Yearly Archiv: 2011
Well, the 10 days leading up to Dad’s homecoming were trying at best, and the last 2, just awful. With only hours to Dad to being home, I found Piper had escaped the dining room area I have her in and was lying on the hardwood floor pretty much wedged between the wall and refrigerator (about a 3 ft. space). I thought she was gone, but she just couldn’t get up. As I was losing it, crying and shaking, my amazing 5 yr old had the mind to run and get the sling for me. God love my little girl. I couldn’t get the sling around her so I had to slide her back to her room. She was cloudy-eyed, and I thought, she’s lost her will, she’s done, the medicines aren’t keeping her comfortable any longer. She wouldn’t eat, drink and didn’t want to go out to do her business. I made an appt. at the vets for the next morning. I figured, worst case, we could take her to the emergency vet that night, if needed, after we picked up her Dad.
On our way home from picking up my husband, I warned him of her condition and told him of the appt. He was upset but knew we had to do what we had to do. When we got home, I went in first to make sure Piper didn’t try to get up. Then he walked in the door and you would have thought there wasn’t a thing wrong with Piper! Her eyes glowed, her tail wagged uncontrollably, the kisses just flowed!! It was amazing to see the change in her, she was a completely different dog just hours before, more like herself than she had been in weeks. I couldn’t believe it!! We decided to wait until morning to see how she was doing…and to say we were surprised is an understatement. She was wide awake, tail thumping up a storm, an undeniable smile on her face when she saw us (well, more my husband than me but I’m taking some of it LOL). She ate like a mad woman, went out potty, and couldn’t stop wagging that crazy tail of hers!! I told my husband that I was upset about how hard Piper had worked with her walking and how I so wanted to them to walk their daily route.
Well about 30 minutes later my hubby said “Let’s take our girls for a walk,” I said how, and then he showed me.
It wasn’t the kind of walk I was hoping for , but it was awesome and Piper just loved it!!! She’s been doing so great all weekend. We know that we don’t have much time with our little PiperGirl, but we are going to cherish every moment we have, and make the most of them. We even managed to put up our tree and take our Christmas card photo this weekend. Thank God Daddy is home….
Merry Christmas from The Henderson’s
Thanksgiving is approaching, and as I give thanks for the many blessings I have, I sit here wondering why things happen in life, the timing of it all and I find myself questioning some of the decisions I have made lately. One thing I am so grateful for is that my little girl has had a happy couple of months and I hope these next 2 weeks will be just as happy for her. You see, we just got back from the surgeon and he confirmed that my little PiperGirl has cancer in her right humerus. I know what needs to be done, but I just can’t bring myself to do it before her dad gets home. 10 days, 10 short days…is it selfish and cruel of us to want to wait until he is here? I know she misses him as much as he misses her…she hears his voice when we skype, and her tail goes crazy. How do I not wait? And can I make her comfortable enough so that these last days we have together aren’t ones of enormous pain for her? And what do I tell my 5 yr old daughter? How do I explain to her what comes next for her sister?
As I sit here and type, knowing what comes next, my heart slowly breaking into what feels like a million pieces, I look over at my little girl with those expectant eyes, perked ears and wagging tail, knowing her mom is sad and wanting to make ME feel better. Almost saying, “come on Mom let’s walk, let’s play, it’ll make you feel better, it always does.” She has no idea…she just wants to live in the moment and have fun like we always do. I wish I could walk her, but the doctor said no, that could cause a fracture and then we wouldn’t have any time. So all I can do is love her, pet her, scratch her behind the ears and at her in favorite spot just above her tail, give her lots and lots of treats and enjoy every single second I have with her until she goes to the Rainbow Bridge, leaving me wishing for one more day…
I want to again thank everyone here for all your love and support. You have made this journey for us one that was easier to bear and I will forever be grateful to the friends I have met through this incredible website. I’ve always said “dog people” were the best, and I was right. Blessings to all of you on this Thanksgiving.
♥ ♥ Sisterly love ♥ ♥
Well, it’s been 2 weeks since Piper’s last visit to the vet. In those 2 weeks, we’ve gotten her booties, been on anti-inflammatories the entire time, and she’s been doing really well. She’s getting used to the booties and moving herself around the house without any problems (ok, the first couple of times were pretty funny, but she’s doing much better). She’s still been limping a little, so I took her back to the vet today for another shot and more medicine. I also wanted her vet to see her, see if there was something else going on with her. While we were there today the vet decided to do some x-rays and, though she couldn’t tell me definitively, she is suspecting my little girl may have cancer now in her right front humerus. 🙁
We have to see the surgeon again for more x-rays so we can determine if that is the case. My vet couldn’t really tell by her x-rays, and would rather have the surgeon take a look and see what he thinks. I am so heartbroken. I am trying to think positively, and praying that is it just a muscle issue that hasn’t quite healed, but I’m just so scared. If it is cancer, I know what I have to do, but I will wait for her daddy to come home, since he’ll be home in 15 days. I want him to have a happy homecoming, not one filled with the dread of what we may have to do. Please pray for my PG, and I will update all of you when I have some answers. Thank you to everyone for all your love and support these last couple of months. I really couldn’t have done this without you.
I know it’s been quite a while since I have last written, and since then we have had some ups and downs. My PG was doing amazing, taking 1 mile walks without her sling and moving about the house on her own (downstairs only) – life seemed to be going along normally. That was until I decided that my stinky girl was in need of a bath, so, I took her to the groomers. I know it’s my fault for not insisting they take the sling, I should have known better, well sure enough PG slipped on their tile floor and pulled a muscle in her right front shoulder. My poor girl, she doesn’t have a leg to spare any longer, and was really struggling to walk. I took her to our vet the next day, and they gave her an anti-inflammatory shot and a weeks worth of pills. I hate giving PG medicine, it changes her personality so much and all she wants to do is sleep. I know that sleep is a good thing so that her muscles can heal, but she seems so sad. Well, after a week, she was doing so much better, just about to her old self, even going for walks again without her sling, when again, she slipped – this time on a pair of my daughter’s friend’s shoes Halloween night. The last couple of days she looked a little sore, but nothing like it was from her slip at the groomers. But today, she’s holding that leg up 🙁 So, it’s back to the vet we go this afternoon. To top it off, our house is complete hardwood floors. I have purchased area rugs, runners, smaller rugs for the smaller areas, but she always seems to find that 1 ft. of carpet-free space to slip on (that’s where the shoes were). Life’s sure been a roller coaster…I’m hoping it’s mostly uphill from here on out.
My little witchie poo and her pumpkin girl (I think PG was embarrassed by her costume 🙂 )
If you would have told me 1 month ago that my PiperGirl would be taking 1 mile walks with me by today (sans the sling), I would have said you were crazy, but, here we are!!! Happy 1 month Ampuversary to my brave, amazing, wonderful, sloppy kissing, fuzzy little girl!! I love you so much and I couldn’t be prouder of all you have accomplished in this short time. Your Daddy is looking forward to taking you on your special walks when he gets home!! Cheese treats for everyone today!!
Well Thursday we celebrated our 3 week Ampuversary – yeah us!!! But Friday morning I thought we had a set back. Let me explain a little background…Piper has, what the vet calls, old age worts. She has one on her right front leg right in the area of where they had the IV. Well, she’s been biting at it since the cone came off. So I purchased some wrap from her vet to cover it so she couldn’t get at it. When I awoke Friday morning, I noticed PG3 limping on her right front leg. I thought to myself, oh no, she only has 3 legs, there can’t be anything wrong with another!! I then noticed she had managed to push the wrap down to get at her wort, and it was tight!! I gave her an anti-inflammatory and called the vet. She told me that the limp was probably from the wrap being too tight, and to check it in 24 hrs. So, Sat. morning came and the limp was going away!! I was so relieved!! She is doing much better, and had even walked a little while outside without her sling today!! Of course I had to take a pic and a video!! My PiperGirl…you’ve come a long way baby!!
PipersFirstSlingFreeWalk
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Hello all…today is PG3’s 2 week Ampuversary! She got her stitches out today and is sooooo happy not to have to wear the cone-of-shame any longer! I have been allowing her to have free roam of the house today (well, the downstairs), and she is doing great! She is walking around all on her own. I am still using the sling when I take her outside to do her business, but when we get into the house, the sling comes off, and she takes off!
I am so happy that she has been recovering so well. Those first few days were such a trying time for me, and obviously I was so worried about my decision and her ability to get around. Well, she has sure shown me that she can do it and she’s doing it beautifully!
So it’s been 9 days since PG3 had her surgery and she’s been doing remarkably well. In fact, today she was pulling me while I was taking her for one of her short walks. She wanted to run!! As we approached the corner at the end of our cul-de-sac, she turned right to resume her normal walking trek. I knew she wanted to go farther, but I also knew that she probably wouldn’t make it back. It was so hard to get her to turn around to come home. She just kept looking the other direction and then at me and then back up the street. I tried telling her it wasn’t time for her to go farther, but she wasn’t getting it…that is until we got closer to the house and she had to stop to catch her breath and rest. She looked up at me, and I smiled and said “See, mommy knows best.”
On a side note, I wanted to share a picture my daughter drew today of PG3…notice the 3 legs 🙂
So yesterday was kind of a boring day for PG3. She is off the anti-inflammatory and pain meds now, but Doc wants her on a low-dose sedative until the stitches come out (so she’s not trying to move around too much). I asked them how much to give and they told me a 1/2 pill, given her size (I usually give her 3/4 of a pill at night). Well…that 1/2 pill knocked her out! She slept most of the day. I would go in and sit with her, pet her, talk with her and the poor girl could barely open her eyes. No more of that! Today I gave her 1/4 of a pill, after we went on a little morning walk, and now she is resting comfortably, without all the grogginess of yesterday. Much better!
I have to share with you how amazing my 5 yr. old daughter has been throughout this process. When we first learned of PG3’s need for amputation, I sat my daughter down and explained it the best I could. I told her she has a sickness in her leg and that the only way we could keep her with us longer would be to cut off her leg. She kind of understood, but was worried about what PG3 would be like afterward. I told her she would still be able to run and play, even more so now that she wouldn’t be in pain. I showed her some videos of other tripawd dogs running, jumping, catching frisbees. She was amazed! She said she couldn’t wait for PG3 to be well enough to run around with her again. I remember the night before the surgery she bent down to PG3 to kiss her goodnight and whispered in her ear. Later she asked me if I wanted to know what she whispered. I told her yes if she wanted to tell me, but I didn’t want to know if it was a secret between her and PG3. She said, “I told Piper not be scared when she woke up and didn’t see her leg, that everything would be ok and she would be able to play with me again.”
The day of the surgery, I told my daughter that we had to be strong and brave for PG3 when she came home. That we shouldn’t cry in front of her because that would make her sad. I told her that if she was upset, we could go into the family room to cry and talk about it. Well, the night of the surgery I was laying down with PG3, and I was crying. My daughter called for me and asked me to come into the family room. When I went in there she said to me (very caringly, but rather sternly) “Mom, you’re not supposed to cry in front of Piper, you’re supposed to come in here so we can talk about it!” 🙂 I told her that I wasn’t crying about Piper losing her leg or how she looked, that I was just crying from being tired and feeling overwhelmed. My little girl took my hand, looked me softly in the face and said “Yeah, but Piper doesn’t know that Mom.” Aww, out of the mouths of babes.
Now she is constantly checking on PG3, seeing if she needs anything, whispering in her ear that things are going to be ok. She has taken to calling herself “Sissy” around PG3. I hear a constant “Do you want Sissy to give you water? Do you want Sissy to get you a toy? Do you want Sissy to scratch your back?” It’s cracking me up! We’ve always called them sisters, but we have never used the term Sissy before. I don’t know where she got it, but she likes it and that’s all that matters…
First I want to thank all of you for your kind words of support and inspiration. You comments have warmed my heart and have given me something I didn’t have much of, hope and strength. You are all right about the fact that Piper doesn’t know she has cancer, she is living in the moment and I must live in that moment with her. I did speak with the Dr. Marti and PG3’s prognosis hasn’t changed; without chemo she may live 6 months, with it there may only be a 50% she could live a year. I was able to speak with my husband last night and I think we have decided, as much as it pains my heart and soul, to let PG3 enjoy the time she has left and let nature take it’s course.
AbbysMom wrote me this, “None of us knows how much time we have left – so let your pup show you how to live in the moment.” It’s so true and reminds me of one of my favorites quotes: “Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
I plan of having lots of breath-taking moments with my PG3.
pipersmom