Elizabeth Edwards About Her Cancer on Local TV

Elizabeth was interviewed this week on one of the local channels. My understanding is EE was also a speaker at one of the universities this week concerning her battle with breast cancer. As she said in the interview, cancer may win, but why give anymore days or time to that process.



Keep fighting the good fights, Elizabeth. Especially when you are asked your expert opinion on other matters such as bankruptcy legislation that is being considered for medical care expense reform.

Now we need it for dogs, cats, and horses. Vet bills are expensive, and often pets are members of our families too.

UPDATE: Indyvoter posted a link to a C-SPAN recorded testimony about medical debt.

That makes sense to me. I couldn't figure out why the news would ignore this important hearing in the story. I guess they got short on time.

Here's a link too to the written statement.

Great smackdown by Senator Franken about stupid data samples concerning cancer rates around the world--and the lack of correlation to medical debt.

Elizabeth also does a polite smackdown of Sen. Jeff Session's comments about foreclosures and different states' provisions on chapter 7. He didn't appear to understand what he voted for in 2005. I noticed he sought her out after the hearing.

Support Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's bill, Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2009. Senator Russ Feingold has requested to be a co-sponsor. It is S. 1624. Let's reform health care, not just health insurance.

JRE supporters may recall JRE was against the Bankruptcy bill in 2005, and here's why (from TPM Cafe).

Update on Elmora

She was spry today, despite her two teeth being extracted. If anything, she was hyperactive, which is why I had to keep a close eye on her.

She's still in a bit of pain, and the pain med is working. While she despises getting treatments, she is doing pretty well. She's hungry, which is good. I am feeding her Fancy Feast, and giving her an antibiotic in her meals twice a day.

Her kidneys are on the decline, however, and it turns out dental problems are connected with kidneys in pooties.

She's my girl, and has been my friend for 15 years. She's moved with me over 8 times.

The expense of the vet was not cheap for a geriatric profile, teeth cleaning, extraction, and meds--they were to the tune of $530. I worry I may not be able to do as much for her due to payroll checks with no increases for the immediate future, and a spouse who may have to take a job out of state to keep his career going.

But I tell my spouse and myself:

Pets never ask for toys, cars, electronic devices, nor clothes
Pets never ask to go on a vacation, nor for extraordinary experiences that take time and money
Pets do not eat the most expensive foods nor ask to go to restaurants
Pets do not need to go to college or school
Pets do not need to eat out of the best dishes, nor do they demand you clean up after them

Thus, while their vet bills are expensive, they are worth to do what's right for their health. The presiding Vet called my home to see how things were going with Elmora and Syd. Great customer relationship management practice, and I mean it.

Show Some Love for Your Pets

Today's NYT article, "Kicking the Habit for Your Pet" grabbed my attention as it had to do with smokers and their pets. I am not a smoker although when I was much younger, I did smoke. My parents smoked a lot when I was a kid. And makes me wonder if our family pets would have lived longer if my parents hadn't smoked. Look at the stats presented in the article.

Studies show that smoking poses a significant health threat to dogs, cats and birds who inhale secondhand smoke. A study at Tufts College of Veterinary Medicine found a higher rate of mouth cancer in cats who live with smokers. Cats are particularly vulnerable because carcinogenic compounds in smoke settle on their fur, which then are ingested by the cat when it grooms. A smoker’s cat is also twice as likely to develop malignant lymphoma than a cat that lives with non-smokers.

Dogs who live with smokers are more likely to develop cancers in the nose and sinuses, according to a study at Colorado State University. Long-nosed dog breeds were at highest risk. Dogs with short or medium-length noses showed higher rates of lung cancer.

To any of my friends who still smoke, if you won't quit smoking for your children's health or yourself, please consider it for the sake of your pooties and woozles. Pets ask so little of us for the enjoyment they bring to our lives.

Speaking of, I am awaiting word on Elmora's oral surgery today. She is having two teeth extracted. I'm hoping she will feel much better as I noticed her step hasn't been quite as spry in the past couple of months.

President-Elect Obama: the American Mutt

Yesterday, our president-elect held his first press conference. Lots of questions about the economy and what kind of steps Obama might take. He actually answered the questions more about approaches he is considering. Funny how I used to get annoyed by those kinds of answers during the primaries, but now I find them refreshing.

What is more refreshing is how Obama is so comfortable in his own skin in discussing matters of race. When asked about what kind of puppy the Obama family wants, he answered it smiling with an off-the-cuff comment:

Obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me. So whether we're going to be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household.

No wonder the Humane Society endorsed Obama this year--the first time it had ever endorsed a candidate for the presidence. He had been a leader in legislation to strengthen animal shelters and strengthen penalties to those who are cruel to animals. The above picture has him holding a dog who was rescued and has only three legs.

I think Obama is going to make a lot of us more comfortable in talking about our" mutts" --human or animal. Put a little love in your hearts, as the song goes. Here's a version by Mary Mary.

Saying Adieu to Our Mattie

Mattie was one of our two Aussie Shepherds. She was a kind dog, and she was a speed demon at running in her younger years.

About 4 months ago, we noticed that Mattie was not herself. She wasn't as energetic nor as happy to see us. We also noticed that she was having bladder trouble.

In past month, we noticed that she could not walk very well, and was falling down frequently. She had scraped her nose. She had an infection, and it was discovered she had not only liver problems, she had hip dysplasia, a common disease amongst older dogs.

This week, we observed that Mattie wouldn't sleep in her crate, and when she did, she soiled the bedding. She couldn't turn around to her comfort in the crate, so she slept outside of it, and she was incontinent. We made an appointment for Friday morning. But this morning, I noticed she couldn't climb the steps of our patio deck; she would fall down, and she had too much trouble getting up. She also wouldn't eat.

So, we got an appointment with our vet this afternoon to confirm our thoughts of timing. Our vet was amazing. She hugged me and said that Mr. Benny and I were doing the loving thing by our Mattie as Mattie was ready to go. Our instincts were right. We said good bye to our Mattie at 5:05 this afternoon, and by 5:07, she was permanently asleep. We sat on a blanket with her and petted her while she went to sleep. It was the first time I had seen a pet be put down, and it was done with dignity, without pain.

I thank Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend for preparing me for the experience as she and her spouse had to put their dog down 3 weeks ago today. We chatted about it via IM in a social network, and she explained how the euthanization process is conducted. It was exactly the way it happened to our pet.

The picture shown here was taken a couple of weeks before Mattie's 12th birthday in May. She was a lovely dog. As we don't have human children, our pets are like kids to us.

Mattie's survivor family members are her sister, Sydney, who was from the same litter, two cats, Elmora and Benson, and of course, her humans.

Sometimes I wonder why humans aren't allowed to make similar decisions except life support devices, but that's another story.

Saturday I'm off to see my ma in Texas. I think it will be good therapy for her and me.

TIA for your moral support BW readers during our time of grief.

Update: Right now, Mr. Benny and I are listening to Dvorak's 9th Symphony, The New World, and the 2nd movement, "Going Home". Seems fitting for our Mattie.