Okay so here's the story on Miss Mercy(girl with the tumor) ... she's 7.2 pounds. Dr. Jan said she could be 6 years old with 6 years of bad living or 12 years old with not so hard living. She decided to say she's about 10.
These are her issues:
Tumor on her lower jaw -- probably operable if we can get her strong enough for surgery, xrays showed no visible signs of it spreading to her lungs. I almost cried when I saw Dr. Jan's face as she listened to Mercy's lungs because they were very wet. I think she was expecting Mercy to have cancer throughout her body.
Lung infection with fluid buildup -- they took her back for blood work to check her kidney functions but put her on a light dose of lasix immediately to help her breathing.
Blood work -- she was slightly dehydrated (possibly from the fleas), slightly elevated kidney levels (probably from being dehydrated), and an elevated white count.
Slightly enlarged heart -- seen on xrays, not severe and possibly from the lung infection.
Possibly old spinal injury -- xrays showed two vertebrae, possibly from an old injury. She walks with a wobble which could be from the knees or the spine but Dr. Jan said it doesn't seem to cause her pain.
Ear mites -- they gave her a couple of good squirts of Frontline spray.
Bad knees -- not terrible enough to require treatment.
Teeth -- what few she has left are rotten. Her jaw has receded significantly from tooth loss.
The good news -- her HW test was negative and she does not have a heart murmur. There's no evidence of the spread of cancer and the tumor appears to be operable.
i'll try to update on some of the bad ones as they go to the vet this week |