February 10 update

He has been doing well the last couple nights, since administration of the first two chemotherapy drugs.  Last night I suspect his stomach was upset because when I got home from work and let him outside, he kept eating grass.  Shortly after this, I took him back inside and made his dinner- dry dog food mixed with boiled chicken and rice.  Along with dinner, he gets a half Pepcid and a Prednisone.

I didn’t notice any side effects after that.  His energy was ok, no fever, vomiting or diarrhea.  He does have room-clearing gas, which is a likely side effect from the chicken & rice we’ve been adding to his regular meals.

I wanted to thank Jen-Jen for the wonderful articles she emailed me.  They were packed with information about doggie lymphoma, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes…One article discussed the usage of doxorubicin and multiple other drugs (the chemo approach we have chosen for Atticus).

As expected, it has also been found that those dogs experiencing
greater side effects tend to have a better overall
response to treatment.
Body area has traditionally been used to calculate
drug doses, resulting in smaller dogs being given a higher
dose than larger dogs and, as such, tending to have better
survival rates.

I haven’t stopped thinking about this since I read it.  No, Atticus is not having side effects, but the side effects MAY indicate something stronger going on inside him- possibly working harder to combat the tumors.  On the other hand, he is small and may be getting a higher dose unless they are basing it on his body area…

This is something we need to discuss with the vet, whether we could increase his doses of medicines just a bit, but monitor him closely to ensure side effects are not inhibitive.  Some side effects are tolerable if it helps him in the long run.

But we are just looking for remission, not a cure; and I don’t want him to suffer.  Need to read some more…

Vincristine

Information found at http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/GuidetoCancerDrugs/Vincristine

How does this drug work?

Vincristine is a type of chemotherapy drug known as a vinca alkaloid. It is thought to work by interfering with cancer cell growth when they are dividing into 2 new cells. This eventually leads to cell death. Because cancer cells divide faster than normal cells, they are more likely than normal cells to be affected by this drug.

The following is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincristine

Mechanism

Tubulin is a structural protein that polymerizes to actin microtubules. The cell cytoskeleton and mitotic spindle, among other things, are made of microtubules. Vincristine binds to tubulin dimers, inhibiting assembly of microtubule structures. Disruption of the microtubules arrests mitosis in metaphase. Therefore, the vinca alkaloids affect all rapidly dividing cell types including cancer cells, but also those of intestinal epithelium and bone marrow.

Side-effects

The main side-effects of vincristine are peripheral neuropathy, hyponatremia, constipation, and hair loss.

Peripheral neuropathy can be severe, and hence a reason to avoid, reduce, or stop the use of vincristine. One of the first symptoms of peripheral neuropathy is foot drop: A person with a family history of foot drop and/or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) may benefit from genetic testing for CMT before taking vincristine.^[1]

Elspar drug info

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asparaginase:

A different asparaginase is marketed as a drug under the brand name Elspar for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)^[2] and is also used in some mast cell tumor protocols. ^[3] Unlike other chemotherapy agents, it can be given as an intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intravenous injection without fear of tissue irritation.

Mechanism of action as a drug

The rationale behind asparaginase is that it takes advantage of the fact that ALL leukemic cells are unable to synthesize the non-essential amino acid asparagine, whereas normal cells are able to make their own asparagine; thus leukemic cells require high amount of asparagine. These leukemic cells depend on circulating asparagine. Asparaginase, however, catalyzes the conversion of L-asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia. This deprives the leukemic cell of circulating asparagine.

Side effects in drug use

The main side effect is an allergic or hypersensitivity reaction; anaphylaxis is a possibility.^[2] Asparaginase has also been associated with pancreatitis. Additionally, it can also be associated with a coagulopathy as it decreases protein synthesis, including synthesis of coagulation factors (eg progressive isolated decrease of fibrinogen) and anticoagulant factor (generally antithrombin III; sometimes protein C & S as well), leading to bleeding or thrombotic events such as stroke.

I love reading this kind of stuff and figuring it out.  Understanding exactly what all these drugs are doing, how the cancer works, etc. makes me feel like I have a better chance fighting it.  Plus, isn’t it fascinating to think of how someone comes up with a drug that does this?  Who would even think of it??  Amazing minds…Thank you!!!

Day after notes

Atticus did well all night.  He had plenty of energy, was very snuggly, without fever or chills, ravenous appetite… BUT…I am trying to remember that not every drug he is given will go down as easily as the injection of vincristine did yesterday.

I am glad to have something to be optimistic about because a few days ago I was struggling to find a single happy thought in what seemed to me to be a bottomless pit of despair.  Krisann dropped him off this morning at the vet to receive “Elspar” (l-asparaginase) which he was supposed to get yesterday but they were out of.  She will pick him up after her shift at the coffee shop.  I will miss his renewed excitement when I come home from work but I think it’s a good time because the elspar can cause allergic reactions.  Since he will be at the vet all day, they will keep an eye on him until Krisann can pick him up tonight.

Giggles:

1. Turns out he is a total chemo-flirt!

2.And, we’ll have to start taking his temperature.  Not funny, you say?  We’re going to have to do it rectally!  I have a regular digital thermometer which can be used rectally.  And yes! I do have the little thermometer covers (condoms?) to prevent germs (or poops in this case) from transferring mouth to butt, LOL!

Teardrops:

1.  I was thinking about a wedding we have coming up in August and hoping that he will be here (even though we’ll have to send him to Mom’s for the trip.)

We have worked on a tentative budget and it is tough right now and will continue to be until these first two intense months are over.  The following months are going to be spaced out more and will be easier to handle.  I am so happy that we are able to do this for him- I realize that this is a luxury and not everyone with a pet who suffers from lymphoma is able to give them this opportunity, or sees fit to do so…I’m glad to have him around, doing so well.

First chemo appt.

Poodle took him.  She will be the one who takes him to most of the appointments since she has a little more flexibility than I do with the job.  Everything below is according to Poodle, typed by Jessica.  We are also using this as a kind of diary and reference, so please be advised we will be mentioning puke, poop, pee, etc. where necessary.

He did so well in the car ride there, but was nervous in the waiting room…there were a lot of dogs around.  Dr. Wall talked to Poodle about what side effects to expect from the drugs he was receiving today and gave us two prescriptions.  The prednisone he’s been taking will be cut back, and he gets nausea meds for 4 days and if needed, has a diarrhea pill for future use.  Apparently, the expectation is that there may be a small amount of vomiting.  But any less than 2 ralphs is ok- more than two vomits call the vet.  They only gave him an injection of vincristine today as the second drug was not in yet.  He will get that one tomorrow. Poodle will be dropping him off tomorrow and whichever one of us gets off first will pick him up from the emergency vet side of the building.

After the Dr. talked to her, they took Atticus into the back to give him his injections.

Poodle said Atticus had a ‘pep in his step’ when the vet tech brought him from the back…she said he was lifting his paws up high and prancing the whole way out across the waiting area for all to see!  All the nurses turned to admire him, they love him; the flirt.  He now sports a purple bandage on his leg.

Poodle says he has been napping since then on the couch with a blanket.  Dreaming of nurses I’m sure

Chemo starts tomorrow

We have decided on the aggressive chemo for Atticus.  His appointment is tomorrow morning.  I am nervous and trying to be optimistic.  Atticus had diarrhea with a little blood on Saturday night and I am hoping that won’t affect anything tomorrow.  He has been fine since and nothing unusual as far as his BMs since that night.

I am having a slightly hard time being optimistic right now because I’m worried about the decision we made…is this the best thing to do for him, what if he has side effects like nausea or fever?  I’m afraid I’ll get discouraged and want to quit…Then I think that I am all he has.  I have to do what is best for him and be positive and make the best decisions.

I have been doing so much reading, talking to the vet, talking it all over with Peter and Krisann and sooo much thinking.  Maybe too much thinking all day today about how he has been lately.

But today, Atticus is really doing well.  He ate leftover catfood after his own dinner, slept with Krisann under the covers with the heating blanket on and has a good amount of energy.  He has been feverish lately and refuses to be under any covers; hasn’t had enough of an appetite to eat much of anything so it is a super treat to see him act so normal.  He is flipping out trying to get treats and being very snuggly.

The Talk

So Krisann is off work and we are all sitting around discussing the options and what is best for Atticus.

Luckily, there is a veterinary oncologist locally who met with Krisann and I yesterday.  Peter was unable to make the appointment and is having a more difficult time understanding why we want to go with chemo when there are therapies he read about online that will “cure” him.  We have spent several hours discussing it and I am getting tired of arguing over this with him.  Here are the facts:

Canine lymphoma is curable in less than 2% of dogs.  Chemotherapy is viewed as the best treatment option for achieving remission.  Remission does not mean a cure- it simply means that the tumors are unable to be detected, returning the dog to a pre-cancer state of being.  The cancer will grow back and sometimes a dog can go into several remissions with chemo or combination therapies.

Chemotherapy in dogs is drastically different that what humans go through.  Because the chemo is used only to achieve remission (not a cure) much less of the drug is used, resulting in only 5-10% of dogs having side effects.  The side effects that those 5-10% go through are stomach upset, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.

Most dogs have a great quality of life and this is what we are hoping for with Atticus.  The best two options (as our vet sees it) are an aggressive chemo regimen and a less aggressive chemo regimen.  There was another even less aggressive chemotherapy regimen that they perform at the office as well as radiation but at this time, considering his stage and current health, these are not the best options.

I think we are strongly leaning towards the aggressive chemotherapy.  It would involve a weekly appointment for injections or infusions of a combination of the most popular drugs for two months.  The following four months would mean a visit to the office every other week for different combinations of the drugs.

To clarify, the vet tests his organ functions before giving the drugs each treatment to confirm exactly which drugs he can handle and which ones are doing the most. We discuss what his side effects have been and how he is doing in general.  They will alter the treatment when needed or stop if he is not responding.  We reevaluate constantly.

Peter really feels positive in the ability of radiation to cure Atticus so we have decided to go for the aggressive chemo and ask about adding radiation.  The radiation is something the vet told me is not the best option for him now but Peter wants to be more aggressive so we’ve agreed to talk to her about it again.

Ultimately, we all want him to live with the best quality of life for as long as possible.  Not a single one of us wants him to have to go through some drawn out, painful procedures, or suffer through months of nausea or diarrhea.  That isn’t worth it for him and I would feel like a piece of shit for making him live longer just for my pleasure.

He is only 7.5 years old.  No matter what we do his life is now limited by lymphoma and we will have to consider euthanasia at some point- sooner or later.  We are going for chemo because putting him down now is depriving him of good, quality life that we have the ability to provide.

Atticus’s Lymphoma

I adopted Atticus from Operation CARE in York SC sometime in April 2004.  He was born the previous August.  I had found him online at Petfinder.com and fell in love with his long legs and adorable face.  The lady told me that he was a sweet little guy who slept in their bed, under the covers with them.  As Mom and I drove the four hours back to her place in Charleston, Atticus grew nervous.  He squirmed and snuggled up to me in the passenger seat.  He shoves his head all the way into my right sleeve, his body wrapped around my chest and that is how we drove home.

He snuggled right into my heart that day and has stayed there ever since.

Being a new dog owner was hard for me initially.  I wasn’t certain what he needed or how to treat him all the time but I loved him and over time I learned.  He, thankfully, was smart enough to work with me and stay out of trouble on his own.  He always slept under the covers, sat on my lap, excitedly welcomed me home whenever I came in the door.

He has been with me through some of the best and worst times, always waiting impatiently to cuddle up and love me for scratching his head and being a warm place to stay.  When I was on and off again with an ex I spent countless hours crying onto him.  He mirrored my enthusiasm anytime I was promoted at work or succeeded in making it through another day.

Mornings were rough before he came along, but with him, I slowly woke up to a nuzzling, lovey ball of fur rolling in the covers, trying to get me to scratch his back.  He would finally follow me out of bed by dragging his body along the carpet, hind legs trailing behind.  I said, “draggin’” when he did it and eventually he started doing it on command.  “Draggin’”!  I’d yell and he immediately drops to the floor and starts dragging his legs around.  It still cracks me up.

When I went to Biloxi, MS after Hurricane Katrina for three months, he stayed with his Grandma in Charleston.  He has spent weeks at Dad’s in PA where he enjoyed his Grampy’s massages and Wendy’s pampering.  He used to enjoy napping on Grampa F’s comfortable lap, and warmed up next to Gram at night while watching tv.  But he has also snapped at, bitten, charged at and practically torn a few family members apart. Not his best quality but we love him nonetheless.

He was my second pet after living on my own.  We got Nico while in college and due to her unusual kittenhood, always had some social issues.  It took her a while to come around but eventually gave in and at least put up with him.  She went missing while Peter and I were on Christmas break in NY a couple years ago.  I believe she is currently living with a retired couple who travel to Myrtle Beach in an RV.

His other animal friends include his girlfriend, Channing.  Channing lives here in Charleston and the first time they met, she was a little puppy- half his size.  A few months later, when we went to visit Mom again, he discovered she had more than doubled in size and towered over him!  They ran and chased and tore the floors to shreds with their constant marathons.  They barked and growled and played for the entire visit.  His boss is in PA: Mickey.  Mickey may be older but she sure doesn’t put up with his crap!  She lets him think he has a chance to sit on Wendy’s coveted lap then kicks his tiny behind with a flick of her head leaving him dumbfounded.

Here at home, he now deals with four cats.  Only Pablo plays with him.  None of the others really give a care what he does.

He has always been in great health.  Until Christmas 2010.  We noticed a hacking, sometimes wheezing cough and after researching online, attributed it to kennel cough.  His energy, appetite, and mood were completely normal.  A few weeks later, when the cough wasn’t getting better, we took him to the vet who seemed, according to Peter, baffled by the symptoms and test results.  By this time, his appetite dropped off significantly, followed by his weight.  We were referred to a specialist in a neighboring town and set an appointment there as soon as we were able.

She noted his recently enlarged lymph nodes and some light colored masses in his chest and abdomen on the x-rays.  Fluid samples are collected and sent to the lab for confirmation.  She suspects lymphoma.  To ease his breathing difficulty and generally help him out, she prescribes Prednisone and Pepcid.

After I get off work, Krisann sits me down on the couch to tell me the grim diagnosis.  I completely lost it that night.  Both of us cry uncontrollably and try to make sense of what is going on with him.  Peter cooks and gives hugs; quiet and comforting.

Since then, the steroid has drastically reduced his symptoms.  Prednisone induces complete remission but it lasts only up to two months so we need to decide if we want to pursue other options.

The specialist has referred us to a local oncologist.  She is great and is so informative and understanding of our situation.  There are a few options, including several types of chemotherapy, radiation, prednisone and no treatment at all.  There is a large range in price, survival times, side effects, quality of life.  This is what we are dealing with this weekend.  We three, Peter, Krisann and myself, have tasked ourselves with making a decision on what the best course of action is to maintain his quality of life.

Resolution time!!!

Whew!  I love this time of year.  I get to believe that I will truly be able to change something about myself that I hate.

Prior years I have resolved:

do yoga daily, workout until my butt looks like Jessica Simpson’s from Dukes of Hazzard movie, hand write cards and letters, watch less tv, eat better, take a vitamin every day, quit spending money on crap and put it towards my bills, clean the litterbox every day, work harder, stop working at home all the time, establish a healthier/more normal sleep schedule, water my plants more frequently, stick to using a Planner, accomplish more, meet someone, quit smoking, quit drinking, floss more, get a better job, make money from home, paint again

Some are vague (accomplish more??), some are stupid (quit drinking), and most of them I have failed at completing.

So at work, the office manager tells me that tomorrow is the big New Year’s Resolution meeting where the owner lays out all his grand ideas for the coming year.  She assured me that many of these ideas will be scary but that almost none of it is actually followed though on.  So I’m excited to hear this craziness and watch too see how it all unfolds.

In other meetings, there have been some interesting ideas introduced; some of us adopt the new proposals, other people seem to forget completely that they ever proposed anything new in the first place.

Personally: I don’t know what to resolve to do differently this year.  Any suggestions?

12/29/10 @ 3pm:

I no longer know how to do long division, (stupid south carolina rubbing off on me) so I should have P-Rock teach me elementary math.  That can be a resolution.

Also, I bought some of the most beautiful poinsettia plants ever and I want to keep them alive throughout the year so they bloom again next year.  It is a huge struggle though because our house is completely devoid of moisture and they prefer a greenhouse type environment with continuous feed water spikes and humid atmosphere.  I moved them all into the bathroom and spray them daily and will my love to them when I have to be away.

K-Poodle, J-Dizzle, P-Rock

Thanks to Nikki for the new Nikki-names!

The lack of press here is due to my lack of a laptop until Peter finally fixed it himself!  YEAH for Peter!!!  Yeah for Beer!

So much has been going on down here, its been a magical time.  Absolutely magical girls and boys!!!

I have been working at a wonderful office, I love my coworkers and it’s challenging and fun and not completely, debilitatingly [sic- is this even a word? Oh you know what I mean] overwhelming.  Damn, it’s even pretty close to home.  I discovered Tiger Balm and fell in love.  One of the animals knocked over a glass of hangover water I had on my nightstand last night and soaked my beloved G1 (awesome t-mobile Android phone); I awoke at 3:30am to it’s vibrating cry for Mommy! Mommy!  I disassembled it and wrapped it in a warm, dry cloth the rest of the night and after informing Krisann this morning, she reminded me that Wally(!) said to put wet phones in rice which draws out the water.  So I submerged it in a large glass bowl of pleasantly fragrant Jasmine Rice (the last of a 25 lb sack we bought years ago at the Supermercado in VA Beach) where it will rest until Monday when I return from work to reassemble it and try to resurrect it a third time.  You see, I have dropped it in a clean toilet twice in the past and managed to save it both times so I am getting pretty good at this. I also went to the driving range with Peter and turns out I drive straight as an arrow but can’t putt in any direction whatsoever.

Charleston was voted most Friendliest City in the US, just heard on SNL’s Weekend Update.  People are pretty friendly here, I have to agree.  But they aren’t as friendly as they are in PA- where else can you go shopping and other shoppers are happy to help you out when you can’t find what you’re looking for and there aren’t any clerks around?

Krisann gets her marshmallow toasted daily at her work though they love her, most of the time, except when they don’t.  I think she is happy there, and here in general.  She bought Miss Lolly, her new (used) Toyota Yaris after the Neon overheated one too many times in the sweltering summer heat.  Miss Lolly is a pleasant, friendly little addition to our little family.  She is always smiling, which gets a little creepy occasionally.

Peter is finished teaching his first class and will begin another in a few weeks.  He likes teaching a lot, but apparently his students are not making any impression on him, he has no favorites, no least favorites, nobody funny or memorable to speak of.  He does work some great hours and (he may disagree) gets to wear great uniforms.  He has taken up golfing and I won’t say anything about his skills until I get his permission.  We agreed he could buy a junky old 1980′s Kawasaki motorcycle to fix up.  He hasn’t sold his old bike like we agreed on but I still love him.  So he has been hanging out in the garage working on that thing- it’ll be something…eventually.  We went to Blackbeard’s funpark a few weekends ago and he kicked my ass on the go-karts, I got stuck behind some little girl I just wanted to run her over but her parents were watching so I just followed her for [what felt like] the remaining 8,000 laps.

Atticus had it pretty crappy there for a while because all 4 cats completely ignored him except when they would punch him in the face when he stole their food or ate out of their candy store [litterbox].  But in the last week or so Pablo agreed to a playdate and now they chase one another when I’m in the ladies room or when they suspect we are paying attention but they pretend like they don’t know we’re paying attention.

The cats are all doing pretty okay, they are shedding summer hair like a gaggle of nutjobs in an asylum.  Pablo discovered the patio and makes it his mission to slip out the back door any time you least expect it.  Simon chatters occasionally, but not as often as he did in VB.  He finds comfort in the sun on the back of a chair.  Fitzgerald was an adorable baby this morning laying on his back with his legs folded up like an opossum.  Emerson spend a month in Krisann’s room so he had a chance to eat all his food before someone stole it from under his little face.  He put on a few ounces and is back out with the main herd where Pablo attacks him relentlessly.  But he finds solace in a warm lap and is managing to hold his own, most of the time.

12 weeks ago Krisann took a beginner’s Hula Hoop class and I gave her so much crap about training for the circus, promising to sell her to the next carney who stopped by, offering to book her gigs as a birthday party clown sideshow…then Mom and I became interested in some of the tricks she learned and she finally convinced us to go to a drop-in class.  Of course, we got hooked and signed up for the next beginner class.  Now, Mom and I have graduated and we, all three of us, are taking the intermediate level hooping class beginning next Tuesday! wooHOOP!  It’s so fun, and it’s a surprisingly strenuous workout.  Plus it’s great insurance in these tough economic times: Lose our jobs? Form a Hoop Troop and tour the country!  Tomorrow, we are going to gaily video tape ourselves hooping so we can compare at the end of the intermediate class.  We’re awesome, and Aunt Debbie’s jealous she can’t take the hooping class with us, I know.

As you may have read partially on Facebook, we had a brush[fire] with death the other night.  K-Poo was working late and P-Rock made me some dinner and put a few logs in the fireplace.  It’s still plenty warm down here but with our blood having  just settled into the hot temperatures for the summer we are unsettled by the slight temperature change due to our new sensitivities.  So the fire never seems to stay lit here, for whatever reason.  Like a dumbass, I wasn’t watching P-Rock and thinking ahead.  He disappears outside where I assume he is collecting pine straw and smoking a cigarette.  I am facing away from the fireplace, eating dinner, when he comes back inside after a few minutes.  The next thing I know I hear this giant exploding WHOOOOSHSHHSHHSS and as my head whips around I see A GINORMOUS FIREBALL COMING OUT OF THE FIREPLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREAKIN LIVING ROOM.  I SURVEYED THE THINGS THAT WERE ON FIRE IN THIS ROOM AND FOUND THAT THE FOLLOWING THINGS WERE ON FIRE: THE SLATE FIREPLACE SURROUND, THE PAINTED WOOD MANTEL, THE HARDWOOD FLOOR, SOME BLOBS OF SOMETHING I COULDN’T IDENTIFY AND MY HUSBAND PETER.  INSTANTLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY I FREAKED OUT AND THOUGHT THAT I SHOULDNT AUTOMATICALLY THROW MY WATER ON HIM BECAUSE NO UN-FIDDLED WITH FIRE WOULD EXPLODE INTO MY LIVING ROOM WITH A FIREBALL.  IT WAS LIKE SLOW MOTION, PETER COULD NOT PUT HIMSELF OUT SO HE TOOK OFF OUTSIDE TO STRIP AND ROLL AROUND IN THE GRASS AND I RAN OUT AFTER HIM TO SEE THAT HE WAS OK AND ASK WHAT HE HAD PUT ON THE FIRE SO I COULD FIND SOMETHING TO PUT HIM OUT.  ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS CRY BECAUSE HE WAS ON FIRE BUT I DIDN’T AT ALL, AFTER HE YELLED IT WAS GAS-O-LINE (oh yeah, gasoline) AND SAID HE WAS UNDER CONTROL, I RAN BACK INSIDE TO FIND SOMETHING TO PUT THE FIRE OUT.  I FEEL LIKE I RAN IN CIRCLES FOR AN HOUR TRYING TO FIND A POWDER TO THROW AT IT ALL BECAUSE ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS PETER.  I FOUND THE FLOUR AND TOSSED IT AND EVERYTHING WENT RIGHT OUT.

As I continued to toss flour over anything and everything in the living room, I tried to stop shaking and calm the hell down, Peter comes back in holding his burned up jeans and asks for the burn cream.  AMAZINGLY, PETER WAS PRETTY MUCH OKAY, his finger was burned a bit and a good chunk of his leg hair was singed off but nothing major happened to him!!!  Immediately after getting the burn cream he goes and tries to vacuum up the damn flour and I’m thinking sit the hell down and let me have a look at you already.  He kept trying to clean up until I finally got angry and made him put the vacuum down.  We talked about what happened…

As it turns out, while I wasn’t looking, Peter grabbed a blue plastic cup (think frat party beer cup), went outside into the garage, filled the cup with gasoline, came back inside and tossed it into the fireplace.  This is where the exploding fireball happens.  The cup instantly melted and dropped into two puddles on the slate, the liquid gasoline that flew out into the air, burned off and miraculously did not burn long enough to actually catch the wood floors or mantel.  It literally burned right off, leaving no sign that anything had happened.  The plastic blobs were able to be scraped off the slate so our rented home is no worse off.  Our house was choked with smoke for a while afterward.  We opened up windows and turned on fans but it took a long time to clear out, plus the smell of the gasoline stuck around all night.

Never, NEVER! did I think I would be calm during an emergency like that but somehow I managed to think clearly enough to do the right thing.  Thank google Peter took off outside and managed to tell me what he used to accelerate the fire so quickly (while he was on fire) so I could put it out and not make it even more horrific.  He was so calm the whole time and I guess I was too even though I really wanted to scream bloody murder and fall to the floor and panic.

I am scared to even try to use the fireplace again, what if there is still gasoline that didn’t totally burn off in there and we have to do that again?  What if the log that is still sitting in there has some residue on it?  I don’t know.

I am SO THANKFUL THAT NOTHING SERIOUSLY BAD HAPPENED.  I wasn’t okay with joking about this for a while because I was still so horrified by seeing Peter on fire.  Now that he is totally fine and all is well, I can laugh about the situation.  And what a maniac!!  What the hell he was thinking, I doubt anyone will ever know.  The man is a genius, but he has zero common sense.

I love him anyway!

And that, little children, is what you have missed.  Aah, isn’t life full of surprising, magical and exciting things!