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Monday, July 09, 2007

Watch...and Wait....and Pray

I took Fire to the vet this afternoon for our appointment. The Dr. came in with the films and immediately told me that this was not "classic" of bone cancer. He pointed out the spot that was indicated in the X-Ray and went on to tell me that he'd heard of this, it's VERY rare, and he's NEVER seen it before; a bone cyst. The Dr. explained that if he were to show me photos in the books he's studied that give examples of the cyst, none are so clear as this. But there are other things going on with Fire that still indicate the possible presence of cancer.

For now, I am to complete the course of medications we were given and he made a slight adjustment to the schedule. (Two were to be given every 12 hours; one every 8. He changed the last to 12).

Typically, greyhounds have a low platelet count, but Fire's is high, but within normal limits (WNL), yet he has some odd bruising. I am to watch for any more and to let the vet know immediately should it appear. And we have to watch the lameness, see how he does when the meds are done. He gave us a PRN prescription for Rimadyl, for pain, once we finish off the first course.

And we are to take another X-Ray in about a month to get a progressive view of the area; if it doesn't change, then in all liklihood, it's the rare cyst which will cause discomfort for Fire, but which will not kill him. If it changes...well, then we're dealing with osteosarcoma, albeit with a strange beginning.

He gave it 50-50 odds of being cancer.

Oh, and Fire has an abscessed tooth that will need to be removed at some point. Great. Won't kill him, but if left alone, it will cause him pain and serve as a point of bacteria which will continue to enter the bloodstream. That's never a good thing.

So I guess the wait goes on. I am thankful that there is hope for something fairly benign, I'm sad that we are looking at more bills at a time I can least afford them, but I know that in all things, all I can do is trust God because worrying will not solve what is staring us down.

Thank you, all for the concern and prayers that you have expressed.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will keep praying! OLPH pray for us!

Cathy_of_Alex said...

This is cautiously optimistic news-sounds way better then the other day, IMHO.

Poor Fire. He must be just miserable. So must his Mom and sister.

You are all still in my prayers.

Melody K said...

50-50 odds are scary, but things aren't sounding as dark as they were previously. One day at a time! I'll keep praying.

Cathy said...

Adoro,
Set up a free Paypal account "Fire Fund."
I will gladly donate what I can - I'm sure others would, too!

Anonymous said...

Our Scottish Terrier, Mac, had Rimadyl for bone pain after surgery on his knee, and it really helped him. Hopefully it will help Fire as well.

Adoro said...

ma beck ~ I had not wanted to do that, but as this is drawing out and getting more and more expensive, well, at this point I may not have a choice. Not with my current circumstances, and of course this isn't something that can be ignored.

Adoro said...

ok I went to paypal because have an account. It's an old one I needed to pay for services for a website I used to be involved with.

Anyway, it seems the only way to get funds is to have email addresses to request the funds. It's not something that people can just "click to donate".

Ma Beck, do you or does anyone else know how to set this kind of thing up? It just doesn't seem to be an option and I read all the help topics.

Hidden One said...

I don't knwo how to set it up, but I do know how, and will continue to, pray for you and Fire.

Cathy said...

Dang!
Where'd my genius comment from earlier go, where I suggested asking either Matthew at Catholic Life, Gerald at Cafeteria, or Jackie at Mom of Ten??
They all have a button.
Sorry I can't help, but I bet they can!
:)