Katie, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and Candy today. I have no experience whatsoever with CT (there are others here who can offer much greater wisdom on that topic) but I do have experience in caring for and loving a geriatric dog.
Our dog, Keesu lived to be 17 years and 8 months old. For the last 8 years of her life she was blind and deaf, in addition to having epilepsy all of her life. Our final 5 years or so with her were similarly challenging to what you're going through...wondering if you're making the right decisions about what is best for her. The single piece of advice that I will offer is to ask yourself one question. "Am I prolonging her life, or am I prolonging her death?" We didn't want to euthanize Keesu...we were very adamant about allowing her to pass away peacefully on her own terms. But, we finally asked ourselves that question and our answer - our honest answer - was that we were unwillingly prolonging her death. We decided to euthanize her so that she would no longer suffer. Making that decision didn't alleviate any of the pain....nothing will alleviate that except for time. But, despite the pain, we knew we were finally doing what was best for her. As time goes by, and if you do have to make that difficult decision, know that you're not alone and that you've got support here. In the meantime, I hope that Candy's doctors will be able to find an effective treatment for her and that you'll find reassurance and support to help her through this rough time.
Best wishes! |