I didn’t get any sleep the night before the surgery. My mind wouldn’t stop. Sebastian was also up all night shifting and moving around like he could get comfortable. The morning of the surgery we woke up really early so that we could have him at the surgeons by 7am. We had already had our consultation so we just needed to only drop him off. My anxiety was through the roof but he seemed like he was ready to go. Even when he was dropped off he didn’t even hesitate like normal about following the staff into the back. He just went on with his nub a wagging and didn’t look back. I imagined he was just thinking that they were going to make him better and everything would be alright. They advised us that they would call before they started the surgery and again after.
I was so antsy and couldn’t concentrate on anything. When were they going to call? So many thoughts were going through my mind. I was scared to death. Worried about the surgery and how he was going to handle only having three legs. Would he be able to get around ok? Would all of this be worth it? What if he really struggles and ends up having only a short amount of time? Was it all worth it? Were we being selfish? How are my other dogs going to react to him? Is our home ready enough for him? It seemed like forever before they called to say they were going to start. When they finally called to say they were taking him back I got even more anxious and worried. Will the surgery go ok? What if something goes wrong? Had i given enough time for the supplements to work their way out of his system? I set waiting for the next call to come saying that the surgery was complete. It seemed like it would never come.
A very long and excruciating 3 hours past and then the phone rang. The first word out the the surgeons mouth was hello but I could tell that she had a happy tone so before she could even finish speaking I was in tears. She said that everything had went great and that he was now in recovery. He would be monitored all night so if I wanted to call and check on him I could at anytime. She said that no news is good news and that she would call back the next day after patient rounds and give me an update. I continued to cry and couldn’t stop. I called my husband and my mom to let him know the news. Then I was just hit with a heavy feeling of sadness. I had just had my babies leg removed. How will it all turn out?
Before going into the office for surgeryBefore SurgeryAfter 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.
He is a 10yr old mix that is part Lab, Rottweiler possibly some Rhodesian Ridgeback that weighs 110 pounds. Sebastian was brought into our family when he was three months old. My husband found him abandoned in an alley way and brought him home to me. It was love at first site. I noticed right away that he possibly had worms because he had a very distended belly. We took him to the vet and it was confirmed that he had 3 different types of worms and intestinal parasites. They put him on medication to help him get better. It was just a little over a week later that I took him back to the vet because he was constantly vomiting and had bad diarrhea. They came out to tell me he had Parvo, handed me his collar and said they had to quarantine him. The vet was not very optimistic that he would make it because he was already very sick. I was heart broken. It wasn’t three days after that they called and told me he was well enough that I could pick him up and bring him home. He was still very weak and it took a bit for him to bounce back but when he did there was no stopping him. He has been happy and healthy up until we noticed him limping just a little over 3 weeks ago.
