The results came in to VCA Aurora at 7:51am this morning. Sometime later that morning, they faxed them to Donna. She called me to pass along the results (which is incredibly, incredibly nice of her considering I won't get a call from VCA until Monday -- when oncology staff come back to work). The complete diagnosis is: Chrondroblastic Osteosarcoma, Low Grade Malignancy. Prognosis: Guarded.
As awful as it is to hear the results, it is what I was preparing for. The little, itty, bitty present is that it is a a low grade malignancy. So, as terrible as osteosarcoma is, at the very least she has the better end of this cancer. I'm hoping that amputation & chemo can kick that low grade malignancy's ass.
So, the plan is still the same. I will bring the biopsy results with me to U of I on Monday when we have the surgical consultation. My understanding is that they will do a physical exam & talk to me about exactly what they are planning to do. I expect I'll hear advice on how to take care of her once she's home, what to expect in general, pain management, etc. Her surgery will then be scheduled for the next day. I'll be able to bring her home on Monday, but she'll need to be very early Tuesday morning. I've already been told that she'll have to stay at least one night (maybe more -- all depending on how her surgery goes). The good news is that I should be able to come visit.
I've been thinking about how to best help Millie adjust to three legs. I found a lovely website (tripawds.com) with a lot of useful tips. One thing I worry about is how she'll balance when she squats to go to the bathroom. I also worry about her getting in and out of the car & getting out of the crate after surgery. I suspect that she'll get better and stronger with time, but I worry about her immediately following surgery. A harness on Tripawds looked like it might do the trick. It's called the Get-A-Grip harness from AST (pictured below). I called the company today, but haven't heard back. I'd really like to have it here before she comes home, though I doubt that will happen.
I plan on lowering my bed this weekend as well. I'll take it down off of the frame so that it is easier to get her into bed for post surgical snuggles.
Millie continues to act normal. She is taking several pain meds, so I'm sure that plays a very large role in how well she is doing. She was very stoic following her TPLOs though, so I wonder about how she really feels. Sugar's stomach upset has gone away too. Therefore, we spent a good portion of the day enjoying life as much as possible. I took each dog on a walk (though not too long so that Millie wasn't sore), and we even had a bit of a dance party (okay, it's me dancing & singing to the animals, but they seem to enjoy it & dance with me). I am trying to make this weekend as fun as I can for her. We want to celebrate life on four legs before we get rid of that nasty tumor.
Millie has also gotten in a fair bit of barking at the neighbors. I'm fine with that. Honestly, this dog can do anything she wants for the rest of her life.
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