I was given the news about Sadie’s lymphoma a mere 15 minutes before I was scheduled to team-teach a class with my husband. There was no way I could tell him prior to class, and somehow God gave me the grace to get through the evening without losing control of my emotions. But I didn’t have to tell him; he knew me well enough to know my unspoken thoughts. We didn’t talk about it until the building cleared. Being Valentine’s Day, we decided to keep our dinner date at a local restaurant (while Sadie was being lovingly pampered by my in-laws) so we could discuss in private exactly what to do to care better for Sadie. We didn’t really like the thought of chemo, yet if it could buy her some time…. The plan of action was thus: I would take Sadie in for an ultrasound in the morning, hopefully it would shed light on the stage of disease. We would await a call from the veterinarian oncologist that we had seen the previous Thursday. We would consider all options. We wanted Sadie to enjoy life. The ironic thing about Sadie was that she had no idea she was sick up to this point! She was still spunky, still cuddly, still playful, still herself with one huge omission: her appetite. Now, that week was an exception in that, though sporadic, my journal shows that she ate more than she had been, as the dexamethasone shot was a huge boost. You can easily see how our hopes would surge, then fall. It was hard to see beyond the day.
On Feb. 15, her ultrasound showed mild enlargement of the liver, spleen, and intestinal lymph nodes. This is consistent with lymphoma. We were told that if we did nothing, Sadie would be gone 8-12 weeks from diagnosis. This was heartbreaking to hear. Yet, we were also told that lymphoma was treatable. We had to do something. I could not look down the future without seeing my Sadie. We didn’t hear from the oncologists at the Veterinary Hospital that day, but word was left for them to call. It would be a long weekend. On a positive note, Sadie’s appetite had been great for 3 days! It was an encouragement to know she was not suffering or in pain. Since Sadie’s behavior was perkier than it had been in 2 months, I made the decision to leave her for 4 hours so my husband and I could go to one of my favorite restaurants an hour away to celebrate my birthday a day early. I stayed with Sadie until my husband returned from church, and then we left her in the care of a group of loved ones who adored her. We had such a good time, and when we called to check on Sadie, we were told she was doing well and had eaten ½ of a chicken breast. “Good,” we thought. Then I had a sinking feeling, “what if it was fried?” “Surely not,” we thought. Turns out, it had been fried, but blotted. What followed was one of the worst nights in Sadie’s life. I can not say it enough times: DON’T give your animal grease! Especially if they’re not used to it. Under healthy circumstances, Sadie would have still been sick for days after such a meal, much less when battling anorexia and cancer! We awakened at 5am to Sadie vomiting violently. She had bloody diarrhea and went anorexic again on us. What a difference a day made! Unfortunately, from this point on it was a never ending saga. Never, never would I leave her for so long again! We had one of our roughest days ever with Sadie --- and it happened to be my birthday. I spoke at great length with Sadie’s vet who had been in touch with one of the top oncologists in the world. He suggested a middle-of-the-road approach to chemo, not hitting her too hard, and seeing what became of it. We would know soon if it was going to work. I was finally able to speak with the oncologist we had previously visited. Her recommendation was to drive Sadie back and forth the 3-4 hours to the clinic on a regular basis for a bit more aggressive treatment. It would cost anywhere from $4,000-8,000 and would buy her 6 months to a year. She would have to be left there sometimes without us. With her separation anxiety, this was not a realistic option. You’d just have to have seen her behavior to believe me. As far as the money goes, yes, obviously it was expensive; but that was not the deciding factor. I would have done anything reasonable to save Sadie, even if it meant parting with something I liked. I will say, though, how beneficial pet insurance would have been at this point. We ended up deciding on the middle-of-the-road approach, and the therapy would be administered by our local vet. The drugs were ordered that day, and we’d get started that week.
My birthday was a rough day. All I wanted was to see Sadie happy. And unfortunately, she was not happy for most of my birthday. She had been happy for several days before, though. I told my husband I wanted to see a spring in her step, and if we could go on a country drive to one of our favorite parks and let her sniff the breezy air, just like old times. She enjoyed the drive. When we got out to walk, we put her little flight jacket on. She always though she was “the stuff” when she wore it! Sure enough, despite the bad day, I was able to see that little bit of a spring in her step. That glimmer of the girl I loved so much. That was all I wanted for my birthday, and it was enough.
On Feb. 15, her ultrasound showed mild enlargement of the liver, spleen, and intestinal lymph nodes. This is consistent with lymphoma. We were told that if we did nothing, Sadie would be gone 8-12 weeks from diagnosis. This was heartbreaking to hear. Yet, we were also told that lymphoma was treatable. We had to do something. I could not look down the future without seeing my Sadie. We didn’t hear from the oncologists at the Veterinary Hospital that day, but word was left for them to call. It would be a long weekend. On a positive note, Sadie’s appetite had been great for 3 days! It was an encouragement to know she was not suffering or in pain. Since Sadie’s behavior was perkier than it had been in 2 months, I made the decision to leave her for 4 hours so my husband and I could go to one of my favorite restaurants an hour away to celebrate my birthday a day early. I stayed with Sadie until my husband returned from church, and then we left her in the care of a group of loved ones who adored her. We had such a good time, and when we called to check on Sadie, we were told she was doing well and had eaten ½ of a chicken breast. “Good,” we thought. Then I had a sinking feeling, “what if it was fried?” “Surely not,” we thought. Turns out, it had been fried, but blotted. What followed was one of the worst nights in Sadie’s life. I can not say it enough times: DON’T give your animal grease! Especially if they’re not used to it. Under healthy circumstances, Sadie would have still been sick for days after such a meal, much less when battling anorexia and cancer! We awakened at 5am to Sadie vomiting violently. She had bloody diarrhea and went anorexic again on us. What a difference a day made! Unfortunately, from this point on it was a never ending saga. Never, never would I leave her for so long again! We had one of our roughest days ever with Sadie --- and it happened to be my birthday. I spoke at great length with Sadie’s vet who had been in touch with one of the top oncologists in the world. He suggested a middle-of-the-road approach to chemo, not hitting her too hard, and seeing what became of it. We would know soon if it was going to work. I was finally able to speak with the oncologist we had previously visited. Her recommendation was to drive Sadie back and forth the 3-4 hours to the clinic on a regular basis for a bit more aggressive treatment. It would cost anywhere from $4,000-8,000 and would buy her 6 months to a year. She would have to be left there sometimes without us. With her separation anxiety, this was not a realistic option. You’d just have to have seen her behavior to believe me. As far as the money goes, yes, obviously it was expensive; but that was not the deciding factor. I would have done anything reasonable to save Sadie, even if it meant parting with something I liked. I will say, though, how beneficial pet insurance would have been at this point. We ended up deciding on the middle-of-the-road approach, and the therapy would be administered by our local vet. The drugs were ordered that day, and we’d get started that week.
My birthday was a rough day. All I wanted was to see Sadie happy. And unfortunately, she was not happy for most of my birthday. She had been happy for several days before, though. I told my husband I wanted to see a spring in her step, and if we could go on a country drive to one of our favorite parks and let her sniff the breezy air, just like old times. She enjoyed the drive. When we got out to walk, we put her little flight jacket on. She always though she was “the stuff” when she wore it! Sure enough, despite the bad day, I was able to see that little bit of a spring in her step. That glimmer of the girl I loved so much. That was all I wanted for my birthday, and it was enough.
