I've been rather neglectful of my blog lately, but with good reason. Read on...

September 6 - 7
While most Americans were enjoying Labor Day with backyard BBQs or long-weekend road trips, I (along with MDA employees across the country) was working my tail off at the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. No, I have not met Jerry Lewis.



September 11
Paul and I took the day of off work to go camping at Rose Canyon Lake on Mt. Lemmon. Paul opted to bike up the mountain and, upon arriving at the campground, was surprised to discover that there was no shower. It's camping...I assumed he knew.







September 12
After a long night of intermittent sleep (apparently, 2-man tents are not made for 2 adults and 3 dogs), Mileo collapsed and was unresponsive. We threw everyone into the car for a tense drive down the mountain to the emergency vet.

September 13 - 15
Blood tests ($), x-rays ($$), ultra sounds ($$$) and, finally, surgery ($$$$) to remove Mielo's spleen along with the large, nasty-looking mass inside it. All signs point to hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer. Mielo has 6 months to live - at best. Paul and I are devastated. The tears flow. Mielo gets spoiled rotten - chicken and rice for dinner, no more teeth brushing (for him, not us), our mattress gets moved to the floor to make it easier for him to sleep with us.



September 17
Everything changes in an instant. The vet calls with the amazing news that the mass is just a hematoma. Mielo is cancer-free! There is much celebrating at the Vyriotes house. We begin brushing Mielo's teeth again and easing him back onto the kibble diet. I'm sure he's confused by this sudden fall from rock star status.

September 18 - 19
I spend the entire weekend swimming, biking and running with a kick-ass group of women at the annual Tucson Tri Girls Tri Camp. There was also a boot camp session, flip turn clinic (still working on that), foam roller class, pilates, a mini tri and all of the bagels and XOOD you could handle. It was a fun, educational, motivating and exhausting weekend.