Need Help/Information on Brain Tumors and Strokes

[debbie knowles]

Hi Angel,
I am so sorry to hear about Pandora and pray that she does not have a tumor. I can tell you this...Baxter is doing OK..holding his own. I know Aimee has been very busy with an illness and death in her family and has not had time to post much but the last time I spoke with her she said that although Baxter does appear to be on a slow decline that he is still doing pretty good and like the true trooper that he is, he is hanging in there. I know that Aimee and Baxter have been to the South Paws clinic and she speaks very highly of them. Fortunately, Baxter has not had seizures, but has had the general weakness and stumbling and the circling and pulling to one side were the first signs of trouble in Mr. B. Please now that we will keep all of you in our hearts and prayers. I am sure Aimee will post when she can for a more recent update. We'll be thinking of you and hoping for the best for Pandora. djk

 

[Austin's Mom]

Angel I want to wish you and Pandora lots of good luck with her MRI. Deb thanks for the update on Bax. Glad to hear he's still holding his own.

 

[Aimee]

Angel, I am so sorry to hear about Pandora and am praying that today will bring you good news! Our neurologist is Dr. Knoeckel at South Paws. If you also saw Dr. Knoeckel, you can rest assured that he is one of the best (he is also the neurosurgeon). Hugs to you, I know exactly what you are going through right now. We have been very fortunant that Baxter has not suffered any seizures to date and we continue to pray that he won't ever. He does suffer from the circling and confusion although the prednisone has helped with those symptoms. Please keep us posted on Pandora and her progress, okay? Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or just need support. We're thinking of you as you await your results today.

Update!

I am sorry that it has been so long since my last update however, I was going back and forth to Florida the last few weeks because my grandfather was terminally ill and has since passed away. It has been a difficult time for my family.

Baxter continues to hold his own although he has started on the dreaded decline that we knew would eventually come. Unfortunantly his hind end is becoming weaker and less coordinated. Stairs are hard for him to navigate even with assistance though the past few days he has done much better. His back end tends to sway a lot now which at times almost knocks him over although at this point he is still able to "catch himself" to keep from falling over. Bax never recovered from his stroke and the tilt he has from that makes it more difficult on him now. With assistance though, Baxter does very well. He is still able to go on his walks and he still enjoys them. Bax doesn't eat his breakfast with the gusto that he used to but he still hasn't missed a meal and overall he has a great appetite and continues to beg for food. The lump in Baxter's mouth still has not healed though I am able to keep it "under control". Removal isn't an option so we just have to manage it to keep him comfortable. It does not appear to bother him anymore and I clean it twice a day. Other than his mobility difficulties, Baxter is still his happy and silly self. I know I have said it before but Bax's resiliency never ceases to amaze me. It is nice to be able to see him still enjoying life, especially at this stage.

We are scheduled for another biomedical profile on February 9. Baxter's supplement protocol will change again. I remain positive and am hopeful that Mr. B will respond positively to the upcoming changes.

Thank you all for thinking of us and for your continued support. I can't put into words just how grateful we are for each of you, we gain so much strength from you. Thank you!

Aimee

 

[jray]

Amiee I always read you posts with a smile. Youa nd Bax are an inspiration to all of us! He is one tough boy and to have a mommy like you, he is very lucky! Sorry for you loss. Please continue to keep us posted!

 

[MizBev]

Aimee,

I am very sorry for the loss of your Grandfather. You and your family are in my prayers. Thanks for the update on Mr. B. I continue to pray that he responds well to the treatments and is with us for some time to come. I also want to wish you strength and peace in knowing that you are doing everything possible for that handsome fellow. You are an angel and Baxter is very lucky that you are his human. God Bless you all.

Bev

 

[debbie knowles]

Baxter is still his happy and silly self. Aimee

Oh come on now...tell them about the bedtime "feet fights" ! It's things like that that keep me hanging on tighter and tighter...he is such a doll. You hang in there ol buddy.

 

[ljnash]

Aimee, I'm sorry about your grandfather! You have been through so much lately! ((((HUGS)))))

And thanks for the update about Baxter! He's an amazing fella, and you & DH are his angels!

I want to hear about the feet fights!!

 

[Austin's Mom]

Aimee I'm so sorry you lost your Grandfather. You keep hangin' tough Bax.

 

[Angelfeather]

Thank you for your thoughts

It all started about 11 years ago. I was working at a friends pet store (Just Pets in Reston) and heard about white boxers that were put down at birth simply becuase they were an "imperfection" in the breed. I began to do research on the helath risks of a white boxer and began search for breeders who would not put them down at birth. After a year of searching we found one that would could get (with promise not to breed). We were so excited to get our little Alaska, when we arrived we fell in love with her...but at our feet was a beautiful flashy brindle that was just tugging on our heart strings, so we took them both. My husband and I have no children and they were our little babies, went with us everywhere. A year later when working at the same store I heard of a Boxer that was being abused. After much convincing, the owner sold him to us, (Cognac-tried to be made mean) --now Bailey came to live w/ us. We had not known the degree of abuse he had suffered until later, but he join the family and fit right in and has overcome his fears.

After all our ups and downs that life can dish out with 3 boxers (broken leg, ruptured colon, mast cell tumors, etc.) today is the saddest day of them all.
We picked Pandora up this morning from the ICU @ South Paws and she was not doing well at all. She was not able to even stand up on her own, and was crying and having a deep belly moan over and over it was killing us. She had no positive responce to the rounds of steroids they had started her on. I think she was telling us something. We brought her to the MRI center and they put her under and completed the scan. We then brought her back to South Paws and met w/ her Neurologist Dr Dayrell-Hart. We found out the tumor in her brain was just too large and she was showing signs of dead tissue in the brain. No matter how much radiation, steriods, or love we gave her, it was not going to make her life worth living. She came out of the anethsia and looked at my husband and I and let out a sigh then began to moan. She was telling us it was over, she was saying goodbye. We made the choice to end her suffering and let her go peacefully. She laid in our arms as we said our last goodbyes.
I will never forget her, she gave us so much love. I wanted to thank everyone for their posts, it made me feel good. It helps to heal when you can share your pain.
Aimee~ I wish you the best with Baxter. I know there will come a time that he too will telll you how much he loves you and that it is time, and I am sure you know that, but it never makes it easy. No matter how much we "prepare" ourselves.
I will always hold a place for her and will always have a Boxer in my life.
Thanks again everyong for sharing.
Angel

 

[Aimee]

Angel,

I am so sorry for your loss, my heart aches for you. I cry thinking of what you are going through. I hope you can find peace in knowing that you made the ultimate sacrafice for Pandora. I always hope that will bring me comfort when it comes time to set Baxter free from his broken body. It's comforting to know they are made whole again and are doing all the things they could no longer do or do comfortably while they were here. I think of them running around doing boxer burns again in the green grass on a warm spring day. My Baxter is blind and has been since we adopted him. It makes me smile to think that when they move on from this world that they are able to look down on us lovingly. This will be the first time that Baxter will actually get to see me and strangely I find comfort in this. I hope you too have something about Pandora that you can find comfort in. Godspeed Pandora. You and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers. I know my Garrett greeted Pandora at the bridge and is lovingly showing her around, along with all of our other furfriends who have gone on before us.

Aimee