The results are in and it’s not good. “The spleen showed evidence of lymphoma. The liver was consistent with cirrhosis (end
stage liver disease)” and “due to severe chronic active hepatitis.”
This is a double whammy. The liver disease might still be treatable
since the liver is such a recoverable organ.
However, the lymphoma
is a cancer that travels the entire body.
It’s highly unlikely it’s isolated in the spleen. Brandi’s “prognosis is poor.” The doctor thinks she has about six weeks or
so.
Among other drugs, she is getting prednisone which
has stimulated her appetite. She’s
eating quite a bit, except her hepatic dog food, which she detests. She’s also drinking quite a lot, and she
needs to relieve herself every couple of hours.
She’s had a few accidents in the house, and they are large puddles. We’ve limited her to the ground floor and Rochelle
has been sleeping downstairs to try to take her out when needed.
Brandi is so happy to be at home, sitting or lying
down in her favorite spots. She’s
certainly not her energetic self, and she stays by one of us every moment. She always had a special affection for my
wife, and now she never leaves her side.
Let me leave it with an understatement, we are all pretty much broken up
over this.
The veterinarian’s discharge report had the
following statement: “Brandi is a sweet girl and wonderful patient.” Yeah, that’s Brandi. Even with the people who were probing and
sticking her with needles, she was sweet and wonderful.
Here’s a picture I found of Brandi when one day my
wife decided to put a cap on her head.
