After sleeping on it and a long chat with Tate’s regular vet, we’ve decided to go ahead with the amputation. Tate’s vet explained that it is not all that unusual to not be able to get a definitive diagnosis from a core biopsy from a bone, he had a similar case recently that was proven to be (whatever he thought it was) when they checked the amputated leg. And he’d already spoken with Tate’s oncologist about the path report and our conversations yesterday. He’s all over this!
So it is scheduled for Tuesday morning, 8:00. Tate’s surgeon called tonight to explain a few things, and said she wants to prepare us for Tate’s appearance post-surgery. Thanks to Tripawds, we already know about that but what I really want to know is if my little boy is suddenly going to start flying the flag, raising a tent, and waving his magic wand. : )
Bwahahahaha!!! All of the above!
Seriously, good luck Tuesday. Don’t forget that Tate now has a growing fan club here so if you forget to update, hearts will be broken and nails will be bitten.
In a week or so, Tate and Dakota can do some private messaging to figure out the flag raising business. (Hey, really–let me know down the road if any of that happens.)
Shari
Humor is essential to get you through the next couple of weeks. Just be sure you are ready to properly salute the flag!!
Good luck next week- keep us posted.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Hi Tate’s Mom,
Just wanted to share with you that when we did Mackenzie’s first biopsy it came back inconclusive too. But that’s because it was an aspirated biopsy (doesn’t go as deep into the bone and tissue, not as invasive). My doctor told me that these types of biopsies are 50% accurate. Then once we brought Mackenzie to the vet cancer clinic, they recommended strongly that we do the bone biopsy that goes in deeper (more invasive) and that came back positive for osteosarcoma. So you might want to ask your vet the type of biopsy they did. Most likely it is what they think it is and you probably don’t need to do another more invasive biopsy. In any event, this is a big decision that you’ve made and once you make it, try not to 2nd guess it. Go with your instinct and just know that you will be giving Tate back his quality of life with the amputation. Please also know that we are here for you when you do go through the amputation. It can be very rough for the first couple of weeks and you might 2nd guess your decision (which I did – a lot!) But just know that you are doing the right thing for Tate, you will get through this (even when you think that you can’t) and before you know it, he will be on a full road to recovery. Let us know how Tate is doing. We wish you all the best on this!
Kami, Angel Mackenzie and Kobe
OK – now I get it! I read your blog first, then saw Dakota/Shari’s forum post. Good to see you still have a sense of humor during this stressful time! We can identify with your concerns. We kept holding out thinking that maybe Lucky had some type of infection instead of osteosarcoma. When his biopsy report (from a fine needle aspiration) said atypical cells we thought the same thing, what if………What finally convinced us was that his bone was basically disintegrating so no matter what it turned out to be, we felt the leg needed to be removed before he could recover. Today it has been 3 weeks since his surgery and he is getting better every single day. Just try to be prepared for that first 2 weeks – for us they really were very tough. The information on this site is extremely helpful in knowing what to expect. As far as appearance after surgery, our son was very concerned about the appearance and how he would react, so we took a large tshirt to the vets office and asked them to put it on him before they brought him out to us. They did, and it helped my son with the adjustment period.
If so, it’s only because he’s so excited to be free of the pain! 🙂
Best wishes for a perfect procedure. Please keep us posted.
These decisions can be ruff! We are thinking of you and Tate. We hope all goes well witht he amputation and he has a speedy recovery!Please keep us posted!I know Ill be checking your blog on tues!
we’re sending our best ET ‘juju’ your way. hoping for successful surgery, swift recovery and many, many future days of ‘waving his flag’….
charon & gayle