33% And A Prayer
My heartbreaking past few days with our dog, Duke.
Thursday, October 26th
Every morning, my husband, Henry, and I let our labradoodle, Duke, into our bed around 4:00 a.m. It’s a treat for him to jump into our bed that early. Since I was tossing and turning a lot for some reason, we let Duke in even earlier.
In the past, Duke’s exit from the crate mirrored the antics of a Tasmanian devil, pouncing on us, crashing into Henry, and affectionately licking us.
Not this time.
Duke slowly left his crate, walked carefully up the dog steps, plopped down on the bed and didn’t move.
Something was massively wrong. We knew it, but we couldn’t figure out what. Usually, when Duke isn’t feeling well, he vomits because of his problem with his GI tract issues. We couldn’t see anything visibly wrong with him but could feel things were not right.
By 8:00 a.m., we had him to the vet very concerned and scared.
One hour later, our vet called with the devastating news that an ultrasound had shown a large mass on his spleen. The mass had begun a belly bleed. She said to me it didn’t look good. She wanted us to drive him to the emergency hospital, ASAP. Duke needed more ultrasounds and to see if he was a candidate to have the spleen with the mass removed. As I was sobbing, all I could think about was, “Not my Duke, not my baby.” Finally, through a broken voice, I had utter the question, is it cancer?
My vet, who I’ve grown very close with for the past 20 years, said to me sadly that 3/4 of the time, it is an aggressive cancer with no cure, but there is a 33% chance that they do come back benign, so let’s hold on to the 33% chance.
Henry and I rushed to the vet hospital and waited as they did the follow-up testing. Further imaging revealed a single large mass on Duke’s spleen. The Doctor explained to us that he was a candidate for surgery. While there was nothing else showing up on the ultrasounds, they were going to take a look around while they had him open. The doctors explained to us that this was a major surgery. They prepared us for all sorts of worst-case scenarios.
This was gut-wrenching; I felt utterly and really lost without my Duke. My anxiety and panic were at an all-time high. It was too hard to believe that we were even having this conversation.
I watched my mother slowly pass away two years ago, and then I had one whole year of taking care of my father, watching him die. I’m saying goodbye to my childhood home this month.
Now this?
It’s too much loss, it’s too much pain, and the idea or thought of losing my Duke feels unbearable.
4 hours later, we got the good news that Duke survived the surgery with only one blood transfusion, and it was only one mass on the spleen. They removed the spleen with mass and took a small biopsy of his liver. It doesn’t change the chances that it could be cancer. But his liver, lungs, and other organs looked normal.
After spending 3 days in the ICU, Duke is now back home. He’s being treated for aspirated pneumonia and will be staying in the crate with leash walking for the next 10 days. Our three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were so happy to see him. One of them, Sadie, is the closest to Duke. She hasn’t left his side. I can’t express how relieved and wonderful it is to have Duke back home with us.
The doctors informed us that we should expect to receive the results no earlier than November 2nd. However, there is a possibility that we might have to wait until the following week for the results.
Duke and I have gone beyond the simple dog-owner relationship. Both of us have anxiety and we calm each other down. With just a look, a pet, a hug, our world is peaceful when we are with each other. He keeps me calm, makes me laugh, and gives me so much joy.
He is my best friend.
So that’s why I’m holding on to the 33% and praying we will receive a miracle.
Thank you for reading. Please pray for our Duke. We could use all the healing prayers coming our way.
If you would like to read more about my Duke. This is a fun article that was written through Duke’s eyes.