exceptional dog and i love him more than words...

ritidian

well? - what did you do last weekend?

swim lessons!

palmer started swim lessons a few weeks ago, they are held at the hyatt pool on the weekends...she is loving it...doesn't necessarily love putting her head under, but she'll get there!

her instructor is matt, with 1-2 assistants and the kids in her class are 3-5 years old...

i'm doing a sewing project called frock by friday where this girl puts up instructions on her blog with pictures to guide you through a pattern...with the idea that you start on monday and are done by friday...well, i made a preliminary "muslin" out of the worst satin ever made, just to see how the alterations (length!) i put in would play out...but this is seriously the easiest pattern EVER and i still haven't finished my "real" dress...my friend here on guam finished hers WEEKS AGO!

anyways, when i had the pattern taped to the sliding glass door to trace it for a modified pattern, this i what i see...and palmer's going "mommy mommy the clouds are PINK!" - i was like HUH?...but this is what she sees...i love how kids see everything...the clouds ARE pink!

palau pics...

from a few weeks ago...i never said i'm good with keeping up with things!

anyways, there were more on facebook so you've likely seen them already!

le tour is over...

so i guess i should resurface!...you know...since it's been over a week since it finished!

here is palmer with the winner...(or weiner - depending on how you feel about the schleck/contador rivalry!)...and check out our new t.v.! - it was great to watch the tour in high def!

unfortunately, we are not big contador fans...and unfortunately he's won 3 out of 4 of the tours palmer has been around for! - i'm not sure why i don't have her picture from sastre's win in '08?...so these are '07 (a few weeks old) and '09 (just turned 2)

and just a little throwback to the best. tour. EV-ER! (well, that's cause we were there for lance's 7th!)

2005 - scoping our spot EAR-LEEEEE! - for eight laps of awesome heart stopping peloton passings!!!

hey? - who said the french don't like lance???

jan and vino!
i hope we get to do it again someday!