Month: June 2015

We’re still trucking through recovery! I am probably overdoing it with all the blog posts but a) it helps the heart to write it out and b) I’ve found that it’s really comforting to know that I am not alone when I read about others’ post-amp experiences. Today was a teaching day and we learned a lot…

1. Gabapentin is the secret to Molly getting the rest she needs. We were prescribed some on Monday at Molly’s consult and I cheated the instructions a bit — instead of giving her a dose every 8 hours, she got a pill with breakfast and one again with dinner. Post-amp, I realized I need to follow those instructions and get her all the pain relief possible, so today she got one pill at 6am and another at 2pm. That afternoon pill did the trick. She was conked out until almost 7 (when usually she eats dinner at 5)! I normally don’t like to see sedation as a side effect of anything but I know that Molls needs to sleep and rest, especially after last night. She’ll get her third pill in just a few minutes, so fingers crossed it continues to help tonight.
2. I had my first real moment of doubt and fear about our decision to take Molly down this road. I was remembering how on Friday morning, just before we left for the Cancer Center, I was letting Molly do her business in the yard and this ornery magpie thought she was getting too close to his nest. He has hated Molly for years and this morning he was really upset. It was probably the funniest thing I have seen in a while: this magpie hopping along the fence, following behind Molly while she searched for the best place to “go”, just squawking to beat the band. She finally got so annoyed with him that she turned around and barked once, just enough to scare him back a few inches. Obviously pleased with herself, she went back to sniffing. The magpie came back, yelling again, and Molly started to chase him off the fence. The same process continued for at least four or five more rounds and after each one, Molly would turn around, look at me with her tail wagging, and then pounce away in the yard. I laughed then and I laughed tonight, but then I wondered if she would ever be that playful and energetic again. Will she get that comfortable on her three legs, one of which is already compromised with that partial cruciate tear? Will we get to see her roll on her back in the grass or use her legs to push off the couch when we’re wrestling on the family room floor? I know deep down that it’s possible for her to get there. I know that we would so much rather see her alive and three-legged than tortured with that terrible osteosarcoma pain for the remainder of her life. But tonight I had a moment where my heart hurt with the “what ifs.”
3. Then, we had our first yelp of pain. Molly was ready to go outside (still waiting for the BM!) so I assisted her from the bedroom to the front door and on the way, she decided she wanted to detour to the family room. She went to lie down on the amp side (which she has done before, albeit briefly, when her right leg falls asleep) and as soon as she hit the floor, she told me this was not okay. I got her up right away and her tail was back to wagging in just a few minutes, but as I’m sure everyone knows, it’s hard to forget that noise. It’s even harder to forgive yourself for allowing that to happen. Of course, Molly forgave me right away which made me even MORE emotional. Dogs are truly the best
4. Finally, we learned that “getting back to normal” can happen in even small, short ways right now. It was a beautiful weekend here in the mountains and I think it was hard for us all to be stuck inside. Molly was antsy this morning so we gave her some time out on the deck (with us nearby, of course). Then Jordan and I snuck out for lunch with his family while we let Molly sleep undisturbed for an hour in our room. It makes us nervous to leave her for any amount of time but it did help to get out in the ‘real world’ and remember that life is still going on. What’s happening in our world, in our house, is just temporary and just a small part of our journey. There is still more out there, especially for us.

Wish us luck for a night of good rest and another peaceful day of recovery tomorrow. Jordan and I are both headed back to work, which I know will be hard on us (not so much on Molly… she is used to staying home and sleeping all day. In fact, she gets annoyed when we come home to let her out at lunch. She gives us a look that clearly says, “Why are you disturbing me?”). Thank you all for the encouragement and support — it continues to help us power through!

Love,
Kirby, Jordan, & Molly

Molly has been a champ with walking around outside! We did not leash her this first time (honestly, we forgot, and she never needs a leash for potty trips) but have been keeping her on a leash for all other bathroom breaks. Her only challenges are figuring out how to turn or change direction, and being reigned in when she just wants to go for a stroll around the block. Here’s a video of her first cruise around the yard:

It’s been an uneventful day around here but we’ll share more later — right now, the gabapentin has kicked in and Molly is woofing and running in her dreams. 🙂

Love,
Kirby, Jordan, & Molly

Good morning!

We are happy to be home, and happy that this part of the journey is “over” (although- the recovery is just beginning). I hoped to write an update yesterday… All we did was lie around so Molls could rest, but any time either of us slowed or stopped petting her, she’d wake up and nudge us to start again. 🙂

So far things are going well. It was such a good feeling to pick our girl up from the CSU Animal Cancer Center yesterday — she nearly dragged our surgeon and veterinary student out from the back when she saw us. The ride home was tough, as we live in the mountains and have to drive about 45 minutes up a very winding and curvy canyon. All Molly wanted to do was stand up and stick her head out the window but for obvious reasons couldn’t, so she was pretty angry with Jordan (who was keeping her down and calm) by the time we got home. We made it inside without too much excitement and then Molly was conked out for most of the afternoon. Here are a few pictures of her resting (heads up — there is a shot of her amputation site below. The incision is bandaged so it’s not too graphic, but just in case anyone is weak of stomach…):

Not great quality, but right after we picked her up. Ready to go home!

Hanging onto my arm with her paw – MUST. HAVE. PETS.

No major bruising yet… On the lookout for seroma but so far, doing well.

Using her “baby” as her pillow while she snoozes.

She had a great appetite yesterday and drank lots of water. I have an awesome video of us taking her outside to pee for the first time — I’ll get that uploaded later. Never thought I’d be so happy to see her squat! We’re still waiting for a BM but we’ve read and been told that the pain meds can delay this process a bit, so we’re trying to be patient. Nervous for how that will pan out, though. We did leave the house for about two hours last night and even though she hasn’t been going after her incision at all, we put the “cone of shame” on just to be safe. She was so tired that she didn’t really care.

 

When we got home, she had moved spots (from her big blanket to her bed) so we know she got up on her own. We’re still using the towel under her hips for any movement around the house or outside, and I’d imagine we’ll continue that for at least a few more days. Other tripawd families: how long did you use your sling?

Last night was pretty tough. She peed at around 9 and then we tried to get her to go one more time at 10:30 but she had no interest. We all fell asleep quickly but then Molls woke me up (glad she did) at probably sometime between 1 and 2. I could tell she was a little anxious. I moved to the floor and dozed next to her for the next couple of hours, then woke up Jordan at 4 so we could take her out to pee. She whined and grumbled for the next hour-and-a-half so we figured she must be ready for a BM, but when we took her out again, she just wanted to walk around for 15 minutes. That’s why I think she’s constipated — wants to go, but can’t yet. At that point we figured we were up for the day and anyway, Molly was antsy for breakfast and her pain meds, so we’ve all set up camp in the family room (Jordan and I with large cups of coffee). 🙂

Such a long update! It’s helpful to write everything out, and we keep returning back to the Tripawds forums and “must read” list for good info and tips. Grateful to have this community.

Love,
Kirby, Jordan, & Molly

Yep, Molly has officially joined the club. Her amputation is done and went very smoothly! I had a moment of panic when we didn’t hear from the surgeon 90 minutes after they called to let us know they were starting, so I was ‘that crazy dog mom’ who called and talked to a surgeon nurse during the procedure. Whoops! The only unusual thing that they found was some bruising in the deep tissues of the muscle. They didn’t plan to examine her leg after amputating (since the fine needle aspirate already confirmed osteosarcoma) but after seeing that bruising, they send the entire leg to the lab, along with two bone biopsies. We won’t hear any results from those until Monday, but when I asked if it could be anything that would change our plan for chemo, they said no. So, stay tuned!

We dropped her off this morning at 7:30 and between last night snuggles and this morning lovins, I knew that she knew she was going to have something special happen to her. She was giving me that soul-penetrating look but it wasn’t the kind that made me feel guilty for putting her through such a significant surgery… It seemed so wise and knowing that we were (/are) trying to do what’s best for her. She is the smartest dog and we are so lucky to have her.

Last night we took her swimming (her FAVORITE activity) for the last time as a four-legged. We were nervous because she likes to sprint across the rocks on her way to chase the stick out in the water, but we found a spot with a deep hole that kept her from tweaking that right leg. She wasn’t expecting it the first time and did a total underwater dunk, which cracked us up and delighted her (she loves to be underwater). Here are a few pics:

Derpy.

Gotta get that stick!

Rolling in the rocks.
Rolling in the grass.

Wants the stick!

Beautiful mountain puppy!

We get to pick Molly up tomorrow morning at 9:30. Can’t wait to get her home and on the mend!

We’re almost an “official” member of the Tripawd crew! I can’t say it’s a club that we were planning on joining, but it’s a club that we are proud to join because it means we are amongst other huge pet lovers who want nothing but pain-free time for their dogs (and cats)!

Molly is our 7 year old golden retriever and she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her left distal femur on Monday, June 1, 2015. A few weeks before that, she stopped putting weight on her knee altogether so we took her for a few rounds of x-rays at our local vet’s office. Right away, our vet warned us that it could be a bone tumor and we are so grateful she acted with urgency. I have read so many stories about misdiagnoses and/or suspicion that the animal’s behavior was due to muscle tweaks or tears. We sent Molly’s x-rays to a radiology lab right away, and they recommended that we do a second round with Molly under sedation so that they could review different angles of her knee, as well as get a shot of her chest. In the meantime, we made an appointment with the Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center, which is luckily only about an hour’s drive from us! Their first available appointment was more than a week out, so we kept Molly on a pain pill regimen (Rimadyl and Tramadol) and waited impatiently.

On June 1, we took Molly to the Cancer Center for a full day evaluation that included physical exams, more x-rays, an abdominal ultrasound, and a fine needle aspirate. Molly was beat by the end of the day and we were too. We found out that the tumor on her knee was definitely osteosarcoma, although it was slightly unusual in that her bone walls had not been “infiltrated” by the cancer yet. Her leg was still very strong in structure. Most importantly, we were so hopeful that the films of her chest would not indicate pulmonary metastastis, but we were crushed to hear that there were at least two solid black nodules displaying in the films.

(I have to pause for a brief moment to sing the praises of the staff at CSU. O M G. They are just amazing. So kind, knowledgeable, informative, gentle… Just fabulous. The facility itself is incredible, too. I brought work down with me and was able to be relatively productive thanks to their wifi, mobile workstations, volunteers who brought around coffee and cups of M&Ms… Working was actually a much-needed distraction, so I was grateful to have all those tools available.)

We received four options for treatment, classified into Definitive Intent and Palliative Treatment:
Definitive Intent – Amputation of the left hind limb and chemotherapy, or stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT). SRT is very highly focused radiation therapy that would help alleviate the pain in Molly’s leg.
Palliative Treatment – Palliative radiation therapy (+/- chemotherapy) or simple pain management.

Obviously, we decided to move forward with amputation. Molly is an adequate candidate for amputation — not “good” because she has a partial tear in her right ACL that has resulted in some scar tissue and arthritis. We were a little concerned about how this leg will hold up, but all four vets we have spoken with (including the surgeon who will perform Molly’s amputation) have advised us that with physical therapy and close care, her right leg should be strong enough. Our surgeon actually made a really great point in that Molly has already started her own physical therapy over the past few weeks because she has been putting little to no weight on her left knee, so her right knee is getting stronger and she is already in the mindset of being a tripaw!

Her surgery is tomorrow at the CSU Cancer Center, and we’ll be able to pick her up on Saturday morning. We’re nervous but hopeful that this will offer Molly the pain relief we know she needs and deserves. Please send good thoughts and wishes our way!

Kirby, Jordan, and Molly