Abby's Story
by Susan
My precious Abby, who is 14 years old, finally received a medical diagnosis yesterday. Only 3 short weeks ago, I went to sleep with Abby purring on the bed and immediately, when I woke up the next morning, I discovered that she was acting differently. She would not respond when I called her name. After several more attempts, I immediately knew that something was wrong. She is normally very vocal and excited to see me. I walked over to her and picked her up in my arms for a few seconds. However, when I put her back down, she could not walk normally and was very unsteady, swaying back and forth, only to end up falling.
I immediately took her to the vet and discovered that she had a fever of 104.5 and an extremely elevated WBC count (neutrophils). She was given oral antibiotics and sent home. The next day she stopped eating food, which continued on for another day. I tried desperately to find a food that she liked...all sorts of treats and even baby food. I then took her back to the vet and ended up doing xrays and eventually a ultrasound. The results indicated that her kidneys were abnormally shaped and that her intestinal mucus was thickened. The vet put her on a different antibiotic, added Prednisone/Prednisolone, and gave her IV fluids. Two days later I took her home and she appeared to be getting stronger. However, that didn't last long so we went back to the vet who did another CBC. There was still no change in her WBC count. My vet then referred me to a teaching animal hospital where hopefully they could make a diagnosis.
I took her there yesterday and after a long series of procedures, was told the news that I will always remember. Abby has 2 different types of cancer: Lymphoma and Carcinoma. Additionally, she is in renal failure. There are two types of Lymphoma - Large Cell Granular Lymphoma in her GI tract and Small Cell Kidney Lymphoma. The Carcinoma is Transitional Cell Carcinoma in her bladder. That is a lot of information to process. I was shocked and in disbelief. I tried to hold back tears, but when they brought her to me, I had no control and sobbed.
The oncologist at the hospital looked at Abby's case and said that Large Cell Granular Lymphoma doesn't respond to chemotherapy very well. The number is typically only 1-2%. Apparently the Glandular Lymphoma is very aggressive and chemotherapy would only give her additional month at best, and the chemotherapy drugs may cause her already damaged kidneys to worsen.
Abby is home with me and my husband now. We brought her home today. It hurts so badly to know that there is nothing I can do to help Abby feel good - to turn her back into herself. I haven't stopped crying for the past 2 days. I know it's crazy but I don't think I'm strong enough for this. It is breaking me.
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West Virginia, USA
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Abby
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