Sam seems to be recovering well from her bloat and (still) the previous vomiting-dehydration-way-low-protein problem.  Eating well.  Slowed down some from the surgery, but still is pretty alert.

The surgeon got a better look at the mass in her abdomen than the ultrasound gave.  He said it's on the pancreas and an adjacent lymph node is also swollen.  Sam's blood pressure was getting low, so he didn't have a chance to biopsy it, and we didn't want to risk pancreatitis to have it removed while she was already going to have to recover from the torsion surgery.  She is eating and drinking, peeing and pooping normally.

The bad news...

The radiation oncologists who were treating the chondosarcoma in Sam's nose don't feel it would be terribly beneficial to continue that treatment at this time.  She's had more than the treatments she would have had if we had chosen the palliative course instead of the full course in the first place, and with the mass in her abdomen and her age and her recent health problems... If we wanted to continue, they would, of course, do it, but I don't think in good conscience we can put her through the ordeal.  

So, if the mass on her pancreas actually isn't causing major problems like the aspiration seemed to show, then we have maybe 6 months for the nasal tumor.  If the mass on her pancreas is causing problems, then it'll probably be less.

Coming into this year (2010), I wasn't sure Sam would get all the way through it.  She seemed to be moving noticeably slower and had less energy than usual... it was just a general feeling I had.  I mean, 13 years for a lab/akita mix?  But she surprised me this spring.  There was more spring in her step.  She loved going to our new camper.  Eating, playing (a little, she's still like 90 in people years), annoyed at the people walking down the street again.  Hell, even as we were trying to figure out what was causing the nosebleeds she was alert and energetic.

I just want her to go on her own.  I think I will hate myself if I have to take her to the vet knowing she isn't coming back.

 Sam's biggest health problems during her first thirteen years were a couple of UTIs.

In the last 4 months, she's had a CT scan, two biopsies and a rhinoscopy, 9 radiation treatments, vomiting that caused an extremely low protein level in her blood, extreme dehydration, an ultrasound that revealed another mass in her abdomen, and today...

Bloat/gastric torsion.  The same thing that her sister died of a couple years ago.  Luckily, she made it though the surgery pretty well.  No necropsy in the tissues.

Unfortunately, the surgeon said the mass in her abdomen looks pretty bad despite what the aspiration at U of P revealed.  He called from the operating room to ask if we wanted him to take it out, which would have left her on the table longer and had a 25% - 30% chance of causing pancreatitis which would increase her recovery time if it didn't kill her.  The good side?  Most of the tumor would have been gone and it might have prolonged her life.

Since we don't really know what the tumor is yet, leaving it in seemed safer and gets our puppy home sooner.  We'll just have to figure out each step as we go.

Have I mentioned lately how much this summer has sucked for us?

Somewhere near the end of April, we were at the campground in our new camper when I noticed my dog's nose running with some red tint in it. Once home, a quick look online showed that it wasn't nothing or a semi-usual occurrence. It was something one should see his vet about.

( So we did...Collapse ) 

Got a call yesterday (7/27) from the radiation oncologist that their scheduling has changed and they can take Sam today (7/28) if we are able. I said sure and we talked particulars, like she would be there all day today. They are going to put in a SVAP, which stands for Something Vomething Access Port (I think the V is for Vascular), which allows easier access for drawing blood and administering anesthesia. They will take pictures of her mouth for the study she is in, and do a periodontal scoring, also for the study.

And I just got a call that I can pick her up, though she is pretty groggy still.

So LiveJournal is telling me it's been nine weeks since I posted. I have nothing really prepared, but there are a couple of things that have been kicking around the back of my head for bit. They seem to be music related.

( Black Light Burns and Hans Zimmer discussion to followCollapse )

 It is getting close to an election day and there are a lot of signs up on lawns around here.  The family was driving home from an early dinner and shopping trip and I noticed a sign on a lawn.  I remarked to my wife, in a curious tone, "I wonder what Millman Electric is running for."

Same trip, I saw another sign out of the corner of my eye, but I am fairly certain it said elect so-and-so Tax Collector.  Why would you elect *anyone* Tax Collector?  (Yes, I know why, but this was the first thought that went through my head.)

Got my MBP back with a new HD for free.

My daughter got a 19/20 on her first ever math test.  The one she missed, she literally missed -- she didn't see the question on the paper.

Well we made it through the first week.  The kids and I are getting into the routine.  It's kind of strange because I haven't had to force myself out of bed at a regular time for many years.  Now I'm going to be doing it for years.  My bedtime got earlier.  I'm glad we have a couple of DVRs in the house so I can still watch too much TV.

My goals for this week are to keep doing my walking, restart playing guitar (again), and go through the kids' clothes to get rid of the stuff that's too small.  I also need to call the company who put in our windows -- one of them is leaking -- and to call someone to find out about getting some new doors.

Been awhile since I posted.  I seem to have fallen into the habit of lurking, as I do on most of the fora I frequent.  I'm not sure that is what this is supposed to be for, so maybe I'll find some more stuff to try to post about.  For now, I guess I'll just bore you with my weekend.

Friday was going well, then came the backed up toilet.  I swear the pipes under our downstairs bathroom are about 1/2 inch in diameter.  The thing that really annoys me is that the water spilled then leaks down into the ceiling of my finished basement.  Spare towels were spread everywhere.

Saturday was slow also.  We had a few friends over for some grilled pork tenderloin and roasted potatoes with a salad.  Then we played a couple games of Last Night On Earth.  The second one ended late and it actually went all the way to the last possible move by the zombies trying to finish off my Hero.  I'm not sure we've ever had the zombies win, though there are some games where it seems they must.

Today we did nothing.  Kids went swimming.  We caught up on some of our DVR'd shows.  I started the kids' laundry.  The only reason I'm still awake now is that my leg was feeling a little restless and I didn't think I'd get to sleep right away.  That and it got to a point where I wanted to see the end of the Phillies game.  It's almost done, and now I am also.

Got an email from a friend the other day.

( Semi-maudlin semi-prose to followCollapse )