Sorry for swearing, but our great morning has been tempered by bad news and a bad experience.
The post-amp biopsy confirmed Samdog’s tumor was an osteosarcoma. All of his other tests had come back so good, we allowed ourselves to be optimistic that he was one of the lucky few with something other than osteo… but no.
Add that to some increased pain this afternoon. I think the fentanyl is finally out of his system and he made the mistake of taking a nap on his incision side. I didn’t catch it until I noticed he wasn’t sleeping and hadn’t moved in 20 minutes. He is a lazy boy during the day, unless an adventure is to be had… but to not move at all and not be asleep was odd. I got down on the floor with him and encouraged him to try and get back on his belly. He was rigid and seemed afraid to move at all. He finally tried it and made it back to his belly, but screamed so loudly I had tears in my eyes. Game face. I got him back over the mattress and he has been there ever since – but as soon as he stretched out on his good side, he fell asleep. I don’t know how long he had been on the floor, in pain and not telling me… ugh, breaks my heart.
The good news that came from this afternoon is that his lymph node was normal. We can add that test to the arsenal of test results that have all come back clear, normal or perfect. It still allows for some optimism. I’m not letting go of that, even if this afternoon wasn’t great.
Sorry to hear the OSA news. Zeus also had problems lying on his incision side. Strangely enough, he did fine the first week when he was heavily bandaged but once the wrappings came off he wouldn’t lie on that side. After about a month we could tell that he wanted to but was hesitant. I put a bed pillow on the mattress for him and eventually he would nudge up against it, lie down against it and then slide down so that he was propped against it. I guess maybe it seemed like he was more stable with something where that missing arm should be. After another two or three weeks he finally started gingerly lying on that side without the pillow. By the end of month three he would flop over on that side like there was nothing to it! Samdog will figure it out.
UGH so sorry to hear its OSA. The worst thing ever, but be optimistic! London would always lay on her incision as well, she screamed plenty when she did, but it didn’t stop her. That was her favorite side to lay on up until she passed away on Saturday. I will pray samdog stays clear of all mets, and remains as healthy as ever. Cancer is the worst. We tried so hard with London, but she just couldn’t press on any longer. I know she will help Samdog and give him some tips, and guidance. She was good that way. All the best to you guys! He can do it! Remain optimistic, at times it will be hard just stay positive. He will bounce back in no time, and fight this cancer hard. I know it.
I’m sorry that OSA has been confirmed. Damn!
Those screams are the worst. I only heard Magnum scream once and that was before the OSA was diagnosed. Horrible, gut wrenching sound.
The good news is that all of Sam’s other tests are good so hopefully you will be able to have some ihgh quality time together ahead of you.
Keep that game face on!
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Oh, that sucks. It’s always hard to hear the Dx be confirmed. And the screaming is the worst. It only happened twice with Abby, but it’s just awful. Abby used to lay on her incision side a lot. I thought it was so odd! But she would mostly do it on the hard tile floor – I know some folks have iced their pup’s incision sites, so I just assumed it was her way of “icing” it. (It was November so the tile was pretty cold!)
If the screaming happens again, have others mentioned to you about gabapentin? We didn’t use it, but others with phantom pain had good results with it.
Jackie, Angel Abby’s mom