Maxine's Sick

Real sick. We think it's cancer.

I felt a lump on her side, behind her left front leg, a couple weeks ago when she was laying on her right side. Then, after we got back from Charlie's wedding, she was puking more than normal. The two sets of symptoms are likely unrelated, but they prompted us to make a trip to the vet. We took her this morning.

The vet was immediately concerned. First he checked her out and noticed that the lump has a heartbeat, and that the lump was stuck to her rib cage. No-worry lumps are typically stuck to a dog's skin or floating somewhere in the fat layer, I've since read. Then he took a prick of the lump and noticed under a microscope that the cells he isolated had 2 nuclei, meaning that they're dividing in front of his face. Cancer!

He kept her to put her under anesthesia and get some x-rays. When he reported back, the x-rays showed that the lump is swelling on both sides of M's rib cage, right alongside her heart. Luck be a lady, the transient animal cardiologist was scheduled to make an appointment to their office today, so they kept her to get an ultrasound and a diagnosis from an expert. We're waiting on that report.

She's gonna die. Even if it's the kind of thing where Maxine can stay doped up forever, she's not going to live much longer without pointless surgery. I've prepared for this ever since I fell in love with her, but I thought we'd have a baby to worry about before my little M started showing her age. Not so.

Elissa is all torn up, and I can't talk about it without getting misty. I'll update this post if we hear news today.