After almost 15 years, Lupe is now a tripawd!!!
I dropped her off with Dr. Z this morning. The tech came to get her so I kissed her nose, scratched her ear and under her cheek and kissed that cancerous leg good bye. Dr. Z called shortly after and said that Lupe’s blood work looked good, consistent with what we had been seeing. She was a little dehydrated and her blood sugar was a little low, but she was getting fluids and glucose. Dr. Z said if we were going to do the surgery it was better not to wait. It was a quick decision…
Dr. Z called me a little before 2 to let me know Lupe got through the surgery wonderfully, no complications. She was awake and breathing on her own. Dr. Z was amazed at how her leg had changed from a week ago. It was severly inflammed and must have been causing so much pain. I spoke to her nurse a couple of hours ago and Lupe was resting comfortably, still coming out of the anethesia but we set up a time to have a video call at 9 pm. So what they do is have the nurse and me on the phone talking about her progress while they have a video camera on Lupe so I can see her. I should be able to see her tomorrow and hopefully she will be coming home on Saturday.
I’m overwhelmed by everything. Driving home tonight I saw people walking their dogs and the guilt hit me along with the anger. I guess its normally to be jealous of the monkeybutts with knowing what is happening with Lupe and I. I’m not sure what to do to prepare for what I am going to see and how things are going to be when she comes home. She’s still my Pooh Bear and I need to not lose sight of that and treasure the time we have as we move forward on this new road we are going down. Wow, Lupe is tripawd and I’m a tripawd pawrent…craziness!!!
Don’t spend too much energy on being angry. Don’t spend any energy at all on guilt. Nothing good comes of that. What would you be guilty of? Taking extreme pain away from Lupe? That sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it?
Just move forward now. It’s the direction Lupe wants to go so follow her lead. Once she’s healed up and getting her strength back, you two have a whole world of living to accomplish. Better start making plans.
Go through some of the forum posts and the Required Reading List here for assistance on what to expect when she comes home. Every dog is different so come back and post often. You’ll get a lot of answers. Typically, though, Lupe will be loopy for awhile. It is almost impossible to tell the difference (unfortunately) between pain and over-medication, since they cause similar symptoms (usually lots of panting). You know Lupe, though, and you will likely know if she’s hurting. My dog has some subtle clues to let me know, but even after 10 years it’s hard to tell.
Keep us posted. Spend the next day or so getting things ready to make it easier to help Lupe. Throw rugs, yoga mats, slightly raised bowls, maybe a baby gate or some way to confine her, etc. And congratulations! You did the responsible, loving thing for Lupe! No guilt, no regret.
Shari
Thanks Shari!
I remember seeing her for the first time after her eye surgery and just being thrilled that we were back together and I know I will feel that way again. Definitely no regrets, especially when I could compare her 2 legs…the leg HAD to go, there was no choice.
Sounds like a shopping trip is in store for me tomorrow or Saturday…hey, nothing like retail therapy, right? 🙂
Can’t wait to “see” her in a little while…
Hooray for successful surgery!
I would also recommend looking through the site for images of what her incision will look like. We had no clue, and I was honestly quite shocked at how big it was (but Abby was a long, tall girl, so it was a BIG area that was covered with a big Y shaped incision).
Still – once you see her, and you look into her eyes, you’ll see your girl there and just be so happy, you won’t mind the incision.
Being a tripawd pawrent is awesome! Once she’s fully recovered, you’ll see how great it is.
Keep us posted!
Jackie
Oh pooh – I’m still logged in as Monkeybutt Rita! Oh well – I guess that’s appropriate given the title of your post…
Anyway – it’s really, me, Angel Abby’s mom!
So glad she did well with surgery! I was so nervous the day Zeus had surgery that I was actually nauseous. Then all night I lay awake worrying about how he was doing. When I finally got to see him I sobbed happy tears for about five minutes (fortunately he can actually tell the difference in happy and sad crying) and he just sat and wagged his tail while I held him. It is very emotional when you first see them, but mostly because of relief and love! Good luck with the recovery!
Lisa
We were so happy to have Shadow home after his surgery. We saw is a new adventure for all of us.
Heather & Spirit Shadow
I just got to see her on a webcam. She is definitely groggy and out of it, but she did have her eye open and was looking right into the camera. Think I saw a couple of tail wags and some big sighs. Nurse told me that they took her outside and she is walking pretty well. I can’t believe she’s already walking!!! Of course she’s being stubborn and doesn’t want to eat but that hopefully will come back with time. Time to get some sleep…been a long week especially the past few nights. So happy to have “seen” her 🙂
glad the surgery went well!! hope you get your girl home by the weekend, and then you guys will begin the next chapter of your adventure together as tripawd sisters. get some rest, and know that you helped alleviate all of that pain, you did good!!!
charon & spirit gayle
Your title had me worried! “Goodbye” scares me! What a relief! I’m glad she made it through okay and is doing well. YAY!
Now….she is pain free! Keep us posted!
Sorry to scare you with the word “Goodbye”…she’s obviously still with us and doing wonderfully and may even be coming home today. Going to go see her around 3 and make that decision.
-Kori