Month: July 2017

 Getting comfy after chemo. 

This is my brother Charlie. He likes to stare at me to make sure I’m ok and cleans my ears a lot.

 

 

 

 

I am SO proud of my boy! We are 3 days post our first chemo treatment, and he is just acting like his usual self!

I was SO terrified to even do chemo. I had already talked myself out of it before we went to see the oncologist. He was seriously the best. Dr. Vancil at NVS spent at least 45 minutes explaining osteosarcoma, chemo, and everything in between to us. I’ve had doctors that have operated on me before that spent less time with me than he did! He wanted to make sure we talked until I had zero questions. He understood my hesitation about Mo’s quality of life. I told him I’d rather have 4 awesome months than 12 crappy ones. He assured me that if at any point in treatment if I felt like Milhouse was suffering that we could call it quits. So I’m playing it by ear, and so far, so good!

Probably the best info in this visit was regarding his leg break. Dr. Vancil explained that usually dogs with osteosarcoma have pain and begin to limp or favor their hurt leg. Then comes the cancer diagnosis, and then pup parents have to make the agonizing decision regarding amputation. The way everything went with Mo, to my knowledge he wasn’t having leg pain until the break. The break helped us catch the cancer early on, and really the amputation choice was made for us as there was no way to reattach the leg. So we’ve kind of done this whole thing backwards, but I’m grateful.

We go have his white blood cell count checked next week, and if all is going well, we will continue on to treatment 2/5 in a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks for all who who have shown care and concern through this whole ordeal! We are figuring out our new normal 🙂

Love,

Milhouse & his mom

Hi all,

The good news: Milhouse’s recovery from his amputation is going really well. He even jumped on the couch this past week, which was a total shock to me! He also started playing a little- brought me a tennis ball a few times, and de-fluffed a stuffed puppy.

We are now 4 weeks out from surgery, and brother Charlie got to come home from Grandma’s house! We had a reunion celebration with some cheese and peanut butter frosty paws! Charlie came in and sniffed Milhouse’s leg nub. Milhouse stood very still and let him take as much time as he needed to figure it out. Charlie gave it a lick and then got to business cleaning Milhouse’s ears. He does this daily, and he takes his job very seriously 🙂 I’m so glad to have both pups back under my roof!

The bad news: Despite uncertainty last week and the possibility that Milhouse’s leg tumor wasn’t cancerous, it was confirmed on Friday that he does in fact have osteosarcoma. The vet called literally 5 minutes after I had hung up the phone with a friend who informed me that a former co-worker, friend, and all-around amazing lady had passed that morning. Talk about a 1-2 punch.

Initially I had assumed that I wouldn’t put Milhouse through chemo. He’s almost 13 and I want him to be comfy and happy this last little bit. I thought through friends and family members who were miserable through chemo, and just couldn’t see putting my buddy through that. I told the vet this, and he strongly encouraged me to make an oncology appointment anyway. He said that dogs tolerate chemo much differently than people do and generally feel fine through the treatments. He said if I didn’t do chemo, we could have as little as 4 months left due to the aggressive nature of osteosarcoma. 4 months felt like a punch in the stomach. That’s before the end of this year. I can’t do it.

So we have an appointment Wednesday with a veterinary oncologist. I’m going to at least listen to all of the options and pray that I can make the best choices to keep my buddy comfortable and happy.

Off to snuggle my boy. I have nine more days until I return to work, and want to soak up all the snuggles and play time that I can!

 

 

Hi guys!

From Milhouse: Today we went to NVS to get my staples out! I’m a happy boy! Doctor says I’m looking good and that in 2 more weeks I can run AND be reunited with my bro! I’m not necessarily super excited about him coming home because honestly Charlie is an attention hog. I’ve enjoyed being the center of attention, getting the best bed, and ALL of the treats and toys. I do miss the daily ear cleaning Charlie gives me though. I’ve been really stressed from all of the fireworks and thunderstorms we’ve been getting this week. I’m ready for a nap!

From his mom: I really expected us to have the biopsy results back today. Our doctor gave me some pretty surprising news. We aren’t out of the woods yet, but the preliminary results of the biopsy shows that Milhouse’s bone sample showed “abnormal cells” that may not be cancer. The doctor said he would be “shocked” if it wasn’t cancer. I would love for him to be shocked!! I had gotten myself ready for the c-word and to talk oncology options today. I’m trying not to super get my hopes up that it’s not cancer, but I am praying fervently that it might not be! Thank you Lord for a glimmer of hope!

That’s all for today. Thanks for all who have prayed for Milhouse and me. I’m hopeful with his staples out that I may be able to start going out for an hour or two at a time and be social again 🙂

Kisses!

Mo and his mom