Hi everyone. The results from Buttons' aspirate came back inconclusive; it's still most likely cancer, but they think they can rule out lymphoma. At this point, we could re-do the aspirate, get a CT scan done of her chest, or a biopsy. The biopsy is a big risk, and the vet said even if they do it, determine exactly what type of cancer it is, and start chemo, Buttons would still only have "months" at most. We really don't want to put her through the aspirate procedure again (especially for what would probably just be more inconclusive results), the CT scan likely won't tell us much that will actually be helpful, and we've ruled out the biopsy, so that means that what we're left with is, well, keeping her comfortable until it's time to let her go. And that really sucks, and I hate writing this out, and I hate making it more and more real, and there's really not much more to say that isn't me just rambling, so I'm going to switch gears to Vegan MoFo...
Today's prompt is "Conversion meal," so I made baked ziti, another recipe from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. I halved the recipe, and it turned out pretty good. I feel like pasta dishes are perfect for helping to show people that vegan food really isn't all that weird. It's simply food that doesn't have animal products in it. And in the case of this ziti, it's really tasty & comforting.
My Inktober sketch doesn't make it look too appetizing, though, haha...
Here are some pics I took of Buttons today. Her new favorite thing is Zach's sleeping bag. He had another "sleep-over" with her last night, and as soon as he got up for work in the morning, she claimed the sleeping bag, returning to it several more times throughout the day...
Peace...
Hi everyone, just getting this typed up as I wait to hear back from the vet. The cardiologist checked Buttons this morning and found that she has very mild HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). She also has a little bit of fluid around her heart, likely caused by the probable cancer. The good news is that her heart doesn't seem to be causing any real problems; the cardiologist said she doesn't need any medication, basically we just need to keep an eye on her for things such as dizziness/fainting, and have her heart checked again in 6-8 months. The potential cancer, however, remains the big issue, so they are doing a chest ultrasound before trying to get a sample of the cancer or whatever else it could possibly be in her chest now that she was cleared for sedation. The procedure will take place around 3 p.m., and I'll hear back about an hour or two after that, and hopefully she will be cleared to come home with us tonight. I'll respond to everyone's kind comments on my last post as soon as I get the chance, but I did just want to say thank you to everyone who has commented; it really means a lot to know that there are so many people who care about Buttons and are pulling for her.
Anyways, as a way to keep myself busy today, I made my Vegan MoFo dish for lunch. The prompt for today is "But where do you get your protein?" so I made the red beans with quinoa from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. It was a really simple recipe and I have to admit, as much as it stung, it was kinda cathartic to get teary-eyed from chopping an onion rather than from thinking and worrying about Buttons. I halved the recipe, and only used a few drops of hot sauce. In the past, I haven't had much luck preparing quinoa, but today, it turned out perfectly, nice & fluffy.
All in all, this was an easy dish to prepare and made for a tasty, filling lunch. I don't usually worry about calculating this sort of thing, but since it was the prompt today: A serving size of the red kidney beans provides 9 grams of protein, and the quinoa, 5 grams. Seeing as how I probably had about 1.5-1.75 servings of the beans, I'd estimate about 18-20 grams of protein total for this meal. Not bad.
Here's my Inktober sketch...
And here's a pic of Buttons in the sunshine again, this time with Daisy...
Peace...
