Surgical Consult with U of I

This morning we had Millie's surgical consult with U of I.  Evan & I rode together with Mil & my mom met us at the clinic.  Mil was pumped to see my mom, practically exploding with joy!  She was uneasy when we got inside, but was pretty pleased that some of her most favorite people were there.  We were called back fairly quickly by Millie's 4th year vet student.  A technician student from a local college was on her soft tissue?/osteo?/surgical? rotation, so she would be shadowing the appointment.  Believe it or not, this tech student was the same assistant who helped assist with Millie's unofficial diagnostic x-rays at our regular vet.  What a small world.

The 4th year student did a physical exam & took down notes about Millie's history and medications.  I immediately liked her, which is a good thing, since she'll basically be taking care of Mil while she stays at U of I.  The poor girl weighs all of 98lbs, so Mil might give her a run for the money.  Speaking of weight, Mil is down to 137.  That is the smallest she's been in her adult life!  This is fantastic news & will hopefully help her learn to be a three legged dog even faster.  Anyway...the 4th year student relayed everything to our resident...who then relayed it to the staff surgeon.  All of them came back into the room to explain exactly what would happen, what kind of complications I could see, etc.  They fear that because Millie is still weight bearing on all four limbs she will have a harder time learning to balance on three - maybe even needing physical therapy.  They mentioned that she has a touch of arthritis in her right rear (which I knew) and just a hair of arthritis in her right elbow (surprise to me). Almost all of this information was what I expected.  The one thing that threw me off was where they would amputate the leg.  All along I had expected a full amputation (taking it from the hip), but they wanted to do a partial amputation - leaving part of her femur.  I expressed concern about this method, as every other person providing an opinion had suggested taking the whole leg.  I think I would have been more comfortable about the whole change in plans had my concerns been taken seriously.  They were almost dismissed.  "We prefer to do it this way" was all I heard.  NO!  This is my dog, my baby girl, and I need to know why.  The second time around they tried to address my questions, and did a decent job of explaining themselves.  When the resident and staff surgeon left I still was not 100% comfortable with how this was being handled, but figured I could re-think it & run it by Donna later.  The 4th year and I chatted about Millie's normal routine, how often she would walk her, when I could come visit (at the very earliest it will be Wednesday late afternoon!! -- seems like forever), etc.  She seemed to really like Millie, and I really like her.  So, at the very least, I knew I would feel good about Millie's post op care.  Our student would also be in observing the surgery, and promised to call as soon as Millie was anesthetized and again when she was extubated.  She also told me that I could stay with Millie tomorrow morning until the absolute last minute before her surgery.  Thank goodness.  We ended the consult with a visit from the oncology resident that we had a consultation with last Thursday.  I have a much better feel for him now and am pleased he took the time to answer any last minute questions I had about chemo.

Mil ended the day by coming to work with me (getting lots of snuggles, treats & well wishes) and another short walk around the neighborhood.  I was able to order her special harness as well.  The gentleman I spoke to was fantastic & offered to put it in the mail today, so that I could have it by Wednesday.  Donna called and talked me off the ledge regarding amputation site.  I swear I couldn't do this without her.

I can't even believe her surgery is tomorrow.  Forget that, it is less than 12 hours away.  I will not vomit.  I will not vomit.  I will not cry.  I will not cry.  Tonight is going to be a long night.