Wednesday’s Update:

According to Dr. Sisson Coby looks great today! He is jumping around, wanting to play with people, pulling on the leash to go outside and trying to attack every dog he sees with his tail high up in the air. He is eating like crazy & up to 7.3 lbs. He was only 6.6 lbs. upon admission.

A CBC was done today & unfortunately it was not exactly what we had hoped for. Coby’s neutrophils have dropped from 1400 to 600. Coby had not been receiving the Neupogen for the past 3 days, so with this decrease in neutrophils it is apparent his bone marrow isn’t making enough cells on his own (or something like that – it is difficult to follow Dr. Sisson on the phone half of the time b/c he talks so fast & half of it I don’t understand). We will have to restart the Neupogen for an unknown period of time, but hopefully not too long b/c too much can cause even more & worse problems. He gave Coby a shot this morning & will repeat a CBC tomorrow. The good thing is Coby’s neutrophils did not plummet back to zero, so his body is doing something, but not as quick as we hoped.

Dr. Sisson said Coby is ready to come home despite what the CBC looks like. I will just need to give the Neupogen shot & repeat CBC’s over the next several weeks. Of course I wanted to make sure he didn’t need to stay there – I told him I’d come next week. He said not to waste the money on hospital bills when they are doing the exact same thing I can do here at home. Coby’s on antibiotics, his temp has been fine, his infection has cleared up, & he’s eating well. Coby is still getting a medication to remove some of the chemo that is left in his body & since Coby is no longer receiving chemo, he should not have GI problems & he should not get any infection. So…Dr. Sisson said Coby can come home!

Of course I am still nervous & worried especially with Dr. Sisson being so far away. Coby’s not out of the woods yet, so he still needs your positive support & prayers. The bone marrow will recover – it is just a matter of time. It could be years before Coby has a “normal” CBC, but Dr. Sisson thinks Coby will be just fine!!

I fly out tomorrow morning & will meet with Dr. Sisson at 6pm. At that time I will be able to get a better understanding of what’s going on & what my future rollercoaster ride will look like once back in MKE! Thankfully Kathy will help transport me & we can crash on her couch tomorrow night. Then we’ll be flying back to MKE bright & early at 6:30 am!! I am so excited to have Coby FINALLY coming home after almost an entire month of hospitalizations & sickness. Praying he only continues to get better & can life a happy, healthy normal doggie life!