Heidi will turn 11 years old in 2 weeks.
We will celebrate with croissants, cake and lots of TLC.
Heidi has Mast Cell cancer and is paralyzed on her hind legs maybe because of DM or maybe because of a tumor pressing on her spine. (see the post from January "Heidi's journey continues")
So how did croissant day happen?
3 years ago after heidi was operated and diagnosed with Stage 1 Mast cell cancer with curative measures. Yay!! BUT...... The day the results came back we found another one about 1.5" from the incision site.
She also formed two more, one on her breast bone and one on the side of her ribs. A needle biopsy confirmed Mast Cell again, but we decided not to operate anymore.
Not even a month later Heidi became deadly ill when the Mast Cell went systemic. The vet advised to love her and enjoy the time we had with her. (She was given a few weeks to a few months)
She had stopped eating, had lung problems and extreme allergic reactions to what we do not know.
I made major adjustments to her diet (no more histamine provoking foods, quercetin wasn't working and benadryl made her drowsy and more down then she already was so another antihistamine was tried)
But it wasn't enough, she was on the decline and losing weight and the will to live.
With the help of 2 awesome friends who found medicinal marijuana for her in the form of oil (CBD and THC) we decided to give that a try.
I picked up the oil early in the morning and upon returning into the car I gave her the suggested 3 drops. At this point Heidi was lethargic and not interested in what was happening around her. (She had given up and I was hoping she would get to her 8th birthday but it was looking grim)
It was a 50 minute drive back to my house.
Halfway I decided to stop at McD and grab a coffee, I didn't have breakfast that morning and decided to get a croissant with my coffee.
While back on the highway, I opened the bag with the croissant, Heidi smelled it and jumped over the back seat to basically grab the croissant from me.. She was hungry, her eyes were huge and focussed. The munchies?!?
I didn't care, I had my girl back... U turn to McD to get another croissant for her and me, while the tears were streaming down my face. I texted my friends to tell them what just happened, Heidi was eating..
The road to recovery was started.
I think at this point we have reached a status quo. She is happy, her lungs are holding up (she is on NAC from progressive and TCM Herbs) We are still using mostly non histamine provoking foods but recognize the importance of medicinal mushrooms and gut health (fermented foods) so these are given periodically in small amounts. (as long as she is not having a histamine reaction)
She also uses other supplements like astaxanthin, VIT A, B, D, E and many other things on a rotational basis to not overload her system.
She is now also on TCM to slow nerve damage and to keep her muscles from atrophying but that is slowly getting worse.
For us, we enjoy her for as long as we can, and as long as she wants too. Heidi is still an extremely happy girl. She understands asking for help if she wants something, she does not drag herself but whines for us to come and help with her ears perked forward.
She enjoys her Croissant every saturday (the only processed carbs in the form of grains she eats).
Tuesday April 9th will be Heidi's 11th Birthday and we will be celebrating this milestone with of course a croissant.
Tuesday April 9th, International Croissant Day in Heidi's Honour
We will celebrate with croissants, cake and lots of TLC.
Heidi has Mast Cell cancer and is paralyzed on her hind legs maybe because of DM or maybe because of a tumor pressing on her spine. (see the post from January "Heidi's journey continues")
So how did croissant day happen?
3 years ago after heidi was operated and diagnosed with Stage 1 Mast cell cancer with curative measures. Yay!! BUT...... The day the results came back we found another one about 1.5" from the incision site.
She also formed two more, one on her breast bone and one on the side of her ribs. A needle biopsy confirmed Mast Cell again, but we decided not to operate anymore.
Not even a month later Heidi became deadly ill when the Mast Cell went systemic. The vet advised to love her and enjoy the time we had with her. (She was given a few weeks to a few months)
She had stopped eating, had lung problems and extreme allergic reactions to what we do not know.
I made major adjustments to her diet (no more histamine provoking foods, quercetin wasn't working and benadryl made her drowsy and more down then she already was so another antihistamine was tried)
But it wasn't enough, she was on the decline and losing weight and the will to live.
With the help of 2 awesome friends who found medicinal marijuana for her in the form of oil (CBD and THC) we decided to give that a try.
I picked up the oil early in the morning and upon returning into the car I gave her the suggested 3 drops. At this point Heidi was lethargic and not interested in what was happening around her. (She had given up and I was hoping she would get to her 8th birthday but it was looking grim)
It was a 50 minute drive back to my house.
Halfway I decided to stop at McD and grab a coffee, I didn't have breakfast that morning and decided to get a croissant with my coffee.
While back on the highway, I opened the bag with the croissant, Heidi smelled it and jumped over the back seat to basically grab the croissant from me.. She was hungry, her eyes were huge and focussed. The munchies?!?
I didn't care, I had my girl back... U turn to McD to get another croissant for her and me, while the tears were streaming down my face. I texted my friends to tell them what just happened, Heidi was eating..
The road to recovery was started.
I think at this point we have reached a status quo. She is happy, her lungs are holding up (she is on NAC from progressive and TCM Herbs) We are still using mostly non histamine provoking foods but recognize the importance of medicinal mushrooms and gut health (fermented foods) so these are given periodically in small amounts. (as long as she is not having a histamine reaction)
She also uses other supplements like astaxanthin, VIT A, B, D, E and many other things on a rotational basis to not overload her system.
She is now also on TCM to slow nerve damage and to keep her muscles from atrophying but that is slowly getting worse.
For us, we enjoy her for as long as we can, and as long as she wants too. Heidi is still an extremely happy girl. She understands asking for help if she wants something, she does not drag herself but whines for us to come and help with her ears perked forward.
She enjoys her Croissant every saturday (the only processed carbs in the form of grains she eats).
Tuesday April 9th will be Heidi's 11th Birthday and we will be celebrating this milestone with of course a croissant.
Tuesday April 9th, International Croissant Day in Heidi's Honour
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