Sophie is on the mend

We call the vet on the morning of day 3 to casually ask, “Should there be this much swelling?” and she says no, bring Sophie in right now.

She looks Sophie over and says that she really doesn’t like what she sees. She wants to send us to an orthopedic specialist. Roy asks if this could be cancer and the vet says that she can not rule that out at this time. I, of course, fall to pieces which makes Dr. Blount start crying and the 3 of us are a complete mess. It would be just too much to lose Sophie especially so close to losing Sammy. She says that it may not be cancer, but it is something they have to consider. Anyway she tells us the “worst case scenario” which is that the swelling is due to bone cancer, osteocarcoma, which is very aggressive and not curable. The treatment is to amputate the leg, do chemo therapy and maybe get 6-8 more months of life from Sophie. She reminds us that it may not be cancer and sends us home to wait for our ortho appointment. That was one sad, stressful afternoon.

The orthopedic specialist took more x-rays and did a pain test on Sophie. He found the arthritis, but he did not find any fractures, dislocations, tumors or odd bone behavior. It is his opinion that the swelling is due to an infection probably due to a cat bite (one of my mom’s cats attacked Sophie last Sunday and got a few swings in before I could pull her away and trap him in the attic) and he recommended rest and antibiotics. Whew! He did say that she will probably need surgery on her shoulder to restore the support that she has worn down through the years.

I still don’t know what I would have done if Sophie had bone cancer. I don’t know if amputation is the best option for a dog that lives to run, swim and play. I just don’t know. Lots of dogs do really well. Anyway, I’m grateful we didn’t have to decide. She has been resting and getting better each day. She and I just started taking walks again, she is eating normally, and she picked up her ball yesterday and dropped it at my feet. The swelling is going down, but is not completely gone and her arm still hurts.

Whew!