D'Elle Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 I understand about the roller-coaster, having been on one myself with a dearly beloved animal. It can feel crazy at times, but you are on it for the duration. Please do not think you should stop posting, because all of us who are following this thread want to "be there" for you during this time. Hoping for many more good days for you and Tyra.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 She should be getting pork chops for putting up with the compress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 I am going tonight to get a bunch of different ground meats so she still gets goodies even after the next surgery. I'll just run them through the food processor with some oatmeal (and soaked kibble! shhh). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 We are home from surgery. All good news so far. The original tumor site showed no recurrence to the naked eye. Of course there could be microscopic cells anywhere. It looks like the problem area was lower where he removed some accessory salivary gland last time to send with the tumor just to check to see if it had spread. That is where the pocket formed and trapped food. Everything is all cleaned out and stitched up. He removed the small hard lump under her jaw bone and sent it in for testing. He does not think it is the melanoma. But he figured since he already had her under to just get it out and check it. She is really gorked out and quite whiney and restless. This really needs to be the last time she goes under. Its just so hard on her at this age. BUT well worth it this time!! She can go back to normal food in two days, her new normal! Thank you all again for your concern, prayers, well wishes, commiseration, and just being there for us. It really does make a difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Yes, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 :D :D Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisK Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 such good news.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 All I can say is, thank God for exploding abscesses! I thought we were loosing our 15 year old cat a couple weeks ago when the whole side of his head bloated up like a melon. The vet warned about feline cancers of the mouth etc - but this was on a Saturday when they couldn't take him for surgery. So, they sent me home with some antibiotics and well wishes. Sometime late Sunday night or early Monday morning, his face exploded and stuff dripped out until he looked like the walking dead! But ... the gunk drained, the hole healed up and tonight he's napping on the arm of my chair with only a bald patch on his cheek to show for it.As I said, thank God ... May you and your sweet Tyra have many good days to come!~ Gloria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted April 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Another Yay! for abscesses !! Tyra had a very rough night. Lots of pacing. Lots of out to go messy potty. Some whining. She finally settled some time around 2:30 am. She crashed hard, didn't even move or wake up when I got up off the couch to go shower. She did eventually get up when I was in the kitchen. But I couldn't get her to eat more than two tablespoons. Out for more messy potty. Hopefully by the time I get home around 1:00 she will be feeling better. I took out some chicken to bake. If she doesn't want to eat that I will really start to worry. Fingers crossed it is just taking her a long time to recover from the anesthesia. It would suck to go through all this to get her fixed up just to have her kidneys or liver fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Is it possible she's reacting to all the special foods you've been feeding her? Combined with anesthesia it just might be too much for her digestive system. Heck, it might've been too much for her digestive system all by itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 So glad she is doing better!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted April 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 She's doing better now. A long way from normal but she ate some more and she's clearly not as woozy. Poor thing has been through A LOT! I guess I should give her more credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 I'm pulling for Tyra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Sending you good mojo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted April 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Thanks! We had a great weekend. She's just acting like a regular old dog now. Savoring regular days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Whoot-whoot! (Or, as Celt would say, "Woo, woo, woo!") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Great weekends are something to savor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Love regular, boring old days. Glad you're enjoying yours. Ruth and Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted April 25, 2016 Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 Glad the roller coaster is over! Boring is quite acceptable in some cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted April 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2016 The biopsy came back as melanoma in the lymph node. Not surprising. BUT Tyra is clearly feeling good, back to her old pre-diagnosis/surgeries self. Still savoring every moment. Even more since she clearly feels better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted April 27, 2016 Report Share Posted April 27, 2016 So glad to hear the she is still enjoying life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvw Posted June 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 An update for anyone wondering. Tyra did have another infection in the surgery site after the second surgery. This time I knew what I was seeing. I used hot compresses and drained it. Luckily there was still a small hole in the cheek from the second surgery that they had left for drainage. They wanted to put her on Clavamox but I could not get to their office as it is out of town. They called some local vets for me but they were all out due to a shortage apparently. So we ended up getting Augmentin the human version from Costco. Holy cow!! EXPENSIVE. Sadly she had a horrible reaction to it. After three days on it she was staggering around like a zombie. I actually was not sure if it was the meds or if she had a stroke or something else going on. I decided to stop the antibiotics to see if she got better. She did! It took about three days for her to go back to normal. We had another wonderful three weeks. The only ailment seemed to be her arthritis bothering her since she decided she no longer will tolerate coconut oil in her food. And now the tumor is growing back on her cheek. I can't tell how much if any pain she has. But there is lots of head shaking so it is at least uncomfortable. Other than that she seemed pretty good. Up until last night. When it was time to go out to pee before going to bed she didn't want to get up. She let me sit down next to her and pet her for about 20 minutes. This is not normal for her. She is not a dog that likes a lot of touch. But she seemed to cherish it last nigh, not wanting me to stop. Finally she did get up and go out. Another odd behavior this morning. She has always been terrified of the hair dryer. When I would get up in the morning she would go down stairs and wait for me to be done. Even when she went deaf she still followed the same pattern. Then when she started having problems on the stairs I would carry her down and then go back up to get ready. Well today I did that. But when I was drying my hair this morning who shows up IN THE BATHROOM? She does! With this look I can't explain. But not fear. And then again before I left for work she cherished some more petting. I'm savoring every moment trying very very hard to make sure I'm not being selfish keeping her through the bad moments. But so far she keeps coming through them. The trick is to make the decision before there is no return from the next bad one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 It is so hard knowing when to make the decision. I can't help wondering if she might be trying to tell you something with these unusual behaviors in the past couple of days. . . . I always ask my dogs to tell me when it's time, and there's been more than once when they did exactly that. Best wishes as you negotiate the end of this journey with Tyra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.