The recovery continues

ahhh nothing finer than a roll in the park!
ahhh nothing finer than a roll in the park!

It’s been awhile!  Hard to believe in a couple of days we will be three weeks post op. Solo continues to heal well and is easily adjusting to life on three legs.  It is also amazing how quickly the hair grows back in! We finally received the results from the bone biopsies. Initially we were told that she had “synovial cell” sarcoma but the biopsies confirmed that it was a form of osteosarcoma. It was very hard to receive this news as the prognosis for osteosarcoma is not as good as synovial cell.  Three pathologists have reviewed the results (I believe the slides were also sent somewhere in the USA) so we are sure that it is, unfortunately, correct. It is a strange variant of osteosarcoma because it did not start in the bone but outside of the bone. We were told that perhaps it may be a less aggressive variant but we really didn’t want to know the prognosis – it won’t change anything.

Now we are just focusing on our happy  girl who lives life to the fullest every day and brings us so much joy. Without a doubt we are glad we had the surgery done. Solo is in less pain and is back up to her same old goofy tricks around the house (like greeting me in the morning with a smelly sock in the face and bringing me a beloved stuffed animal when I come home from work). She loves to walk again and she wants to do our usual 2 kilometer route. We usually let her go off leash – easier for her that way. We live near a ravine and lots of off leash, safe areas for her to run. Her favorite pass time is to stop and hunt for mice in the tall grass. I am not sure if she would know what to do with a mouse if she found one! Thankfully she knows what “leave it” means! Could come in handy!

Christina and Solo

There must be mice in here somewhere
There must be mice in here somewhere

Author: Christina

Proud mom to a sweet and loveable golden retriever, Solo. Solo is 7 years old and was diagnosed with synovial cell sarcoma of her right rear leg on October 5, 2009. She had her leg amputated on October 9, 2009.

8 thoughts on “The recovery continues”

  1. perhaps you can find mice easier now that you only have 3 paws making noise in the grass instead of 4 🙂 you look grrrrreat in your ruff wear harness, girlie! Keep up the awesome attitude!

  2. Congratulations on making it to 3 weeks!! Solo seem to be doing real well… and she looks adorable in the pictures! I’m sure if Jake ever met her in person… it would be love at first site!!

    Jake’s Mom

  3. Great picture! I love rolling upside down just like you! We have the same vest and I have to admit it looks good! I hope the best for you. Sorry for the new diagnosis, the same thing happened to me. Remember live one day at a time and enjoy what you have.

  4. Hello to you both, I cant believe Solo looks so good after 3 weeks you haven’t done your normal 2k walk yet have you?? Our Barney has been walking way much further than I could have ever have imagined and it is only day 4 post op. Like Solo, he seems to back to his old self leading you by the hand, chewing our fingers and generally being “Barney”. I am so please we decided to give him this extra chance of life. He too has cancer hind back right he starts chemo is a few days. Best wishes Chris.

  5. Yes we are back up to 2 km walks. We used to go for 3.5km but we will take a bit to get back to that again. Our vet did not discuss the option of chemo with us yet I noticed on a few of the blogs that people are getting the chemo for their tripawds. Does anyone know about where to get info on pros versus cons of chemo? We have an excellent vet that we have known for years but I am not sure why this option was not discussed with us. Anyone’s help would be appreciated.
    Thanks, Christina and Solo

  6. Hello again Christina. Both the orthopaedic surgeon that removed his leg and our local vet who is just 5 mins up the road to us, who is going to do the chemo talked to us about the treatment. There aren’t the side effect like us human as the strength is weaker for dogs than human. Also they go for cure with human and fingers crossed for our dogs. Our local vet says its about quality of life more than quantity. All I know is what our vet has said: once every three to four weeks for four to six rounds, the treatment is being worked out by an oncologist in the States we are in the UK. We will know more next Wednesday when he is booked in for his first session. I would definitely ask your vet about the chemo and maybe even get a second opinion. Of course it is a lot of money – fortunately we are insured. I really hope things keep going well for all of us. Chris.

  7. Thanks for your words of wisdom re: the chemo Chris. I will have to look into it more.

    Today we walked but it was a struggle. It was a dreary day- only about +3 C and drizzling rain. Solo didn’t want to be walking really, I kind of had to grab the handle on the vest and redirect her a lot. She loves to be off leash lately but it was too muddy to walk in the ravine so we stuck to the sidewalks with the leash on. Usually it is sunny here (although often very cold- Canada) but today was quite miserable. Right now she is snuggled up beside me on the couch in a big blanket. Quality time indeed!
    Christina and Solo

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