Today we say our final good-bye to Lincoln’s leg…. It has been quite the journey with him and his Soft Tissue Sarcoma Cancer. We first spotted it about 15 months ago, quickly, the tumor came out and just as quickly, it came right back. The doctors were actually very surprised it took as long as it did to come back, but it did come back. Our options stayed the same, amputation or radiation. As a family, we couldn’t move forward with the radiation, we thought we couldn’t move forward with the amputation, so we asked the vet to try just one more time. This would be the last time. Unfortunately, the wound became infected and there is no longer any hope of saving his leg. His foot became triple the size of a normal paw, due to the infection. Lincoln is in pain, a lot of it and we were called yesterday, 7/15/2015 by the doctor and we made the decision to go through emergency amputation on his left hind leg. Not only is the cancer coming back, already, but the infection is very bad and irreparable. Lincoln, our companion, our love, our first pet, our world, will be joining the tripawd family as of tomorrow, 7/17/15. This just happens to be the 9th anniversary of the day we went and brought him to his forever home, 7/17/2006.
Today, the day before the surgery, we keep him comfortable, the best we can. He is in so much pain. His paw will not stop bleeding, the bandages are not helping and the infection is putting out a very strong odor. He lays on the ground and cries…. I want to help him, I let him stay with me on the couch, which he is not allowed to do but these last few weeks, I have allowed him. I want my puppy back, my spunky dog who runs and steals food, eats poop and runs around like he owns this place. As a parent, it is hard to watch a helpless animal go through this pain, and he is in so much pain. His demeanor is beyond anything I have seen in the past 9 years. He is miserable and I have to take him out of his misery. Listening to him cry, is heart wrenching. Today, I will just cuddle with him as we say good-bye to his leg…. I thought I would miss it, but after today, I just want him to be happy and normal again and if 3 legs is his new normal then I need him to be his new normal.
Here is to Lincoln’s New Normal!
UPDATE: After writing this blog, we did have to go back into the vet… his leg was definitely causing him much pain, they wanted to keep him over night before the surgery but I felt he would be more comfortable with mom. I just want to be with him before he goes in tomorrow… They had to rebandage his leg and cover the paw completely so it wouldn’t “leak”. He is on antibiotics pre-surgery. Hoping for speedy recovery and happiness. Much love, xoxo