October 2015 – Jackson's Journey with Osteosarcoma

Coming home…

The wait was unbearable as Jackson would end up staying in the hospital for 2 days because of the extreme swelling that resulted from surgery. On 9/23/15 I went with my friend Judy (she’s been so supportive of this process and has been there for me and genuinely cares for Jackson’s well-being, it’s great to have such wonderful friends in life) to pick up Jackson. The wait was over, Jackson came hopping into the exam room on three legs crying like a baby and pushing himself into me. I had never heard him whine like this before, but I knew it was because he was so happy to see his maw. The site of his surgery was vast 33 staples in all and he had a lot of bruising around the surgery site and under his belly so this was very scary. He had to go home with a drain in his underside that would continue to allow the site to drain and heal, this was something we both weren’t prepared for at all. We got Jackson up into the back of my SUV with the help of a towel under his belly as a hoist and laid a towel underneath him to caught the blood dripping from the drain. How was I going to continue to get him in and out of my car alone, up stairs, etc.?? He’s 85 lbs or at least was before surgery, my back was screaming just thinking of the backaches as a result of lifting him up. On the way home we stopped at our friends Dan & Lauren’s (the vet tech who sent me photos of Jackson on the inside) who would allow us to borrow their playpen (from their own dogs) as the vet recommended us to keep Jackson confined as much as possible with his “cone of shame” on. This was not going to be fun, but we would make the best of it. Later that evening we would descend on my boyfriend, Steve’s home to stay as it was closer to work for me and the layout of his home allowed for us to put the playpen up in the middle of the living room and kitchen. Jackson was so happy to see Steve and Jake, his 15yr old son, he cried again showing his happiness for coming home.

This day marked a great day for all, as my father who had been sick for sometime in and out of the hospital also came home. I felt guilty that I wasn’t there for my Dad, but I knew in my heart that he understood as I was dealing with Jackson coming home too.

The first night I had not expectations other than I knew I had to do cold compresses on the suture site and warm compresses on the drain 3-4 times a day. I thought this would last a couple of days but little did I know this would become my life for at least a week and then longer. Jackson was restless in his new confined home and unsettled waking me up twice during the night crying at 12pm and 1:30am needing to go and pee. What did we get ourselves into? Only time would tell!

Surgery…The day life changed

Once the decision was made for Jacskon to have his rear right leg amputated I knew I had made the right decision. The day before his surgery I decided to take Jackson swimming for maybe his last time in awhile. I was cautious knowing he wasn’t putting any weight at all in his rear leg. On that special day he looked at me with such joy in his eyes & I knew he was thanking me for one last swim.

So on Monday Sept. 21st I decided to have the surgery at the hospital where my friend worked in the ER knowing that he’d be in great hands. My friend Judy decided to come with me that day to be a support & because she was with me on the day that I adopted Jackson 10 1/2 years ago (he held a special place in her heart, too). I thought I was being strong (not crying), yet as soon as the vet tech whisked Jackson away without even a look back I knew I was in trouble. I went to the front desk & proceeded to give the girl behind the counter Jackson’s food with instructions of how to give it to him and as soon as I did I started bawling & apologizing for being emotional, so much for being strong! She took my arm & said you don’t need to apologize it’s ok to be upset.

Now came the waiting game, it wasn’t until later that afternoon that I heard from the surgeon that everything had gone alright & she got most of the margins without having to remove part of his pelvis. She noted that she’s glad we hadn’t done the biopsy as his leg was broken!! I still can’t believe Jacskon had been hopping around with a broken leg the week before surgery, such a strong & courageous boy. Also she noted that the bone didn’t look like “normal” Osteosarcoma (similar to the opinion from my vet of the X-ray), so once again I had the hope that it wasn’t cancer after all! Jackson was to stay at the hospital for 1-2 days for observation post surgery & this would become the longest two days of waiting for me & my family. Luckily I had my inside vet friends who gave me periodic updates & a photo of Jackson that made all the waiting worth it in the end, knowing he was in good hands getting better!

The diagnosis…When it all began

I was completely unaware of what was to come at the end of this summer 2015 when I found out that Jackson, my 10yr old Greyhound, Lab Mix would be diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a type of aggressive bone cancer. I had rescued Jackson at 4 months old, who was abandoned in LA California with his 3 sister’s and litter mates. He has been my guardian angel throughout life’s up & downs and an incredible source of unconditional love for me in my life.
I had noticed the end of July, early August that after swimming, running or any physical activity that his right rear leg would shake, at first just a little and then uncontrollably in the end. I thought it was arthritis, so on Aug. 20th I brought him to my vet and he prescribed an anti-inflammatory, Rimadyl and told me to come back if it got worse. Summer continued to pass me by as I was dealing with my father who was in the hospital and trying to be there for my mom, all the while working full-time. Each week that passed Jackson wasn’t getting any better in fact he was getting worse. He was limping on his rear leg and towards the end not putting any weight in his leg, actually dragging his foot. I knew it was time to go back to my vet to get an x-ray and see what was going on. I was praying it was a joint dislocation or something minor. However on Sept. 12th Jackson had an x-ray and it was found that his head and neck femur bone was disappearing, WHAT??!! how can a bone just disappear! They termed it a lytic lesion and gave it an initial diagnosis of Osteosarcoma, a type of aggressive bone cancer, but further confirmation would have to come from the radiologist.
I was devastated listening to my vet as he explained the next course of action 1) biopsy the site to confirm the diagnosis (however he didn’t suggest it as the bone could break) 2) amputation of the right rear leg (oh my! how was this an option?) or 3) euthanasia (how could I do this to my normally healthy pup who was otherwise active and happy?). Luckily additionsl X-rays of Jackson’s body (thorax, heart, chest, lungs, etc) showed no signs of lesions, etc, he was otherwise a healthy boy. My vet pointed out that he had a lot of positives in his corner and the fact that he was otherwise a healthy dog who was getting around on 3 legs already (for about 2weeks) that he was probably a good candidate for amputation.
Now came the tears and they didn’t stop for almost a week, I beat myself up agonizing why I hadn’t brought him in sooner and then trying to put my head around the thought of amputating his leg.
The following week to come would be the longest week of my life. After Jackson’s x-ray he had a horrible reaction to Gabbatenin and the Tramadol threw him for a loop. He was super sensitive to the meds that were supposedly treating the pain, but how do you know if your dog is in PAIN? I questioned his lethargy and inability to walk let alone stand was worth this, so for the next week I weaned him down to just one pill of Tramadol at night and he slowly came back to life. It was during this week that I had to make one of the hardest decisions of life. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning researching online all the different websites related to bone cancer in dogs, hoping it wasn’t this type of cancer at all, but a less devastating type. Once the radiologist results came in confirming the diagnosis of Osteosarcoma I had already begun meeting with surgeons trying to decide my options. The first told me amputation was way to go and she didn’t think biopsy was an option because the leg could break. The 2nd surgeon recommended to definitely do the biopsy even if it led to amputation as it could be something else. So I slept on it and talked it over with family, friends & my boyfriend and went with my gut…to decide to amputate his right rear leg. A very good friend of mine who’s an ER Vet said to me no matter what you decide you need to be completely confident in your decision & don’t second guess yourself (which she knew I was good at doing). So with the help of my family, friends & my loving boyfriend we would embark on a journey into the unknown, knowing in the end I was saving Jackson’s life!