"Last night, there was something about Tommy that had me deeply worried. Not one single obvious thing but a collection of small things that made by blood run cold in my veins. This morning, we set out at 7:30 in the dark, rain and wind to get to the vet's for opening time. I did not want to wait and call, and perhaps be told there were no slots until later.
The vet saw him, palpated him all over, and did a blood test. When the blood test results came in, all normal except for a slightly reduced red blood cell count, indicating anemia, she decided to do an utlra-sound. She already had her suspicons and they were confirmed. Tommy has a fast-growing angio-sarcoma, also known as hemangiosarcoma, in his spleen. The prognosis is appalling. Although surgery is an option, the survival rate beyond a few weeks is virtually non-existent and the surgery itself imposes a heavy burden on already weakened dogs.
According to Dr. C, whom I trust absolutely, Tommy probably only has a few days left. He got a hefty shot of cortisone, and I have more pills to give him from tomorrow. The idea is to make him as comfortable as possible for this short period. Even though it is Christmas, Dr. C has told me to call her tomorrow morning for a progress report, to see if the cortisone is helping, and she has given me her private cellphone number, if and when, things get to the point of no return."
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteIt is never easy to lose a loved one - but Christmas magnifies it somehow. Sending lots and lots of POTP for easing of hearts... YAM-aunty xxx
Three years ago, Stuart the Scottie-a blog pal- was diagnosed with the same thing. I mentioned it to my vet who just bowed his head and looked sad. Stuart didn't make it. We donate to Stuart's Fund which helps finance research into stopping this killer. Our best to Tommy and family.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad. My thoughts and prayer are with Tommy and his family.
ReplyDeleteSending lots and lots of POTP and also lots of love to Tommy. We also had some experience with this very same disease with our Doxie, Tiffany. Surgery wasn't an option for Tiffany but the Oncology vet wanted to try radiation and chemo. (This was back in 2003). She went through 2 rounds of alternate treatment of radiation and chemo and it did give her a very good quality of life and extended her life from the original 4 weeks to 9 months. Hopefully one day there will be something to stop this horrible disease. Again, our love to Tommy and his family. ♥♥♥♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteHow very sad. Our prayers go out to Tommy and his family
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