16th - 18th March

Phoebe seems to be be pretty stable on the whole, though I thought she may have had slightly less energy on the 18th of March. She is still being very sneaky with her medication, pretending she has swallowed the tablets when she hasn't! We are back at the vets tomorrow, we should get the results from her blood tests taken last Thursday and the vet will take another PCV test.

15th March - More positive progress!

Phoebe was at the vets again this morning for another full blood analyses. We should get these results on Monday. Her PCV is now at23.5%! This is excellent news, fingers crossed it will continue to rise.
I know it is still early days and the next few weeks will be the crucial time, but I am feeling really optimistic for Phoebe. Phoebe has now got some colour back into her gums and has so much more energy. That said, she thinks she has more energy than she actually has. She was very excited this morning jumping about and wagging her tail. Phoebe really enjoyed the interactions at the vets (apart from having blood taken!) but has been flat out snoozing since we got back home.Phoebe by her very nature is a very excitable dog, but I am trying to keep her calm where possible as I know how imperative rest is to increase the chances of recovery.
It is so good to see her making good steady progress!

14th March

Phoebe seems well today. I have fed her on small quantities of bland food today to allow her stomach to settle down. she is keeping her food down and her diarrhea seems to have subsided.
Phoebe has more energy today, she is constantly wagging her tail and following me around. Though she does tire quite quickly and is sleeping a lot. There is more colour in Phoebe's gums, they are still pale but distinctly pink tinged!
We have a visit to the vets tomorrow, I am hopeful of another rise in her PCV! It is so good to have her back home again!

13th March - Phoebe's Home!

We picked Phoebe up this morning, she seemed very bright and was very excited to see us! Her PCV is still at around the 21% mark.

Phoebe is the brightest she has been since becoming ill. However since coming home she has been a lot quieter and has been sick three times and also has diarrhea. I am sure I am being paranoid now, but after feeling initially positive about her progress I am now very worried again. I just called the vet that has been looking after Phoebe at the Edinburgh Royal Dick and he suggested that I laid off feeding her until tomorrow to allow her stomach to settle again. Phoebe has been through a fair bit this past week and a 3 hour car journey has probably not helped her stomach! If Phoebe is still being sick tomorrow morning I will take her to her vet for piece of mind.

I feel I have been very lucky with both my local vet and the vet who looked after Phoebe at the hospital, they have both been very helpful and caring, always happy to speak to me if I have anything I am worried about.

12th March

I heard from the Vet this afternoon. Phoebe seems to be doing fairly well. The Vet said that she was a lot brighter today and her PCV is up to 21%. This is excellent news as it is the first time her PCV has increased post-transfusion. Phoebe's blood tests today also showed that her bone-marrow is producing new red-blood cells. The rate at which the new red-blood cells are being produced is quite slow, but it is a step in the right direction!
What is more we are able to pick her up tomorrow, I can't wait!
Thanks to some very good friends we have managed to get together enough money to pay her hospital bill (thanks very much, you know who you are!).
I am feeling more positive now than I have since Phoebe first fell ill, though I know she has a long way to go.

10th March

I have heard from the Vet again this afternoon. Phoebe is stable, her PCV has showed no change from post-transfusion yesterday (19%). Phoebe has her appetite back again, and has a lot more energy. I just hope that her bone-marrow kicks into action soon. I asked the vet about thyroid issues and he did not seem to think that this was likely with Phoebe's condition. I am really missing her, I wish I could see her to give her a cuddle! Providing there is no negative change in her state I will not hear anymore news until Monday afternoon once her full blood results will be available, it is going to me a very long wait!!

9th March

I am glad we gave the go ahead for another blood transfusion. The vet was very worried about Phoebe this morning as she seemed very low. Today she has had her second blood transfusion which has been successful (PCV is up to 19%). A bone-marrow biopsy was carried out on Phoebe this afternoon and the results did not identify and growths. The bone marrow did not show any real new red-blood cell growth. So sort of good news and not so good news. We still do not know what is causing the IMHA. They are keeping Phoebe in over the weekend and monitoring her PCV level, she will have another full blood analyses on Monday. The big hope is that the blood transfusion will help in giving the bone marrow a chance to start creating new cells. I really hope she shows signs of recovery soon as we are beginning to run out of options.