March 20, 2012

I am picking up Arri at 12:00.  Missed him a lot last night.  Didn’t sleep well without him in bed with me. 

Arri was very drugged when I picked him up.  They had given him a pain injection and it must have been strong.  He didn’t seem to notice that I was there.  I had 8 week old Oregon with me.  He sat nice and calm but then had to say hi to his buddy.  Arri didn’t snap or growl – yep, the drugs were strong. 

His whole leg, from knee down was wrapped in bandages.  Even his foot.  Because the irradiated skin takes longer to heal, the wound needs to be kept covered for 5 – 7 days.  They even gave me a saline bag, cut at the top and threaded with gauze to slip over the foot if the ground is wet.  The bandage has to stay dry.  I was warned that he would have to pee a lot over the next 24 hours.  They had him on IV fluids right up to an hour before I arrived.  They did not have any results from the biopsy yet.  They will call.  He is on pain medication and we are to have the bandage removed by them or my own vet.  I think I will skip that lovely drive this time and call Dr. Mike.

As we walked out to the car, I decided to toilet Arri one more time.  That was when I realized he looked like a white water buffalo.  He was SOOOO bloated from the IV.  Could it be that they were trying to distract him from the pain in his leg so they made him feel like a beached whale?   It looks like we will be stopping at all the rest stops on the way home.

The drive home was stressful.  Arri was in distress of some unknown kind most of the ride home.  His breathing was very labored.  He was whining and wheezing a lot.  I hated hearing it but then when he would relax a little, I would be nervous that he stopped breathing altogether.  The wheezing is from intubation.  His throat is raw.  Thankfully, Oregon understood that now was not the time to bark his head off while in his kennel in the car. 

The rest of the evening was uneventful.  As much as it must have pained him, I did have to smile when he tried to bark when Tim came home from work.  He was still so hoarse, his bark was pitiful.

As far as what happens next?  Don’t have a clue.  The bandage comes off on Monday.  He has dissolvable sutures in so pending no infection; we do not need to go back to the oncologist for a few months unless the biopsy results show a need to.

March 19, 2012

Yesterday, I was taking a photo of Arri’s leg, prior to surgery.I didn’t do that with the first growth we found.It gives me a real size to refer to.Over time, my memory will make it the size of a football.Anyway, I was touching his leg.I know, I’m not supposed to do that because I keep finding stuff.And yes, I found stuff.For lack of better knowledge, I will call the location a tendon running down the front of his shin.I felt two nodules; small, probably the size of a grain of rice but felt like boulders.About ½ inch away, I found a third. The third one could have been scar tissue as it was under a previous surgery area.Note to self, tell the doctor about them before surgery.

Dr. Walshaw called to let me know about the surgery.  All went well.  The lumps I pointed out do appear to be cancer.  They did not remove them.  They did take out the main mass and sent it for biopsy.  I’m not happy that the cancer is back already.  I really didn’t expect that.  We have only been done with radiation for 6 weeks.  I have no idea what happens next.  I have the feeling I will have to make a decision tomorrow.  If you don’t decide during the current appointment, you have to make another appointment to tell them – so they can recheck him and charge you an office fee.  Sorry, very cynical about the fees they charge.  A lot of money for very little progress.  They delayed the cancer growth by 10 weeks – maybe. The main mass was there from the start.

At what point do you stop treatment?  Another round of radiation?  Not too keen on that as it didn’t work last time.  Chemo – they said last time it would maybe be for the rest of his life.  Would it make a difference?  Just let the cancer grow – disabling over time?  Traumatic amputation at his age?  It would take care of the problem but he is 13 and that just might be one surgery he does not rebound from.  This is such a hard decision because Arri’s health is really great.  Happy, energetic, no apparent pain, eating and sleeping well.  It would be easier if he acted sick but how can I possibly stop trying when clearly he isn’t.

March 14, 2012 6 week follow-up and a new little brother

Outside of leg, March 16

I should have trusted my instincts and went to see my home vet last week.  The tumor on Arri's leg that was present at the start of radiation seems bigger.  It could just be that the swelling in the leg is gone so it appears bigger but it is also very firm.  At one point during treatment, it was very squishy.  I called the oncologist last week to chat but she told the receptionist to tell me to make an appointment.  Wouldn't talk to me without seeing Arri.  So today was our scheduled 6 week follow up.  I pointed out the growth and they did a needle aspiration.  Apparently scar tissue and cancer cells are very similar so they are not 100% positive.  They don't like how firm it is either so Arri is scheduled for surgery on Monday, March 19.  Since it is in an area of radiation tissue, the surgical specialist (ie...really expensive surgeon) will be performing the surgery.  It will done in Canton so that means a 2.5 hour drive to drop Arri off and then come home.  They want to keep him overnight so I will drive back on Tuesday to pick him up.  All I can say is there better not be a single cancer cell after this surgery.  I could have 3 surgeries at my vet for the price of this one.


After the drive to Canton for this follow-up visit, Arri, Teva and I proceeded down to Delaware, OH to attend puppy class at the North Central Center of CCI and pick up the new puppy.  The puppies teeth are nice and sharp, maybe he can just gnaw off the tumor.  Just kidding, sort of.  The new puppy is Oregon.  He is a male, lab golden cross and utterly adorable.

Oregon

March 6, 2012: who needs hair gel...

Arri has some goofy quirks.  One of them has to do with taking a shower.  While he loves swimming in the lake, he really has no interest in a bath.  He primary goal for entering the shower is ...soap.  We learned very early on that no bar of soap was safe.  When he was still in the CCI program, he would go to hotels with us.  The first thing he did was go into the bathroom and grab the soap off the tub.   While he never was able to eat a whole bar, he has been successful in a good mouthful.  It is the same with every house he enters.  Find the bathroom and check out the soap.  You would think this would make him sick but it doesn't he has never had any ill effects.  In fact, he breath is temporarily better.

Now that he is free to bathe again, Arri stands at the shower door, waiting for an invitation.  He wants to lick the soap bubbles off the floor.  The funny thing is, it is only people soap he likes.  When he gets a bath, he does not want that soap.  He is loves the shampoo and the conditioner drives him mad.  When my hair is wet, he just wants to run his nose through it. Who needs hair gel.  Dog slobber is free and has great hold when dry.