My Fire Hydrant

It has been a rough few days.

Bailey has not really bounced back to her regular obnoxious self since our last visit to Dr. B. She’s been a little mopey, a little bit off her food, not quite squatting right when she pees. And then last week I noticed her drinking from her water dish.

OK, if you’re not up on Bailey’s story drinking water from her water dish won’t look like a red flag. Here’s why I began to feel anxious: I feed Bailey 4 times a day. She gets a “soup” of canned and kibble that includes around 1/2 cup of water per meal. So she gets at minimum 2 cups of water a day. We do this because she is prone to bladder stones and I want her urine to be dilute in the hopes that we flush out any crystals. Her water dish is basically there for show. She NEVER touches it.

The thing that started us on the journey to Bailey’s cancer diagnosis was that she was drinking excess water.

So last week when I noticed her drinking water, I immediately got that feeling in the pit of my stomach. At first I was in denial: she was drinking because she was off her food so she needed to make up the water she didn’t get at lunch. It was a fluke! She just ate a biscuit, so she was feeling a little dry! Yeah, right. I’ve said it before: Denial is a river in Egypt.

Then this past weekend she woke me up in the middle of the night because she needed to be lifted off the bed so she could get a drink of water. Monday, she drank nearly the entire bowl. Tuesday we went to the vet.

In my mind, I associate excess water drinking with the cancer. I was certain that it was back. Dr. B. examined her butt–no new tumors in that anal gland area. We talked about the likelihood of the cancer having migrated to her bones (might explain some of the discomfort she’s been feeling lately) or her organs. I did my best not to cry. She did a blood draw for the lab, and Bailey and I went home to wait for the results.

I have not had a good night’s sleep for over a week now.

I did not expect to hear from her until after lunch, but around 8:30 this morning the phone rang. “Are you ready for the news? SHE’S DIABETIC!”

OMIGOSH!! Not wonderful news, but SO MUCH BETTER THAN CANCER!! We can treat diabetes!

So late this afternoon I went over to Bigger Road so that one of their very wonderful vet techs could teach me how to give Bailey insulin shots. Twice a day. Bailey and I practiced with saline solution. The tech gave her the first insulin before we left. Tomorrow morning, it’s my turn to deliver the shot. All evening I’ve been going over in my mind how I can do this to make it relaxing for Bailey so that we can make getting her insulin shot a positive experience.

It’s not the cancer. It’s treatable. I think I’ll sleep tonight.