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Kuma
May 22, 2009 6:52:53 GMT -5
Post by Brooke on May 22, 2009 6:52:53 GMT -5
I don't know how I'm going to get through the next day...
Last sunday Kuma lost vision in her left eye. Yesterday... she lost vision in her right eye. After 5 days of vet and er visits I feel helpless. They are telling me that her retinas are detatching from the anterior wall. Today we are driving her to Purdue University to see a veterinary ophthalmologist. I am hopeful we will have answers but scared out of my wits to hear them.
I'm ok with the blindness... I can live with that. I am not ready for what may be causing it. 8 years and she seemed perfectly healthy up until Saturday night. This dog still doesn't have a gray hair. She's always been docile and mellow. No changes what so ever, so this has been extremely hard to digest. I am wiped out and I don't think there's an hour that has passed where I've been conscious and not cried. All these years and she's always been the same. It was hard to see this coming.
This dog has protected me from people who've tried to hurt me. She's saved me in so many ways. Got me through my divorce and North Carolina... she's lovingly accepted my son. She's been with me through every change. I am so not ready for this.
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Kuma
May 22, 2009 18:39:23 GMT -5
Post by Aussienot on May 22, 2009 18:39:23 GMT -5
Oh Brooke, I know how much Kuma means to you, and whatever the outcome, the two of you will get through it together. It's such a cruel trick that dog's lives are so short compared to ours, I guess that is why dogs try to pack so much love into their lives.
Jody went blind and deaf about five years before she passed on, so while Kuma losing her sight is hard for you to cope with, she will adapt pretty easily as she will know it is a new life stage for her.
Stay strong. You and Kuma will be in my thoughts.
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Kuma
May 22, 2009 21:56:25 GMT -5
Post by Richard on May 22, 2009 21:56:25 GMT -5
Brooke, you and Kuma will get through this - together, as it's always been.
As long as she knows you're near, she'll do her part as you will do yours.
My thoughts too, are with you both.
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Kuma
May 24, 2009 9:54:27 GMT -5
Post by Brooke on May 24, 2009 9:54:27 GMT -5
They did find a mass under her tail which had some cells they were concerned about. They sent it along with a urinalysis for some testing. I should know the answer to on Tuesday about that. They were concerned about this being Lymphoma cancer however they took some x rays of her lungs and said that usually if there's cancer the first place it starts spreading to is their lungs and they didn't find anything abnormal anywhere else other than that mass. They didn't find any tumors or cancer in the eyes either thank goodness but said that her retinas have completely lifted from the wall. She has no vision in her left eye and nearly all the vision in her right eye is gone but we think she sees some shadows sometimes out of that one.
Its an adjustment but she seems to be doing ok with it. She doesn't appear to be in pain. They did say pending the results of the tests it sounds they are narrowing this down to being more of a defect in the Shepherd line than something life threatening. Which is something I will happily take after this week!
They put her on steroids and said that it could help reattach and help repair her retinas. Potentially she could get her vision back. If that is going to happen we would start noticing that within 4-7 days however she could still have damage to her eye and an impairment still.
I just have to learn to be more aware.I feel so bad for her. Its difficult with the baby's toys because she's running into stuff and it's hard in such a tiny house to keep it in a way that she knows where everything is. We're trying to pay more attention. She doesn't know how to tell us she needs to go out anymore so we just have to remember to not wait on her to give us her normal signals.
I'm hopeful the tests come back ok but I'm feeling a lot better. More optimistic anyway. This week has wiped me out!
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Kuma
May 24, 2009 17:49:47 GMT -5
Post by Aussienot on May 24, 2009 17:49:47 GMT -5
That's sounding a little better, and it least it seems that whatever Kuma has can be treated or managed. I know every dog is different, but Jody coped with being blind and lived a good quality of life for many more years.
Kuma is a 'icon' dog who still has a big role to play in your life. Cyber hugs and kisses to you both.
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Kuma
May 26, 2009 6:17:24 GMT -5
Post by Richard on May 26, 2009 6:17:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the update Brooke.
I hope the mass under the tail is benign then you can let the steroids hopefully repair the damage to Kuma's eyes.
I'll continue to keep you both in my thoughts.
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Kuma
May 30, 2009 22:05:59 GMT -5
Post by sibemom on May 30, 2009 22:05:59 GMT -5
OMG!!! How did I miss this!!! You and Kuma will get through this Brooke. If you need to talk I am here for you. You can email me off list or on either way. It is going to work out. The steroids should help and you will see improvement before you know it. I feel so bad because I have not been on the board like I use to be, but please know I am here anytime you need me. Hang tough kid and give that girl BIG HUGS FOR ME!!!!
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Kuma
Jul 25, 2009 9:35:44 GMT -5
Post by willow on Jul 25, 2009 9:35:44 GMT -5
Brooke, I too am so sorry to hear this. Even though we all know we will more than likely out live our dogs and will have to go through health problems in their declining years, it does not lessen the pain when it begins to happen.
I am hoping/praying Kuma recovers at least some of her sight.
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Kuma
Sept 8, 2009 20:54:28 GMT -5
Post by Brooke on Sept 8, 2009 20:54:28 GMT -5
Well... I have an update. Kuma did for the most part recover the majority of her vision. I think she got most of it back but she's not 100%. They tested the pressures in her eyes again today and found the left one is reading about 17 which is normal and the right is reading 9 which tells us that there is inflammation for an unknown reason. It used to be switched which is puzzling. All in all things were going ok up until about two weeks ago.
During the Purdue trip they had found a tumor under her tail which they had indicated they felt it to be benign. I think that being in the back of my mind regardless of it being benign just really is working on my brain. They did tell me they couldn't tell for sure unless it was removed and sent in for testing.
I noticed she seemed to be losing weight... or so I thought. Not that she couldn't afford a little but they actually told me today she was 4 lbs heavier than she was at the last appointment. For a few minutes I thought I was just over-reacting and maybe we were ok.
She was losing a considerable amount of fur which also isn't abnormal for this time of year but at parts of her I was starting to see her skin it was thinning so much, she was scratching and there was a lot of flaking and dander. I'm used to this long GSD type coat and it's so short now which it has never been. Can't say it was too alarming because I had changed her from Canidae chicken formula to lamb. Not necessarily for any reason other than it was a little cheaper.
I did this one other time and ended up switching her back to the chicken formula because she hadn't reacted really well at the time. Honestly I didn't know if it was the food switch that caused it or she had either gotten into something I wasn't aware of or was going through some kind of bug. She had gotten really bad diarrhea... sooo... I attempted the switch and I have again switched her back to the chicken and decided to take her in because I just had this gut feeling... We are attributing the hair loss to different types of allergies.
This weekend I took a mental day for just me and her. I dropped my kiddo off at grandmas and took her to the self service dog wash at Petco. While I was bathing her I found a new tumor in the same place as one we had found and had removed a year and a half ago. This one has turned out to be cancer. Unfortunately the prognosis isn't great since this one is a mast cell tumor. The area that it's in is more boney and they wouldn't be able to remove it in a very clean manner since they like to remove at least 2-3 cm of tissue around the tumor and there's not much to take there.
I figure if I'm going to have it removed to have that and the one beneath her tail done at the same time however... it will cost me 700.00. On top of the 1100.00 I've already spent this year on all the other tests and trip.
I have to say I am considering it though...
She's 8, and everyone is reminding me of this but... I'm just not ready to let go yet... I figure this is my last ditch effort. This girl got me through so much... she gave me reasons to get out of bed some days. How can I possibly let her go?
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Kuma
Sept 8, 2009 22:08:43 GMT -5
Post by Brooke on Sept 8, 2009 22:08:43 GMT -5
BTW, for any of you that haven't heard yet... I finally got engaged a couple weeks ago. At least I have a small ray of sunshine...
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Kuma
Sept 10, 2009 6:36:51 GMT -5
Post by Richard on Sept 10, 2009 6:36:51 GMT -5
Hey Brooke,
Thanks for the update on Kuma.
I can't imagine the emotions you're going through knowing you've resolved one problem just to be confronted with another.
But what I do know is that you know how much Kuma means to you and if you confronted and climbed one hill together, you can do it again.
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Kuma
Sept 10, 2009 6:38:57 GMT -5
Post by Richard on Sept 10, 2009 6:38:57 GMT -5
BTW, for any of you that haven't heard yet... I finally got engaged a couple weeks ago. At least I have a small ray of sunshine... It maybe small now but don't worry Brooke, the sun will soon be shining in all over you! Congrats!
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Kuma
Sept 12, 2009 1:31:49 GMT -5
Post by Aussienot on Sept 12, 2009 1:31:49 GMT -5
Hey Brook, I guess you know now how Charles boy thingyens came up with "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times'. I am so happy for your good news, and am sorry for your bad news.
It's unfair and heartbreaking that dog's lives are so short compared to ours. When you give your heart to a dog to tear, you must take on the life and death decisions, which sucks. If they weren't so wonderful, we would never agree to this bargin.
Whatever decision you make, it will be based on a lifetime of love, care and devotion to Kuma. There are financial realities that have to balanced against the save at all costs. Whatever course you take, it will be the right one. And I am sure that Kuma knows and will accept that, too.
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Kuma
Sept 12, 2009 21:16:58 GMT -5
Post by Brooke on Sept 12, 2009 21:16:58 GMT -5
Thank you
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