Amputation Day

10/23/2008

Today is the day. I'm so sad.

I don't go to see her in the morning. I want her calm for her surgery. I can go see her tonight. I call to remind them to ship her leg off for histopathology. I need to be sure this is not cancer. Ship her leg off, that sounds so crude to me. This is the leg that Old Fart & I have spent a fortune on. This leg represents a portion of Old Fart's retirement. And it's not so much the money, but the time & emotion and tears we have already shed.

Georgia calls me a around 10:30 to let me know they are prepping her for her amputation. It's too late to change my mind now. It has to be done.

Did I tell you it's been 11 months - to the day - since her first surgery on this beautiful leg. We had such high hopes that day. No sadness, no crying, just hopes for a bright future.

Around 3:30, I got word that she is out of surgery & resting now after a bit of crying. They told me to come on up to see her at dinnertime. Shelley (who is a vet) and I will go together as she is my support.

The Old Fart & I moved things around in the "dog room" to make a larger space for her when she comes home. We can baby gate that room off from the rest of the pack. I have a futon mattress we’ll throw on the floor for either of us to lay on. Calamity does not like to sleep with anyone, so I will just try to sleep close to her.

I have tramadol here, as well as metacam, rimadyl & many antibiotics. I’ll be good to go on whatever they want her on at home. They did say she will still have her patch on.
My biggest hope & prayer is that the histopathology comes back negative for osteo. I would have never put her through this if I knew it was osteo. We have lost 2 greyhounds in the past year to broken bones from cancer, one was hemangio that metted to the leg & the other was "the monster". I hate the monster.

We go to visit her after having some dinner ans she is groggy, as expected. I see her leg gone & I break down. She has her IV attached and is getting morphine & lidocaine through it. It keeps her somewhat sedated. She knows we are there & seems to get comfort from getting her head rubbed. They have her entire chest wrapped but you can see some of the incision. it's huge. On her blue wrap, they have written "Here's Woody" - "Here comes Woody" is what they call as the lure comes around the racetrack - Shelley & I think this is cute. We leave her to get the rest she needs.