April 23, 2013- I dropped off Athena at 8 am this morning on my way to school. I was so anxious all day waiting for the phone call that surgery was over and all was well. The vet called and relayed that everything went great! We decided that the best thing to do would be to leave her at the vet office overnight. Our experience from the day before when she was sedated to get chest x-rays convinced us that she would be impossible to handle still recovering from anesthesia and without the front leg.
Day after surgery and first day home.
April 24- The day after her amputation- What a shock to see her like this. I spent the first night sleeping next to her on the living room floor.
Three days post surgery.
She is very restless, and I’ve learned that she’s not really happy until she gets to lay outside all day in this cooler weather.
Yes, tomorrow is the day that my dog becomes a tripawd. So nervous and praying that the surgery goes well. This afternoon I took her dog bed outside and we sat outside enjoying the nice weather- so she got to enjoy her last day before surgery relaxing and she even got one of her favorite treats. A piggy ear!
Took Athena to her appointment to see the new vet late Monday afternoon. I picked up the x-rays & last blood test from my regular vet and brought them with me, also. The biggest reason I needed a second opinion was that I did not feel comfortable with the interpretation of the chest x-rays from the previous vet and her overall attitude towards the situation. I left with a not comfortable feeling, so I looked up some local vets online and got the appointment with this new vet. I am so glad that I did. He gave Athena an entire exam, from nose to tail. He listened to each lobe of her lungs and felt/manipulated all of her joints & watched her gait to assess how she would adapt to the forelimb amputation. He believed that she would adapt well, and that being stocky and shaped like a barrel was actually a good thing. [That’s my girl! ;)] He went over the x-rays from the last vet, and said that the three suspicious areas that my regular vet had pointed out- he believed were calcifications (I can’t remember exactly what he called them…) He also shared a lot of information and seemed to very knowledgeable about osteosarcoma as well.
Well, I left with an estimate for the surgery and feeling a lot more confident and comfortable overall, so I called this morning (Tuesday) and scheduled her amputation surgery for my new vet’s next available time, Monday, April 22. He is still going to take his own chest x-rays before the surgery, while she is sedated, on his digital machine to get a clearer picture and confirm that he did not see any metastasis in her lungs. Fingers crossed he was correct the first time!
Her limp gets really bad sometimes, even with her pain meds. Of course I wish the amputation was sooner than 6 days from now… I want the cancerous tumor off her body ASAP and get rid of her pain, but I feel a lot more comfortable and confident with my new vet.
I just made my first post summarizing the whirlwind of activity that has been the last 4 days- post osteosarcoma diagnosis.
Athena is a 6 1/2 year old female Rottweiler Mix that I adopted in October 2006 at about 3 1/2 months old. She has not had great luck with her health, present situation included. At one year old, she started showing lameness in her back legs. Walking stiffly and taking over one minute just to stand up from a laying position. The x-rays revealed mild hip displaysia and arthritis, but the cause of the pain was an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear in both rear legs. I was referred to the University of Georgia Teaching Hospital an hour away [I was living in GA for work at the time]. She had TPLO surgery on the right rear leg, essentially cutting the tibia and reattaching it at a new angle with a plate so the bone could regrow and heal.
After TPLO surgery in 2008.
Her recovery was excellent and really no other serious health problems, aside from the occassional arthritis stiffness. Now she is facing amputation of her left front leg from bone cancer…
April 2, 2013, Tuesday:
Brought Athena to family vet for annual exam and vaccinations. She had started limping 3 days earlier on her front left leg. I assumed she hurt herself rough housing with the Silky terrier, Scuffy, our other dog. I didn’t even notice that there was some swelling in that leg, right above the ankle, until I was sitting in the waiting room. The vet manipulated the leg and listed off a few possible causes: hairline fracture, sprain, lyme disease (which she first tested positive for about 2 years ago), and the dreaded “C-word.” I was given pain meds and told to come back in a few days if the swelling hadn’t gone down.
April 9, 2013, Tuesday:
The swelling hasn’t gone down. 🙁 I bring Athena back to the family vet to get x-rays of the leg. I am taken to the back to be shown the results, and it’s not good. There is a bone tumor, and I am told with a very high certainty that it is osteosarcoma. Apparently large breed dogs are most susceptable, especially Rottweilers (and Athena is half Rottie.) There is a 90% chance that cancerous cells have already traveled to her lungs. So I ask, “Her survival time is going to be measured in months?” Yes. I am speechless, staring at the radiograph in disbelief. Amputation is an option, to try slowing down the spread, but I am told that she is too heavy and big chested and carries a lot of weight on the front legs. I go home to try to clear my head and think about what to do now. (I am also given Tramadol & Deramaxx to manage her pain.)
April 11, 2013, Thursday:
After talking with my family at home, we have decided that if amputation has a chance at extending her life, that is what we will do. We bring her back to the vet to get chest x-rays and blood drawn to do a CBC & Chemistry profile. I also ask for a referral to see an oncologist. (They send my information & I call to make an appt… the soonest I can get is next Thursday, the 18th. I am in agony waiting!) In the meantime, my family vet can’t say with certainty that there is anything in her lungs. There are a few questionable spots.
April 12, 2013, Friday:
Got the results for her blood tests this morning and everything is within normal ranges, so I am told that she is healthy enough for the amputation surgery. I make an appointment at another vet clinic in the area to bring the chest radiographs for a second opinion on Monday. I just can’t wait until Thursday to have the oncologist look at them. Not knowing if her lungs are damaged yet or not is stressing me, terribly! On a good note, her alkaline phosphatase level is 32 U/L (out of a 10-150 U/L range) and from what I’m reading, having a lower level means better “long term” survival odds after amputation.
I have already told Athena that I am in this for the long haul. As long as she is telling me that she is strong enough to fight this awful diagnosis, I will do everything in my power to help her. She still acts like her normal happy self, besides the painful limping, with no coughing or struggling to breath, so I have to believe that she will fight as long as her body holds out for her.
~Jessica, Athena’s caretaker
{I was referred to the tripawds message board by a vet tech at my family vet office that had to deal with osteosarcoma, amputation & chemo for her dog, who survived over a year after amputation.}
The day I brought her home. <3First day home after adoption.
