Saturday, August 19, 2006

Getting Bettter

I am finally noticing a difference in my speed. Nothing major yet, but at least there is some improvement.

Today, we did somewhere around 11.5 miles. I ran with a friend who is pretty close to the same pace and she does 5/1's, also.

The first 4 miles were pretty good. We took too long at the water stops, though, and that hurt us. The next 3.5 miles were very slow, so I decided we needed to get back on track and not take so long at the water stops. But the breaks had taken there toll and her legs didn't want to go anymore. So I would run ahead, then when my watch beeped for a walk break I would walk back to her. The last mile or so I kept going. The weather was getting nasty and I really wanted to make it back to the park before the downpour. I almost made it, but not quite. It didn't really matter though, I was already soaked with sweat!!

After that it was breakfast with some of the group and then home for a nap.

Tomorrow is biking with my local bike shop and then I will be meeting up with folks from the ferret club I belong to for an "Education Day" at one of the Petco's in town.

Which brings up the topic of Beazer.

Beaz is getting up there in age for a ferret (around 6 to 6 1/2 years of age - he was a adopted and this is our best guess). And he is a Marshall Farms ferret (they are a HUGE breeder of dogs, ferrets and pigs for biomedical research. And they also sell some of their animals for pets). And because he is a MF ferret he is more likely to get specific diseases - adrenal tumors and insulinoma specifically. Well, he has had two surgeries for adrenal tumors within the past two years. After the last surgery he had a real tough time recovering so when he started showing signs of adrenal problems again (loss of hair, bladder problems due to an enlarged prostate), I didn't know what my choices were going to be. There has been a lot of talk of the use of Melatonin to help control the symptoms, and I had also heard a little of Lupron. My vet convinced me to try an injection of Lupron.

Well, the bladder problem disappeared in the first month of treatment. Great news! But the hair was still not growing back. So the next month when I took Beazer in for a recheck, the doc upped the Lupron dosage.

Guess what?

Within a week his hair was starting to grow back!! I was so ecstatic!!

I know the Lupron is not necessarily a cure, but it is as close as he is going to get to one. Which means he will be with me a little bit longer and most importantly - his quality of life has improved drastically!

Beazer with his absolute favorite toy - clear dryer vent tubing


And another favorite is this red "NFL Transportation" baseball hat I recieved when I volunteered for the Super Bowl a couple years back.

3 comments:

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

Yay, Beazer! I'm glad he's feeling better!

Unknown said...

Glad Beaz is feeling better. Nice run, too. The rain sounds like it was a welcomed treat at the end of the run.

Anonymous said...

Very glad to hear the shot worked!!!