Welcome Home Sadie. Way to go girl!!! I just know that you'll be tearing up the neighborhood again really soon. I became a tripawd at Christmas and have learned, or relearned, how to do pretty much everything I used to do as a quad. I can even out run my pawrents with no problem. Get your Mum to check through the posts on post-operative yelping as that's what scared my Mum the most. Keep us posted on your progress. I just know you'll be amazing!!

admin said:

Top Ten Cancer Amputation Questions & Answers

I also missed Sadie's initial post so we want to tell you how sorry we are to hear that Sadie needed the amputation surgery, but you have definately found a great site filled with wonderful people who will share their collective experience, give excellent advice, and provide support through this journey. The Top Ten Cencer Amputation Questions & Answers is an excellent place to start regarding what to expect. Also, most will tell you that I have a standard set of suggestions to add:

1)  Remain as positive as possible around Sadie.  They will pick up on your feelings and if you are down, it will only make it harder.  I have often left Cherry, left the house, and then totally lost it before regaining composure and returning with a smile.  It will make a difference.

2)  Remember to treat the spirit as well as the body.  Find something that they love and can still do during recovery.  Then exploit that love to give them purpose.  For Cherry, it was her trips in the truck/car.  It was the first and for a long time, the only place that she would willingly take food when offered.  As the time when she thinks that she is going for a ride approaches, you can see the excitement grow.  Jake's mom would probably tell you that for Jake it was the swimming pool.  Once Jake saw the pool and was allowed back in, the improvement appears to have been remarkable.  View the Fun!  Doug and Heidi will tell you that for Molly it continues to be canoe trips.  Watch her celebrate her one year anpuversary!  Finally there is Calpurnia who loves the life filled with the outdoors and sledding and has survived the amputation for more than two years.  View the fun!  Help them find a purpose to fight.

3)  Consider keeping a journal.  I kept a journal and posted much of it on-line.  It allowed me to go back days/weeks/months and make a good comparison.  The detail that you keep in this journal is more than I would ever put into a blog ,which is also a great idea.  This very detailed journal really helped to make honest assessments of Cherry's progress during the ups and downs of recovery.  Our oncologist actually used these journal postings to keep up to speed on Cherry's condition.  Earlier this week I refered to it to get specific details of a condition for one of our community.

Emily's Mom also has a number of excellent suggestions and I would expect her to be here soon. All this will give you reading material as Sadie rests from all the pain killers. Sending you pawsitive thoughts and wishes for the best.

Spirit Cherry's Dad - Bob

Sadie and mom,

Unfortunately, nearly all of us have experienced both ups and downs during the first two week - pre-staple removal. Sadie may have just over done it a little yesterday, the pain meds could be loosing their effect, or the pain meds themselves could be the cause. I wish that I could tell specifically, but there are so many variables and each dog responds differently. Both Emily and Cherry had very bad reactions to the tramadol and it had to be removed after just days. Cherry also lost her appetite because of the chemotherapy. Her appetite loss was so great, that I had to stuff nearly every morsel of food during the two months of chemotherapy. I found that smaller and more frequent meals helped. We went so far as feeding every two hours.  I actually got pretty good at stuffing her. As long as I got it past the tip of her tongue before releasing  it, she did not return the food.

I found my detailed journal realy helped here. You may experience these ups and downs, but to go back days/weeks/months and really see what was going on helped me see that there was a steady if not monotonic improvement. Her appetite was so bad that I went to keeping a list of everything that she ate on  a 3x5 index card. After seeing how much she had eaten in total, it did not seem to bad.

Most of all, hang-in-there and try to be positive around Sadie. I was always able to cheer up Cherry with a truck/car ride or by singing to her as we arose in the morning.

Wishing the best and sending Pawsitive thoughts,

Spirit Cherry's Dad

Sorry to hear that Sadie isn't feeling so great. I also found that the first week with Tai she seemed depressed, lethargic and didn't really want to eat much. It broke my heart when she couldn't be bothered to move and I really started wondering if I had done the right thing. Nothing seemed to cheer her up. I did a bit of research and decided to take her off of the Tramadol (she was on Metacam and Tramadol)after only a couple of days. It turned her around completely. Not that I'm suggesting that Sadie might be reacting the same way but my vet did say that lots of dogs seem to get depressed and nauseus as side effects from Tramadol. She didn't appear to suffer from increased pain as a result and generally appeared happier. Maybe check with your vet and see what he/she says. Tai didn't get chemo until two weeks after her surgery (that was the protocol for the onco clinic I took her to) so we didn't have that hurdle to clear at the same time. Having now completed three chemo sessions of Doxorubicin I can relate to her experiencing a slight malaise from the chemo for a couple of days. Luckily she hasn't been sick from it but I can see how the surgery pain, medications, and chemo reactions might compound the symptoms.
Hang in there and try to stay positive - hard at times I know, I spent lots of time making Tai's shoulder wet from tears when I just felt so bad for her. I'm sure you'll see rapid progress really soon and then it will all have been worthwhile. What I did try to do was find something that she liked to do that I knew she could still do without experiencing too much frustration, and I made a HUGE fuss over her when she accomplished even something as minute as bringing me a stuffed toy. She seemed to improve quicker when she was able to get back to her old routines.
Good luck, stay strong and loads of pawsitive thoughts coming your way!