The OR was booked for Tuesday and the doctors wanted to get fluids and possibly some food in Molley's system before surgery. Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Molley saw a neurologist on Tuesday to be sure she hadn't had a stroke that may be causing her problems swallowing. He cleared Molley for surgery.
On Wednesday Dr. Durrance called and they had decided to do the scope as well as the surgery to look at Molley's stomach from the inside first, then biopsy all four layers of her stomach and her liver as well as the inflamed lymph node. Because she wouldn't eat and hadn't eaten anything substantial in almost a week we opted for them to insert a feeding tube in her neck after surgery to insure that she got nutrition while we waited on biopsy results. The surgery started at 1:30 and lasted 3 hours. At 4, Daniel and I left to drive back to Auburn to see Molley when she woke up. I was NOT prepared for seeing her sedated and so pitiful.
The test run during surgery were all either inconclusive or normal. This meant Molley had to stay in ICU through the weekend then come home to wait For results from the biopsies.
On Friday I went through Auburn to see Molley again. What a sweet sight to see her tail wag. She was able to go outside for a short walk.
Below is Molley with her sweet sweet doctor, Dr. Durrance.
Molley did great though the weekend, she progressed from IV nutrition to liquid food through her feeding tube with no problems WOO HOO. She did spike a fever twice but that quickly went down when they removed her IV and catheter.
On Monday I was able to pick Molley up and bring her home. She did have a feeding tube and I had to learn how to feed her and give her the medication through her tube. Monday afternoon Nurse Nanny(My mom) helped me with everything and offered to keep Molley during the day while I worked. Daniel and I fed Molley that night and once more the next morning. On Tuesday I got this text:
And by Wednesday night the feeding tube was unnecessary. Molley was eating boiled chicken breast and her canned food on her own. On Friday she managed to pull her feeding tube loose by scratching it so Dr. Grider went ahead and took it out completely.
For the next week Molley ate boiled chicken and her new low fat canned dog food.
In the weeks following this, we learned that Molley does indeed suffer from chronic pancreatitis and possibly has an allergy to grains. The biopsies from her surgery showed that the had a severe stomach ulcer and the pancreatitis had destroyed her entire stomach lining and NO CANCER!! We are treating all of this and she is in the transition process to a grain free, low fat diet. I have researched dog food until my head is spinning. We started Molley on Taste of the Wild canned dog food this week and she LOVES it. Two varieties are 3.5% fat and they are all grain free.
I thank The Lord everyday for Dr.Grider, Dr.Durrance, Daniel, and my parents. Dr. Grider was so kind and compassionate(I owe him a box of kleenex for his office). I appreciate his honesty and caring spirit most of all. He was very clear with me that his first instinct was cancer, and he told me up front that she needed test run that he couldn't run in his office. Dr.Durrance called me twice a day with a full update on Molley. She emailed me in between. She loved on Molley while she was in her care also. Her love for her patients was very evident. She also refused to give up on finding the problem. She had Molley's case reviewed by every specialist possible, even a behaviorist, to discuss the possibility of an anxiety issue. Daniel and Daddy were my shoulders to cry on through all of this. At work I cried to Dad, and at home I cried to Daniel. Even if they thought my emotions were out of control they still gave me a hug and encouraged me to trust God and continue giving Molley to Him every time I got upset. Daniel made all those trips to Auburn with me, driving me home at all hours of the night while I cried. He has been there thought the sleepless nights, not complaining about the lights being turn on or losing sleep while I take Molley out for potty trips.
An my Mom... I can't say THANK YOU enough to her. She kept Molley every day while I worked. She's still keeping her everyday. She has cleaned up vomit, and other doggy accidents. She has administered medicines and feedings. She has been my source of medical explanations and Molley's nurse. She changed bandages when I thought I would get sick and she removed Molley's stitches and staples after surgery. We've lost count of the number of chicken breast she's boiled for Molley to eat.
God brought Molley and us to this, and HE has brought us through it. He knew how this would turn out, and He knows what the future holds. I have given this to HIM. While Molley was in the hospital God showed me that there was nothing at all that I could do to make her better. The only thing I could do was let it go and trust God with Molley's life.
Molley is doing great! Recovering so well. She is jumping in the car again, ready to go for a ride.
The hair on her legs is growing back quickly and she is enjoying football season.
Our biggest obstacle is being sure she doesn't get any food that isn't on her diet. No fatty foods and no grains. We have to keep our eyes on these two. Feeding the puppy is Charley Kate's new trick.
She still gets a little chilly. She did lose almost a quarter of her body weight in a months time. Morgan is a sweet sweet friend and let's Molley snuggle with her on these chilly mornings.
And we are back in action!!! Keeping a close eye on the yard, all the birds and especially this bunny
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