I really didn’t want to share this with the world,l but now I have to own up and tell you. I’m so afraid you will think we have the worst dog luck in the world. Cursed. Horrible dog owners. Frickin’ unlucky. It’s mostly the reason why I haven’t been posting non-stop since we arrived home from an absolutely wonderful semi-vacation in Cancun. That reason being because we arrived home on Monday evening, and after picking the dogs up on Tuesday morning and getting them settled back here at home, I reached down to scratch Sailor under the chin only to discover huge LUMPS. My heart plummeted in my chest because there is only one thing to think at that point: lymphoma = cancer. I quickly checked his other lymph nodes and it wasn’t good. Crap. How could this happen in one week? I got an appointment with my vet for that afternoon but only after literally screaming at them over the phone that NO, next week was not OKAY. I needed an appointment today. Time was of the essence. I got my appointment, knowing what they would tell me anyway (and yes, the vet concurred) and they took aspirations of the lumps to send to cytology.

At least we didn’t have to wait for long for results from the lab, as the next evening the vet called to say the slides were positive for lymphoma. I got on the phone the next morning (Thurs) and the best I could do was to take a cancellation of the referral vet for Tuesday. In the meantime I opted to hold this cancer at bay and use prednisone to reduce the tumors. Within a few hours the tumors were reduced to half, but Sailor was not tolerating the higher dose of pred very well. So, the next day I reduced the dose and he seemed to be better.

This morning they called with a cancellation for today, so Sailor and I took the appointment. I waited nervously for Sailor to be taken into x-ray to see if the cancer had spread to his lungs and to do bloodwork to see if he was a candidate for chemo. The good news is that his lungs were clear of any cancer, but his liver was showing signs of infiltration.  She quickly assured me that the liver involvement didn’t impact his long-term prognosis, just the amount of dosage, so we were good to go with the chemo treatment. So, tomorrow bright and early, Sailor and I will be on our way to what we hope is a road to “recovery” or at least remission. Fingers crossed that he doesn’t turn out to be in the very low percentile of dogs that don’t deal with chemo well, or that the little bit of prednisone that I did give him will alter his cells into not accepting the chemo treatment. Only time will tell.

It’s very costly to have him undergo this treatment (think in thousands of dollars) but we both feel we can’t give up without at least giving it a try. I asked Sailor tonight and he agreed that he is not yet ready to give up. In all other respects he remains the energetic energizer bunny he has always been.

Please send us your hopes and “prayers” (however you may pray) as we will be needing them. Those of you who know me best know that I am not a religious type of person, but I will be offering up prayers of hope to whoever is out there listening to my plea. How much can one person really take? Really, folks, look at his face. Could you say no?

I couldn’t blog on the plane so I grabbed a sheet of paper from Rick and started writing. Here is an excerpt.

snip > I used to love flying. I’ve done a lot of it over the years, especially with our two European assignments. Back and forth to the U.S. and some exotic locales. Today though I don’t enjoy it as much. I suffer from mini panic attacks. My heart pounds. My palms sweat. My Rescue Remedy spray is always close at hand. It’s irrational, I know.

We just took off from Newark Airport after being 20th in line for take-off. Not at our cruising altitude yet and all is calm. The cute older man in the seat behind me chatters excitedly, giving a running commentary on what he sees out the window: the Vietnam Memorial, and oh! there’s Long Beach Island! Sure enough as I glance out the window the Jersey Shore lies like a sandy ribbon on my left. The sun’s morning rays turn the rivers below into gilded, winding snakes. I see estuaries; bays. The far Eastern edge of the United States.

snip

The rest of the flight was very bumpy and I was glad to finally be on the ground. The automatic doors of the airport terminal slid open and we were engulfed in a rush of warm tropical air.

As we walked into the marbled lobby of our hotel, a pith-helmeted, uniformed bellman handed out hot towels, while another proffered up a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies. But the lavish welcome wasn’t quite over as yet another bellman arrived with a tray full of flutes of champagne for us as we checked in. I think I could get used to this! Our bags were taken to our room and our bellman gave us all the information we needed regarding the hotel’s services.

Our slippers and robes awaited us.

I could see the sea through our window and couldn’t wait to open the door and step out onto our balcony.

When I did, this was my view. First to my left:

and to my right:

Not long after I sat down to “blog” the old-fashioned way (note the good use of the robe). Since Rick had his laptop with him for most of the time and we couldn’t get internet access in our room (only in the lobby area) I resorted to ~gasp!~  writing my thoughts down with pencil and paper.

Here is what I wrote.

snip > Right now as I sit on our sea-view balcony, the crashing roar of the waves is deafening. ~~ ... boom! swoosh ... ~~  The sea is rather angry and agitated today due to a storm front passing through. Our bellman told us that normally it is so calm and serene that you can see fish at the tops of the waves. Not so today.

Our resort is “all-inclusive,” meaning literally all you can drink or eat. We have four restaurants within the resort to choose from for all our meals. The service is impeccable. The minute you finish your drink or look as if you need something else, like magic a liveried person appears at your side offering more. If my wine glass even started to look in the slightest bit drained, it almost immediately got filled back up again. Kind of like a never-ending bottle of wine. A bit dangerous, don’t you think?

Our room reflects the color of the sea beyond our window, decorated in turquoise and pristine white. A very calming and comfortable room. 

I normally don’t think of myself as a tropical climate kind of girl, but I think I could get used to it. The sea mesmerizes with its endless rhythm of waves. I find myself gazing mindlessly into its turquoise vastness. Waiting, just waiting, for the next wave to come crashing to shore. One finishes its crescendo while another is waiting to take center stage right behind it. They wipe my mind clean of thoughts.

snip

To be continued ...

See it? We spent the last few days of our visit at a tiny beach-side bungalow and went barefoot most of the time. To now put boots on my feet seems ludicrous, but that’s exactly what I did today. It’s a hard transition to make from a turquoise-blue sea and white sand to yellowish-green grass and patches of white snow.

We had a good semi-vacation. The weather was mostly sunny, with some rain showers and clouds mixed in. I sat and watched waves. I swam in the Caribbean Sea. I walked along the beach and let the waves lap at my feet. I swam with dolphins and even gave one a good belly rub. I explored two very different Mayan ruins. I was waited on hand and foot, but also lived pretty rustically for a few days. I fell completely under the spell of Mexico and its people.

All of these things will be shared with you in the days to come. As a teaser I will leave you with this view from our balcony at Dreams Cancun.

To be continued ...

** view this to see the song by Dido that inspired my title here. Sorry I couldn’t paste the vid here.

Starting tomorrow this is where we’ll be for the next few days. The Dreams Resort in Cancun, Mexico. It’s partly work for Rick and all vacation for me. I’ve been watching the weather forecast which at first it looked a bit shaky, but now it looks as if it will be pretty nice.

I hope to get in lots of beach walks. We also have a few days planned at an eco-friendly (meaning no TV, very little electricity) cabana on the beach in Tulum. We are planning on visiting the Mayan ruins at Tulum, which are uniquely situated on the beach.

I hope to get lots of good photos. Fingers crossed for sunny weather! Until then dear blog readers!

I’m so excited! Rick’s slow-motion video of the hummingbird and dragonfly appeared in a segment called MonsterQuest on the History Channel. A while back the producer had asked his permission to use the footage but you never know if they really will or not. Sure enough about 30 minutes into the show, there it was! The dragonfly (which I never did post to the blog; I need to do that!) came about five minutes later.

It was fun watching something that was filmed in our own back yard show up on television. Well, you might not think it’s exciting, but we do! The segment is an interesting one, so catch it if you can.

Ed.Note: The segment of MonsterQuest is really called “Unidentified Flying Creatures.” Sorry!