I've been missing in action for awhile but don't think for a minute it had anything to do with Nova's cancer.  I have been overwhelmed with school, my son's upcoming high school graduation, and then had my 36-year-old cousin died unexpectedly.  But a week ago today (which unfortunately was the day of the funeral so I was not in a celebrating mood) was Nova's 18-MONTH AMPUVERSARY.  WHOOOOO HOOOOO! I can't believe 18 months have passed and she is still on this earth and cancer free!  Not a day passes that I don't feel a twinge of guilt that so many of our Tripawd friends did not have the chance to beat their cancer like this.  I wish everyone could have had a similar outcome.  It's just not fair that so many Tripawd lives have been cut short.... way, way too soon.

Last Friday was my birthday and my boys took me out for a bid prime rib dinner, and I brought home all the scraps for Nova and her sister Emmy.  They both loved it.  I wish I could have done a big ampuversary pawty, and my plan was to do so, but I just got so sidetracked with the funeral, out of town relatives, etc. We have been getting out occasionally for car rides and she really enjoys that.

Nova has not been without challenges.  Her glaucoma ended up being a much bigger challenge that having cancer or being a Tripawd.  I get emotional when I think about how she used to zip around as a Tripawd, just a few weeks after surgery, just as agile as she was on 4 legs. Now she is so tentative and hops so slowly, but it's not the 3-legs, nor is it the cancer.  It's the glaucoma and the blindness. She just has not been adjusting very quickly to total blindness.  If you recall her story, we were told she was entirely blind in April 2009, but then earlier this year she got much worse, confused and bumping into things.  There did not seem to be any spread of the cancer, clear chest x-rays, and the only conclusion that the doctors could come up with was that perhaps before she had some vision left before, if only shadows, but had then gone totally blind (likely from a glaucoma pressure spike). 

Occasionally I question myself about her quality of life.  She really doesn't do much more than eat, sleep, poop, and have occasionally snuggle moments.  The tail still wags, but she will not move from one room of the house to another without human guidance.  She gets skittish on the hardwood floors (which are mostly covered with rugs that I bought post-amp), and will stand there and whine until someone comes to take her collar and lead her to her food, bed, toys, outside, etc.  More high maintenance than ever. Some days she whines a lot and sounds so unhappy.  It does get depressing and confuses me because I don't know if she is in pain, or just being a drama queen.  Considering she has always been a very verbal drama queen I try to keep pawsitive, but I does really bum me out some days.

So that is part of the reason I have been putting off an update.  I wish I could say she is adjusting well to the blindness, but it's really, really tough.  But I do give thanks each day that this tail-wagging drama queen is still beating that nasty cancer, and is still with me, even as a total lazy butt couch potato.

Sue and Nova