Category: 2) Recovery

Colby’s appointment went so well–all we could have hoped for!  We took him in at 7:40pm last night for a re-check of the incision and were hoping the pathology results would finally be in.  First, the incision check…I think my expectations were high because I was afraid it wasn’t progressing well enough.  Dr. John said it looked great.  Lots of healthy tissue and things were filling in and closing nicely.  He did put in a few more stitches to further close and prevent a section of his hide from curling under.  He said I was doing a great job and keep up the good work with twice daily scrubs and bandage changes, as well as keeping the antibiotics and tramadol on board. 

The pathology was even better.  It is NOT bone cancer, but he said it was a kind of degenerative arthritis that was eating away at the bone and joint.  We are thrilled not to be facing the relatively short prognosis that goes along with bone cancer.  I must admit this gives us mixed emotions about the amputation.  Since we went into the decision to amputate having been given a diagnosis of bone cancer, it made us uneasy to have been told after the surgery that it most likely wasn’t bone cancer (since it jumped the joint), but may be some other form of cancer or perhaps degenerative arthritis.  It is one of those things, it is what it is, and I don’t think my vet would have amputated if he didn’t think is was the best course of action…but I’d love to hear from others familiar with amputation for degenerative arthritis.

That being said, we are SOOOO excited that we do not have to contemplate chemo or continue to worry and grieve for the grim prognosis that bone cancer provides.  We feel very fortunate and blessed with this outcome.  Go Colby!!!

My parents originally were going to care for Colby while we took a trailriding trip planned a year ago with another couple and all our horses.  Since his incision didn’t progress as planned and was still requiring twice daily bandage changes and occasionally the need to reposition my 90+ lb. lab,  we nixed leaving one of the granddogs with my folks.  Our other dog Piper still got to go have fun with Nana & Pop, but Colby went on a camping adventure to the NC mountains.  I think the incision is coming along well, although not as quickly as I hoped after the setback.  As expected, Colby took right to camping.  I’ll attach some pics of Colby goes camping.  He has another incision check with Dr. John tomorrow, so will post that as well.

I made an appointment early afternoon Friday to take Colby in later that day.  He loves to go for a ride, so despite having been a bit lethargic for the last several days, he jumped at 5 of his 6 favorite words–“wanna go for a ride?” (His other favorite word is BALL…which plays a song in his head something like “ball, ball, where’s the ball, get the ball, you gonna throw the ball…or what?”).  He did his speediest rocking horse (what we call his new gait) over to the retaining wall that allowed him to step into my SUV. 

At the vet, we waited in the back of the car until a room was available and the very nice vet tech came out to help me get him out of the car.  Colby wagged his tail for everyone–people and dogs–coming by.  Dr. John did not seem shocked at all looking at his wound, which now looked worse than ever.  The raw spot was now the size of a biscuit and the cavern…way to cavernous for my liking.  He numbed him up, cleaned things up and put several more stitches in the cavern.  The rest was going to take time to heal and he showed me our new routine.  No more dishwashing liquid stuff, he brought out the hard stuff–antiseptic in a squeeze bottle.  After a good flushing, the raw area needed scrubbing with a gauze square soaked in another antiseptic, after which I was to place a square section of pig graft (not the clinical name) over the raw area which was really going to aid in healing…and started wrapping.

What a relief.  I feel much better and Colby seems to also.  When I got home, he didn’t so much care about getting out of the back of my car, so we let him stay there for the evening until we all went to bed.  I went to book club for some much needed comfort and girl time from my best girl friends.  A couple glasses of wine helped with the stress also.  Doug was in charge of Colby.  Fed him in the car and he got out to go to the bathroom, but climbed back in.  It was perfect.  He was right where the action was–grilling with various neighbors coming by to visit.  It was a much needed good ending to a long day.

Here is Colby’s incisions one week post surgery, the vertical incision really opens up for about 4 inches.  The raw area where stitches have pulled is a concern for me also…but I’m not used to looking at these things so am having a hard time gauging how bad this is–seems bad to me.