Thursday, April 28, 2022

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2006. Mattie was four years old and was visiting the Reston Zoo. It was a favorite of ours because of the size and hands on activities. I was always leery when Mattie was sitting or riding on a horse. Given my experiences with horses, I know they startle easily and can literally start running. I tried not to translate my fears down to Mattie. He loved horses and had an appreciation and respect for their size and strength. 

Quote of the day: All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog. ~ Charles Schulz

Last night was a nightmare. At around dinner time, my dad started complaining that he did not have a bowel movement that day. He is very fixated on bowel movements and has NO INSIGHT or discretion as to when he can and can't talk about it. In any case, by 10pm, he was doubled over in pain. Given the fact that I rushed him to the ER in Los Angeles in June of 2020 with an impacted colon, in which he had to hospitalized for a week, I wasn't taking any chances. 

So I gave him an oral laxative as well as a suppository. I waited for the suppository to work for TWO hours. NOTHING. By midnight, I had to go to sleep because I had to wake up at 5:30am in order to do my morning chores and get Sunny to the vet by 7:30am. When I went to bed, I dreaded today because I figured if the suppository didn't work, we had another problem on our hands. Fortunately my dad went to the bathroom at 1am and that crisis was averted.

I took Sunny to see his surgeon today. Peter and I trust her and we want ahead and approved her to do a CT scan of Sunny, which required sedation as well as a special urine test called BRAF. BRAF is a genetic mutation that is identified in around 80% of dogs with transitional cell carcinoma in the bladder and prostate. The Cadet BRAF test is PCR based genetic test that allows detection of this mutation in the urothelial cells that have been shed in the urine.

Sunny was with the vet from 7:30am to 5pm. Apparently for Peter and I, we are allowed no peace, no joy, but instead a life of grief, heartache, and sadness. Today it was confirmed that Sunny does indeed have cancer. So further assessments are needed to determine specific type and whether we are dealing with multiple cancers at one time. Sunny's surgeon feels this is a very unusual presentment, especially when he has no symptoms. If Sunny never had a preventative sonogram at his senior check up, I would still be clueless about his adrenal gland mass, his bladder mass, and his mass in his spleen. Honestly maybe I would have been better not knowing. 

Sunny has been a God sent in our lives. He has filled our home, hearts, and life with love and joy. I just can't imagine losing something else I love so much to cancer. Sunny is a beautiful and gentle soul and the thought of him enduring cancer just doesn't sit well with me.