Tiberius will be remaining Tiberius. I will never get to call him Triberius. Or Tri, for short.
Ti will be keeping his leg. I feel like a Tripawd Fraud!
He had his consult with the surgeon yesterday. She noticed the pain in his lower back, the pain in his hips… but more than that, she noticed that he is STILL using that leg. There is no question that he is in a lot of pain. So for him to be still using it, means that he does not feel like he can do without. He would rather walk through the pain then try to walk without his leg. I didn’t think of it like that. She said she feels that he will not be able to get up on his own, which was a big concern for me. She said that she is afraid he will lose the will to live, if he can not rise on his own. The thought of that could smash my heart into bits. At first, I thought, well I can get him up! I can use the awesome harness to help him! But what about when I am not home? What about in the middle of the night when he wants to get up and reposition? How would he feel if he could not even stand up on his own?
She said that she had never seen a dog this large come through an amputation, (and they do a lot of mastiffs, obviously) but that his size alone wasn’t the deterrent. It was the other things. And if he were her dog, she would not do it. My heart says she is right. Yes, I could get a second opinion, but I am choosing to listen to my heart on this.
However, I am kinda mad.
I had myself convinced that he was going to be an awesome Tripawd. An inspiration even! I thought about how many people could be educated by seeing him get around, and asking the questions anyone would ask seeing such a big guy on three legs. But that isn’t meant to be.
Instead, Ti is getting radiation and zoledronate. We are hoping that it can decrease his pain, and therefore prolong his life. We may even get 10 months of relatively pain free bucket list time!
The good thing is that his appetite is as raging as ever. Yesterday, he wasn’t allowed to eat before his appointment. While the surgeon was talking to me, she was holding a crumpled paper towel that she had just used to dry her hands. Ti thought it looked delicious. He managed to hoist himself up and went to sniff it. She tried to show him that it was “just a paper towel” but what he heard was “scrumptious paper towel” and tried to eat it.
That’s my boy!
I will keep updating this blog, if you don’t mind hearing about a 4 legger. Gives me an outlet.
And here are some photos of him for no good reason.
Ti likes his new tempurpedic bed I cut down to twin size for him… but he is questioning my taste in sheets.
Ti appreciates that you gathered this wood for a fire, but thinks it can serve a better purpose.
Thanks for your story – it makes so much sense. I’m sorry for the pain and the situation. It’s SO hard. I’m still adjusting to the thought of my golden losing her leg. She no longer uses it so your story made sense to me. Hadn’t thought of it that way. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with. Thanks again for your story.
First of all, your post is delightful! In spite of the seriousnw of the subject, you have a great attitude and are doing a great job of moving forward and savoring every secondnwith Ti!
TRI..TRIBERIUS….TI….he is one of us and we LOVE the privilege of being able to share this journey with you!!!!!
AND the pictures! OMD!!! I LOVE HIM!!!! The sweetest, most gentle, huge heart dog!!!! Your captions are spot on! That one of him on the bed……A D O R A B L E!!!
Just a thought…you may want to post this under Ask A Vet as far as any potential side effects of the treatment, etc. Remember, the Vet is the one who was owned by Tazzie the Mastiff. Besides, it’s another forum to post these great pictures again. ALSO, Ti is indeed still teaching others about options and available treatments, etc. Ohhhhh this dog is a teacher alright!!!!!
Look forward to your next post AND pictures!
Huge hugs to both of you!!!!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
Wow you DO have a great attitude and that makes ALL the difference in the world! Your relief in this decision comes through, and your comfort level with that will be a huge factor in Ti’s quality of life.
It’s OK that you chose this path, we totally get it and support you 100% so yes yes yes you are welcome to share your journey here. We are a community that honors all choices, including palliative care, which many here have opted for when conditions weren’t right for amputation, so you are definitely not alone.
Meanwhile I LOVE those sheets! Where did you get them?
Not a fraud at all. You’re still welcome in the club. And you’ve already gone through this with a friend so you know what being a tripawd is all about.
Where are you getting the radiation done? Is it going to be cyberknife or regular radiation? zoledronate has shown lots of promise of stopping the pain and delaying mets. There is a study being done in New Mexico on using it alone without anything else and I thought it had a survival rate of 12 months or longer without any radiation or surgery. http://vetcancercare.com/clinical-trials/ It just is extremely expensive.
I think more research needs to be done on Bisphosphonates, especially for older dogs.