Romeo spent the day at Oregon State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital today for his first treatment of chemotherapy.
Romeo has gotten used to coming to work with me and eagerly hopped in the car as usual this morning. When we got to OSU, I had Romeo wear his harness to help him since the floors in the hospital are smooth. Turns out he didn’t need any help and he navigated the lobby and halls with ease. He even managed to put himself on the scale.
I weighed Romeo at work yesterday as well and found out that he weighs 130 pounds. Which means he has lost 15 pounds through this process. Most of the weight is from being down a leg, but I think he may have lost a few pounds in the rest of his body – he looks a little scrawnier through his waist. I guess we’ll increase his food to see how much he needs to be eating now.
After a brief exam, I left Romeo for his day of hanging out at the hospital. He got his blood tested to make sure he was ok for chemo and then he got his chemo injection (carboplatin).
Apparently Romeo tolerated the treatment well and didn’t show any side effects while at OSU. He had a dose of anti-nausea medication (dolasetron) and has some pills (Cerenia) to take for the next few days.
When I picked him up this evening, he was perky, very happy to see me, and ready to go home for dinner. We’re supposed to watch for vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and lethargy. So far so good.
The only thing different about Romeo this evening was his back right leg, the leg his catheter was in. Several times he has acted like that leg feels weird – standing on it strangely, stretching it out differently, and just acting a little uncomfortable. We’ll see what he feels like in the morning.
Now he has a new patch of shaved hair to match the patch on his front leg and his side.
Huh, I just realized that for once, my difficulty with left and right won’t matter – I can just say Romeo’s front leg without specifying left or right. Thanks Romeo!