Good Numbers

Had our visit with Dr. Weber this morning, his liver function numbers are almost back to normal.  The rash is gone, just a little discoloration of the skin and a little bit of peeling.  He's feeling great, back to being foolish and playing golf tomorrow.  He doesn't have to go back to Moffitt again for 3 weeks when he gets his last infusion of this medication, unless there is any slightest change.  Yippie!!!

Lots Better

Saw the doctor today.  The prednisone started working with the first dose.  Rash is still spreading but its not as intense as it was.  The itching is just about gone without having to take the anti-itch medication, hence he's awake.  Unfortunately the prednisone is keeping him awake most of the night.  He will still go for his appointment next Wednesday, get the blood tests but no infusion, just get his rash checked.  The doctor said they had never seen such a bad rash reaction but it didn't by any means mean it wasn't working.  We won't know until his CT scan which isn't until January 7.

Had to Re-visit Doctor

Don's rash got REALLY bad over the week-end.  He slept most of the time from his anti-itch meds.  The doctor wants him to call with every little change, he was going to wait until he saw him Wednesday but decided he'd better call.  Good thing.  The doctor had him go in, they thought they might be admitting him.  On Wednesday the doctor said his rash was a level 2, now its a level 3.  They did another blood test, his liver function numbers have gone up some more.  He put him on prednisone, said they had never seen a rash that was that bad and they would skip his 3rd infusion that was due next week.  They also said that his reaction to the infusion was probably the reason his liver function numbers had gone up and that the prednisone should help both.  He goes back on Wednesday for more blood work and a look at his rash.  He might not be able to get his 4th infusion.  My first question was whether that meant he was out of the trial.  They said he would not be out, they would give him the 2nd part of the treatment (the 6 infusions 2 weeks apart of the other medication).  I don't know if it would start as planned or if they would start it earlier.  We take it one day at a time at this point.

Side Effect

Don was tested yesterday for liver function.  The numbers are worse than they were last Wednesday.  They will test again next Wednesday, hopefully it will go down enough by the 20th so he can get his next infusion.  He has also started having one of the 2 most common side effects, a rash and itching.  It started at his waist but now it's all over.  The doctor told him to take Bedadryl and apply cortisone cream.  The Benadryl wasn't working well to he prescribed something stronger.  The only problem is it makes him very sleepy and he sleeps a lot.  Hopefully this won't last too long. 

Big Cat Rescue

We went to visit the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa.  Most of the big cats they have are cats that people tried to have as pets, some are retired circus cats.  Some didn't even know they could climb, they had to be taught.

 

Click on these so you can really see the cats.  Here are 2 cats snuggled on their perch.

 

A tiger was found in a person's basement when he was arrested for dealing drugs.

 

All of the cats have a cave type house in their area. 
Works really great for shelter in bad storms.  They look like small areas but they're all a series of rooms.  They have lots of place to roam and hide if that's what they want.  So this lion was laying there, the group we were in stayed there for a while.  Suddenly the lion stood up and went to his cave, see it at the top right.

 

 

Then he came out with this white tigress.  It was almost like he went in there and said "Come on, we've got company."

 

 

 

They were rescued by someone who was trying to breed a white liger, yes, that's not a type, a liger.  The facility is amazed at how well they get along, being from 2 different continents.

 

Isn't he majestic?  I didn't realize this, but if they neuter him he will lose his main due to the lack of testosterone.  So they gave him a vasectomy.

Isn't she beautiful?



 

This is a serval, really pretty, they had lots of these.

 

 

 

 

This is a black leopard, you can see the spots if you look closely.



 

They rescued lots of cats from fur farms.  They used just the belly fur from these cats to make coats because it's so soft and is easy to dye.  It takes 20 cats to make one coat.

 

I liked this sign. 

 One of the many things that impressed me about this place is that you could not smell anything, you would never know they had so many cats.