TheWhiteStuff Community Centre :: Boxer Chat :: Update on Henry, Busta & Pepsi & our lives in general!

Hi everyone :hello:

Been a while since i have been on here, as most of the regulars are on facebook, i tend to catch up on there more often now, but have made it one of my new years resolutions to keep up to date on here too as it was through this site that i met many new people who i am proud to call my friends.

So here is a quick update on what has been happening in our lives and will be back on here more regular in the new year!

Henry is doing great, still the same little monster, he always has been. We have noticed a couple of small lumps come up on his legs, but have chosen to ignore them as we know the cancer is still in his body, having them removed and analysed, would just be putting him through more uneccassary stress and pain, we vowed some time back that time with Henry now it was all about making him happy and making the most of the time we have left with him. In himself, you would still not know there was anything wrong with him, he is extremely active, jumps up suddenly to start playing and does all the things he has always done. He is still on chemo, but once this last batch of medication runs out we will have to stop. We still don't know if the chemo is actually doing anything for him, having the damaged kidney removed could have been enough to have given him this extra year and as we can't afford another scan, we don't know if there is any further spread of the cancer - We are just grateful for the additional time we have already had with him and would happily welcome as much more as possible.

Busta is also doing well, the problem he has earlier in the year - Immune mediated polyarthropathy is now under control. He is on a very low dose of prednisolone and it looks like he will be staying on this for good now. If we take him off it, he could have another flare up and be right back to where he was when he first got sick again. With the dose being so low, there are no real side effects so it makes sense to leave him in it as a precaution. A few weeks ago, he had two lumps removed from his hips, which turned out to be fibrosis (scar tissue). No idea how this occured, apparently can happen at any time, we are just hoping the insurance don't try to link it to his other condition, as then we will have to find almost Ł1,000 to pay for the op. I don't think they will be able to as these lumps were under his skin, whereas the polyarthropathy was in his joints, however fibrosis can be a side effect of his condition. We will just have to wait and see if they pay out. In himself though, he is pretty much back to his old self, a few small bald patches where he is missing fur from all the sores he had, but he loves to run and play again, although he does get tired more quickly than the other two - but we are gradually building up his exercise and it seems to be doing him the world of good!

Pepsi is now just over a year old and is a typical naughty puppy. We feel a bit guilty as we bought her home in January and Henry got sick almost immediately and then once he was stable, Busta got sick, so we haven't had as much time and energy to focus on Pepsi as we would have liked, She is a very loving dog though and we just put her naughtiness down to her being a puppy. She is very playful and loves to play fight with our kitten, you would not believe the way they play fight and roll around the floor together and they have become best friends.

Regal, the kitten is now six months old, we were very wary about letting him out at first, but he had too much energy to keep indoors all the time. He only goes out the back of the house and only for around an hour at a time, I don't think he goes far as he comes back quite quickly when we call him. I am sure he thinks he is a dog, he eats, sleeps and plays with Henry, Busta & Pepsi and is curled up on the sofa with them as i type this!

As for me and Brendan, it has been a really tough year for us with all the problems with the dogs, but i think it has just made us stronger as a couple and we have just been determined to get through it and come out the other side!

Things really started to go downhill for us in November 2010, when my Mum passed away, since then it seems as if it has been one thing after another with the dogs and in October this year i also lost my eldest sister to liver failure. She had a drink problem and over the years we had all tried to help her and had been there for her when she came to us, but sadly she made her own decisions and it was all too much for her body, she was only 46 years old when she passed away at the start of October.
These two deaths in the family have bought some of the family closer together and some difficult relationships have been repaired, so it has not all been bad news.

So as i am sure you will understand i will be so glad to see the back of 2011 - It really has been the worst year of my life, but i am looking forward to 2012 as things do seem to be looking up a bit and i am looking forward to happier times ahead! I even won a tenner on the lottery last night :wink:

We are off out with the dogs in a while, i will get some new pictures and post a few later on :wave:

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