We are still early in the recovery process and enjoying the benefits of all the good zonky drugs for Bella, but I am thrilled at how smoothly things are going. Her pain meds seem to be really well balanced so that we have windows of time where she is more awake and will eat and go out for potty and work on getting around a bit, and then stretches where the meds let her fully relax and get good sleep. I hope that continues. 

She even pooped this morning! Yippee.

I know many people read these kinds of forums as they try to make decisions about treatments. Everyone's experience is different, and it is scary and challenging. I wanted to add a good news post to let people know it is not as bad as you think when the vet first says the word 'amputation.' I know it almost caused my heart to stop beating. But when the alternative was euthanasia - well, there was no alternative for us.(no judgment for those who make that choice)

Also a word about how things look after surgery. Before Bella came home I was really concerned about whether I could face seeing the incision/surgical site. (Which, thanks to our awesome skilled surgeon, is truly not so bad.) My husband and I decided to think of it as a beautiful thing because it is the thing that allowed Bella to come home to us instead of having to say goodbye. Maybe that sounds corny, but it helped my attitude be a lot more positive. So when we apply an ice pack to "those glorious stitches" or check on "that beautiful boo-boo" (ok, we are nuts, lol) it changes the way we think of it. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for the fur to grow back and have things look a little closer to normal, but this is getting us through for now.