Type Dancing

Another Year in Remembrance

What an interesting year we have had – perhaps we’ve been cursed as the Chinese say: “May you live in interesting times.” (Was that the Chinese?)

The year started off with Cocoa’s congestive heart failure. She is doing very well now on three different medications. Then came my endometriosis, which took an ovary and my appendix.

I recovered well from the surgery, and, after postponing it 4 months, we vacationed in Hawaii with friends.

We cruised for a week on the Norwegian Star, part of the Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) fleet, traveling through the Hawaiian Islands and then halfway to Australia, to the Republic of Kiribati, and back again to the Big Island, where we stayed on the volcano for a week.

We hiked through old and not-so-old lava fields, out to the current eruption, then along the coastline to see the black and green sand beaches.

We took tons of photos that we are still sorting through and hope to share soon.

After getting back from Hawaii, we launched into the process of seeking Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). We had already done the basic tests before my endometriosis showed up, and we had been diagnosed with “unexplained infertility.” I had a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) done again on my remaining tube, and everything looked good. Then I did the “clomid challenge” test, where they give you the drug, clomid, to see if it stimulates the proper levels of FSH and estrogen. I failed miserably, so we were turned away for IVF (invitro fertilization) because the odds of me getting pregnant with my own eggs even with IVF were so low (under 3%). Dave and I did not want to try egg donation.

My doctor explained that his clinic board had agreed that they would not put couples to the expense of IVF unless they had a successful clomid challenge test and the woman was under 40 (and who knows what else that they did not divulge to me). I was angry upon hearing this. “Aren’t older women whose ovaries do not respond as well to hormones the ones who need IVF most?” My doctor agreed, but explained that it was a rule that the clinic board set. He was kind enough to bring it to the board for a vote on my individual case, but the board said, “No.”

But, my doctor agreed to treat me through a process of super ovulation (same hormone treatment as IVF to stimulate the ovaries so that grow multiple eggs) and artificial insemination. We have tried this twice and my ovaries did not respond strongly enough to the hormones. We will try again next cycle with a slightly different drug regimen, and then regroup if that does not work.

The whole experience of trying to have a baby has brought us closer together. Dave is the best husband in the world for giving me his support and remaining steady on during the passed few years. With all the hormones I’ve been on this year, my mood has been variable, yet
Dave has always been there with a home-cooked meal, a getaway weekend, or supportive words, hugs, and kisses. Our sex life hasn’t been bad either. ==:--}

The kitties have grown closer to Dave over the years, too. They now accept him as a full member of the family after 15 years.

We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary in September at the Briar Rose in Boulder, so we could stay close to home for fertility treatments. We had a pleasant stay. It was a special treat to watch the crowds returning from the Buffs homecoming game and jamming up traffic from our safe little uncrowded rooftop balcony.

Dave’s dad has been ill the last couple of years, so we took a week at Thanksgiving to spend with Dave’s family. We were pleased to see Dad doing much better on new medications. Mom is recovering well from a broken ankle, and Elizabeth and Scott, Dave’s sister and her husband, seemed happy and healthy.

Shortly after we returned from Thanksgiving, we noticed that Zsa Zsa was acting strangely: not as active as she had been, and she had lost weight. During her annual exam in October, we noticed she had lost a half pound since the year before. This was not particularly alarming, and all the other cursory examinations did not reveal anything. We took ZZ back in to the vet in December to find that she had lost another half pound. After a short deliberation, Dave and I decided to have an ultrasound done to find out what the heck was going on.

We found out the week before Christmas that she has mast cell tumors. We do not know how long she has left, but at 15, she has lived a long and happy life. She seems happy enough still: eating, drinking, sleeping, and playing, so we hope she will remain so for a while.

Meanwhile, Eva took the sneezes that Cocoa and ZZ had passed around, like the kitties do every year, and turned them into a big, honking upper respiratory infection. She is feeling better now after being hydrated a couple of times at the vet and getting antibiotics, but is still sniveling and sneezing.

For more details about our kitties’ health, see my previous blog…

My family has been well. A year ago or so, we welcomed Paul’s new wife, Julie, to the family, and have enjoyed having her around very much. My parents are healthy and happy and enjoying their two grandchildren (Wendy’s kids, Kate and James). I miss them all when I am not there, but hope to make a couple trips in the spring to help make up for that. For more sentiments about family during the holidays, see my blog, “Festive Fertility.”

Dave and I enjoyed opening oodles of presents under our tiny live Fat Albert tree, with all our furry friends around us (except for Eva, who was still sleeping off her cold on the master bed upstairs).

Thanks to everyone for the cards, letters, emails, and prezzies!

We have had an interesting year, but not a bad one. We’ve had a lot of fun, in between the more difficult times. We think of friends and family often, and hope your year has been interesting, but not as interesting as ours!

The Wils Home for Geriatric Cats

The Wils Home for Geriatric Cats

Over the passed year, we have seen our old cats get, well, old. Eva, 14, had a strange illness while we were out of town for the holidays, but recovered with antibiotics. Then Cocoa, now almost 19, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in January, but has been stable for most of the time since then on heart medication.

Last week, Zsa Zsa, 14, was diagnosed with cancer. An ultrasound revealed evidence of a mast-cell tumor in three areas: liver, spleen, and intestine. She is one sick kitty. But she is still be eating and enjoying life right now, so we are hoping for the best as we try the only treatment available for cats: prednisone and benadryl. Yes, pediatric benedryl. Grape flavored. Let me give you a direct quote from ZZ: “yuck.” Even the tablets are flavored. They are so grape-y, in fact, that neither Fancy Feast nor tuna can hide the taste. I am still working on a formula that will hide grapiness. We’ll try another flavor of Fancy Feast – perhaps turkey.

The prednisone is a steroid which calms the inflammation of the tissue caused by the mast cell tumors. It also has the side effect in felines of slowing down the growth of the cancer. Benadryl is an antihistamine, which masks the mast cells so that they do not release histamine into the cat’s system. Yes, mast cells produce histamine. Besides growing and overtaking healthy cells, they continually send out histamines into the body which cause sores and irritations to the stomach and make the body’s immune system go nuts.

Other medicines that can aid in the secondary symptoms, such as an antacid to keep the stomach from creating too much acid in response to the release of histamine from the mast cells, are at ready hand, but because ZZ is eating lustily and acting pretty perky, we plan to hold off on the other two meds until we see evidence of more weight loss or she stops eating. “Do good and no harm,” quoth the vet. ZZ has lost a pound in the last year, and has slowed down a bit, but at the rate she is eating now, we have high hopes that she will gain some of the weight back now that she is on the prednisone and benadryl. Ultimately, her prognosis is not good, but we hope to keep her comfortable and relatively happy as long as possible. Each day is a new day.

While we were diagnosing ZZ, Eva started sniffling. Cocoa and ZZ had already sniffled and sneezed a bit, and nothing came of it. But not Eva. Eva started sneezing, then snorting, then open-mouth breathing. She stopped grooming and ate less than usual. She slept all the time – even straight through dinner and a movie when the cats are usually circling us to see who can dominate the lap of Ellen or Dave. I finally took her to the vet yesterday and she does have an upper respiratory infection. They listened to her heart and lungs, gave her penicillin, and hydrated her. It does not look too serious, although the blood test I insisted on shows thyroid levels at the high end of normal, which the vet tells me in older cats can be bad. They want to do a recheck on Friday, give her more fluids, and check her blood pressure, which may indicate that her thyroid is at danger levels. They gave me an antibiotic and suggested pediatric Afron nose drops – one drop in every other nostril, every other day.

Hmmm. Zsa Zsa is on 3 medications, Cocoa is on 3 medications, and Eva is on 2 medications. Good thing Dave is doing all the cooking and cleaning. Otherwise, I would go out of my mind!!

Festive Fertility

This holiday season, it is hard to be here in Colorado and not with my family. My mother and father popped in to Longmont last March for a lovely visit, but I have not seen them since. I haven’t seen the rest of my family since my brother’s wedding over a year ago. The twins are growing up. My brother and his new wife will be home for the first time at Christmas. And Christmas isn’t the same for me when I am not with my family. Not necessarily bad. Just not the same.

Despite the strong tug of the season to head homeward, Dave and I made the decision to keep this month free for fertility assistance. We are focused on getting pregnant, which means getting through the drugs and routine imposed upon us by this decision and by the latest assisted reproductive technology (ART). And this means not leaving town. We may have to drive to Littleton on a day’s notice, you know.

We have been delayed a week this cycle by my body’s slow response to Lupron, which is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone “agonist.” It inhibits the pituitary gland's ability to control the ovary and has the effect of shutting down the ovaries. Lupron is often used to treat endometriosis by stopping ovulation and, thereby, the entire reproductive cycle, which stops the thickening of the uterine lining and the production of endometrial tissue. This is like a chemical menopause. Fortunately, it is temporary.

We are doing Lupron this cycle because my body's response to the last ART cycle was underwhelming. I am taking Lupron for 7 to 14 days until my ovary responds by shedding its follicles. I start this cycle giving myself a 1cc shot twice a day subcutaneously. After 7 days on the drug, my ovaries looked no different then they did on Day 3. So, the nurse told me to back off to 1 cc once a day for another week. I check in again Monday morning to see if the ovarian cysts have cleared out.

Once the ovaries are shut down and clear, I will start taking Follistim, or FSH, which is the only drug I took in September when I did my last ART cycle. Theoretically, Follistim will jump start my ovary and put it into overdrive, producing multiple eggs. Once several eggs have matured and look good, I will begin to take chorionic gonadotropin to signal my ovary to release those eggs. Then we do artificial insemination with Dave’s real sperm (wanted to clear that up for Dave’s sake – he was affronted by my use of the term “artificial” as a modifier in front of the word “sperm” – it’s the process not the sperm that is artificial. Ahem. Ahem.)

I know in the long term that this is an investment of time, patience, and money for a wonderful possibility. I just wish I could have family all around to support the process – it would be the ideal to have my traditional Christmas and my fertility cycle in one. I know they are all thinking of us even though we are not there at the Christmas feast with them, and we are sure thinking of them. But this morning, pausing to write this, I can see them smiling and nodding encouragement. This all that is needed: a pause, a reflection, and then everyone is there.

And soon enough, there will be multiple phone calls, cards, letters, and packages, and my vision of family support will be backed up by the tangible, too. You know, this isn’t so bad: I get to snuggle with my kitties in my own home over the holiday, get holiday greetings and good wishes from family and friends from all over the country (and the world thanks to my much-removed cousin Liam in Cork, Ireland), and open prezzies and never leave the house.

Hmmm. Happy festive fertility, everyone!