Yesterday, we administered the first of three chemo therapy tablets (one every three days). When we tried this a couple of months ago she had a violent seizure, but Gillian (Millie’s vet) thinks this was more likely to be an adverse reaction to the opiate she was taking at the time.
We made the decision last night that this will be the last course of action we’ll be able to take with Millie. She got better recently, putting on weight, being her old, vocal self, even going as far as catching a rat and bringing it to us as a gift at five in the morning.
But in the last two weeks she’s crashed and became just a whisper of a shadow, no longer the vibrant girl who travelled the seven seas with us for the last twelve years.
Her face and hips are painfully thin and her once white fur is a dull, dirty cream, the result of being on steroids for so long.
We never really got to the bottom of what has been causing her illness, but cancer was always a possibility. She’s been too weak to have anything other than a needle biopsy (the results of which showed distorted cells, but no cancer) so we’re not sure what the underlying illness is. Chemo was always on the back-burner as a last resort and since there are no more options left we have nothing to lose.
Although she’s not eating as much as we’d like, she still has an appetite, and this morning she has rallied. She’s now nibbling a little more and drinking plenty of water in between naps. Her eyes are bright and her tail is up.
She is still able to get on and off the boat, although we’re not allowing her to do that because we’ve been ticked off for her pooing on other people’s boats (something she has never done before); besides that, we want her near us.
We are staying by her side every minute of the day, which she loves, but unless she reacts positively to the chlorambucil, we’re afraid of what’s going to happen next and are feeling desolate at the prospect of a life without Millie.
One thing is for sure, Millie is a fighter and has a lot of love and support coming in from around the world. If anyone can beat what’s ailing her, Millie can.
As always, thanks for listening.
Peace, fair winds and stay safe
Liz, Jamie and Millie xxx
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