Rickiesmom

Godspeed George. Peace and comfort to all who loved your sweet soul.

I am so sorry. My heart dog, bridge girl Bonnie was a shepherd - they are like no others.

Joining right in. Picking up the chant in Indy. And in Toronto. Hang in there Train as long as you need to and then time to choo choo.............

Sending prayers for Blitz.

I called the hospital with a question about the Tramadol dose, and the intern volunteered that the pathology report was in and the margins are CLEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tears won't stop, of relief this time. We have an appointment for the staples to come out next Thursday afternoon, and I won't allow myself to really believe the news til the surgeon confirms it, but still. Rickie is healing - he is starting to play, a good sign. We won't relax the care and safety routine until we are given new instructions next week, but for now, things are good. No, they are GREAT! It is so good to be able to share a happy update - thank you all for your support when it was tough-going.

So glad Beau is feeling better and you got a more detailed explanation. Hoping OSU gets back to you soon with a completely dull explanation.

I am sorry for not posting sooner, it has been a tumultuous 24h. We weren't expecting Rickie to be discharged until today - they decided yesterday he was well enough and also felt (we agreed) that he would eat and rest better at home. So the first order of business was to leave work early and rush home via food-temptations-shopping to finish preparing the house for his arrival. We picked him up about 7:30PM and were told to look closely at the incision so we'd know if there were any change, especially swelling, new bruising, weeping, etc. He was thrilled to be home, and though confined to the dining room with nothing to jump on, took quite awhile to settle down. He gobbled his food, which was mainly the usual stuff with a few goodies added, like he hadn't eaten properly in days - which was the case. I was thrilled. Apparently the pickiness was all related to being in the hospital. Later, after a short and careful potty trip on leash to the backyard, he settled down for the night. I slept beside the dog bed so I'd know if he moved or had any problem. Most of the night was pretty good - though he insisted on sleeping on the incision-side. Go figure. He had one bad moment when he decided to move to the people mattress on the floor and sort of slid off as he tried to settle. I tried to help him but it hurt him and from watching him it seems everything is low enough that he is able to manage for himself pretty well. In the morning he looked redder and puffier, although he was happy to go out with me to potty and again ate like a starving creature. We called the hospital and they agreed that a cold compress, well wrapped, would be a good idea to reduce the swelling, and suggested that we alternate warm and cold. I had to be at work early, so DH was on duty. He called me mid-morning to say Rickie wouldn't tolerate the cold pack, growled at him and whimpered when he tried to put it on; that he was having trouble getting comfortable. I walked out of a meeting, got into the car, picked them both up and we went down to the hospital. They took him into the back and we waited and waited. I was a wreck, imagining all sorts of things they might have to do to help him, not thinking clearly enough to realize nothing would happen without discussion first. You can imagine, then, how surprised I was when the attending vet came out and said two surgeons had examined him and thought he looked fine. Huh? Apparently the changes were not as extreme as they seemed to me, they felt everything was in good shape, said he showed no sign of pain when they handled the leg, etc. Advice was status quo on the Tramadol and activity management. I was relieved but also surprised - asked a lot of questions, challenged some things, but that's what it came down to. She did say, which I hadn't known, that it is around now (4 - 5 days post op) that skin will start dying if it's going to, and there are no signs so far of that. We are to retry compresses, alternating warm and cold. Warm is to help circulation, which will help the skin to stay alive. We got home a little after two, and Rickie has been snoozing most of the time since, except for a potty break. I feel so sorry for him in the cone, but they were emphatic that he shouldn't have it off unless we were right with him - there is no skin left for repairs if he does damage, and that's pretty convincing motivation. At RooRoo's suggestion I ordered a Comfy Collar which should arrive tomorrow, and will hopefully provide gentler protection. Shortly I will feed him, try the compress once he gets comfortable, and in due course we'll have a last outing and then settle down for what I pray will be an uneventful night. No word on the pathology report yet, should be tomorrow. Thank you again for the ongoing support and prayers.

We are going to do meals-on-wheels as long as he's in there, probably two more days - he won't eat for the clinic staff. Not their fault, he is picky and doesn't eat when stressed. As long as we can have the family room and he can relax, he'll eat something. Tripe was no-go tonight, but chicken and Ensure+ice cream were OK. I'll take some cheese tomorrow AM as well. His leg had just been iced before we came and looked better than this AM - still oozing a bit, still swollen toward the bottom, but less red-angry looking. If anyone has other suggestions to make a picky post-surgical dog eat, please let me know!

Robin I am just seeing this and in some ways am glad as it sounds like he's doing better today. When do you expect the results back from Cornell / OSU? Meanwhile, don't borrow trouble - and give that most handsome boy lots of smooches from me.

I went down to the hospital mid-morning expecting only to drop off food, but the attending vet asked me to stay and see if he would eat for me. It was a much better setup - they brought him into the "family room" which is like an exam room converted into a sitting room. We took off the cone, put him up on the couch and I closed the door so it was very quiet and private. I had brought quite a few things with me hoping he'd want something. And, drumroll, he ATE!! He had about 1/6 can of tripe, all the chicken (a few onces I'd guess) and maybe 1/4c of melted reduced fat vanilla Haagen Daas. No go on the hard boiled egg. I'm going to pick up some vanilla Ensure to mix with the icecream for the next time we go. I was able to get a better look at the suture line today and it's pretty impressive - it runs several inches along his abdomen and then in sort of a loop over the main site. I was really focused on feeding and cuddling so didn't check it out too thoroughly beyond that. The leg in the lower part between the site and the foot is still quite swollen and there is still a bit of oozing in the lower part of the incision, but overall I thought he looked pretty good, all things considered. He's on pretty heavy duty IV painkillers - Fentanyl and Domitor. I noticed that while he is aware of what is going on around him, he's also sort of glassy eyed, and when nothing has his attention he is inclined to put his head down and rest, which is good. I'll call shortly and ask them if I can repeat this for dinner tonight and maybe breakfast and dinner tomorrow. Thank you for your ongoing good thoughts, which are surely helping Rickie and me.

Saturday AM: spoke with the vet taking care of Rickie in recovery. She said he is still heavily sedated but stable. They are monitoring him closely and are starting to lower the pain meds a little, though she said they adjust back up if there is any sign of discomfort as he needs to be comfortable in order to heal. They will try to get him to eat later today - in the meantime he's on IV fluids. I told her I can bring down some roasted chicken if he won't take what they are offering (and even if he will). His suture lines look fine - a little bleeding at the main site which is to be expected with this kind of surgery. When I go down as well as food I'll probably bring him a piece of laundry so he has something familiar around him. I miss him so much.

I am so very sorry.

Rickie is out of surgery - surgeon said it went well. Most of you know the relief of hearing those words. Surgeon decided that rotating skin from the inner leg would produce too much tension, so he made an incision along the abdomen instead. Rickie will be in the hospital until, probably, Monday. I wish he could come home sooner but on the other hand think it's good he'll be in a very quiet and managed environment for that first critical period. Now we wait for the pathology report - should be back Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you for the good thoughts, they really helped.

Thank you for your well wishes and prayers. We are heading down to the vet hospital shortly.

My 10 year old whippet Rickie's hemangiopericytoma returned in his right rear leg above the knee. He is having surgery tomorrow. The surgery is being done at a specialty hospital that has an oncologist, and pain management specialist on staff. To try and get clean margins around the original site, they will remove an area a bit smaller than the size of your palm down through one layer of muscle. To avoid a skin graft they will make incisions inside the thigh, rotate the skin in order to get coverage, then suture everything up. (They will nevertheless shave all areas where they might take skin for a graft, just in case, so he'll be quite the sight.) He'll be in the hospital for 2 - 4 days, and the recovery period is 2 - 4 weeks. We are in touch with Dr. Couto. We thought long and hard about whether this was the right thing to do, given the long recovery. We also discussed it with two vets we know well. He's healthy and full of life, fun and spunk. We felt it would be wrong not to give him the chance for a longer life, and we will be well supported post-op. We have negotiated with our employers so that one of us will always be working from home so he is never unattended, and the dining room is being converted to a safe and comfortable recovery room where we will sleep with him (futon on the floor so it's low) at night. Although it feels like the right thing to do, I am both worried and scared for him, and praying hard the recovery is as easy and pain free as can be. If anyone has been through something like this, I would so appreciate insights and suggestions based on your experience within the thread or via PM. Thank you for any white light you can send my sweet boy tomorrow. July 18PM: Rickie is out of surgery and doing well. More info in post 22.

So glad everyone is feeling better!!

Nothing useful to contribute Robin, just hugs to sweet Chloe and her worried mom.

Poor sweet Beau. Hope the deramaxx does the trick and he's back feeling fine in a couple of weeks.

Just seeing this now - you will be at the vet's. Always a worry when things happen with our hounds for no apparent reason. The only good thing is that this has been going on for so long, which seems to rule out some the the scariest possibilities. Will be watching for an update, and sending to handsome Beau.

Another vote for OSU, as soon as possible. Sending prayers for Tux.

Sending prayers for Angel. Please keep us updated.

Look up gentamicin - probably don't want to be on that for too long - see side effects section: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentamicin My Arlie had chronic problems with an ear that had dirt down too deep to clean conventionally. We kept it under control until she needed anaesthetic for another reason - a dental - and then she had it flushed and suctioned. Not suggesting you should wait - just agreeing it needs to be done under anaesthetic.

Hugs to Miss Foxy and to you too Janet

My whippet Rickie has a tumour removed about a year ago from his right hind leg - it was diagnosed via needle aspirate. The vet, because of where it was, did not think he got clean margins, although he tried, and unfortunately did not stain the sample before sending to the pathology lab - the sample was somehow compromised in transit and the lab was unable to tell. There is a small growth in the same area that was just found - we just went to a specialist yesterday who isn't sure it's a returning tumour, but did a needle aspirate - we should have the results today or Monday at latest, and will then decide what to do. If it is another tumour we will likely have another surgery and I will ask the clinic's oncologist to contact OSU re. the chemo/sesame oil protocol that Foxysmom mentioned.

Awww baby. Be lifted up by those who love you here, to the waiting arms of angels.