August 11, 2020

 White Dog sat next to me as we teleconferenced with Dr. Julia, Steve and Pearl who were at the vet's office. Today was summary and decision making day; Pearl was done with testing and no longer in need of IV therapy.

"Let's start with taking the big concern that everyone always has off the list. We have seen no signs of cancer and have no test results that show it might be lurking. So put your minds to rest about that." We all took a deep breath.

Dr. Julia continued, "the mega colon has gone back to normal. Is it gone forever? Possibly yes but there is always a chance Pearl could have another flairup. It is so unusual in dogs that I an tending toward not likely. But Pearl does have a sensitive digestive system; you have known that for a long time. Nothing special needs to be done, her food is good, but there may just be times when she will need prilosec or immodium."

 "What about the pain that has Pearl walking in short bursts hunched over?" I asked. "From the ultrasound we took today," our healer answered, "it appears that there is some inflammation of the duodenum but there is nothing blocking or ulcerative. Remember, her system has been jangled and it is already sensitive; the inflammation could just be a reaction to that. So let's continue her antibiotic and the steroid. If it seems she is hurting use gabapentin."

White Dog looked relieved for an instant then asked, "What about the thing?" I relayed her question to Dr. Julia. "We cannot get a clear image on what it is," Dr. Julia said,. "We tried several different angles in Xray and in ultrasound. And I am not convinced that an MRI would give us much more. We did a couple of different chemistry panels and it is not leaking metals or toxins. It could be plastic. But it is not upsetting the stomach or she would be vomiting. If there was a compelling reason I would say we should do exploratory but there is not...and Pearl is not a good candidate for deep anesthesia. My feeling is that it might have been there a while so for now let's put it at the bottom of our worry list. You would not believe what pets and people carry around in their guts without knowing it."

"So," Steve said to recap, "no tumor or cancer or growth anywhere including the stomach. There is still something in the stomach but for now that is going to stay where it is. We are going to keep Pearl eating and drinking and medicate as we are doing. You want to see her again when?"

Dr. Julia paused. "You have 10 days worth of steroids. If nothing comes up before, then. I have sent out a couple of things to doublecheck the pancreas. I will call Sue tomorrow and if you don't hear call me in afternoon. I just want to make sure the entire digestive tract has been carefully reviewed; I am not looking for anything in particular so don't stay up worrying. I think we are heading toward regaining balance." White Dog raised a questioning eyebrow at me and I nodded that I followed and agreed with the healer who has brought the WDA through so many challenges. 

"If those are your final thoughts, we are going to sign off. Steve, bring our Precious Pearl home ASAP."