These pictures were taken on August 8th, almost 3 months post diagnosis. He holds his leg up and rarely puts it down. He only puts it down to go poop.
The hard boney tumor area is now measuring 8' circ and 3" in length.
He is deteriorating faster than I want to admit. He has lost some weight, and a lot of muscle mass in his leg and hip. When he lays down you can see his hip/butt bone more predominately.
His energy level has drastically slowed down. However he is still showing the will and spirit to live. He still chases is ball in the garage ( see post on Just the two of Us) on three legs and jumps onto his favorite spot on the couch. He still eats his meatballs laced with pain meds, 2 hamburgers and 1 cup of dry food. He still goes outside to "Pee- Pee" and ect. He is still enjoying basking in the sun and eating his daily rations of grass (who knew I had a part pit part cow LOL).
The boney tumor is prone to break the limb and can not be repaired (due to this type of cancer eats the bone from inside out ) . If he were to break his leg it would be an immediate death sentence as the leg could not fixed and I could not bare for him to be in that kind of pain.
So I have "Brutusized" my house. I have place blankets and pillows in all his favorites spots. I make sure that the "splash zone" around the water bowl stays dry at all times so he doesnt slip. I have taken my sleigh bed apart and have placed the box spring and mattress on the floor so that he can jump in bed at bedtime with ease. When this height becomes to much for him, I will place only the mattress on the floor or I will sleep on the flat floor with him. I have done all this to ensure that he is as comfortable and in the least amount of pain as possible.
He is not the same dog physically that he was 6 months ago but his love, heart, will and loyalty has never waivered. I have vowed in his time of need that mine will neither
At this point it is all about his quality of life. limiting his pain and making sure he knows he is a very much loved member of this family. I dont know how much longer he will be with us and I pray that I will have the strength to let him go. Until that day I will cherish every precious moment I have with him.
No comments:
Post a Comment