I haven’t blogged as much as I had planned. Highs and lows in the offline realm have kept me busy, and then just plain distracted. There have been family emergencies and celebrations.
Meet Gracie
This is my buddy, Gracie. And by buddy, I mean love of my life. She’s funny, loyal, smart, sweet and full of mischief. The photo is how she looks whenever she’s in the back yard. She has to carry her ball everywhere when she’s outside.
In July, after an aggravating day-long wait at a clinic, the vet finally looked at a very lethargic Grace. Much more quickly, he told us she needed surgery. She had a grapefruit-sized mass removed from her abdomen the next day. Cancer. Spindle cell. Not good. But he was able to remove all but a small margin. What a blessing that he got her in the next day and removed the mass!
But then the leftover infection spread, and created a fluid pocket up her chest and neck. We brought her back in, and waited some hours while her condition worsened. We found out that the vet left while we were waiting. A tech sent him a photo of the fluid pocket, and they told us it didn’t look concerning, and to take her to an emergency vet if it got worse. Instead of waiting, I took her to a different clinic. That vet discovered the infection, and told us our options. She was honest and attentive. We decided to have her do an operation to try to get rid of the infection. She gave Gracie a 0 to 25 percent chance to pull through.
During the week Gracie spent at the clinic, the vet even went in to check on her on her time off. The other vets and the techs were extremely caring. Gracie’s chances went to 60 percent, and on up. And she came home.
Blessed
This is Gracie enjoying the snow that she almost didn’t get to play in. This is also after another surgery. This one was to remove a lump from her lip. We’re still waiting to find out what that was.
This year’s holiday season will continue to be quiet for us. Quiet, but hopefully with a continued feeling of gratefulness. I am so thankful for my loved ones, and for time with them. Time really is a gift.
