So How is Sheila?

It was a week or so ago that I reported that the doctor says Sheila has lymphoma and he felt we were looking at "weeks."

He put her on an antibiotic for her swollen leg and Prednisone for the lymphoma, warning that it might make her thirsty.

In all honesty, without medical expertise, I don't know how she is physically, but there is a noticeable difference in her since she started on the medications.

For one thing, the swelling is gone and she is walking just fine.

But for another, she seems happy these days.

She is definitely more thirsty and now goes through 2-3 bowls of water a day and she is panting almost all the time (which Ashley, who just spent nearly a week with her, tells me is also a side effect of the Prednisone, since it prevents her from being able to regulate her body temperature).

But she is perky.  She now comes for treats (before she just lay where she was, knowing I would bring her treat to her).  She seems eager at  mealtime and bolts her food down in seconds.  She loves her medicine (since she gets it in a ball of cream cheese).  In fact, I haven't kept careful track, but she seems to be waiting for Polly and Lizzie to leave their dinner bowls so she can finish up, if they don't.

I don't have a clue how long she has, but it's nice to see her looking so happy right now...happier than I have seen her in a long time.  As Ashley added, "if at some point it seems the drug is causing more discomfort than Sheila can handle, then it will be time to decide what her quality of life is, but right now I would say other than wanting to drink a lot more and pee more she seems to be doing really well."

* * *

I am now officially the fourth theater reviewer for the Sacramento News and Review.  I have cleared it with The Davis Enterprise and they are OK with it, as long as I don't duplicate the Enterprise review in the other newspaper.

I know all three of the other reviewers and have known them from chatting at shows for several years, so there will be no "getting to know you" period.  I just need to settle into how things are done there.  I will probably see more shows than I do now, since I don't review many Sacramento theaters and SNR reviews them all, I think, so I will significantly increase the number of shows I see each year (currently ~50).  

But I'm excited about it and a second salary is a nice perk too!