Surgery was last Wednesday June 5th. The surgeon called that afternoon to let us know everything went smoothly and she was in recovery. He said the joint was pretty trashed. We’d wait a few more days to confirm the biopsy results. The first day they said she was still really groggy and unable to walk, so they kept her another night. Friday, she was a ‘new dog.’ She rolled on her back to let them pet her tummy, going outside to pee with the support of a sling, and generally doing much better. When we picked her up, I was a nervous wreck. I wondered how she’d look and how she’d react to seeing us. I was worried about how much pain she’d be in and what the next week would bring. Consumed by these thoughts, I went the wrong way, missed the exit and was half an hour late! Fortunately, they didn’t seem too frustrated with me. After the tech took us through the detailed post-op care, they brought her out. It was so great to see her. I don’t know if she was just really happy to see us or hopped up on morphine, but we haven’t seen quite this much energy since.
The first night we had her corralled in a small space with her bed in the living room. She didn’t want to eat, which didn’t surprise me, but all her meds need to be taken with food, so I didn’t know what to do! I worked through it with the vet, but she ended up eating enough pizza crusts and treats that I gave her all that was needed. We gave her a sedative as well to take the edge off. We also learned the biopsy results. It was NOT synovial cell sarcoma as originally thought. It was a more rare peripheral nerve sheath tumor that had eaten away the bone and cartilage. The lymph nodes were clean which was a relief. He said this was an unusual location for this type of tumor, and we may want to follow up with an oncologist. It is more responsive to radiation than other cancers, but spreads more slowly, so I think this is good news. I have a follow up with our regular vet on Monday. If there’s no cancer in the lymph nodes or lungs, I’m not what sure we’d be treating at this point. Perhaps it’s simply to have a plan for monitoring her.
Daisy was a trooper this weekend, eating bits of bread with peanut butter and little snacks. I used vanilla yogurt to convince her to go outside to potty. On Sunday, she definitely perked up, started eating her regular food, and even hopped out to the yard by herself before I could chase her down with the sling. She’s still pretty much laying in her bed, but she wanted to lay in the grass for a while today. We take turns sitting near her and petting her which she likes. I’m looking forward to the day when she’s feeling like herself and hopping around the house on her own. She made it through the first four days, and we are breathing a huge sigh of relief.
