Brandy

[oldmoose]

Laura, how's Brandy?
Moose

[Azusateach]

Laura, how's Brandy?
Moose

Thanks so much for asking, and for your prayers.  She's doing very well.  She's got a 7" incision down her back with about 20 staples.  Up until today she's been pretty content to be quiet.  Well, I think she's feeling lots better.  So the challenge will be to keep her quiet so everything heals just right.  I don't expect that she's going to be 100% until at least Christmas, but she's going to San Diego with me next month!  I've thought of taking pictures of her incision, just for posterity, but it seems kind of morbid.  She's a great dog with a tremendous will to live and love, and I fully expect to see her swimming in the Merced River again next summer in Yosemite.  Keep those prayers coming, though!

Laura

[Chez Way]

Laura,

I'm so glad to hear that Brandy is recovering nicely.  We look forward to meeting her at Campland.

[griffsmom]

That's excellent news.  Good luck keeping her still.  I had that problem with my little cat wen she was having leg surgery.  It's stressful, but encouraging that she wants to move. Please give Brandy a kiss on the head from us!

[Azusateach]

Since you all have been in on this saga since the beginning, I'll kekep you posted.  Besides, I need the prayers/support right now.  I spent all night last night letting her outside, as she now has a urinary tract infection.  Yup.  Apparently it's not so uncommon for dogs to get them after back surgery.  Has something to do with taking prednisone and stuff.  So, another day off to work, and away we go to the vet in Glendale.  While they were trying to find her bladder to get a urine sample (doing sonogram & lots poking around) one of the vet techs found a "mammary mass" about the size of a walnut.  Not good.  The vet comes in & tells me that it needs to come out, but before doing that it would be a good idea to see if it's spread by taking a chest x-ray.  So that was done, and it was the ONLY good news of the day.  X-rays came back clean, so it'll make sense to take the mass out.  I wanted to do it right away, but the vet who does surgery wants a go-ahead from the neurologist first.  I'll get that on Saturday when I take her back to Tustin.  I got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night.  Brandy's resting comfortably right now -- not wanting to go potty every 5 minutes, so maybe we'll both sleep tonight.

Keep praying, friends.  I'm not ready to give this dog up yet.  Thanks

Laura

[oldmoose]

Laura, I'm so sorry for the additional problems. I keep both of you in my prayers and keep positive thoughts.

Moose

[Dee4j]

mucho prayers heading your way :p

[griffsmom]

Brandy's in our prayers.  We're not ready to give up on her either.  Tustin is in our neck of the woods (Foothill Ranch).  Give us a shout if you need anything when you're down on Saturday--really truly!

[Azusateach]

Here's the latest on my pooch ...
 
The neurologist said that Brandy can have surgery as early as Nov. 3.  The vet who will do the surgery can do it on Monday the 7th, but that's the first day of parent conferences (aka, a teacher's week in hell), and 4 days before camping.  So, unless he says that it HAS to happen on the 7th, I'm going wait until the 14th.  I really want to take her with me to San Diego, and I don't know how she'd manage with stitches in her belly & not being able to get in & out of my car -- way too scary to think about.  Since it seems not to have metastisized (sp?), and thinking it's probably been there for awhile, I'm going to take a chance.  If it turns out to be malignant she'll at least have one more good camping trip (I'm not morbid -- just realistic).  So ... please keep praying that the vet agrees with me that I can wait a week and this thing in her belly doesn't do anything bad.  Thanks, friends.

Laura

[DK&3kids]

Here's the latest on my pooch ...
 
 The neurologist said that Brandy can have surgery as early as Nov. 3. The vet who will do the surgery can do it on Monday the 7th, but that's the first day of parent conferences (aka, a teacher's week in hell), and 4 days before camping. So, unless he says that it HAS to happen on the 7th, I'm going wait until the 14th. I really want to take her with me to San Diego, and I don't know how she'd manage with stitches in her belly & not being able to get in & out of my car -- way too scary to think about. Since it seems not to have metastisized (sp?), and thinking it's probably been there for awhile, I'm going to take a chance. If it turns out to be malignant she'll at least have one more good camping trip (I'm not morbid -- just realistic). So ... please keep praying that the vet agrees with me that I can wait a week and this thing in her belly doesn't do anything bad. Thanks, friends.
 
 Laura

Laura,
 
 You and Brandy are in our prayers as well.  Prayers too for smooth conferences...just survived mine!  We look forward to seeing you BOTH in SD.

[Azusateach]

Greetings, All --
   Brandy & I spent yesterday traipsing up & down the I-5 visiting her various doctors.  First stop was the neurologist (in Tustin), who is delighted with the way her back is healing & she's moving.     Next, we went to her regular vet (in Glendale) who took another urine sample to see if she really has an e-coli bacteria infection (NOT as dangerous to dogs as it is to humans).  The antibiotics are doing their trick, but if it's really e-coli, then there's something else that will definitely kill it, but it's pretty expensive.  Hence, the second urine test.
   Everything is a "go" for her tumor surgery on the 14th, and the neurologist is fine with her going to Campland -- good thing, 'cause she'd have come anyway.  So, we'll be showing off both a scar and a lump when we see you in a couple of weeks.
   Keep praying, friends.  She's not out of the woods yet.  Thanks SO much!

Laura -- and Brandy

[oldmoose]

Laura, I'm glad she's improving and will definitely keep her in our prayers & thoughts.

Moose

[oldmoose]

Laura, how's Brandy doing?

Moose

[Azusateach]

Laura, how's Brandy doing?

Moose

Thanks for asking!  She had surgery for the tumor on Monday, which she tolerated well.  The vet said he was as "aggressive" as he could be, taking a wide margin on the tumor.  I didn't get the biopsy report until this morning.  Both the vet and I were fairly certain that the tumor was malignant, and it was, but the good news is that because of the vet's aggressiveness, the margins and adjacent lymph node he removed are all clear.    The tumor was an intermediate one (whatever that means), and it doesn't tend to metastasize until later, so the odds are good that she'll live a long and healthy life.

You all, I can't tell you how much your support has meant to me.  It's a gift to know that you all care about my pooch!    

So, the next time we all get together, she'll be there, hopefully fully "clothed" (hair re-grown) -- and maybe with a new buddy to boot!

Thanks friends!

Laura

[griffsdad]

Glad to hear the good news! Our prayers always. Dave, Lori, and Griffin.