Boone’s adventures

16 days post surgery today and everything is better!  For the first 10 days, Boone was not progressing.  He just layed on his bed and would collapse trying to walk.  I was certain I had made a mistake and he would not be ok.  I started to think he was depressed.  I began to womder how I would care for a dog that can’t stand up and walk and doesn’t want to.  I had read stories of dogs walking the day of surgery and how resilient dogs will be.  Boone was not recovering and I was in a panic.  Many people said that the first two weeks are the worst, so I was waiting for that mark to arrive.

Towards the end of the second week, Boone started getting up and walking a little.  He would get himself over to the other side of the room or switch positions.  He still seemed very depressed and just a few steps seemed so difficult and exhausting.  He would fall every time he needed to go out.

But then…. I arrived home on Sunday (day 15), and Boone was at the door with his ball in his mouth!  Something switched, and all of a sudden, Boone was back. It literally happened overnight.  He is back to chasing the cat, barking at the cookie cabinet, circling the dinner table etc.  I have never been so happy to see his naughty behavior!

For anyone else feeling like its not getting better, the 2 week mark is real!

 

 

Yesterday was huge!  For the first 3 days, Boone was not doing much but sleeping.  He would collapse when trying to go to the bathroom. He seemed extremely weak and we were concerned that there may have been some nerve damage or something.   I reduced his Gapapentin from 600 mg per day to 200 mg per day and he was suddenly awake and alert.  He stood himself up and got himself to the other side of the room a few times.  He isn’t overly steady yet and gets tired after just a dozen steps, but a big improvement.  Today, I am going to try no gabapentin and see how he is on just rimadyl.

No issues with healing.  He hasn’t had any swelling and his bruising is just about gone.  He has shown zero signs of pain or distress since surgery.  I keep reminding myself of that because he was in alot of pain before.  Its stunning how large his scar is and how much smaller he looks.  Once his fur starts to come in, he will look more like himself.  I hope he understands why I had to do this to him.

Thursday, May 17th  began the longest week of my life so far.  Boone had been limping for a couple of weeks. I assumed he pulled something while playing with his cousin.  Rimadyl was not helping so I brought him into the vet for X-Rays.  On Saturday morning, while watching Harry and Meghan get married, the phone rang.  It was osteocarcoma, an aggressive and painful bone cancer.

The treatment is amputation and chemotherapy.  My immediate reaction was ‘No Way’.  I was not about to put my 12 year old dog through all of that.  I felt like it would be selfish to put him through agony just so I could have more time with him. Then I began reading more about it and I reached out to a vet oncologist that I know.  He explained that Boone is in alot of pain right now and amputation is actually the humane choice.  The pain from the cancer is gone after the surgery.  Also, chemo for dogs is not like chemo for people.  Most dogs do great with little or no side effects.  The treatment is a series of 3-4 shots spaced out 3-4 weeks apart.  Much better than I imagined.

I scheduled Boone’s surgery for the following Friday, May 25th.  The week up to the surgery was hard.  Boone was clearly in pain, even with the combo of pain meds he was taking.  It was heartbreaking to watch.  By the time surgery day came, I couldn’t get him there fast enough. I wanted that damn cancer off him ASAP!  He was in so much pain- the surgery was a relief.

Boone came home yesterday from his front right leg amputation.  His pain is GONE.  He is tired and mostly sleeping.  He did not stand up yesterday but this morning he took his first steps.  We are on the upswing!

 

 

Boone tore his ACL when he was about 7 or 8.  He got the surgery to repair it and it was fine.  Honestly, I waited too long to do the surgery. I kept hoping it would heal on its own, but by waiting, I allowed him to slow down more than he would have if I had done it right away.  Lesson learned.

The surgery was much easier than I had read about.  I picked him up and he was walking (limping) already.  The recovery takes a few months, but the focus is more holding him back from running and jumping, rather than him building up to it.  We needed to have slow controlled walks so that he would use both legs equally and not favor the stronger leg.  It was ok until a squirrel ran by!

Overall, very helpful surgery and I would recommend it sooner rather than later.