Our Final Conclusion
Loving on my Bubs
Its a Thursday and my husband asked for the day off. We didn’t know how this vet visit was going to go. Could we bring her home? Do we have to say goodbye? Not a clue. I kept observing her breathing- if it was in her lungs, could I hear it? My brain was spinning, and I kept looking over my shoulder to the backseat where Bubbles pressed her squishy mug on the window. She loves being in the car, people watching, or when you roll the window down and she lets her lips and ears flap in the wind. She is such a ham.
We get to the vet, check in, and are quickly called back. They take her weight, 53 lbs, and put us in a room. Her vet walks in, assures me he’s confident her lungs are alright but we needed to be sure through x-ray. They had just finished putting in a new radiology room, so that eased my nerves that we were getting the most accurate answers here. All this is so important. A nurse comes over and loves up Bubs right before getting her in a soft wedge on the x-ray table. You have always been able to maneuver her and she just goes along with anything. Three x-rays of her chest and 5 minutes later, we’re back to waiting. I remember thinking to myself in that moment, “I hate waiting.” Her vet walks over and with a large smile says, “her lungs look clear!” I could hear my husband breathe a sigh of relief.
Now, whats next? Amputation. The harsh reality. The vet comes over with a binder and has a seat next to us. He’s relieved to tell us Bubbles’ lungs look great. The cancer had not spread as of yet. He is however, concerned about her lymph node in that leg since it had looked enlarged in the first set of radiographs. He explained he felt like removing the lymph node together with the leg would ensure the cancer from spreading since he is not certain the lymph node was affected, or just reacting to the cancer. He said he would be amputating up high, creating an incision tucked underneath her belly, and that would be it. Next, the cost.
I was freaked out when he showed us the chart. For a 50 lb dog, her surgery would range from $2,000-$4,000. She currently weighed 53 lbs, so our goal was losing those 3 lbs and getting her in the right range for cost. Still, how? We had spent everything to get to this point and had nothing left. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for this vet, this doctor, everything he has done for us. He was willing to cut the surgery cost in half! Yet, we still needed a couple grand to save my baby girl. We were sent home to figure it out, but he only gave us 3 weeks of assurance..