Ok I don't get why I can't figure how to upload photos and videos and a fairly tech savvy person. What the heck am I missing here. Can someone please give step by step directions. Even though I got a few replies last time I asked for some reason I can't figure it out. Ahhhhhhhh....lmao

Thanks
Steven

Ok so I'm officially freaked out, I did everything you said except I have no icons and no icon that looks like a mountain anywhere. Is it possible that there is an issue doing this from an iPad??? I can't look at my desktop right because Ava is outside and I want to keep an eye on hr but I'll check later on. For a guy who runs a major automobile dealership and deals with digital marketing everyday of my life, I'm completely stumped and that doesn't happen to often when it comes to this stuff anyway...other things I'm stumped all the time...lol...anyway I will figure this out one way or another...I really want all of you to see Ava before and after and a few videos of her getting around.
All in all a good day for Ava she was very lazy again ( understandably so) she has now another new spot under a big pine tree in the grass and she'll lay there for hours. Tomorrow all the staples come out, all the drugs are done and we start a new healthy life full of good food herbs and supplements, I'll let you what they are once I know. We are currently on a mixed tincture of dandelion, astragalus, Korean ginsing, milk thistle, and licorice, luckily my vet put it all together in the right ratios for her so she gets two teaspoons daily of that. She takes two powders one called Wei Qi a Chinese herbal blend for boosting the immune system, and another called Bone Statis this is to build and strengthen her bones especially her remaining right front leg. She also takes something called Essaic tea again another herbal mixture to support and strengthen the immune system. Sounds like a lot but it's really not that hard to administer. I think that based on the diagnosis there will be some changes to this. I did speak to my oncologist today, even though we'll be meeting with him and the holistic vet after staple removal tomorrow. I just wanted a preliminary idea of what his thoughts were so I could digest it overnight....I didn't need that long. He suggested that we do not do traditional chemo, but he did suggest doing metronomic therapy for minimum of 6 months. After thinking about it for a while and talking to Michele we decided not to do any chemo at all. We decided this based on the fact that in 90% of these cases fibrosarcoma does show back up and based on those odds we decided to get rid of all the drugs she had to endure for the last month and a half, add no new ones into her system and work on healing, cleansing and preparing her body for any future fight. With that in mind we also decided that every three months for the first year we would get blood work and x-rays done, with the thought that if something did show back up we would catch it early and have options available to us then. if nothing shows up (fingers crossed) then we would just be getting our big girl healthy and living a full life again. The odds are now on our side I will take advantage of that and make full use of the holistic treatment and give her every chance at having a normal, healthy, fun, full life as a beautiful inspiring Tripawd.

Steven

Jerry...thank you so much for posting the pictures and videos. As many times as I've seen them myself for some reason it was very touching to see them posted here, I think because I've shared this journey with all of you and there is something about all of you now getting to see Ava and the pack that just touched me. I truly love the one of her on the table looking away she looks so majestic there (and really she's just a big goofy girl who's tail is always wagging...not so majestic most of the time...lol)

Anyway all the staples are now out everything went and looks great they really did an amazing job, and everyone at the hospital knows her when she comes (and this is a very busy hospital...unfortunately) i think her size and her sweet disposition really got to everyone there, as we walk down the hall the vet techs, the doctors, and the entire staff are saying hello to her and she seems to know them as well. I think I'm probably just reading into it because she's our dog, but anyway it's just a great atmosphere considering why everyone is there. By the way I don't know if I ever mentioned the hospital by name it's Garden State Veterinary hospital in Tinton falls NJ. If you're in NJ I would highly recommend them.

Jerry had asked me about my holistic vet so I just copied a brief bio of her from the website, i think it's a little old now though because she's graduated from the holistic school they mentioned and has her Masters degree, but what she did say to me is that with holistic treatment you never ever stop learning because each patient  is different, with different energies and each has there own set personalities that you have to adjust to. So I'm going to paste that brief bio here.

Dr. Alexia Tsakiris, BVetMed, MRCVS, CVA, was born and raised on the Jersey Shore. She received her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University - Cook College, and her veterinary degree from The Royal Veterinary College in London, England. In 2008, Alexia studied Acupuncture at and earned her certification in Veterinary Acupuncture through the Chi Institute in Florida. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Western Veterinary Herbal Medicine. Alexia believes that the best medicine is the ability to use all modes of medicine together: conventional, alternative and complimentary. She lives in Long Branch with her husband, their two sons, and several rescued street dogs from Greece. She is a member of the following organizations: AVMA, AHVMA, VBMA, AAVA, NJVMA and is a consulting vet for the Sgt. Denny Project.

She is simply amazing!!!!! and on top of everything else she a really great lady. She currently works at Long Branch Veterinary hospital, in Long Branch NJ (duh...obviously)

So what we've decide on with regards to after care treatment for Ava, is to continue the herbal tincture that I mentioned in my earlier post from the other day. We will not be doing any chemo at all, but we will for the next year get chest X-rays and blood work done on a quarterly basis just to make sure nothing shows back, in this way based on the frequency of the x-rays we should catch anything very early if God forbid it shows back up and that will leave us a lot of options at that time. We are also going to go for acupuncture twice a month for at least the next six months to help stimulate her entire neurological system which in turn stimulates all the organs and keeps them doing what it is each is supposed to do. she is also going to get some Vitamin C injections for the next six months, all of the above is about supporting her immune system and giving her body the ability to fight off anything that may arise before it turns into something nasty like she just had. As far as food is concerned we are going to start rotating all my dogs diet and not be on a "ONE FOOD" diet their entire life, every couple of weeks we'll change up the veggies and the proteins so their bodies get the balance of nutrition they really need. As well as providing fresh vegetable juice daily for them as well. We feel very comfortable with this approach it's what we believe in ourselves and we hope it gives her every possible chance for a long healthy life...

All that being said, a few questions. It seemed like Ava had a lot more energy the first few days she came home now she just sleeps and lays around all day she still gets up to go to the bathroom a few times per day, and we basically have to hand feed her, her appetite seems to have lessened in the last few days, and she she's a bit grumpy with the other dogs and even growled at  my youngest one a few times. She looks a little depressed (that may just be the human in me) and her tail isn't wagging all that much for the last two days. i talked to the doctor yesterday and he said she's gone through so much for the last month and a half and been on so many different drugs she needs to clear her system out and start eating again, all the antibiotics he said have probably caused some stomach upset. So as of today there will be no more medication we finished it all and the doctors said she doesn't need anything else, so we started her on some probiotics yesterday to reintroduce some healthy bacteria into her system and get her digestive system back in good working order. I think once she starts eating aging her energy will start to come back and we'll see our mushy big girl again. I know it's only two weeks after surgery but she surprised us the first few days and she seems to lost something in the last few days, so I was hoping you guys could help me out here and tell me your experiences and when your dogs started to get the light back in their eyes.

We want so much for her to enjoy her life on three legs and we'll do everything we have to help her, but at the end of the day it's about her will and wanting to get up and go and enjoy time with her family and her pack mates, she's young enough and strong enough to do whatever she wants but she has to want to....thats the key...she has so much support from family and friends and that includes everyone here on Tripawds with all that positive energy coming her way how can she not want to get up and go. i think I'm probably hoping for a little to much to quickly, which is why I'm asking you guys who have this experience under your belt already to give me some much needed confidence that this is all just part of the process. 

Thanks again Jerry, and thanks in advance for any guidance in this area.

Steven

Sally,

Thank you so much for helping me take a breath about this, it seems that we are just experiencing the normal process. I also agree that each dog will respond and act according to it's own personality. It's just hard when she seemed so perky the first few days, and then seemed to lose some of that vigor. I think you start to question yourself and if we were doing something wrong that was causing that to happen. With regard to the growling before this I don't think she even knew she could growl she is just the sweetest dog. so I guess that kind of freaked us us a bit as well. Anyway there are no more drugs and now it's just time to get her healthy and eating and I'm sure a month from now these issues will all be a thing of the past and will have Ava fully back with us.

Thank you so much for the compliments of Ava and the pack, what I realized is that the leader of the pack Luca is in none of the pictures, he's like one of those humans that run away when they see a camera. Anyway you can see him for a second or two in one of the videos. By the way the St. Bernard is Lola, The little white one is Tessa, and the smaller black and white one in the video is Luca and while he is the leader of the pack, the real leader is Lola she is the Momma  and what she says goes ultimately, even Luca doesn't question when she decides she likes or doesn't like something. Funny how that mirrors a human family, Dad thinks he's the boss but when Mom puts her foot down that's the way it is.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me it has truly helped me a lot.

Steven

The thing is that she really isn't trying to keep up with the pack at all, she prefers for them to keep away and do their thing. She is barely eating the last few days. I'm hoping with all the drugs now done that she will start to come around. She is still peeing and pooping a couple times a day, and she's drinking tons of water. I guess without the any experience in this at all I'd look at her and say she's depressed, can that be??? She wags her tail a bit when we come over to her, she gets around well when she wants to, this morning she went right outside did her thing she made right up the back steps, wanted nothing to do with her food at all, walked inside drank some water and laid down... after sleeping all night. I hope I'm not reading more into this then is necessary. After the rollercoaster ride we've had over the last month and a half, and then finding out the good news about her diagnosis I guess i was on such a high with that news I hoped and maybe even expected things to stay great...not such a great expectation to have, I'm a little upset with myself I'm smarter then that.

On the positive side of things her incision is healing great and when her hair grows back because it's right along the black of hair I don't think it'll be all that noticeable, and frankly who cares it is to me it's a big beautiful life scar. She has definitely lost weight especially in the hind area, or at least it seems that way, I know weight loss doesn't really work like that but it just appears to be in that area. There's no more whining or moaning and when she wants to get up or down she does so fairly easily, not really with any shaking hind legs anymore. But one thing i noticed today is that in the armpit(Don't know what else to call it) of her right front leg it's all irritated and red it looks like a bad rash. I'm thinking that it's because she's centering that leg for balance and it's rubbing and the hair (which is very short and course) is irritating her skin. I'm not sure what to do about that my first thought was Desitin for diaper rash but then if she goes out and gets any dirt in there it'll just get caught up in the ointment, i guess i'll call the vet see what the recommendation is.

The truth is there are a lot of positive things going, I think i've let my human expectations get in the way of understanding the true healing process for a big girl like her, and having gotten such good news I just took it to the moon and now she's teaching me a new lesson. Patience. Something that has always been hard to come by for me, I'm definitely an A type personality and now she is teaching me that at all things must be in balance between expectation and reality, between hope and time so for now I'll take this lesson incorporate it in to all the others that she 's recently given me and continue to learn from Ava, and i'm certain that in a short period of time all things will be as they are supposed to be not as I expect them to be.

steven 

We've tried switching up foods, but she only eats when she wants to. A nutritionist I spoke to said that right now she is not expending a lot of energy and not using a lot of calories so it's somewhat normal that she isn't eating as much. But as each day goes by and her body heals she'll move around more and more and as her body needs the calories she'll start eating more and more, she said not to push the issue and follow her lead as long as she's eating and drinking something everyday she'll come around. As far as pain is concerned that could be but I see her get up and down with no problem, her big problem is laying on the soft couch she has a hard time moving around on it, we try to keep her off but we find her right back up there minutes later. Also when she wants to get up and go like this morning ( I'll post the video later) she was up and down the block visiting neighbors and you can see she wants to go into the woods but that's not going to happen yet. She ran out of the house this morning down the driveway and up the block and about after 30 min or so she was done and has been laying down ever since. I will contact the vet tomorrow to see what she says but my gut tells me that she's just tired. She was always a bit of a lazy girl typical Great Dane. I guess I have let her dictate the terms of her recovery and follow her lead it hasn't been wrong so far. So for the moment while she's resting on the deck I'll have a big Piña Colada and float in theool for a few minutes...lmao...hey we deserve a break too once and a while don't we?

Steven