Category: Uncategorized

Recovery

Happy and not even missing that hind leg!

Margo is back home and recovering well. The amputation went well and there are only minimal issues. She’s draining a little more than normal (according to the vet). I’ve had to express the wound multiple times a day with probably 50-75 mL of drainage yesterday and at most 20 mL today. Unfortunately, I’m very sensitive to the smell of blood and about wanted to throw up a few times. (That’s why I could never become a vet! Ha!)

I am amazed at her attitude right now. She’s happy. She’s smiling and hopping around and even sitting! Every question I had about going forward with the operation is gone. It was the right option. No matter what happens in the future, I know we relieved the excruciating pain the tumor was causing her.

Future details and wound pictures below cut.

Continue reading “Recovery”

The Start

Today is the start of a new journey.

Margo several months after adoption, still in Ohio

It’s been eight days since Margo was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma and I’m finally not crying every time I think about it. But I am tearing up today. It’s amputation day. I’m tearing not because she’s losing her leg but because it is the beginning of a new reality. The leg had been nonfunctional for three weeks now and she and I will both be glad once it’s no longer in her way. But today is the day it has become real. My dog has cancer and not just any cancer but a very aggressive one. I suppose you can say she’s lucky. There’s no visible metastasis in her lungs yet. Yet. It’s a good sign but it is inevitable.

When I was told the news, first you think of the options. Being a devout Catholic, I believe all living creatures have a natural end and it killed me to think that I may have to cut it short. So, for me, quality of life was the single most important consideration. As a scientist, I take a lot of stock in statistics and they aren’t the best. I could either go straight into palliative care and spend time with her for maybe two more months while drugging her to not feel the pain. (She was far too happy and energetic to go that route.) Second option was to amputate her leg and then enter palliative care. It would relieve the pain and allow nature to take its course while being monitored. Third option was to amputate and start chemo. While this could give me up to a year or slightly more with her, it would involve 4-6 hr drives to see an oncologist for chemotherapy. It was the hardest decision I’ve made so far in my life, but I decided on amputation with palliative care.

It’s difficult to know every time you look at your dog that she will die sometime soon. But I can’t take the cancer away and have had to accept it. So in her best interest, amputation will take the severe pain away and allow her to get back to normal life for as long as possible. Of course we’re not giving up. She’s starting a holistic diet that has anti-cancer properties and a regimen of supplements for the same purpose. She will take as many trips as possible to visit the pet store (her favorite store), the dog park, and hopefully the beach.

I don’t know if anyone can ever be ready to see their dog leave them with four legs and come back with only three. Not because she has one less leg but for what it means.

Hello Tripawds!

Add an excerpt to your posts to provide a summary for readers in many blog themes!

Read this for important information!

Welcome to Tripawds. Please read on for important tips. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging. Don’t miss our helpful WordPress tutorial videos if you need help getting started with your new Tripawds blog.

PLEASE NOTE:

Tripawds Blogs shall NOT be used for commercial OR fundraising purposes.

The free Tripawds Blogs platform shall not be used by an commercial entity. Any blog created by a veterinary clinic, product manufacturer or any other commercial endeavor will be deleted and all users removed without warning. Please contact Tripawds regarding guest article submission opportunities.

Direct appeals for financial assistance to help cover care expenses will be deleted without notice. Everypawdy in the Tripawds community faces their own share of high expenses related to surgery, recovery and care. Veterinary financial aid resources can be found in the Tripawds News blog. Please see the Tripawds Fundraising Appeals Policy for more information. Thank you for your understanding.

Do not reply to this post!

Please publish a new post (or edit this one) to share your story. The Tripawds community is only notified of new blog posts in the Recent Posts widgets found throughout the News blog and discussion forum pages. Members will not be notified of any comments made on this default first post. You can also choose to edit or delete your sample page.

Publish a blog post or your site may be deleted!

Please be sure to publish at least one blog post to let us know you that you may use your blog. NOTE: Failure to do so may result in your site being deleted. If you upload photos to your Media Library, but fail to publish a post, we’ll never know they are there and they may be gone forever!

Another way to ensure your site does not get deleted, is to upgrade it with a Tripawds Supporter subscription.

By default your site will be indexed so Tripawds members will be notified of your update in the Recent Posts lists throughout this community. If you change your Privacy settings to discourage search engines, your posts will not be indexed! 

To limit the amount of spam you receive, any first comment a reader makes on your blog will require moderation. Be sure to “Spam” any inappropriate comments, and approve those from your readers so their future comments appear immediately. You can change your comment options from the Settings -> Discussion tab in your dashboard.

Thank you for sharing your story, and happy blogging!