Another Blood Test

Mommie brought me to the specialist to get another blood test on Tuesday. The people there are so nice. They said I was looking much better than when I was staying there with them at the hospital. We got good results again from the blood test. My PCV is at 41% and platelets are at 701,000. Goodie! The specialist said that if I get good numbers again I could maybe go for a short walk outside. And if my platelets stay up, Mom can cut my nails coz they are getting really long. The specialist does not want my nails cut yet because if I bleed I will have problems clotting if my platelets go down again. My nails used to always be the perfect length coz we took long walks everyday. Sigh! I can't wait to go on a walk. I miss going out and meeting the people and doggies and marking all the bushes we pass. But at least today Mom played fetch with me inside the house. She did not throw my toy far but at least she has started to let me play again.

Hungry Eyes

Yesterday Mommie brought me to the specialist to get another blood test. I've had so many of them done the past three weeks, but this time they told her not to feed me from midnight all the way until after they do the blood test. I was sooooooo hungry. I kept waking Mom up to ask for food but she kept saying sorry but it was not yet time to eat. I looked at her with hungry eyes but that did not work. My tummy kept grumbling. When they were done taking the blood sample yesterday afternoon, I was finally able to eat. Yummmm!!!! I got lots of goodies again. So this morning, I wolfed down all my breakfast in case they make me fast again.

The doctor called today and thanks to everyone's prayers and positive vibes, my PCV is at 39%! My platelets are up at 630,000. Wheee! The doctor now wants to cut my medicine in half. That is making Mommie really nervous because it is such a drastic change. We go in for another blood test next week. Wish me luck that this change will not cause a relapse.

My good pal BoxCarBailey is holding an auction for me on his website to help with my medical bills. It is so nice of his Mommie to do this for me. All the Eskie Moms and Dads on the Eskie board we belong to are helping out with the auction. You can get loads of neat stuff. Please check it out at www.boxcarbailey.com. His website is super cool and he is such a cute doggie!

I Am Back!

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts and help. I am so happy to be home again and seeing and feeling all the support from you all. I would not have made it out of the hospital without you guys. You are all such wonderful friends. The doctor said it would take a long time for me just to stabilize but I am doing my best to get better. I am full of drugs all day long. I've got steroids, immune suppressants, and antibiotics. I even need to take pepcid coz all the drugs can wreak havoc on my little tummy. The drugs make me so hungry and thirsty that I eat and drink practically all day and all night long. And the steroids make it hard for me to sleep so I just keep staring at Mom. Mommie does not get any sleep either coz I need to go to the bathroom every hour. All this has been disastrous for my sweater. All four of my legs were shaved for the iv lines and blood and oxyglobin transfusions and injections I received. They shaved my belly to do an ultrasound. They even shaved off my furpants. Now my behind feels so cold when I lift my tail or if I sit down. My gums and tongue are still really pale from lack of red blood cells. Mom keeps checking them every few minutes. She's become really paranoid. I need to get a blood test every few days to make sure I do not go critical again and the doctor said I would probably need to take these drugs for life. Yuk! Oh well, at least all the bruises on my legs are healing nicely. The one bright spot is I get to eat all sorts of yummy things. I've been scarfing down chicken, rice, cottage cheese, peanut butter and even steak. Yummmm!!!!! Hopefully, my immune system will start to act normal soon and stop killing my red blood cells and platelets. I want to be able to run and play again. I keep asking Mom to play but she says I need to rest. The doctor said I am not supposed to be jumping and running around otherwise I will only get worse. Mommie read on the internet about other doggies who are sick like me. It is so sad knowing that there are so many cases. Poor doggies! :(

Evans Syndrome

What Casper has is called Evans Syndrome. It is a combination of Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and Autoimmune Thrombocytopenia. These are what is causing his red blood cells and platelet counts to go down respectively. Here are some links to information about these diseases if you guys are interested. He is still doing his best to fight this disease and everyday is a struggle but he is a trooper and we are hoping he will be able to overcome this.

Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia

Autoimmune Thrombocytopenia

It's Casper's 4th Birthday Today

Today is Casper's 4th birthday. This is the first time he has celebrated it with us since we only got him last year. He is eating well and wants to play but unfortunately he needs to take things easy because his platelets are still low and his latest blood count went down by 4 points. We are treating him to some peanut butter tonight. I wish we could get him lots of goodies but his tummy is very sensitive right now due to all the medication.