Dear Friends,
A big and humble thank you to all who participated in the brag ad in The Courier (the Portuguese Water Dog magazine) for Hardee and his MACH. It was so kind and thoughtful of you all and such a nice surprise. Words cannot express how much this means to us, and it has reduced me to blubbering tears. The pages devoted to Hardee are absolutely beautiful!
From the top to the bottom of our hearts put in paramedic terms, from our sinoatrial node, to our atrioventricular node, to our bundle of His, to our purkinje fibers, THANK YOU!! We love it and we love you all !!! Thank you for all your support that has kept our spirits going during this past year.
We have just passed the one year mark with Hardee's nasal chondrosarcoma. He is doing good right now and got two QQs last weekend in agility. We stopped chemo back in June so keep the hope with us for Hardee's health.
Heroic, Happy, Handsome Hardee sends barks of joy to you all!
Jim & Jennie Wilson
Handsome Hardee
We are a patriotic family!
Face of Courage
Face of courage
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Sat., Aug. 27, 2011 - One year ago
One year ago today, Hardee finished his Cyberknife radiation. It has been a hard year but a blessed year also. The best news is that we still have our boy, and, for the most part, his quality of life is great. He is still happy, and his life is filled with joy. Hardee still enjoys his two favorite things, water and agility.
As we did last year after Hardee finished radiation, we headed for an agility trial. Last year, we were going to see if Hardee felt like running, and, if he didn't, just visit with friends. This year we just worried about the high heat and high humidity. Both were good weekends, and Hardee always feels like running!
We are truly grateful for this extra year that we have had with Hardee. HH fills our hearts with joy. He is what sustains us. Keep the good thoughts coming for Hardee's continued health and for us as we go through a hiccup in our road.
It is, and, for as long as possible, always will be all about joy and all about Hardee. He is our world, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
As we did last year after Hardee finished radiation, we headed for an agility trial. Last year, we were going to see if Hardee felt like running, and, if he didn't, just visit with friends. This year we just worried about the high heat and high humidity. Both were good weekends, and Hardee always feels like running!
We are truly grateful for this extra year that we have had with Hardee. HH fills our hearts with joy. He is what sustains us. Keep the good thoughts coming for Hardee's continued health and for us as we go through a hiccup in our road.
It is, and, for as long as possible, always will be all about joy and all about Hardee. He is our world, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Aug. 18, 2011 - Status quo
I haven't written in awhile, so I just thought I'd pop in to give a quick update on Hardee. It is pretty much status quo here. Hardee's nose still drains, and he still lives a life full of happiness.
A year ago today, Hardee and I were traveling to So. Cal. to get ready for his very precise CT scan at the human facility in Carlsbad, CA to prepare for radiation. By this time last year, Hardee had already had 3 CT scans in a week and a half.
As last year, we traveled to So. Cal. today, but this time for a happier occasion. We are doing agility for the first time in 2 months. We took the summer off from agility because of the heat. Hardee doesn't seem to regulate his temps as well as he used to. We didn't plan it too well though because it will be in the 90s this weekend and even hotter next weekend.
Hardee's bloodwork today looked good. Kidney function is still good, so I can order more cyclophosphamide and peroxicam from the compound pharmacy for Hardee. The last couple nights I've had blood from Hardee's nose which scares the shit out of me. We haven't had blood since we stopped all the trauma of chemo almost 2 months ago. The blood doesn't scare me, but what the damn tumor is doing to cause the bleeding does (possibly growing???). I so wish I had x-ray vision so I could keep an eye on the damn tumor.
It seems I can't write tumor without putting a "damn" in front of tumor. I hate this damn tumor so much!!!!!
Keep good thoughts for Hardee. We've been in a blue period lately, and I'm hoping that agility will lift our spirits this weekend. Sometimes I fight to crawl back into happiness and remember that it is all about joy and all about Hardee.
A year ago today, Hardee and I were traveling to So. Cal. to get ready for his very precise CT scan at the human facility in Carlsbad, CA to prepare for radiation. By this time last year, Hardee had already had 3 CT scans in a week and a half.
As last year, we traveled to So. Cal. today, but this time for a happier occasion. We are doing agility for the first time in 2 months. We took the summer off from agility because of the heat. Hardee doesn't seem to regulate his temps as well as he used to. We didn't plan it too well though because it will be in the 90s this weekend and even hotter next weekend.
Hardee's bloodwork today looked good. Kidney function is still good, so I can order more cyclophosphamide and peroxicam from the compound pharmacy for Hardee. The last couple nights I've had blood from Hardee's nose which scares the shit out of me. We haven't had blood since we stopped all the trauma of chemo almost 2 months ago. The blood doesn't scare me, but what the damn tumor is doing to cause the bleeding does (possibly growing???). I so wish I had x-ray vision so I could keep an eye on the damn tumor.
It seems I can't write tumor without putting a "damn" in front of tumor. I hate this damn tumor so much!!!!!
Keep good thoughts for Hardee. We've been in a blue period lately, and I'm hoping that agility will lift our spirits this weekend. Sometimes I fight to crawl back into happiness and remember that it is all about joy and all about Hardee.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011 - One year
Today, it has been one year since I found all the horrible drainage coming from Hardee's nose that drove us to the vets and the dreaded diagnosis the following week. It has been a trying year for us, but a blessed year also. We still have our boy so we are happy, and his quality of life is good.
Hardee is still doing great. We stopped chemo over a month ago, and he continues to thrive but we can't see what is going on inside his nose with the damn tumor. Hardee continues to sneeze often, mostly triggered by his movement, but the reverse sneezing is almost nonexistent right now. His nasal drainage is copious, but we are attempting to control it with daily antibiotics. We haven't had hardly any blood since we stopped all the trauma that Hardee would go through getting chemo. His eyes still water because of the damn tumor blocking the tear ducts and he gets lots of eye boogies, but I try and keep his eyes cleared of all the excess debris numerous times a day. Hardee gets nose boogies also that I have to clear out of the way so he can breathe. His hair is growing back and he looks wonderful!
We aren't doing agility for 2 months during the hottest part of the summer. Hardee doesn't seem to regulate his temps as well as before the cancer, so all he is doing this summer is swimming and his water work. He LOVES the lake and working in the water. He goes absolutely nuts if I even mention the lake, and he loves the back of the boat. Hardee's orange bumper is his favorite thing, and I have to keep it hidden or he barks his fool head off for me to throw it. We don't use his orange bumper for his courier level water work, so last week we ended his water training session by throwing his orange bumper off the back of the boat and letting him jump for it over and over. He was in heaven!
Keep the hope with us that Hardee's tumor doesn't grow rapidly. We'd love to have our boy with us for much longer. Also, keep your fingers and paws crossed that all goes well with Hardee's water trials this summer. We've had limited time to train for his courier level, but Hardee is a quick study and I think he can do it.
Every extra quality moment that we have with Hardee is a blessing. A friend lost her precious boy dog last week to nasal cancer, and I grieve for them. Rest well beautiful Snoopy. I know the same scenario is in the near future for Hardee, but I can barely stand to think about it. We will continue to do everything in our power to give Hardee the quality of life he deserves for as long as we can. As usual, it is all about joy and all about Hardee. Keep the faith with us, please.
Hardee is still doing great. We stopped chemo over a month ago, and he continues to thrive but we can't see what is going on inside his nose with the damn tumor. Hardee continues to sneeze often, mostly triggered by his movement, but the reverse sneezing is almost nonexistent right now. His nasal drainage is copious, but we are attempting to control it with daily antibiotics. We haven't had hardly any blood since we stopped all the trauma that Hardee would go through getting chemo. His eyes still water because of the damn tumor blocking the tear ducts and he gets lots of eye boogies, but I try and keep his eyes cleared of all the excess debris numerous times a day. Hardee gets nose boogies also that I have to clear out of the way so he can breathe. His hair is growing back and he looks wonderful!
We aren't doing agility for 2 months during the hottest part of the summer. Hardee doesn't seem to regulate his temps as well as before the cancer, so all he is doing this summer is swimming and his water work. He LOVES the lake and working in the water. He goes absolutely nuts if I even mention the lake, and he loves the back of the boat. Hardee's orange bumper is his favorite thing, and I have to keep it hidden or he barks his fool head off for me to throw it. We don't use his orange bumper for his courier level water work, so last week we ended his water training session by throwing his orange bumper off the back of the boat and letting him jump for it over and over. He was in heaven!
Keep the hope with us that Hardee's tumor doesn't grow rapidly. We'd love to have our boy with us for much longer. Also, keep your fingers and paws crossed that all goes well with Hardee's water trials this summer. We've had limited time to train for his courier level, but Hardee is a quick study and I think he can do it.
Every extra quality moment that we have with Hardee is a blessing. A friend lost her precious boy dog last week to nasal cancer, and I grieve for them. Rest well beautiful Snoopy. I know the same scenario is in the near future for Hardee, but I can barely stand to think about it. We will continue to do everything in our power to give Hardee the quality of life he deserves for as long as we can. As usual, it is all about joy and all about Hardee. Keep the faith with us, please.
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