Diagnosis & Amp; Pre Surgery

A little over three weeks ago we noticed that Sebastian had a slight limp. I watched him for a couple of days and it didn’t seem to get any better. I called the vet and got an appointment. He was taken in and they diagnosed it as a strain/sprain. The vet advise to give it about a week and if it was not better to bring him back in. It didn’t get better it only got worse. I took him back in the next week and pressed for an X-ray. The X-ray showed a tumor in his lower front right leg. I was stunned. The vet said that he thought that it was osteosarcoma but could not be sure unless they took a bone biopsy. He then started giving me all of the statics and said that he does not amputate. He advised us he was going to send the images to the radiologist to see what he thought and would call us the next day. I had no idea what osteosarcoma was so I went home and searched the internet. It was overwhelming.

The next day was Friday July 27 2018. The vet called to advised that the radiologist said that he also thought that the tumor had all of the characteristics or osteosarcoma. I had so many questions and it did not seem that my vet had any real answers and was not giving really any other choice other than euthanisia. I felt like I had been hit in the gut. How could i possibly put my dog to sleep because he had a bad leg. He was otherwise healthy and his playful self. I kept asking him questions and finally he said that if I wanted a second opinion then he could refer me to an oncologist. He gave me the phone number to the place he recommended. I called to set up an appointment and they told me the earliest they had was Aug 20. I was very distressed and over come with emotion. In no way could we wait a month. A month seemed like a death sentence. I called my husband in tears panicking. They can’t get us in for a month i told him. I didnt know what to do. Then all of the sudden he just got quiet and said let me call you back. When he called my phone also chimed with a text from him. I answered the phone and he said he had sent me a text with the information for a specialist. He has a person in his crew who’s wife works in the surgery department. I called to speak with them and they were very helpful and were able to schedule and appointment on Monday July 30th .

We met with the doctor and she made us both feel at ease. She explained everything and went through all of the options. We decided that we wanted to try and give him a chance. We had them do the X-rays, blood work, ultra sound and needle biopsy. The results on everything came back good. She was very optimistic that Sebastian would be a great candidate for amputation. We went ahead and scheduled a consolation with the surgeon for that Friday Aug 3. They also told us that if we decided to move forward then they would more than likely amputate that day. It all seemed to be moving so fast. I struggled wondering if we were doing this for us or him. The thought of having his leg removed was painful. How could we do this to him. Ultimately I told myself that we couldn’t not do this for him and give him a chance. I felt i wouldn’t be able to live with myself if we didn’t give him a shot.

During the few days leading up to the appointment with the surgeon i noticed a small knot on Sebastian’s other shoulder. I was now even more worried because it was the good side. What if it was cancer too. We couldn’t amputate one leg and leave him with another that could have cancer as well. I called the surgeons office to see what we should do. They advised me to let the surgeon know at the appointment. I worried all week.

That Friday we went into the office to speak with the surgeon. We had prepared ourselves as best we could for the amputation to happen that day. I let her know that I had noticed a knot on his shoulder. She examined him and decided that we couldn’t move forward until they knew for sure what it was. They took Sebastian back and did a biopsy. We were told that they would not have the results back that day so we needed to reschedule. We set up our next appointment for Tuesday Aug 6. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. I had the entire weekend to second guess and think things over and over in my head.

I got back online and found this site. One of the first things I did was download the Tripawds Library Bonus Deal. I also got on and started to read the stories of the other dogs and cats on the site that had had their battle with cancer. On the night before the appointment I was scanning through the library documents and came across a page that had the question What medications / supplements should be stopped before surgery? As i looked down the list I saw 4 of the supplements that I have been giving Sebastian and had just given him. I started to freak out. How could I have not known this before now. I had advised the doctor that I was giving him a supplement that contained some of the ingredients on the list. I picked up the phone and called the office. They said that I should call back in the morning and speak with some in surgery. I then reached out to Lindsey. She is the wife of the man that works for my husband. I asked her about the supplements and told her that I had read that they were all blood thinners and should not be take before surgery. She reached out to the surgeon who said that two of the supplements were fine but the other two he didn’t know much about. I felt sick. How could I move forward with the surgery now. I had just given Sebastian something that could possibly cause him harm. I laid in bed all night not getting an once of sleep. I asked myself am i making a bigger deal of this than i should? Am i just postponing because I was scared? What if we move forward and something happens? Could i live with myself? Would pushing it out further give the cancer more time to spread? That morning I called to reschedule the appointment. Ultimately I could take the chance and needed to wait to give the supplements time to move through his system. We rescheduled the surgery for Thursday Aug 9 2018.