2 months/Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

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Lazy, Happy Doggie

Saturday was Maggie’s 2 month ampuversary, and she is one happy and content lady!  I can’t think of any residual recovery issues from the surgery…we are just waiting for her to get more confident on the stairs so we can all sleep upstairs again, but other than that she is back to doing everything she loves.  Much of the time that means sitting on the back deck gossiping with the neighbor dogs or laying in the middle of the living room keeping an eye on her people, but man does she look happy doing those everyday things now.  Maybe it’s just that I appreciate it more.

Speaking of appreciation and gratitude, we have so much to be thankful for.  First, of course – Maggie is here and feeling good.  When I think back to 3 months ago when I first heard the word ‘cancer,’ I though all I was going to do for the next year was cry.  Holy cow have Maggie and I learned a lot since then!  I’m grateful for the perspective I have now on her quality of life and the commitment to help her enjoy every last day of it, without worrying (so much) about how many days or years…just good moments.

I’m incredibly grateful for the compassion of Maggie’s veterinarian and her staff – from calling me at 8:30 at night at the end of her long day, to talk with me about treatment options…to pulling strings to get us an appointment with an oncologist THE NEXT DAY, after I called asking for advice about waiting 2 weeks to get in with any specialists…to waiving 3 consecutive office visit charges out of sympathy for all of our vet bills…I’ve been blown away by their care.  They are not only patient with Maggie but also with her nervous-nelly Mom.  I think everyone who answers the phone there got to know me the first couple of weeks after her amputation, and they couldn’t have been nicer.  Seriously, who else would cheerfully suggest that you email pictures of your dog’s swollen, nasty-looking (no offense, Mags) incision site 3 days in a row so they could keep an eye on it without me having to bring her in—other than a vet who really shares your concerns?

Gratitude for the oncologist who, even though we were 20 minutes late for our appointment (driving in from 2+ hours away…I underestimated the +),  took almost 2 hours with us to check Maggie from head to tail and offered such deeply understanding and helpful advice about amputation vs. other options.  When we got the less-than-reassuring final biopsy results after her amputation, I emailed him to see if I could schedule a consultation to get his thoughts about chemo.  Although his email reply said he was out of the office for 2 days, he emailed me back 1/2 hour later with a quick response and a colleague called me 1/2 hour after that to read through the histopathology with me and explain much of what I didn’t understand.  He emailed again the next day to address all of my questions and concerns, and didn’t even mention charging anything for a consultation.  [Incidentally, this was not the specialty center where she had her surgery – although technically fantastic, I think they were too ‘specialized’ and not quite in step with my need for help interpreting and deciding what was best for Maggie.]

Appreciation for my boss and coworkers, who – even if they were thinking “what the is hell’s up with this crazy woman and her damn needy dog, taking a billion hours off work!?!” – never let on, and were pretty darn supportive.  My boss who pretends to be cool and impersonal, actually called from out of town on the day of Maggie’s surgery, to see how it was going.  That was pretty sweet.

Last but definitely not least, I have such deep gratitude for every one of you who administer, support, and populate this site.  I was so desperate for information and just plain freaked out about the idea of amputation, that I didn’t know what to do.  Finding this site is the main reason we made the decision to amputate, and the support and advice I found here is what got me through the first 2 weeks and beyond.  The stories and sense of community has enriched my life so much more than simply a “how to cope with a 3-legged dog” stuff.  So THANK YOU to everyone here for sharing their humanity, humor, caring, understanding, and wisdom.  I’m a better dog mommy, and a better person, because of it.  I hope you all have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING with all of your favorite people/critters close by or close in your hearts.

Cindy and Maggie

3 thoughts on “2 months/Happy (early) Thanksgiving!”

  1. Cindy and Maggie – congrats on the ampuversary! You truly do have a lot to be thankful for; don’t worry, the stairs will come eventually. It was months before I even let Nitro attempt them, and now he does them like a pro. Have a great Thanksgiving!

    Paula and Nitro

  2. Oh my DOG Cindy you are making us all watery-eyed. What a BEAUTIFUL post about how the Universe has helped you not just get through this but see life in a better way after getting the diagnosis. Your gratitude to everyone shines through, and we hope ours does to you as well, we can’t thank you enough for sharing so much detail about Maggie’s journey on three legs. Hoppy Thanksgiving to you and the pack from all of us! Enjoy and love love love that sweet pup of yours!

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