Indigo

We found out yesterday that Indigo will probably need chemo to kill off any remaining cancer cells. She spent the night in the hospital after a nasty UTI had her peeing blood and left her dehydrated because she wouldn’t drink water. She’s home now but still won’t drink. She’ll eat  but has no interest in water. Of course that worries me. We meet with the oncologist next Monday to find out exactly what she recommends. If anyone reading this had good luck with chemo after amputation I’d love to hear about it. Our girl is 13 and it worries me that I’m putting her through an awful lot. She seems happier now than before surgery so it’s a no brainer that it’s been worth it but I wonder how she’ll handle chemo. I ordered K-9 Immunity Plus and will get her started on that when it arrives tomorrow. I’ve read great things about it. We could use prayers if anyone feels like adding us to theirs. Thanks!

Our girl did so well with her surgery that she was home the next day and getting the hang of life on three legs. She is getting back to her old self quickly. She ate some last night which is great seeing as how she refused to eat for a week before the surgery. Turns out they think she had an ulcer from the NSAIDs she was on before the tumor diagnosis. The surgeon said they were able to easily get all of the tumor by removing her leg and some of the surrounding muscle, which she won’t need anyway, just to be sure. The tumor was a soft tissue sarcoma but we don’t yet know if it was malignant. She doesn’t seem to mind too much about the leg being gone. I’m so grateful to the surgical staff for their excellent work and for the great care everyone took of her while she was there. Two of the girls told me they fell in love with her and that I have to keep them updated on her progress. It’s so nice to know that when you can’t be there for your furbaby they’re being loved and well-cared for. I’m ecstatic that my girl is home and (mostly) back on  her feet. Life is good.

Tumor is such a small word to have such big consequences. This one word changes lives the second it is spoken out loud. We found out last week that our girl Indigo has one. It’s not small; just well hidden. It’s the size of a tennis ball and its removal necessitates her losing her right front forelimb. What we thought was a limp due to arthritis turned out to be so much more. We do not yet know if the tumor is malignant. We only know that it has to be removed in order to get rid of her pain. I would do anything for this dog. Paying for an expensive surgery when we don’t know her official prognosis seems pointless to some but not to me. Indigo is family and you can’t put a price on love. The doctor gave me some numbers today for the various scenarios but I told him that I don’t believe in odds. So tomorrow, our loyal, loving, and funny girl is going under the knife with the hopes that surgery will be curative and she can continue life in the manner in which she deserves: happy and pain-free. Either way I know I’m doing the best that I can to protect her and keep her as safe from harm as I possibly can. Even from such a powerful word as “tumor”.