boones journey

Boone received the “green light” from the surgeon yesterday that he could resume all dog related activities and has been liberated from the cone of shame.  He has resumed his normal length walks around the neighborhood and has new found celebrity status. Over the weekend I’ll trot him down to Whole Foods and his favorite local brewery to reunite with old friends.  No word on the type of bone cancer yet and thus no decision on chemo either.   It’s great to see him getting back into the routine and off all the pills.

A Walk in the Fall!

There is so much good information on Tripawds.com about what to expect post surgery and during recovery.  I read it all and enjoyed many stories, pictures and videos and again the education helped.  I was prepared for complications but as of today (Day 10 after surgery) his scar has healed without infection, complications or seromas, etc.   I was really thinking his post op care would be much harder than it was.. so in Boone’s case it was not so bad. The first two days were the hardest while he adjusted to the more confined area of the house and he seemed anxious at all hours of the night that he wasn’t participating in his normal routine. After two days though he settled down and it’s been relatively easy so far.

Below are some pictures taken during days 3-5 after surgery

Boone was up on his feet pretty much right after surgery.  He had the benefit of already walking on three legs while waiting for his surgery so he had a little pre-training.  I had a nice little outdoor area for him to relax in the sun but be sure to stay with your dog while outside at all times. The proteins from the incision can attract flies, bees, etc. so I’d definitely not leave your dog outside during recovery. But it’s a nice short break!

By day 5 Boone could walk about 1/2 a block without too much discomfort and enjoy the fall leaves and smells! 🙂

Boone met his surgeon (Dr. Devitt) and oncologist (Dr. Elmslie)  at a specialty, private 24/7 animal hospital called VRCC in Denver, Colorado. All of the surgeons and vets at VRCC are  board certified. I was fortunate to have such a great facility just a 10 minute drive from my house.  Boone also had a local vet that actually made the initial diagnosis at Washington Park Veterinary Clinic and they have been very supportive and loaded with good information.  All of his veterinary care has been top notch and for those in Denver looking for an excellent option for amputation I’d strongly recommend VRCC (CSU Fort Collins is also good but it’s a bit of a hike from Denver). The total cost for his amputation including meds and one overnight in the hospital was right around $2500

Boone’s Surgery was uneventful and had no complications and he was released after a 1 night hospital stay.  Like many others, I would echo the importance of finding a good facility that can provide the first 24 hours of care after surgery.  It takes some of the pressure of off you and also gives you some time to go around and pick up some supplies.

Below are some pictures of Boone right after release from the hospital.  He left with a dressing over the incision and of course the dreaded cone of shame.  He was thrilled to come home and just collapsed in his favorite spot and feel asleep in a haze of pain meds!   Boone actually adjusted to the cone of shame just fine. I think the clear cone made him more comfortable. I tried a “Comfy Cone” but he wasn’t too keen on not being able to see see outside the sides.

I had some anxiety on how to get him in the back of my 4Runner and out.. but the staff at VRCC showed me the technique and it turned out to be easy.

I had lots of good exposure ahead of time to incision pictures and what to expect, so it really wasn’t all that shocking.  Getting yourself mentally prepared for the surgery and recovery is definitely a good idea but for me .. it was nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be.

Boones post-op pill regimen was an oral antibiotic for 12 days, Rimadyl for 5 days, Tramadol as needed every 12 hours for 5 days and Gabapentin for Phantom Limb Pain.  He tolerated all of the drugs fine (he had already been on Rimadyl and Tramadol pre-surgery for the tumor pain) but the Gabapentin had the strongest sedative effect.. almost alarmingly so.  He had a very low dose of a mild sedative “Ace” which came in handy on days 2-4 to keep him calm at night.

Boone is my 5 year old golden retriever mix diagnosed with bone cancer (as of this writing the exact tumor is being determined).  Boone started showing signs of trouble in April of 2013 when he was lifting up his right hind leg while staring out the door. It was thought by just about everyone including his vet that the most likely problem for such a young dog would be a CCL rupture/strain; cancer was never suspected.

Boone is an extremely athletic dog and tremendously stoic when it comes to pain.  For several months he would be completely weight bearing on all four legs and very few people could pick out the subtle toe tapping and shifting of weight off the hind leg. In May and June of 2013, his symptoms appeared to completely resolve leading everyone to the conclusion he may have simply strained a muscle.

In July of 2013 the toe tapping and intermittent lameness returned and in August of 2013 with his TPLO surgery scheduled for a CCL tear, my vet did another set of x rays and the signature images of bone cancer could not be denied.

The picture below is Boone before any surgery reminding everyone to stay calm and have fun!

Boone’s tumor was relatively small when diagnosed so I was able to sustain an excellent quality of life with just oral pain meds through August and September. There is a school of thought that you need to act fast with the cancers but this was not my experience with Boone so we had lots of time to do research and consider all the options including SRT radiation at CSU Fort Collins. As the tumor size increased, the pain meds were not keeping up and  after lots of reading, research into options and the invaluable stories and information found on this site, I made a choice that the right decision for Boone was to amputate. The surgery took place on October 16, 2013.  Today he is doing great; his margins are clear and the lymph nodes aren’t involved.  He’s not at 100% quite yet but he’s on a very pawsitive path!

In future posts I hope to chronicle my experience both with Bone cancer and with becoming a tripawd parent to help others that might be facing a similar situation.