We had been gone 9 months, and we received a phone call that Sadie was sick. She had not been acting like herself lately, and it was discovered that she was suffering from bladder stones. Surgery was scheduled and my husband and I waited to hear the latest news. When the call came in, we were not prepared for what we would be told. A mass had been discovered in Sadie’s throat when inserting the anesthesia tube. The veterinarian removed the mass and had it immediately sent to the lab. As terrible as the bladder stones were, this mass could be much worse. Her surgery would prove to be a blessing in disguise.
A couple of days later we received very bad news: Sadie’s tonsil tumor was squamous cell carcinoma. She was given only 6 months to live, and we were told that even if we tried to treat her cancer, the chances were very bleak, as it was one of the most aggressive types of cancer. She would have a better quality of life if we did nothing. I’m not the type to just “do nothing” but in this case we were given no hope for survival. To hear this news was devastating emotionally. Yet, my husband and I believe in the power of prayer and knew that if God had orchestrated Sadie’s path to be with us, then He was big enough to heal her. We knew He cared about even the smallest of His creatures. And so we asked all our friends to pray for Sadie. And they did.
Our course of action with the veterinarian was to monitor her condition, getting blood work and X-rays on a regular basis. We were taking one day at a time, believing and knowing that nothing was too hard for God.
This occurred in March 2003, and we already had plans to visit home in July. We weren’t quite sure what to do. Would leaving her again harm her? Or would seeing us cheer her up? We would take one step at a time and see how things panned out. Sadie was never good about recovering quickly from surgery, but after a while she returned to her usual self, behaving like a puppy. As the days turned into months, Sadie was not exhibiting symptoms of the cancer. Her X-rays were clear and her blood work normal. We decided to make the trip home, after all. It had been 13 months since we last saw our little girl and just like the first time we saw her . . . . we had butterflies again!
A couple of days later we received very bad news: Sadie’s tonsil tumor was squamous cell carcinoma. She was given only 6 months to live, and we were told that even if we tried to treat her cancer, the chances were very bleak, as it was one of the most aggressive types of cancer. She would have a better quality of life if we did nothing. I’m not the type to just “do nothing” but in this case we were given no hope for survival. To hear this news was devastating emotionally. Yet, my husband and I believe in the power of prayer and knew that if God had orchestrated Sadie’s path to be with us, then He was big enough to heal her. We knew He cared about even the smallest of His creatures. And so we asked all our friends to pray for Sadie. And they did.
Our course of action with the veterinarian was to monitor her condition, getting blood work and X-rays on a regular basis. We were taking one day at a time, believing and knowing that nothing was too hard for God.
This occurred in March 2003, and we already had plans to visit home in July. We weren’t quite sure what to do. Would leaving her again harm her? Or would seeing us cheer her up? We would take one step at a time and see how things panned out. Sadie was never good about recovering quickly from surgery, but after a while she returned to her usual self, behaving like a puppy. As the days turned into months, Sadie was not exhibiting symptoms of the cancer. Her X-rays were clear and her blood work normal. We decided to make the trip home, after all. It had been 13 months since we last saw our little girl and just like the first time we saw her . . . . we had butterflies again!
