my thoughts. my imperfections.: Sammy Noodle ...

this week has been an emotional roller coaster for me --

my Sammy Noodle...

on Thursday went to the vet.

Wednesday night I noticed that he wasn't putting any weight on his front right paw. When we got a closer look, the underneath pad appeared very swollen and angry.

If you know anything about me, you know how much I desperately love these chanimals of mine. You also know that I am an open book of emotions and if something, anything, is wrong with them... I am unconsolable.

I was unconsolable to say the least.

Thursday just happens to be my 12-hour clinical day -- something that can not be missed. I begged Jesse when he was taking me to school that morning to call the vet when they first opened to get Sammy in on Friday.

Friday was all booked up. :o( Jesse decided to skip school that day (Thursday) and take him to the only opening they had, 3 pm.

Long story short... it is a tumor. The doctor was unsure on Thursday whether it was a tumor that had metastasized from a mass in his lung, or whether it was a fatty tumor that just happened to be on his paw. They did blood work to ensure he could undergo anesthesia... after all, he is my 14 year old baby kitty. Blood work came back great :o)

That is the information I went to bed with on Thursday night. We were taking him in at 7:30 am Friday morning to have chest x-rays and proceed from there.

Friday morning rolls around, and I.am.a.mess. I hold all my tears in until I walk into the vet office and start talking with the vet assistant. A river begins to flow my eyes.

Then it gets worse. The doctor sits down and tells me that she had done reading over the night and discovered that majority of these tumors do come from lung masses and that they are inoperable.

87% of these tumors that appear on paws are mets from lung masses.

I'm proud to say... my Sammy Noodle is of the 12%. His chest x-ray was clear. I only had to wait 4 long hours for this good news!!

Unfortunately, he lost a toe with the tumor removal, and is recovering at home secluded in my office.

**********WARNING**********

If you don't want to see photos... STOP READING NOW!!!!

I did nothing Thursday night other than spend time with him... here we are on the couch cuddling. You can't see it very well, but his front right paw is extremely swollen.

Here is Friday night after the toe amputation / tumor removal.

It looks gruesome, I know. He was walking around as if a huge weight had been lifted from him.

Whenever I pet him, pick him up, or simply lay on the ground with him... he is happy and purring :o) That aspect is comforting even though I know that he isn't completely out of pain yet. He gets a kitty narcotic and antibiotic every 12 hours.

Here is this morning (Sunday) after our morning brush....