Hi to all our Tripawd friends!
I apologize it has been a while since I’ve posted an update on Finn. I think because we experienced such a rough recovery, we have taken the last month or so of “normalcy” to decompress.
I am happy to report Finn is doing great. He continues to get acupuncture every 2 weeks to treat his phantom limb pain. I’m still amazed how effective acupuncture has been for him and would recommend it for anyone struggling after amputation. Our vet also hits extra points for GI issues while he’s undergoing chemo treatments.
He also will go for this third chemo treatment next week. His first treatment didn’t seem to affect him at all; however, his last one definitely hit him harder. His appetite is never something we’ve had to worry about, but he refused to eat anything other than rotisserie chicken and pumpkin for a few days. It was an interesting and slow process trying to get him to trust his food again. And to sneak his supplements back in.
Also, Finn had his last blood draw for the Yale immunotherapy vaccine which was sent back to them from our vet to be tested to see if his body is producing the expected immune response. We potentially may do a booster vaccine after Finn has completed his chemo treatments. Fingers crossed it’s all good news.
No doubt our big guy likes to keep us on our toes. We had a decent scare over the last couple weeks when we noticed a pretty large mass quickly growing on his back – the size of a coconut big. While the vet thought it was just a lipoma, it started getting bigger and I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was malignant so we had it tested. Lipoma it is! (Side note of love and gratitude to my husband and our vet who are both very patient and caring when I’m a worried and sometimes irrational wreck.) I’ve actually noticed a lot of little lipomas all over him since his diagnosis. Wondering if it is from all the meds we pumped and continue to pump in him… I will be so happy once chemo is finished.
We also continue to deal with a ripped back toenail with quick exposed which doesn’t want to heal. Finn has had a lot of back feet issues since his amputation. Some of it has to do with the fact that he is missing a toe on his back left leg which was amputated after a really bad MRSI infection several years ago. It’s all a little bit comical now… three legs, three toes. That plus his gait change, plus his naturally Great Dane boney feet have been a challenge with pressure sores and weird wearing on toenails. I bought some booties to try out (special order because, of course) but can’t use them until his toenail quick is healed up. I try to keep a sock on his foot most of the time to keep him from licking but sometimes I forget and he’s unattended and he destroys it again. I’ve never had to put the cone of shame on this dog, but it might be what I have to do.
In the meantime, we are trying to be more dog here. Between COVID and Finn’s cancer diagnosis, I feel like perspective has changed quite a bit for us. When we first found out he had cancer and heard his prognosis, one of many things I was completely devastated by was that he wouldn’t meet the new baby – he wouldn’t make it that long. Now, every day we grow closer to that date I wouldn’t think he’d live past and I feel full of hope that we can beat the odds.
With lots of love,
Finn and Casey