Archive for the ‘Fozzy’ Tag
Fozzy’s Prognosis
This last week has been a blur. Monday I got home from work and Fozzy was not walking on his left rear leg. This had been ongoing for some time but usually in the mornings so we attributed it to his hip dyspepsia. Over the next two days, his lip got noticeably worse so I has happy I made the appointment. The vet looked him over and took X-rays of his back hip. I knew something was wrong when she didn’t come back right away. After a long time the vet tech told us they found something odd on the x-ray and they were going to need to get him into a different position for the x-ray. Finally, after being there over an hour, I got the news. He had a huge lytic lesion on his knee which means his bone is being eaten away by something. In Fozzy’s case, and in most cases like this, that thing is osteosarcoma; cancer.
I wasn’t nearly as devastated as I should have been; I think because he had a malignant melanoma 18-months ago. I made an appointment with the canine oncologist for that Friday, not really sure what to expect but thinking amputation would buy us some time. In the first 15-minutes of her exam she found a very large (baseball sized) growth on his spleen. She said it was very odd because spleen tumors are usually soft and his is very hard.
We left him there to have biopsies and an ultrasound done. Unfortunately, neither of the biopsies was conclusive. Knowing what type of cancer is in his spleen could decide our course of treatment so right now we are stuck waiting again. The results should be in Monday or Tuesday and then we can figure out what to do and move forward.
Friday night I cried alot. I couldn’t sleep and woke up with my heart racing. I was terrified his spleen would burst and I had nightmares that he was in immense pain and couldn’t’ tell me. Meanwhile, Fozzy isn’t letting anything slow him down. He is not using his rear leg at all but this morning he got really feisty and started hopping around in play-position.
Fozzy’s Follow Up w/ Dr. W
I really wanted to write was the amazing care I got for my dog a at the vet on Wednesday. I had made a last minute appointment to get his sutures out because we had miscalculated the date. They put me in with one of the other doctors, which was fine. When I got there, they said the vet who did the surgery wanted to do his follow up and moved his schedule around to make time for me!! He didn’t rush at all even though I’m sure he had trouble fitting me in. He talked through everything with me and told me exactly what to expect. He check Fozzy’s ears and spent extra time making sure he was comfortable the whole time. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have such an awesome vet. Now fast forward to our oncology appointment Friday. This woman had no idea how to handle dogs. The first time he saw her, she smacked his hips even after I told her twice he had hip-dysplasia and was very sensitive. Friday, she petted him into his face then later, she clapped loudly and yelled at him to get up. It was not the energy she should have had in an already tense environment. We will not be seeing her again unless we have to and I’m glad we opted not to give her any more money.
Thursday at work was finally a catharsis. After weeks of struggling, at the final hour everything came together and I was able to make the samples. My reward to myself was to take Friday off, which was much needed. When I go back on Monday I will be back on my old project but gearing up for a very exciting new project!
The weekend deserves its own update an I am out of time. Maybe tomorrow!
Fozzy’s Diagnosis
It’s amazing where my life has gone in the 2 weeks since my last post. I talked about my life changing forever but really had no clue. Both Brian and I received first silicon this month which has meant 50 to 60 hour work weeks for both of us. On top of that, the infection that Fozzy had on his paw turned out to be a tumor and that tumor is canine malignant melanoma. The last 3 weeks have been full of vet visits. First the toe was amputated. Then we couldn’t find anything that would keep him from getting at the bandage. Finally, after he got at the wound 3 times and pulled all his sutures out, we ordered a muzzle to keep him from getting at it. He had to have a second surgery since the damage he did was unrepairable. All of this while I was trying to work 50-hour weeks and Brian was completely available.
Picture of Fozzy with the first contraption to keep him from getting at his foot
Fozzy wearing his new "no chew" bandage that he promptly ate the next day
We found out that it was cancer two weeks ago and my emotions have run the gamut. I immediately made an appointment with the canine oncologist who informed me that for $3000 of treatment his life might be extended 9 months. I think the hardest part was having a choice for treatment. It meant putting a dollar amount on the value of my dogs life and I couldn’t take that. It took a ton of crying and many phone calls to family and friends to finally find peace in my decision not to treat it.
I have been at peace with this decision for a few days now and part of me wishes that I had taken the time to post here to capture all the thoughts and emotions of the moment before I found peace. The one thing everybody kept asking me was if it would hurt any less if he died in two years vs one? Of course not, and my desire to keep him in my life is purely selfish. I will be a wreck when the time comes. I have loved him more than I ever thought a human could love an animal. He was mine and mine alone. He loved Brian but he had an unconditional love and trust of me that I have never known before. I hope that I have given him the best life any owner could give a dog.