Update on Tuck

[Tuckersmom20]

Hi everyone,

A lot of you are my friends on Facebook..and see regular updates of tuck.

ive posted a while ago about tuck, he was diagnosed with lymphoma in late October.

Since then... Tuck went through half of CHOP chemo protocol... And then in February he came out of remission.

In March we started the CCNU protocol which is the drug lomustine.
He started that along with prednisone. Oh how I hate prednisone but it does well for his lymph nodes.

Tuck has been in remission for 50 days .. And is doing great.

But.. On May 29th, just as I was walking out the door to go to work.. I turn to say goodbye to tuck and I love him as usual.
But , I turned and started to say bye... When he collapsed.

Tuck was laying on the dog bed, his legs had stopped working.. He was drooling.. Panting. He was so scared.

I dropped everything.. My coat, keys.
I ran for a towel cause at this point there was a puddle of drool.
Just as I get the towel under his mouth.. He starts shaking then starts vomiting.
After he's done, I looked in his mouth and his gums and tongue were white. Completely white.
Which I know is a true emergency.

My husband was putting my daughter down for a nap, and in the middle of tuck vomiting he come out of her room and is now panicked.

Tucks oncologist has always told me what to do in case of vomiting... By eating etc.... But I was never completely prepared for him collapsing.. Vomitting and shaking.
This was beyond me.

In a panic I called my vet and explained the situation and tuck is not good at all....
They completely cleared the next hour to 2 hours in appointments and said rush tuck in here now we're ready.

My husband is disabled now, walks with a cane cause his left leg is unusable.

Tuck had to carried to the van... But with my two wrecked shoulders I could barely carry him.
My husband lifted tuck and hobbled to the van with tuck is his arms.

This was the scariest drive I've done in a very long time... The worst thought came to me... I'm losing him and I don't know how to live without him.

At the vet I lifted him slowly out of the van...his legs were slightly working better so we were able to work together.

His vet knew as soon as she saw him that something serious was happening... But no one knew why.

Blood tests were ran... And injectable Valium was on hand. Tuck is also epileptic... We thought maybe this was a seizure.

Blood tests came back... And his white blood count was literally non existent.
Acceptable value is 9. Tuck was .25

His blood sugar was sky high... Which was causing all the Neuro symptoms.
All his electrolytes were low... Typical with vomiting and pooping.

Because of tucks chemo... It's had dropped his wbc so low that his vet now suspected a body wide infection.
Tuck had been to the park the day before... He acted as if nothing was wrong...

So he could've picked up something at the park... He was also swimming in the lake.
We'll never know... But regardless... It could've been a small infection in a normal dog... But a dog with low wbc... It becomes a true emergency.

Anyway... The next 7 days were iffy... He was on nausea and vommiting meds ( cerenia), which also interacts with his seizure meds. He was on high dose of antibiotics... And liver support meds.
I was so extremely worried about him, but luckily my husband is home 24 hours a day now so he had his eye on him all the time.

So... This Friday may 13... Tuck goes for his very last chemo dose... It's being reduced so that hopefully we can avoid another emergency run.. But hoping that tuck won't have such severe effects.

Anyway sorry this was so long.... Lots has gone on.

The Memorial Day weekend tuck, I and the family will be in frankenmuth for DockDogs...
I have him signed up, but whether he jumps or not will be up to him.
I'll be armed with a letter from the oncologist just in case... So that I can pull tuck from competition.
But we're playing it by ear.

Oh and June 1 tuck is going to see a holistic vet,.. I want to support him and the remission in the most natural way.
There has been a lot of success for dogs who have seen a holistic vet after chemo.
In a lymphoma group im in, a dog is still living 4 years after chemo with holistic support.
There are 4 other dogs with great success.

Keep tuck in your thoughts that he feels fine after chemo and his blood counts stay up!

[Snowshoe]

Oh my gosh. I read your comments on other threads before hitting this, you sounded normal on them so I knew this could not be the worst news but it sure is bad enough. Lots of good wishes sent your way that Tuck is feeling better soon.

[barry581]

I can't even imagine how you felt when all this was going on. I'll keep you and Tuck in my prayers.

[Abulafia]

Oh god. I cannot imagine. This is so terrifying—I'll keep you and Tuck in my thoughts. I am so sorry.

[Abulafia]

Duplicate post, though I'll add: I'd have passed out.

[outrag]

You've been through the ringer...here's to hoping things calm down and improve for you and Tuck.

[Tilly]

Gosh that must have been terrifying. Sending you the best thoughts that Tuck continues to feel better. Take care.

[Meeps83]

Quick thinking and acting. What a great vet you have! Hoping for a full and quick recovery for Tuck!

[POPTOP]

I have been following Tuck's ups and downs on facebook. Sending more prayers that the last chemo goes smoothly. Hugs to you.

[SunDance]

I'm not on Facebook so this is new to me...sending all good thoughts for Tuck. It was fortunate that you were there with him when he collapsed...and acted so quickly.