I don’t think I’ve talked about my dog’s health problems in
detail since this is a financial blog but this is going to be a more personal
post so I apologize in advance if this gets sappy.
I have discussed in the past how our dog has been diagnoses
with diabetes. We have her on insulin, which she gets twice a day and we
believed we were going to get it under control. One morning over a month ago, I
went to take her downstairs with me to start our morning routine and I noticed
her eyes were really wide and she was really cautious going down the stairs. I
didn’t really understand what was going on at first until she started bumping
into walls. I woke up G right away and we got her into see our vet that
afternoon. Mocha (her name) had gone blind literally over night because cataracts
forming due to her diabetes. Although this was difficult to deal with we knew
that if we got her diabetes under control, cataract surgery was always an
option. She does extremely well getting around the house, since she is familiar
with the layout although she has knocked over her water bowl on a few occasion, lol.
So we kept doing the check ups. We bought a glucometer for
at home insulin curves which we would call into our vet and they would
recommend a bump in her insulin. She seems to be doing better although her
levels aren’t where they needed to be. She wasn’t loosing anymore weight,
instead, was gaining some back. She wasn’t drinking as much water nor having to
go to the bathroom every two hours. We were positive.
Then one night we noticed her eyes were all red and she
wasn’t really opening them. It was too late to call the vet so we were going to
call in the morning if it hadn’t cleared up overnight. The next morning her
eyes had gotten even worse. The only way I can describe how she was acting was
drunk. Wobbling around everywhere, her third eyelid was so swollen and red, she
was batting at her eyes and her head was tilting really badly to the side, she
wouldn’t eat. I called the vet right away and got her an appointment that
afternoon. They had never seen anything like it themselves and were calling the
vet hospital in Saskatoon trying to get ahold of the ophthalmologist for
advice. We went home that night with three different eye drops and a referral for
the hospital in Saskatoon. The next morning her eyes were 100% better, she was
back to her almost normal self and didn’t seem to be in pain. The diagnosis:
complications for her diabetes, fluid retention buildup around her eyes. Since
the drops worked, we were positive.
At this point, as you can imagine, G and I are both
emotional exhausted. Every time Mocha has a complication and it's scary for us,
she fights and pulls thru. I know she is just a dog so not everyone would
understand, but she is our family and I am so proud of her and her strength.
On Thursday, G took Mocha to her appointment in Saskatoon.
She seen the ophthalmologist and had a medical consult aswell as a full check
up. The ophthalmologist was extremely positive about cataract surgery and was
very detail in explaining everything to G, even sending home pamphlets for me
to read. That afternoon when I got home from work, G and I were discussing the
options and doing more research when he got a call from the vet who had gotten
some of Mocha’s blood work and other test results back. The diagnosis: Mocha
has cancer.
Two lumps on her body came back positive, and we need to go
back to Saskatoon for testing to see how aggressive and if it’s spread anywhere
else. I’m trying really hard to stay positive but this last bit of news has hit
me hard, mainly because we were not expecting it at all. Right now, the cancer
is our main priority. The vet seems to think that could be why the insulin hasn’t
been helping regulate her either. We are all hoping that once the cancer is
gone the diabetes will be more regulated aswell.
Hoping.
- M
