Comments on: Uncharted waters: Life and death in ICU

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:44:30 +0000

Hugs to Trevor and his family. They are doing their best, and so are you. I hope fate intervenes and some good news comes their way.

By: Dr. Tony Johnson

Dr. Tony Johnson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:51:32 +0000

Trevor is hanging on but seems to acquire 2 new problems for every one that resolves. I just talked to the student on the case (who is battling a major case of sleep deprivation from being by Trevor’s side at the same time as he juggles other cases) and things are…stable. Sorta. Hour by hour is how these sorts of scenarios go, until they resolve one way or another. The student asked me yesterday if there was a possibility that Trevor could go home, and I said “yes, but…” The ‘but’ is the hard part right now.

By: catmom5

catmom5 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:17:44 +0000

Any news on Trevor today?

By: Leslie K

Leslie K — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:19:06 +0000

I’m so glad they have you on their & Trevors side ! I know this is a horrible diagnosis,but knowing everyone is pulling for him may make a big difference timewise. Its very hard to switch gears gears mid treatment. When you are trying to do everything to save them, its hard to know when to stop.

By: Shellie

Shellie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:15:40 +0000

My heart aches for Trevor and his family. I lost my much-loved 10 year-old Lab to hemangiosarcoma a few years back. Much like TEH’s story above, Dixie was seemingly healthy; her semi-annual exam 4 months prior showed no sign of masses. Then WHAM—I came home from work to find her flat-out shocky, gums pale. Off to the vet—only to find a large hemangiosarcoma with a belly full of blood; it had already ruptured. And to top it off there were mets in both lungs on x-ray. So we sadly decided on euthanasia. So whatever the outcome, my thoughts are with the family, and with you, for staying the course with them.

By: Deanna

Deanna — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:03:20 +0000

When I read that a “diseased spleen” had been removed, my first thought was “hemangio.” It’s sad, isn’t it, that such an insidious disease is so familiar to us Flat-Coat owners that we have shortened it into a nickname of sorts. Cancer is awful, but hemangio is particularly vicious.

I disagree about hope though. Without hope at the most improbable times, we’d all go insane. Two dogs that should be dead by any experts opinion lay at my feet. My 15+ YO has been treated for chronic renal failure for the last 2 1/2 years. Her BUN, although awful, has held steady as has her awful creatinine level. She’s a happy dog and I greet every day with her with “I’m so glad you’re still here.” (Supplements, sub-Q fluids and Azodyl. And lots of love.)

My other guy was Dx’d with histiocytic sarcoma at 6 YO and was given a prognosis of 3 - 6 months…. two years ago. Yes, we treated aggressively and spent (mumblety) thousands of dollars, but once you’re into it 2 grand just getting the thing Dx’d, why the heck not go all the way? Had to sell some cherished possessions and eat lots of peanut butter along the way, but to us, it was worth it. (And, boy have I learned about nutrition and supplementation!)

Of course, the sibling to “hope” is “denial.” The HS tumor is back and I almost let it go too long before seeking help because I convinced myself it was a soft-tissue injury. Luckily so far, chemo has been effective at keeping the tumor at bay and thus increasing the dog’s comfort significantly. (Knock on wood.)

Gina, you know my thoughts are with you as you work through whatever’s going on with McK. Jester sends her a slurp.

By: Sherron

Sherron — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:16:48 +0000

Hemangiosarcoma - uugh! My cocker spaniel died from this cancer. He was fortunate to be relatively asymptomatic until the day he died. My vet cried and gave me great big bear hugs when he learned of Alex’s passing. The treating vet (at an emergency clinic) was a complete jerk who couldn’t tell me what was wrong with my dog but counseled me to euthanize him because whatever it was “was really bad and he’s not coming back from it”.

Thanks, Dr. Johnson, for honoring the wishes of Trevor’s family, even if you’d make a different decision if he were your dog. It really does make all the difference in the world when you know your vet is on your side.

By: TEH

TEH — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:07:28 +0000

My prayers for Trevor and his family….
Thank you for writing this…it is what I went through with my old boy, Gator. One day no mass…the next day it seemed, a very definitive mass in his abdomen. I scheduled appointment with UCD-VMTH. I was not overly worried, I had seen something similar with an old old dog of mine. This time not so good. Hemangiosacrcoma….and it was not resectable….it was pretty much everywhere in his abdomen. So they sewed him back up. The night he came back home, he started vomiting, seriously….pancreatitis. One of the side affects from trying to remove the tumor, irritation of the pancreas. Back to emergency that morning. I knew I was faced with the decision that we all have had to do at some point. His attending vet and I discussed all the options, stabilizing in ICU….but the big monster was the cancer…..So…. I let him go.
The folks at UCD-VMTH are a fantastic group….similar to what you describe at Purdue. It sounds like they have added a terrific veterinarian to the group there.

The choices and the decisions….they are never easy……

Thank You…..TEH

By: Carol V

Carol V — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:59:10 +0000

I pray for Trevor to soon have more good days than bad…glad to hear he is doing better today…and hope that continues…

By: Dr. Tony Johnson

Dr. Tony Johnson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:45:15 +0000

We are going forward - they have full informed consent, and know the odds are against us, but we are forging on. The little guy is actually doing better today.