Well since it has been entirely too long since I last blogged I figured that while I was sitting at my job for the next 4 hours that I could take a few and update everyone on our little family life. So here we go..
July came around and we were still getting used to Matson being home. He had a friend in Arizona that wanted him to visit so we started planning. July fourth came around, I worked most of the day but was able to get off for fireworks. Cody worked the night shift and unfortunately missed it all. About a week later we decided to take Matson to Arizona and visit his friend. We got everything all set to go. Cody had been interviewing with Delta Airlines for the past few weeks and got a call back for another interview the day we were supposed to leave for Phoenix. So Matson and I got on a plane that morning and flew down there, Cody met us that afternoon after a long set of interviews. Good news came when Cody landed in Phoenix, he had gotten the job at Delta and started a few weeks later. We spent 3 days in phoenix, working on our tans or burns and enjoying all fun. We flew back and went to the Oquirrh mountain open house with my family. It was neat, Cody's first, to see the newest edition to the church. They are beautiful and it is neat to see them all done up and be able to share it with others. A few weeks later we took Cody's parents to see it, it was a neat experience that I will treasure. Anika loved looking at it all and had a million questions which was so great!! Cody started training and quickly fell in love with Delta. We finished up classes and got a break for a while. So nice. I started working non stop and working on starting up my company, which is now in full operations.
August came quicker than we thought. We had been working and playing that we didn't even notice it coming along. Jarett celebrated his 15th birthday, fun. We are planning a nice surprise for him next year on the big 1-6. I started talking to counslers and teachers about the upcoming year and discovered that I can graduate with my BFA, which is a million times better than a BS in the same amount of time and graduate in April 2010. YAHOO!! Now I started thinking about Grad school, shhh don't tell Cody! We started planning a trip for my birthday to Europe, and got another surprise which put that trip on hold. Tyke started to develop this wierd lumpyness all over his mid-section. We tried a few antibiotics and then ended up having to do a biopsy of a few lumps to find the cause of this trouble. This happened 2 days before my birthday. We decided to take a short trip the few days before school instead of Europe. So we went to San Francisco again for a night. It was a blast and we just relaxed and enjoyed the weather and each other. We returned home the night before school. We started up, both taking 15+ credits -- yikes! My birthday was that friday, and we celebrated with my family and went and saw Rockapella in concert at Thanksgiving point. It was a blast!! The weekend came and went and school was there again on Monday. The week slowly passed by while we waited for the results of Tyke's biopsy. Finally on Thursday I got a call. The doctor started to explain to me that they took so long because they tested the results twice to double check, I knew at this point it was no good. He then proceeded to tell me that Tyke had lymphoma. A cancer that is fairly common to dogs, but that they weren't sure what type he had. We quickly ordered another test and sat and did hours of crying and research to see what we could do to help Tyke survive this. We waited for another week with no answers, at this point I decided to call an oncology vet and make an appointment. We set one up for the following week. All through this I was trying to find another job to make more money so I could hopefully help with the cost this was going to take. I got a job at the school as a Lab aide. That was great, and I booked two photography gigs.
The day arrived to take Tyke to the oncologist. I spent the morning sad and not knowing what to expect. I was scared. We got there and the result still hadn't come, two weeks for a test that took 2 days. I was furious. While we were waiting for the doctor, our home vet called and told us the results were in and they were faxing them to the oncologist right then. She came in and started to talk to us. She explained that Tyke has a rare form of Lymphoma called T-Cell Cutaneous Lymphoma which happens in the skin tissues of the dog. Pretty much it is his white blood cells attack the skin and leave hairless bumps and sometimes large lesions on him. She continued to tell us that there was treatment options that would help but she wasn't sure if it could be cured. Our options were Chemotheraphy, Radiation, Radions (vitamins) or topical treatments. She told us if we elected to do treatments it could prolong his life up to 2 years. But if we chose against it he had weeks to months left. We left the office feeling crushed. I spent many of the next few nights crying to sleep and on my knees hoping for an answer. This past week we elected to do Chemotheraphy. I took him to the vet to get his blood work done, and the vet looked at him. He told me that the lesions and lumps were shrinking. I was in shock the only thing we had done was changed his food to a fish-oil dog food (which starves the cancer tumors, they can't process fats or oils) and started using oatmeal shampoo to help with the itching it may cause. The vet then asked, how is he responding to chemo. I told him he hadn't started yet, and that this blood work was for the first round he would be starting that day. He looked shocked and then proceeded to tell me that this was a VERY good sign. I hurried and called Cody and told him the great news. We discussed it with the oncologist and decided to still continue with a treatment and see if it would help further the progress along. He started his treatment last night. Cody had to wear these super thick gloves and then immediately wash his hands after giving Tyke the pills. He is so far responding to the medications well, he is just a little tired and sleeping a bit more but he is doing well so far.
As for Cody and I we are still plugging along, trying to find ways to do school, work, family life and my business. And of course finding extra pennies to help pay for the chemo costs. So.. if you know anyone who wants their pictures done, let me know! I would love to do them, and I can travel to anywhere in the USA as well to do them.
Until next time (which will be sooner..)..
