Monday, November 19, 2018

Winter is Coming

Actually, winter is already here. I love fresh snow coupled with sunshine. It refreshes my soul.

Holly is almost 12 weeks post-amputation and really doing well. Last night she played with a tennis ball for the first time since spring...running around like a wild woman, trying to get me to chase her around the yard 💕

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Happy Halloween

I all her 13 years, I have never dressed Holly up for Halloween. But since this is likely her last one, and bucket list ideas are as much for me as they are for her (and this one was definitely all about me!), I figured why not?! LOL, with all the cookies she got, she didn't protest much.

Friday, October 12, 2018

Autumn Love

We are finally doing well after treating Holly for a gastric ulcer. All of her meds post surgery and then chemo took a toll on Holly's tummy. But she's on the mend, finally eating  (without me begging), and enjoying daily romps in our woods.

I love Autumn. Crisp air. Brisk temperatures. The smell of the woods. ❤

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

One done

We celebrated the completion of one of four chemo treatments with a beautiful walk in the woods. They were not too happy at being pulled of their chipmunk hunting to get their photo taken 😄 If Holly handles chemo well then we'll do another treatment in 3 weeks. If not, then no more chemo and osteosarcoma will do whatever it's going to do.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Doing Well

Pre amputation, Holly had always enjoyed her acupuncture treatments and chiro adjustments. Today, almost 4 weeks post surgery, she's still loving her "Spa Day" at the vet ❤

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Being a Tripod

It's been 2 weeks since Holly's front leg was amputated, and shes rocking it! Not bad for a nearly 13 year old dog.

Three weeks ago Holly came up acutely lame on that leg. X-rays revealed she had a bone lesion that had fractured. Tests later revealed that it was a radiation-induced osteosarcoma at the location she received radiation to cure her cancer nearly 4 years ago. Holly wasn't supposed to live nearly 4 years past being diagnosed with myxosarcoma. So as a result of living beyond statistical expectations, the radiation caused more cancer.

That said, I don't regret any thing we did to cure her cancer nearly 4 years ago. But now I have to decide whether I'm going to do chemo treatments for the osteosarcoma. If I don't, she might have four to six months before the osteosarcoma metastasizes to her lungs or her heart. If I do, she may have up to a year and a half. But remember, she is as of next month 13 years old. She has arthritis throughout her body, and her knees are terrible. So what exactly do I want for the quality of her life from here forward? Do I want her to live another year and a half and feel the ravages of being three-legged with lots of arthritis, perhaps leaving her totally crippled and in pain her last months of life? Or, allow her to live a shorter but more mobile and independent life, a little bit more pain free? I don't know the answer yet. What I do know is that she's healing well, she's comfortable, and she's quite mobile. I have some time to decide. In the meantime we're enjoying every moment of life during this beautiful fall weather that we have.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Becoming a Tripod

This post is for me. A marker. A milestone. The beginning of the end. On Monday we discovered that Holly has cancer again, likely radiation induced osteosarcoma but possibly myxosarcoma again. Either way, her front leg bone is degrading, fractured, and causing her pain. It will never heal. On Friday, Holly joins the world of tripod dogs. If it's myxosarcoma, this will be a curative treatment. If its osteosarcoma, it will be palliative. I hope for the former.