{"id":10115,"date":"2023-05-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=10115"},"modified":"2023-06-28T21:05:21","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T01:05:21","slug":"athena-observation-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/athena-observation-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Athena: On To Observation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This post is a continuation of my series on her treatment and integration into the household. If you haven’t already, I suggest reading my previous posts on her. You can find them on her tag page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the previous posts, this one is in a journal-esque format. I’m covering major\/important events and updates, rather than what happens each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

There are a few medical terms in this post. I tried to link to easy to understand information, where possible. When I had to use medical terms for which I couldn’t find an easy plain language equivalent, I provided explanations through [def]<\/em> (definition) links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week 15<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

April 2 (Day 100)<\/strong>: We ran out of pills for Athena. Because her next appointment is on the 4th, and we still have plenty of injectable medication, we haven’t ordered more pills. If we get bad news from the vet visit, we’ll order more. We’re also letting Athena stay out all night, as she’s been doing so well during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 3 (Day 101)<\/strong>: Athena did well overnight. There are no signs of fights between the kitties. I tried bringing her upstairs to show her that there is a heating mat available there, but she DID NOT like that, objecting most strenuously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 4 (Day 102)<\/strong>: Athena had her week 15 vet visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her weight is holding steady. She’s been at 8.4 lbs for a few weeks now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per usual, Athena had blood drawn to run a standard complete blood panel<\/a> (CBC) and chemistry panel<\/a> (CHEM). But unlike normal, our vet gave Athena a lovely cuddle which she happily enjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Item<\/th>Amount<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Carry over from previous post<\/em><\/td>$16,209.15<\/td><\/tr>
Office call: recheck<\/td>$73<\/td><\/tr>
Lab work<\/td>$286<\/td><\/tr>
Schirmer Tear Test<\/td>$45.50<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody>
Visit Total<\/strong><\/td>$404.50<\/td><\/tr>
Running Total<\/strong><\/td>$16,613.65<\/td><\/tr><\/tfoot><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

April 5 (Observation Day 1)<\/strong>: Once again, our vet called right at 8:00 am. She had the best news. While Athena’s blood work wasn’t perfect, the FIP-related values were practically normal! Athena’s ALT values are still low, but within 3 units of normal. And we’re hoping that they’ll improve as her teeth continue healing and she eats better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We shared her blood work results with our caseworkers, and they agreed that she gets to graduate to the observation phase of treatment and recovery. This means 84 days (another 12 weeks) of close monitoring of symptoms and blood work every 4 weeks. But, no more shots!<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Athena<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Test<\/th>Results<\/th>Week 11 Results<\/th>Week 8 Results<\/strong><\/th>Week 4 Results<\/th>Ref. range<\/strong><\/th>Unit<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Hematocrit<\/a><\/td>45.3<\/td>43.9<\/td>34.9<\/td>38<\/td>28.2 – 52.7<\/td>percent<\/td><\/tr>
Neutrophils<\/td>3.295<\/td>3.618<\/td>2.244<\/td>—<\/td>2.62 – 15.17<\/td>thousands per cubic milliliter<\/td><\/tr>
Bilirubin<\/td>0.1<\/td>0.1<\/td>0.1<\/td>0.1<\/td>0.0 – 0.3<\/td>milligrams per deciliter (mg\/dL)<\/td><\/tr>
Total Protein<\/td>8.2<\/td>8.9<\/strong><\/td>9.0<\/strong><\/td>8.9<\/strong><\/td>6.3 – 8.8<\/td>grams per deciliter (g\/dL)<\/td><\/tr>
Albumin<\/td>2.8<\/td>3.3<\/td>2.4<\/strong><\/td>2.9<\/td>2.6 – 3.9<\/td>g\/dL<\/td><\/tr>
Globulins<\/td>5.4<\/td>5.6<\/td>6.6<\/strong><\/td>6.0<\/strong><\/td>3.0 – 5.9<\/td>g\/dL<\/td><\/tr>
A\/G ratio<\/td>0.5<\/td>0.6<\/td>0.4<\/strong><\/td>0.5<\/td>0.5 – 1.2<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
ALT<\/td>24<\/strong><\/td>25<\/strong><\/td>26<\/td>28<\/td>27 – 158<\/td>international units per liter<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
The IDEXX test our local vet runs has different reference values than the test SouthPaws uses (week 4 results). I’ve included the IDEXX ranges on this chart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her hemoglobin is up to 13.5 g\/dL, right in the middle of the normal range (10.3-16.2 g\/dL), so she’s no longer anemic. Some other values we’ve been monitoring are improved or still borderline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n