Thursday, January 22, 2015

Lola Update - Riding the Roller Coaster #PowerofThePaw

It's been over a week since I posted an update on the sweetest dog in the world, Lola.  Please excuse the lack of blogging, but I've found my time to be best suited to cuddling and snuggling... and spoiling her like crazy! 

Absolutely nothing beats this right now... It took some convincing, but I got Lola up on the couch to cuddle in my lap for awhile. She used to get up on the couch with me every night, whether cuddling in my lap or laying behind me. I'm really going to mis

We have indeed been tossed on that roller coaster ride that the holistic vet warned us about.  I won't lie, my emotions can go from 0 to 60 in .5 seconds flat.  Devastated.  Heartbroken.  Angry.  Screaming WHY.  Pissed Off.  Wondering why the hell life can be so damn cruel.

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The IV treatment, which we did 2 weeks ago today, did not work as we had hoped.  Hannah believes it most certainly did something, but the cancer is still attacking her shoulder area at an alarming rate.  Perhaps this means we might have already had to say goodbye had we not done the treatment... I'm not sure.   

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Despite the visible signs, Lola still remains quite strong and determined.  Nothing keeps her from eating, and while she can't get around as easily as she would like, she manages to surprise me greatly.  Like last week when the UPS truck came and she not only got up to bark at it, she actually got up on the box in front of the window to see out and bark at it (something she hadn't done in weeks)!  The roller coaster was going up again...

Today's happy moment... Sure the pic is grainy because I was sitting across the room with Zeus, but this just happened... The UPS truck came and Lola got up to look and bark at it! This has not happened in a couple weeks! Apparently she's feeling a little

Then we hit a downward slide when I got home from work on Thursday and noticed her lower leg was quite swollen.  After describing it to Dr. C, she felt it was edema, and confirmed that Friday morning.  Either the bone destruction is blocking the lymph node from draining, or the cancer may actually be in her lymph node now.  Talk about a major punch in the gut.  Watching her leg and paw continue to get bigger and bigger, I honestly thought we weren't going to make it through the weekend.  It doesn't hurt her at all.  If anything, she seems a little annoyed by her super-sized leg/paw.  Thankfully it didn't continue to swell at such an alarming rate and seems to be somewhat stable... if anything about this process can be stable.

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The humans took Lola out for a R-I-D-E on Saturday and made a couple of pit stops for some photos.  It was freezing, but Lola was so happy to be out for a ride.  She began to tire after our second photo stop, but seemed to have a blast.  I haven't downloaded the photos from the camera yet... but hope we managed to capture some precious moments.

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On Tuesday I went home early from work, not feeling so great and hoping to take a nap on the couch.  I was expecting to find Lola acting rather lame, as I've been worrying about things even more since Friday.  Instead, she greeted me with a toy in her mouth (something she used to do every single time either of her humans came home, but hasn't in weeks), obviously excited to have Mommy home early.  I *might* have said the word "ride" and she immediately hopped as fast as she could to the stairs and began going down all by herself (much to my horror... her leg is at high risk for fracture at this point and normally she not only needs help getting down the stairs, but occasionally some bribing to get her there as well).  When we got outside, she demanded to go for a ride... and despite me feeling like crap, there was no way I would deny her request. 
Lola loved her double cheeseburger! #dogstagram #dobermanmix #dobiemix #seniordog #ilovemydogs #ilovemyseniordog #CancerSucks #Osteosarcoma #McDonalds

We headed off to Mickey D's for burgers, then over to one of our local pet boutiques for a special cookie.  I thought about getting her out to walk around for a bit, but the temperatures were dropping very quickly, so instead we took a longer-than-usual ride home.  She was thrilled... and I smiled bigger than I have in a long time. 

Yum! Got Valentine cookie? #dogstagram #dobiemix #dobermanmix #ilovemyseniordog #seniordog #ilovemydogs #ilovebigmutts

We are truly cherishing every.single.minute. with the sweetest girl in the world.  Completely unsure just how much precious time we have left, I continue to shed spontaneous tears, and she continues to comfort me by licking them away.  I will never understand why this nasty, nasty disease attacked my baby girl.  Simply put, cancer sucks. 

Lots of cuddling going on today. Tut and Lola. <3 #dogstagram #ilovemydogs

As you can see, Lola's siblings have been doing their best to comfort their big sister.  I can't help but smile and cry at the same time... seeing Sophie and Tut go over and lay with her... I can't even put it into words.  Zeus has been doing his best to stick close by as well, although he's been having some rough days with his mega esophagus and not feeling so great himself. 

Thank you to each and everyone of you who continue to keep Lola in your thoughts, comment on our posts and send well wishes our way.  It truly means the world to us.  (and please excuse any rambling, typos, etc.)

ETA: I pre-wrote this post yesterday.  I must add in that we had a really rough evening with Lola, and Zeus had another bad night with his mega-e.  I'm honestly not sure what today will bring for my sweet baby girl.  While she is still very alert, and really interested in eating, things are going downhill quickly when it comes to her pain threshold.  Please, keep the good thoughts coming.

7 comments:

Sue said...

You' re all in our thoughts.

Marjie said...

I'm so sorry. Our love to all of you.

Ruby said...

Oh noes. I am so sorry. I am keepin' lots of healing thoughts and good vibes coming your way. I hope that Lola knows that we are thinkin' of her and that you all are in our thoughts and prayers too!
Oh, and are there anymore of those cookies???? ☺
Kisses,
and {{{hugs}}}}
Ruby ♥

tubby3pug said...

I am so sorry you are going through t his I know you will make the right decisions for Lola. With Norbert I felt like a light went out and he was going down hill so far, I knew to wait would only bring him to a point where he was suffering. I hope you have more time with Lola

retro rover

Talent Hounds said...

So sorry to hear this. Lola will be in our thoughts.

Jans Funny Farm said...

So glad you are able to have some really great moments / days with her. Hope you get to enjoy many more.

SissySees said...

She's such a beautiful, regal dog! You're all in our thoughts, and paws are crossed for Zeus too.

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