Oh Julie you are, and have been going through such a rough time at your
house. I know what you mean about having that dread in the back of your
mind, because of having so many, that one day the situation you find
yourself in is a possibility. Too bad having that knowledge doesn't
prepare us better for the day when/if it comes. I know one of the
things that helps me, and that has helped me, is being determined to not
let my loved ones suffer. I have made a commitment to myself and to
them to fight for them, to take extraordinary measures, but only when
there is the hope that they will recover from treatment and live a
healthy, full life. Very unfortunately, it doesn't sound like that
would be the case for either Mandy, or her daddy. I'm so sorry. You
are there, I am not. Maybe a second, or third opinion is in order?
About Cosmo and his dislocated wrist. I think there is great hope for
him. My GSD, Zevon, jumped off an extremely high, extremely steep cliff
in Santa Barbara trying to get to the ocean below. He came down front
legs stiff and severely sprained both front wrists, (dislocated). He
didn't break any bones, but I was told by two different vets that he
should be pts. That he would never recover from his injury and that he
would always be in danger of re-injuring himself, if he did. The third
vet we took him to told us that he could operate on him, fuse the bones
together and place metal "splints" inside to keep his legs stable. This
of course would mean that he would not be able to bend his front legs at
the wrist. We took him to an orthopedic surgeon, who was willing to
take the chance of not fusing, or placing splints. He operated on the
most damaged wrist, wrapping it with some of Zevon's own stretched
tendon, put both front legs in casts and sent him home for months of
down-stays. I can't remember exactly, but I think we replaced his casts
once, went to bandaged splints and then finally to another couple of
months of wrapping his legs to give him extra support. He couldn't walk
without our supporting him with a sling. The months that followed his
operation were terrible, not only because a very active dog, (he was 4
years old at the time), was being forced to lie still, but also because
we had no way of knowing whether or not it would work. After all we had
been through, it was possible that when the splints were removed, his
legs wouldn't hold, and we'd be right back where we started. Well, his
legs did heal. He's now going on 9 yrs old. We can't let him leap in
the air after a ball anymore, but he runs and plays and does just
wonderfully.
My thoughts and prayers are with you,
Nina
Julie Johnson wrote:
Hi Everyone,
I have some sad news to share. First, Mandy's biopsies are back and
she has oral squamous cell carcinoma. The entire back of her tongue
is involved. We are consulting a surgeon, but her prognosis is very
poor, indeed. The surgery would be horrendous (possibly removing part
of her jaw, too), followed by radiation therapy. Even with this
extreme treatment, the recurrance rate for this kind of cancer is very
high; I understand sometimes within just a couple of months. Mandy is
a sweet little girl (Tater Tot's sister) who loves to come visit on
her terms, but does not like being handled. Medicating her and
syringe-feeding are nearly impossible. I'm not sure at this point
what we will do or not do.
Paulie, (the father of Mandy and Tater) is 7 years old and is in renal
failure.
He is feral and although I can capture him when I have to, I would
need to keep him in his own room to get treatment. When he had the
corneal ulcer, it was a much different story and we had a treatment
plan and a projected outcome. For CRF, I can't see imposing that on
him just to keep him a bit longer. He is eating again and seems a bit
more like himself (won't let me pet him!) so we'll just see how he does.
Cosmo has a dislocated ankle and according to the consulting
radiologist, it cannot be splinted. He would need surgery to have the
bones fused and he would then have a stiff leg that he couldn't bend
at the wrist. I have to investigate this more, because we all agree
that he is starting to put more weight on the leg and the bones may
actually be fusing in this position which is not much different than
it would be after surgery. Again, not sure how we will proceed for
him. He does not seem to be in any pain; you can move his leg every
which-way and he does not make a peep or try to pull his paw away. He
just obviously favors the leg.
I'm just overwhelmed by all this. It's breaking my heart. Having so
many cats, I knew that a day would likely come when I had several who
were ill all at the same time, and that has certainly happened
before. I've not faced or dealt with so many probably being terminal,
though. I suppose one can never fully prepare for that emotionally.
Thanks for listening, everyone, and please keep my "kids" in your
thoughts.
Love, Julie
"I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is
to protection by man from the cruelty of man. "
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged
by the way its animals are treated."
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948)
Paws Come WITH Claws!!!
If you're thinking about de-clawing your cat, you need to re-think
your decision to acquire a pet.
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