Please pray for Josi

[msjosi]

Just spoke with the ER vet and she said Josi made it comfortably through the night and slept through her entire transfusion which is now done. They did a recheck on her blood count and it had rised to 20% which she said is a good sign as long as it doesn't go back down later. They are going to ultrasound her abdomen to give them a better picture to give to us for prognosis. If her liver is riduled with tumors than it probably isn't fair to her anymore. She said her feet and head are still swollen and she is going to start antiobiotic to see how that goes. She is scheduled to go outside soon with a sling she said, but I can't believe that she will be able to walk on her paws. She is continuing to get fluids and we will go see her after the ultrasound and hopefully bring her home. I am going to give our local vet a call after 9am. to bring him up to speed with the latest and discuss with him our options. I will probably be on here throughout the day so I will post again soon...keep those <<vibes>> coming for our "Warrior Princess"

 

[WAT]

Staci - we are sending all our love and prayers out to you, Ms. Josi and Brian this morning. Hugs and wiggles...

 

[liamsmom]

i do not mind sharing with you one bit. it is not rehashing old memories or feelings....josi's ordeall has helped me heal tremendously. and, knowing that another person in this world understands exactly what we were going thru emotionally with Dakota is amazing. i don't have words to describe it. i really don't.
you did not go back on any promise to josi by bringing her to the hospital. you did what you thought was best for her right now. you had to do it so that, in your heart, you are able to say that you did everything you could. there is no right or wrong here. i would have done the same thing.
as for being selfish.........no one has the right to judge you for what you decide to do for josi. you have saught medical care, done all that you could at home for her and have gone above and beyond what a lot of people are willing to spend financially. you are doing what wonderful boxer parents should be doing right now. you cannot allow yourself to beat yourself up over your decisions. just take it a step at a time.
even though it sounds like it, i don't know if josi is experiencing the same thing but if she is...our vet described the swelling as "free blood" from the abdomen that pools in the extremities. he said gravity sort of moves it there from the adbomen. not to get graphic and certainly not to recommend that they aspirate the swelling (our vet never did and wouldn't)...that's not what i'm saying....but our vet tried explaining it as...hypothtically...if they were to draw out the fluid that was causing the swelling it would most likely be the residual blood from the abdomen that moved to other parts of the body. he explained that drawing out the fluid is not a treatment option only a way of describing where the swelling came from. does this make any sense?
as your ER vet said, the transfusion could only be a band-aid. but at the same time, will it help josi if the active bleeding has ceased? i'm assuming the ultrasound will give you more information on that.
it's at this point that i started asking the very very difficult questions. very direct, specific questions about Dakota leaving this earth and how it would happen if we weren't able to get him anywhere in time or if we weren't home when it happened. i didn't want him to be home alone and scared. i know the questions are difficult to ask and i certainly didn't like the answers that i received all the time but i absolultely had to know what to expect. i am the sort of person who has to know everything there is to know about something. once all of your questions are answered it is then...and only then...that you will be able to let go of all of you "what if's".
in our case......although you would never know it because he really acted like a puppy, Dakota was a little older than josi. he was 11-1/2 when he was diagnosed. not that his age made it any easier to make the decisions we had to make. but as his condition worsened, he moved that much closer to his 12th birthday. he, too had major things go on during almost all of his 12 years with us. two ACL repairs, several lumpectomies, major allergies all his life, regular boughts of colitis. but all of which we were able to "fix". when his diagnosis of hemangio came down..........i thought i would die! this was something we COULD NOT fix. i need not tell you about the helpless feelings and how i wanted to be able to do more for him. i already know how much you understand those.
today, my hope for you and brian and josi is that the transfusion helps her and that you will have some more time. yes, it might be a band-aid but it is now part of this whole scary process.
please keep updating.
when will the ultrasound be done?
have you heard anything yet??????

 

[liamsmom]

relieved to hear that josi made it thru the night. and that the transfusion brought her counts up bit.
i will pray about the ultrasound.
i know you will be talking to all the vets about some difficult topics this morning and throughout the day. keep taking deep breaths and don't be afraid to ask all the questions you have running through your head! no matter how silly you think they may be.
we'll be praying that you keep the strength you need to get thru all of this with peace in your hearts.
sending hugs, as usual.
sending tons of healing vibes to josi
sending love and support to all of you
we'll be thinking about you and checking back regularly for updates.

 

[msjosi]

Although not the journey's we both would have chosen to take with our baby's, they sound so much alike and I take peace that our ordeal has helped you in the healing process...everything happens for a reason and maybe you were brought to this post to help me along the way and vice versa. Your hugs,guidance,prayers, and honesty will never be forgotten...I just wish there was a way to tell you that in person. I know that like many of the BW babies that have gone before Josi, Dakota will be waiting to greet her and I promise to tell Josi to give him a special lick and wiggle from his family.
The doctor said they will be performing the ultrasound sometime later this morning and will recheck her blood percentage levels at 2pm. to see if they are continuing to rise or going back down. That test combined with the ultrasound should give the doctors a more fuller picture to her prognosis and will solidify in our hearts what the right thing to do is. We know we are not going to remove her liver which they said was an option and if she is still actively bleeding and if her levels go back down I think the only loving thing to do is let her go b/c she may never stop fighting. On the otherhand if this temporary bandaid works and we can get her home I think we both realize that we may be at the end of the road. Like I said I am going to call our local vet to bring him up to speed and prepare him that we could be needing his assistance at anytime...but that is getting ahead of myself while she is still in ICU fighting for her life. We are really just waiting in limbo for the phone to ring and so wanting to just do right by Josi. Many of you have talked about "the look" which Brian thinks he may have gotten from Josi last night before we took her in, but he said before we decided to transfuse she didn't have it anymore. I don't think I will ever see that look b/c I don't think I will ever allow myself to which is horrible of me b/c it is not fair to her. I don't know what is right or wrong anymore, I just pray we do what is right by Josi whatever decision it shall be...I am still very confused about the paws and head swelling and why are they oozing puss...it is all very odd???

 

[thisissilly]

Staci and Brian, you are both in my heart and thoughts this morning. I'm continuing to send healing thoughts to Josi, and strength to her humans.

Twenty+ years ago I faced the tough decisions with my beloved Boxer Cleo, as she began to lose her battle with Mast Cell cancer. I understand how difficult the decisions you are facing can be. When faced with the ultimate decision for our fur kids we tend to become "selfish" as you put it. We don't want their lives to end and we don't want our lives to be devoid of their presence.

You will do what is right for both Josi and yourselves. Trust your instincts, trust your love for Josi, and don't second guess whatever decisions you make. Josie knows how much you love her.

 

[dbetz]

Our whole family - Diane, Paul, Duke and Rudy - have Josi in our thoughts and prayers and we're sending all the strength and healing vibes we can muster. I also send a hug to you. Stay strong.

Diane

 

[liamsmom]

can the oozing be from the edema? is the swelling causing the skin to be stretched and/or unable to take the pressure of the swelling??? maybe? i have no idea....and i'm certainly not a vet...and i know she is in ICU.....i'm grasping at straws with you here. but i do know that edema fills the tissues etc.......i just don't know.
yes you will see "the look". don't think that you won't. right now you might think you won't or that you will miss it. i thought i wouldn't. but i did. and so will you. hubby saw it first, too. and, brian may very well have seen "the look" before you brought her in because she was probably very weak last night. but, like i said before.....you have to take things an hour, a minute or a second at a time right now. things will change with josi since the bleeding makes things a bit unpredictable.
i would have to agree with you on not removing josi's liver. although we want to do all that we can do...there comes a point that we must realize that we would only be prolonging the inevitable since both our babies' diagnosis is/was a terminal one. there is no cure. only temporary fixes.
as difficult as it may be for you...i don't think calling your local vet is a bad idea. you are not getting ahead of yourself. you are merely being/getting prepared.
i did the same thing. i called the vet ahead of time and basically planned it out the best we could. how would it happen? how would Dakota be transported for cremation? how would payment be handled? a bunch of new questions but all the questions asked!!!! the vet knew what we wanted....and we were grateful that's how it happened.
when we were going thru everything with Dakota, a friend of mine who, thru the years, also lost 3 dogs to hemangio was able to help me a great deal. she talked to me about the difficult things and helped me to have the strength to make the decisions i needed to ahead of time. so when that dreaded time came....we had a plan. we knew we wanted to have Dakota home if it was at all possible......we knew we wanted individual cremation. and it was all somewhat in place before the time came. by doing so, it took a great deal of pressure off because when the dreaded decision needed to be made...a plan was in place and the dreaded decision was the last one to be made. and, thankfully, except for a few minor details everything else just fell right into place as planned.
i'm sure Dakota will be there waiting, too. i've summoned him to be
still praying on this end!

 

[Cainsmommy]

Staci and Brian We all know you have done everything and more for your Josi. I do not know what to say except we're all pulling for Josi. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Sending lots of boxer kisses and hugs......

 

[butlersmom]

Staci, there is no right or wrong is this situation. Please don't second guess the things you have done, and will continue to do. You make the best decisions you can at the time. There's nothing more you can do than that. I was worried about Josi continually throughout the night and popped in early this morning before you posted an update. I know you don't feel like you will see "the look"; I felt that same way with Scarlett. But there came a time that I just knew, and even though it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, I was at peace. That doesn't mean my heart wasn't breaking as it still does when I recall that time, but I believe I made the right choice. I'm praying that Miss Josi Warrior Princess is resting comfortably. You, Brian, and your precious girl will be in my thoughts, today, as you have been from the moment I first read this thread. I will check back in later. Try to stay strong, and positive. Easy to say; hard to do. I'm sending many, many hugs to you and Brian.