Hi Jerry,

Just got back from the vet, paiful swelling of the surrounding tissue due to falling, bumping, sleeping on surgery site???  Pretty painful, wouldnt even eat hot dog with her meds when we got home!  We had to crush tramadol pills and squirt it with juice into her mouth!  Mate is very bummed right now, our vet is going to put her on an injectable pain med, Buprenex.  She was on this following surgery, and switched to Tramadol when she came home.  So, for a couple of days she'll be on Buprenex.  Have you had much experience with this drug?

I think the tramadol we squirted into her mouth is working because she is sleeping now next to me. Pretty big setback, very scary.  We also were told to use warm compress 3X a day to loosen the swollen tissue to settle it down.  The vet also put her on a once a day subcutaneous fluid drip 1X a day, so she wouldnt get dehydrated.  Basically a whole IV bag with fluid goes into her tissue under her skin around her spine (she has alot of loose scruff around her neck and back)

Anyway, pretty scary stuff this post op business! I know she can take it, and I feel she is pretty much cancer free, if she can just pull it off.  She lost her leg in a battle with a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tissue on her left carpus.  We had some success with Neoplasene, made by Dr. Fox of Buck Mtn Botanicals, first go around we killed the tumor.  Then a year later it came back on the other side of her carpus, and proved much more difficult to deal with.  The tumor was angrier, and took tendons, a major artery, and bone with it this time.  Our best case scenario was killing the tumor, at the expense of the use of her leg, so we decided to get rid of it for good!

When the surgeon took the leg, he couldn't find the lymph node, as it was too small to find.  So, I am hoping that this was a good sign that the tumor had not metasticized(sp?). Pre surgery x-rays showed nothing, and this type of tumor has a <20% met. rate, SO we are hoping for the best!

I just hate to see Mate in pain, when she has come so far! I know that when the pain of this is through, she will be floating around without any issues.  After all, she has been pretty much using her bad leg only for a kickstand for months, and many days leading up to surgery she was going on 3 legs already!

We appreciate the website you have Jerry, it is a real relief to find so much support for something you think you are dealing with all alone.  The posts and resources are great, and I hope all Tripawd families can easily find it!

If you are ever in Hawaii, dude, Mate can show you some of the best beaches in the world! (only about 40 hops from her house!)

Love ,

Matey Girl 

Hi Jerry,

Buprinex is a morphine derived drug, and very effective for pain. However, Mate was not handling this drug very well, and we put her back on tramadol at noon today. One of the many side effects is lack of appetite, so we could not get her to eat food, or get any antibiotics or rimadyl into her belly, which she really needs. She is also coming down off a really not so euphoric high, and was generally not very calm on this medication. Lets just say that none of us are getting much sleep these days!

We have gone to a once a day antibiotic, and rimadyl in a shot form so we can cut down on the awful tasting med. syringe feedings, which we now do every 6 hrs for the tramadol alone. We
are hoping that her appetite will come back soon, as she has not eaten a thing, voluntarily, all day. Actually, I take that back, she has just shared some tortilla chips with us as I was writing this! Hopefully this is the start of her appetite returning.

Anyway, It is a scary road to go down, having such a major operation with our 14 year old furry child, I was hoping it would be much smoother! I dont know how many times you hear that, but I hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon. I just keep thinking of how much Mate is going through, the pain and discomfort I cant even imagine... We just want it to be OK.

Well I am still trying to figure out how to get a picture on the blog so you can see Mate, but I havent had much time to do anything else! I'm not super with it right now. Thanks again for the awesome support, Jerry, and Jessie and Connie and Radar! We really appreciate it!

Wish us luck...

Matey girl and family

Well,

We had a slight downturn of events last nite. Mates swolen area started to drain last nite, which caused her alot of discomfort . After a long nite of no sleep , we headed off to the vet where she had her wound examined.  She was getting infected, and needed to be drained and a tube installed. That went well, and she is staying the nite at the vet with an awesome vet tech named Jacie, who will moniter her progress all nite. She is in better care than at our house, as we are limited to what we can do, and we want to get a jump on any infection.

So she is recuperating from that, and having some antibiotics and meds in an IV, which will give her a better chance at kicking the infection before it gets out of control. (that horrifies me!)

So, we are trying to catch up on a rather sleepless last 3 days, to get ready for her 2nd return home!

She is one incredibly determined animal, I hope the pain and discomfort end soon...  I hate seeing her like that.

As always, your thoughts are greatly appreciated, I read them to her every day!

Mate and family