SHE MADE IT!
Hi Carrie, Stephanie & all you other wonderful boxer guardians!
Diva had a successful operation and is recovering nicely thank you very much! YAY! I feel like a great weight has been lifted.
Her doctor said that her heart was steady throughout the operation and that while they had her "opened", they checked out all of her other organs (liver, kidneys, etc.) and they looked very healthy. That's a good sign. She even showed us the removed tumor, which looked like a golf ball shaped piece of beef liver, and it was very self-contained. This means that even if it was malignant, it may take longer to spread to other organs. That was very encouraging as well. She was kept at the vet overnight, and we had a slight scare when we went to pick her up. Seems she was so excited to see us, she started to breathe very rapidly and kind of sat down on the floor. Then we noticed that her gums were white and her tongue looked kind of greyish-white!!
The vet rushed her to another room and she was put on oxygen and stabilized within 15 minutes. The vet said that her heart was going 220 bpm which is outrageous! We decided to let her stay one more night to rest, and picked her up the next day (yesterday). She's resting comfortably right now and her breathing has been normal thus far.
We are trying to tweak her medication, thinking that perhaps she was not getting it when she really needed it, and that's why she normally had rapid, shallow breathing at night. We'd give her the pill at 8 am and again at 8 pm as indicated on the medication bottle (and we told the assistants at the vet's office to give it to her at these times), but since those directions are for humans, we've decided that maybe it's not right for a dog. So now, we give it to her at 8 am and again at 6:30, when she's still active. We'll see what happens. I have a call in with the cardiologist to firm up a plan to optimize the medicating.
We'll find out via the biopsy in a week if the tumor is cancerous. The vet said that if it were any other breed, she would say it's NOT cancerous, but since it's a boxer, well, you know...
We're hearing all of these things like she only has 3-6 months if it's cancer, but we have a neighbor who says that they had a dog who had her spleen removed, part of the liver, AND it was cancer, but she lived a healthy life for 2 years after the operation to the ripe old age of 14. I'll just be happy for another year with this character! :p
Anyway, I'll keep you all updated and once again, thanks for your prayers and support!
Health and happiness to all!
Tanya:D
Hi Carrie, Stephanie & all you other wonderful boxer guardians!
Diva had a successful operation and is recovering nicely thank you very much! YAY! I feel like a great weight has been lifted.
Her doctor said that her heart was steady throughout the operation and that while they had her "opened", they checked out all of her other organs (liver, kidneys, etc.) and they looked very healthy. That's a good sign. She even showed us the removed tumor, which looked like a golf ball shaped piece of beef liver, and it was very self-contained. This means that even if it was malignant, it may take longer to spread to other organs. That was very encouraging as well. She was kept at the vet overnight, and we had a slight scare when we went to pick her up. Seems she was so excited to see us, she started to breathe very rapidly and kind of sat down on the floor. Then we noticed that her gums were white and her tongue looked kind of greyish-white!!
The vet rushed her to another room and she was put on oxygen and stabilized within 15 minutes. The vet said that her heart was going 220 bpm which is outrageous! We decided to let her stay one more night to rest, and picked her up the next day (yesterday). She's resting comfortably right now and her breathing has been normal thus far.
We are trying to tweak her medication, thinking that perhaps she was not getting it when she really needed it, and that's why she normally had rapid, shallow breathing at night. We'd give her the pill at 8 am and again at 8 pm as indicated on the medication bottle (and we told the assistants at the vet's office to give it to her at these times), but since those directions are for humans, we've decided that maybe it's not right for a dog. So now, we give it to her at 8 am and again at 6:30, when she's still active. We'll see what happens. I have a call in with the cardiologist to firm up a plan to optimize the medicating.
We'll find out via the biopsy in a week if the tumor is cancerous. The vet said that if it were any other breed, she would say it's NOT cancerous, but since it's a boxer, well, you know...
We're hearing all of these things like she only has 3-6 months if it's cancer, but we have a neighbor who says that they had a dog who had her spleen removed, part of the liver, AND it was cancer, but she lived a healthy life for 2 years after the operation to the ripe old age of 14. I'll just be happy for another year with this character! :p
Anyway, I'll keep you all updated and once again, thanks for your prayers and support!
Health and happiness to all!
Tanya:D
) YEAH, I am so glade she is back home with you were she belongs!!!!!!! 
