Well, you know the saying: what goes up, must come down. I'm sorry to say that Alex has relapsed a bit and is no longer in full remission from his lymphoma. One of his lymph nodes has become enlarged again, which isn't horrible considering the other nine nodes are normal. Still, it tells us that the protocol of drugs that he's been getting are not doing the job. So on his Tuesday vet visit we switched gears and will now go down a different path, hoping that we can get him back into remission. At this point, we don't see Alex becoming completely free of his disease, but more like keeping the monster at bay as long as possible with as much quality of life as possible. The original protocol promised the best outcome; this second tier of the protocol not as much.

It's disheartening, I've got to say. But I am trying not to let it get me down. The up side is if this treatment works it only requires one pill every three to four weeks. Since this drug causes anemia at times and can also affect the liver we have to do blood work before each treatment. Right now it's too soon to tell if it's having any effect or not—his lump feels the same to me as it did a couple of days ago. But, he's pretty happy and bringing me "pink bunny," asking to go for rides in the truck and eating pretty well right now. 

We are taking it day by day and doling out lots of love. What else can you do?

I am thinking that I am glad we cancelled our trip to Mexico. The owner of the house that we were going to rent has granted us a grace period in that if we rent the house within six months we can apply the deposit we already paid to the new lease. Same with our airfare, so we still have the chance to go without losing anything. March, maybe?

I have also been giving some thought to this blog. I've been blogging now for seven years and it may be coming to the end of its useful life. I've lost a lot of readers along the way and other than the handful of you that I know read it, I'm not sure it's worth it. I have to think on this some more, but it's not the first time the thought of closing the blog down has come into my head. 

Photo: Up and down awnings in Cartagena.

:(

hope things bounce back up soon.

Thanks Maggie. Me too.

Close the blog?  Noooooo!  Do you enjoy doing the blog?  It’s just as much what YOU get out of doing it as it is what the rest of us get from it.  You are the one that inspired me to start my blog.  Would really miss it!!

You already know that I’m really pulling for Alex and am sending lots of hugs to all of you!

C, yes and no. I get something out of it but I could do that privately too. If no one else is getting much out of it I’d rather just do it for myself. Those people like you who are either family or friend can just call me instead of logging into the blog.

Alex knows you are in his court. Thanks for that. We accept all hugs!

Sending good thoughts to Alex…and you guys as well…..

Thanks, Debra. Hope to see you on our cabin visit!

First, I’m so sorry to hear about Alex. Hopefully the new drug will, as you said, keep the monster at bay. If he’s still bringing you toys and wanting to go for walks, that’s a VERY good sign.

I completely understand about the blog. I’ve had periods where I just feel tired of it, and what’s always worked for me is to stop for a while—a few weeks or even a few months. I’ve never been able to quit entirely, though. It’s just in my nature to “journalize.”

I would certainly miss you if you vanished from the blogosphere!

Steve, as long as he’s happy, that’s what counts.

Awww ... thanks!