Ben, I'm so sorry you and Dexter lost your fight. It happens all too often, and not from lack of caring or trying -- or from not doing things differently. Given Dex's condition as you describe it, I don't think the outcome would have been wildly different if the variables you mention had been different -- but possibly you would have had less worry about someone being available to treat him in a timely manner.
My condolences to all of you. Diane R. -----Original Message----- From: felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org [mailto:felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org] On Behalf Of Ben Williams Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 9:46 AM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: Re: [Felvtalk] Dexter I'd like to start off this message by thanking all of you for your kind words regarding Dexter over the past few days - - my wife and I have shared and appreciated every one of the emails - it's meant a lot to us. Unfortunately, this morning has proven to be heartbreaking to us both - we received a call first thing this morning from East Dallas Animal Clinic's Dr. Ken Cantrell that Dexter's condition had worsened over the course of the night. After picking Dex up from the Emergency clinic yesterday morning, we immediately took him to Dr. Wright at Lakewood Vet Center. Dr. Wright has been on vacation since last week and we were told that he would be back yesterday morning - but he hadn't yet returned. I took Dexter to see him on three occasions last week for his lymphocyte T-Cell Immunomodulator injections, but was only able to see him that Monday. When we took Dex in on Friday when the swelling of his feet and face had begun, we were given no advice by his staff who were unable to do anything other than give Dex his shot and usher us out the door. They are all very caring people and I don't blame them for anything, but I feel that any vet who runs a practice where he is the only doctor on staff, should do a bit more to keep his patients informed about his availability - that way precious minutes or hours or days aren't wasted waiting for him to return. Fortunately, several weeks ago, when trying to convince Dr. Wright to order the LTCI treatment (which took him over a week to do) I was referred to the East Dallas Animal Clinic by the LTCI folks - they had used the medication before. East Dallas Animal Clinic is a wonderful place. We've worked with Dr. Ellsworth and Dr. Cantrell there - - they are both compassionate and make a point of taking calls from concerned pet owners. They have both been wonderful to work with and have been open to taking every conceivable avenue with Dex's treatment. I only wish we had been seeing them from the start. We rushed Dex to them yesterday morning as soon as it became clear that Dr. Wright wouldn't be returning. Again, I don't blame Dr. Wright, but when we took Dexter in for his checkup three weeks ago and Dr. Wright informed us that anemia had set in, his advice was to "take him home and make him comfortable." A week passed as I researched and tried to communicate with him about alternate treatments and off-label meds. When you factor in that week and the week he took to order the LTCI meds, that's two out of the last three weeks where Dex had little treatment. Again, why the difficulty in getting anything done for Dex? East Dallas, however, fit Dex in on the first day we spoke with him and started him on Acemannan injections. They had two remaining doses remaining of that drug; a drug that was very beneficial to Dex last year when he was first diagnosed. they sacrificed those 2 doses for Dex without question - had I gone to them earlier, perhaps it would have had more effect on him. Regardless, Dex seemed to make improvements while on Immunoregulin, LCTI and the acemannan. FeLV and FIV are horrible diseases, though, and I felt like there was something always sneaking up on Dex while we treated him. We seemed to reverse the anemia, but his Lymph nodes were swelling. Some days they would go down, other days, they would blow up. When the mystery feet and face swelling started last week, he even responded well with benadryl. That thing sneaking up on Dexter? Full blown cancer - it wasn't just in his lymph nodes, it was in his liver and spleen - it had probably made his heart swell. His breathing was becoming more and more labored and we struggled with the decision of when Dexter was in too much pain to continue. Yesterday, Dr. Cantrell started chemotherapy on Dex, as well as steroids. He seemed to tolerate the meds well, but over the course of the night, he became more jaundiced and vomited, while his body temperature dropped to 94 degrees. His little body had given out as this terrible disease had taken almost everything from him. I say almost everything, because when we arrived at East Dallas Animal Clinic this morning, even though he was being hand fed oxygen while under a warming pad, little Dexter still had a playful wag of the tail when we placed our hands on him and told him how much we love him. Dexter died at 8 this morning. We are heartbroken that our sweet boy is gone and that he was only with us for a year and a half. He was such a wonderful, sweet and special kitty - we will miss him terribly. He was a huge part of our family - not some "pet" or animal. We have four other wonderful kitties at home who are not FelV or FIV positive. They have been wonderful as our attention has been so focused on Dex for the last month and we owe them some serious one on one time right now. While all of the kitties get along well, Dex was the one cat in the house that all the other cats adored. He was never involved in spats with any of them and they all took turns cleaning him and looking after him. Dex was special to everyone. In the end, I wish there was more I could have done for Dex - I look back at the timing of everything and how the last three weeks have gone for him. Could the outcome have been different? I'll never know, of course, but I'm not done fighting this fight with FeLV and FIV. These diseases took our boy from us and I will not stop until they are both a thing of the past. Its the very least I can do in honor of Dexter - a wonderful boy who fought with dignity and calm, and above all else, the special brand of sweetness that only he had. Thanks, everyone. _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org