Ben is in surgery
I happen to be up at 3:15 in this morning, couldn't sleep. Ben always lays on the the floor next to me - my shadow. All of a sudden, he flopped onto left side, legs ridged and stomach huge. A stroke or seizure were my first thoughts., but by the time I was sitting on the floor next to him, he was coming around. He rolled back onto his stomach and then onto his right side. His limbs had no muscle tone. I woke my husband up and we agreed to take him in, even though he was standing by the time we'd changed clothes. The vet found frank bleeding in the abdomen, with a non-specific something on the spleen. They gave him a unit of packed cells, so we could take him in to our vet for a decision. He really perked up after the transfusion. I was an Oncology Certified Nurse for years, so I know the odds are very good that it is either a hemangiosarcoma or a lymphosarcoma. And that the bigger the mass, the more likely it had spread to the liver. We decided on quality over quantity, so we decided to do the ultrasound and make our decision then. Our first miracle is that whatever is on the spleen has not yet spread to the liver or lungs - visibly spread on the xrays anyway. So we are opting for surgery to remove the spleen. Along as they don't find anything unexpected, we are expecting 6 months of a good quality of life. He is not ready to go yet. I am hoping for a hemangioma, which is a tangle of blood vessels and benign. I know the odds are slim, but ... So if you could spare a prayer or thought for Ben this afternoon, I would appreciate it. My kids are going with us tomorrow to visit him at the surgery center. |
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I am prying now!!! God Bless you and your guy. I hope you get the best news there is 
Please keep us informed and more prayers to you and Ben. |
| Sending good thoughts and prayers to you and Ben! |
prayers were being said before I finished reading your post....  ..waiting to hear good news soon.... |
I hope it goes well.  |
| Paws crossed for Ben!! |
| Saying a prayer for our Golden Friend. |
| hope everything is ok xx |
Prayers and  for your Ben. |
| Tank you for your thoughts and concern.
The internist called a bit ago. He is tolerating the anesthesia quite well. They removed the spleen just in time, she said another area was ready to rupture and it would have been a massive bleed. The liver looks good visually, but they are biopsying it anyway. The bad news is that he has another foreign body in his stomach. They have to flush the abdomen out before they can open the stomach. Once an eater, always an eater. There really isn't any choice but to remove it, but this greatly increases the risk of infection. He wil be on heavy doses of IV antibiotics. I am heartened by the fact they didn't just open and close him up. So far, I feel this was the right choice. The surgery center is outstanding - they've treated him before so we know the routine. We are going to visit him in the morning. The internist will call me after he is out of surgery. |
| Ben and you are in my prayers. I hope he is better soon. That is really difficult to deal with. |
| He is in ICU and doing quite well. The internist said he is awake and looking around. The spleen ruptured as they removed it from the abdomen. He may get aditional blood tonight.
Apparently Ben has been taking lessons from my daughter's cat. The foreign object in the stomach was a hairball the size of a golf ball. I guess I need to start him on hairball medicine. I know we still have to worry about regular postop complications, possible infection from opening the stomach up and the path results, but I feel much better at this point. Thank yyou for all of your support. |
| our thoughts and prayers are still being sent for a speedy recovery.. please give Ben a gentle sheepie hug from his friends in St. Louis.... |
| for Ben.
I hope he has an easy and fast recovery. |
Mim wrote: :crossed: for Ben.
I hope he has an easy and fast recovery. Me too! Thanks for keeping us posted. |
| Prayers and positive thoughts going out to Ben for a quick recovery.
Strength, |
| oh thats such good news. I am sure with your care that Ben will be better soon, still sending prayers... |
| Sending prayers and healing light to Ben, and to you and your family. |
| Hugs and prayers for your special baby |
| Best wishes to you and Ben |
| Special thoughts and prayers for Ben and your family. |
| Sending hugs and prayers for Ben . |
| to Ben. I hope his recovery goes well this weekend. |
Prayers and best thoughts for your shadow  |
| We scheduled a visit for this morning. You have to schedule 24 hrs in advance, so they can work the medication schedule out for the best visit possible - not in pain but not sedated to the point of sleep, no tests or treatments during that time.
We were able to walk him outside for a bathroom break - no bags, they have a cleanup crew who go out every 15 minutes and pickup solids and hose down the grassy areas. A slow walk and even slower squate to pee. He hasn't eaten since Thursday night, so nothing to pass there yet. We took in some bananas, a favorite treat & low residue, with the docotr's persmission. He didn't want to eat this morning - well they cut his stomach open, so that is no surprise. And I brought an old blanket with lots of our smells on it for comfort. He threw some abnormal cardiac rhythms last night, which the vet said was normal with the removal of the spleem. He was on medication for it last night, but the they were able to stop it this morning and still get a normal EKG. I tried to prepare the kids for how he was going to look. One of my kids said it was better than he thought. I just kept saying he was in surgery less than 24 hours ago, the frst day is the roughest. I really like this clinic. There is absolutely no dog/cat smell or antiseptic smell either. It is very clean and in good repair. They have separate dog and cat sets of rooms to reduce stress on the animals. And separate techs for the dogs and cats, though they can back each other up as needed. The exam rooms, where we saw Ben today, are big enough for our family of 5, plus Ben to sit comfortably on the floor or in chairs. The surgeon called the night of surgery, just to give me a report on what he did. The internist has Ben back under her care and she called this morning to give me a report. She will call again every morning. |
| I hope he improves quickly! |
| still saying prayers for a fast recovery. |
| It sounds like you couldn't get a better place for animal care.
Best Wishes to Ben and yourselves. |
| How's he doing today? |
| Thoughts and prayers being sent to you and the family for Ben's quick and uneventful recovery. The clinic sounds awesome! |
| My son spoke to the vet this morning, so i didn't get to ask any questions.
They took him off the pain meds this morning, to try to decrease his nausea and get him to eat. I would have asked if they tried the bananas we took hiom. The vet said that he seemed to perk up after our visit yesterday. Still tired, duh! She thought he responded to her better than he did yesterday. Thank you all for your support. |
| The vet called, not a good thing to hear from her before tomorrow morning.
Ben walked outside to potty and came in to elevator where he had to rest. His blood count is back down, but the vet doesn't feel that he is currently bleeding. She said that they may have underestimated his blood loss during surgery, so they are going to give him another unit og blood. She also mentioned that we don't have his path report back yet, so it could be that we are dealing with a lymphoma that has already spread. He may not get better. Or it could be his heart. He is eleven years old afterall. There could be some underlying heart disease that the surgery made worse. They are going to do an echo in the morning. Quality over quantity. Quality over quantity. The kids got to see this weekend, so that is good. I can't stop crying. |
| Our prayers are with you and Ben...You are doing your best and ben's knows it. It is out of your hands now...
Hoping for good news. Diane |
| for you and Ben |
| Prayers & to all of you & especially for Ben. |
| Hoping for good news.
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So hard to have a sick baby... you are in our thoughts! |
| I'll be thinking of you, Ben and your family tonight. I am hoping you all have a peaceful night. |
 Still keeping all crossed for you all. |
| I am so sorry for what you are going through. We went through the same thing with our 14 year golden last Oct. Surgery was not an option for her. I still cry when I think about it. You and Ben are in our thoughts... |
| I am so sorry. |
| To you and Ben |
| A rollercoaster of a day.
The echocardiogram came back normal. The blood count was back up, with Ben showing more energy. But the hematocrit tube also showed a large number of white blood cells. The doctor suspected lymphoma and ordered a CBC with diff, so the pathologist would look at the slide. We decided we would stop treatment if it came back as lymphoma, as the drugs are harsh and he was so fresh post-op. at first it looked like it was goig to come back as CLL, a chronic form of lymphoma which is very treatable. About the time we decided we would go for it, the report came back as T-cell lymphoma. It is very aggressive and the chemo is too harsh for a fresh post op patient. We let Ben go at 2 PM. I can't put anything on the Bridge section - heck, I can't even read those without breaking down. So go play with your furries and give them a hug. Thank you for all of your support and good wishes. |
I'm so sorry it came down to this. 
Hugs to you, Ben and the whole family. |
| I'm so sorry.
The breed recently joined a lymphoma research study. This is too common in the breed, often in much younger dogs. You're far from alone in your grief.
Kristine |
| I am so sorry. |
| I am so sorry for your loss of Ben. May your heart stop hurting soon. |
| I am so sorry for your loss. I really was hoping for good news for your sweet boy. Your decision was really brave. |
| I'm so sorry!! I came to check on Ben hoping for good news.
Wishing you a peaceful heart and happy memories of your boy. |
| Sorry to hear bless your darling boy |
| I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your beautiful sheepieboy BEn. to you as you go through this terrible time.
Tears, |
| I am so sorry for you & your family. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to help them, it is just out of our hands. Sending to all of you. |
| I am so sorry....I am in tears!
Take care |
| I am so very sorry for your tragic and quick loss of Ben.
Thoughts and prayers are with you as you grieve.  |
| I'm so sorry it came to this.
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| Ooooh noooooo!
I am sooo very sorry for your loss, and very proud that you were strong for Ben. I will go and hug Mulligan now. |
| So sorry for the loss of your sweet boy Ben. Thoughts and prayers are with you. |
| I am so sorry for your loss of Ben.
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| Oh no, I'm so sorry such a hard fought battle came to this. My condolences to you and your family for the loss of your furry family member.
susan |
Donner's Mom wrote: I am so sorry....I am in tears!
Take care I feel the same way!!! |
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