Final Exam

Once again, apologies for letting some time pass between my last post and now. We have had a rough few weeks, here's what's been going on. Oh, I should say that all things pregnancy-related are just fine. Also, forgive the long windedness of this post and the medical details / chronology...putting all of this down is probably more cathartic for me than anything else.

handsome little devil rules the roost

his favorite spot, our bed

For the last six months, our main dude Mookie has had a mysterious medical issue. On February 14th, we brought him to the vet for a gash on his left hind leg. Since it was wide open, he got staples / antibiotics / and (the dreaded) cone. It healed up nicely. On May 22nd, we noticed the wound was back. We brought him to the vet again and I asked if it could possibly be the result of something coming from the inside-out. We took an X-ray that proved inconclusive and the wound healed. On June 29th, I noticed a growth (I have photos for those of you with a dark side) that was causing the skin - in the same spot - to split open. Off to the vet we went, this time culminating in surgery to remove (July 1st) and biopsy (July 5th) the nubbin. 

Not good news. Mookie was diagnosed with fibrosarcoma - an aggressive, malignant soft tissue cancer that can occur at a vaccination site. We were told the growth was the "tip of the iceberg". The following days were trying, as we waited to visit with an oncologist at Sage Emergency Veterinary Center. On July 10th, we brought our much traumatized cat to yet another doctor's office. A series of tests - chest X-rays, abdominal ultrasound, blood work - were run to determine if it had spread. Two pieces of good news - it had not and the location of the growth, in the lower part of his leg, was considered ideal for treatment via surgery (e.g. amputation). On July 12th, Mookie had his left hind leg removed. 

perhaps some more pain med's, please

Surgery went well. Two things to note: 1) during prep (read: shaving), the surgeon found another growth believed to be an unrelated mast cell tumor and 2) that bump and the leg would be further biopsied to determine a chemotherapy recommendation. We already decided to forgo chemotherapy, regardless of the recommendation. There is not enough conclusive research about its merits and, to put bluntly, we just don't want to put him through that.

An update! I just received a call from the surgeon with some good news. Both growths were successfully removed with clean margins (key) and the tumors are classified as low / mixed grade, meaning they would not recommend chemotherapy. SO. FREAKING. GRATEFUL.

This post is called Final Exam because that is the way I choose to look at the past few weeks. We have been asked to make some tough decisions and our ability to communicate with each other and care for a little one under stressful conditions has been truly tested. At 8 months pregnant, sleeping on an air mattress, hand feeding kibble around the clock, and holding Mookie (all 15 lbs.) above his litter box has sucked, I am not going to lie. But, as I take care of Mookie, Mike takes care of me. And there have been laughs along the way to keep us sane. Mike threatened to make me a key chain with Mookie's leg and, as we both held him over his litter box last night and he kept peeing and peeing (not unlike Austin Powers), Mike asserted that Mookie had, once again, gotten into daddy's beer. My boys, my loves.

the nursery: where he...and I...have been quarantined