Al 1991-2004 (Alberto de los Arboreales) We won the battle for Albert (leukemia) but lost the war (his life). After a week of pleasant health, taking walks around the yard and reasserting himself as king of the household once again, a damned infection snuck in while Al was most vulnerable. Intense antibiotic therapy had no effect. We accepted defeat, obtained some pain medication from the vet, and waited with him in feline hospice mode. We let him rest in cool shade beneath a holly tree outside my office window. He didn't eat, barely drank water. Each night we brought him in. One morning we went in to check on him and he was sitting up. He meowed as big as he could. We brought him water and he drank lavishly. He slurped down the kitten milk we gave him. He was weak, skinny, but was back! We were stunned by it all. The rally was brief. After a couple of days of increasing strength and life spirit, and some time in the back yard he loved so much, yet one more challenge came roaring. Whether it was another infection or the leukemia coming back, we'll never know. Al passed away at 4:25 in the morning, sleeping between Scooter and I, the back door open and sounds of rain drifting in. ~ peace and love. . . Amy Photo shows Al 10/03 Albert, The Comeback King! Hello, The blood test results are in. For three weeks in a row, Albert shows no signs that he's producing excess amounts of lymphocytes. That means that we can say that his leukemia -- his nasty aggressive large-cell leukemia -- is in remission!!! He's been through several rounds of chemo and yet he's still in great spirits and appetite. Most of the two pounds he'd lost has been gained back. He's still anemic, but we're working on that. We feel really blessed. This is a very very tough cancer to treat, but Albert is a very very tough cat. It took chemo, ministrations of affection and high-calorie food nearly every hour, alternative medicine like homeopathics and herbs, and spiritual approaches such as reiki, shamanic healing and spirit animals, but Al is feeling like his old self again. He is one amazing cat. Scooter and I appreciate everyone's kind thoughts and support. They were an important part of Al's recovery. We are begining to make plans again and hope to take the postponed Black Hills trip in mid September. While we were so focused on Al, we neglected Osage Moon and the grass got six feet tall! The Medical Details In leukemia, the blood is out of balance because the bone marrow is out ofbalance. The bone marrow begins to generate tremendous amounts white blood cells (WBC). There are various types of WBC that do different things. Maintaining the right WBC balance is important. In Al's case, he had too many lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are necessary to fight infection, but too many of them upset the WBC balance plus they crowd out red blood cells (RBC). RBC are the primary component of blood, joined by WBC, plasma and platelets. With too few RBC and the hemoglobin they contain, the blood can't carry oxygen. Anemia and terrible weakness result. Death can occur. RBC are, literally, the iron of our blood, from which we draw strength. The goal of chemo is to restore balance by clearing out excess WBC so the RBC have a chance to regenerate. Chemo does this by targeting only cells that are dividing at a rapid rate, in this case WBC. After the first two rounds of chemo, Al's blood was almost all plasma and platelets. His skin was grey. In the first session, Al was given a special drug that wipes out lymphocytes really well, but only for a short while. That leveled the playing field. For the next three weeks, we gave a oral chemo a every other day, like a series of quick jabs, and then a deep intravenous chemo once a week, as the knock-out punches. Interesting thing about chemo and cats, it doesn't effect most of them like it does people. Their fur doesn't fall out or anything like that, maybe a touch of nausea and that's all. Little doses for little animals have less side effects. About halfway through this process we realized his bone marrow wasn't building the RBC back at a fast enough rate. His anemia was dire. The vet started him on Procrit. After the second dose, we began to notice an improvement, showing slow, but steady, RBC growth. He was able to walk the block with us, which is astounding! His belly skin is pink again. Al got his final knock-out punch chemo today. He's got about 10 days left of quick-jabs chemo and Procrit. Then we wait a month until the next blood test and try not to hold our breath! Products and People These folks and products have been very helpful to us. We recommend them highly! Products
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