HAIRBALL WEEK

Amber with the hairballs, Jaz and Butch

 

Linda and Butch

The outpatient breast cancer surgery, lumpectomy and lymph nodes, was on Tuesday, August 23.  Jacob drove me into Fairfield for the day of being wheeled around and swaddled in warm blankets and coddled and catered to...at least up to coming out of the anesthetic after surgery.  After that I was ignored except by one nurse who stepped into the vacuum of her own volition.  She had recently been through the same process.

There was remarkably little discomfort.  The drainage bulb was a nuisance but not painful.  Linda drove up on Friday with her two ShiTzu hairballs, Jasmine and the new rescue, Butch.  Amber was delighted to have the company.  I was, too, particularly since Linda took care of everything around the house, shopping, driving, and so forth.  We took the dogs to the Val de Flores Park and the boat launch frequently since those parks have grass so the hairballs wouldn't get so dirty or full of burrs--always an issue.  On Sunday I convinced Linda to drive to Richmond and Point Isabel, over her objections.  She later agreed that it was well worth the drive to be with all the happy, happy dogs and the beautiful scenery, and great sandwiches at the Sit and Stay Snack Bar.

We had an excellent laid-back sort of week until Wednesday the 31st when I went back to see the surgeon, Mojaddidi.  The pathology results were not too bad, although ambiguous: there was evidently some malignancy in a couple of the lymph nodes (one or two out of 12).  The chief dread, that there would be more surgery, was not fulfilled.  I will see the oncologist next Friday.

Linda and the hairballs got packed up and left for Oxnard in the early evening.  Amber was quite saddened to see them go and moped around for a day.

High tide at the boat launch