University of Arizona - Blah!

Yesterday, once again I called VSEC to see about the histopathology results of Calamity's leg. The surgical coordinator had gone for the day, so I asked to speak to Beth.

Beth is the blood bank/donor coordinator and since Calamity (and my others) are blood donors, I sometimes turn to her to advocate for Calamity. Beth sometimes works for Dr. Heeb - the oncologist - so she understands the importance of getting the information on her leg also. She agrees to call the lab to see what the hold up is. Within a few minutes she calls back to tell me they are closed for Vetern's Day and she promises to call tomorrow. She does tell me the million dollar leg is at the University of Arizona. *Sigh* another day of waiting, but I know Beth will keep her word.

We talk about how Calamity is healing wonderfully & if there is no cancer, she can get back t donating. She feels guilty, but I remind her we did this so she can be a regular ole dog once again. Back to LIFE and back to LIVING! Yes, she can donate once again once all of this is over!

This afternoon, my phone finally rings and the called ID is VSEC. Well, we finally have some news! I answer the phone and Beth tells me that her & Dr. Desch have both called today and here is what she found out. They actually start at the good end of her leg and move towards the bad part. This is so they can get good margins. I thought they would start at the bad part and move out in either direction - WRONG! As of yet, they have not found any cancer in any of the sections they have looked at. At least someone has said what they are, or are not, finding. This is better than the silence. They are getting into the broken parts now and will have an answer on Friday. That is 2 days from now, 3 weeks post-amp.

I still don't know why they take so long on something that can make or break her life. I don't understand why they would not pull a small sample of the broken area for a biopsy first. I just don't understand how this all really works. If someone really is a "lab rat" and can explain this to me, please do. Maybe they don't have a Veterinarian School?

I just need to quit bitching and be hopeful for the good news on Friday.

Up She Comes

Last night proved to be a huge turning point in Calamity's healing. She loves to lay on the sofa by me and have her head rubbed. She loves her head rubbed more than anything in the world. Rub her ears, rub her head, rub her muzzle, rub her chin, rub her neck, just rub her!

Old Fart & I have 5 dogs beds laying on the living room floor now as well as a well padded crate for her to go into to lay where no one can step on her or bump into her, but last night that wasn't good enough for her. She stood at the doorway looking into the bedroom wanting a place to be quiet. I invited her to come sit by me on the sofa, figuring I would lift her up. She came over and "scouted" the area she wanted & just popped right up! No cries, no yipes, no whimpers. She snuggled down by me and lay her head on my leg. I rubbed her head and praised her for being such a brave girl.

This also gave me a great opportunity to have a good look at her incision, which is healing nicely. I ran my fingers across it lightly, feeling for anything that might strike me as odd, but found nothing.

When she decided it was time to get down, I spoke softly and calmly to her, asking her to go slow & take it easy. I swear she understand me as she slowly dropped her front leg down and lifted her back legs off the sofa and onto the floor. Ever so gently.

Once that she figured out how to get on the sofa, she was back for three more visits during the evening. This is how she has always operated, up, down, up, down all night. She's back!