It's Doomsday! It's liver surgery time!!

Hey guy! It’s me, Nala again!  

We’re here at this scary place called the “veterinarian”.  Mom seemed so sad in the car as we sat in the car park while she phoned to check in with the Receptionist. They said they’ll be right out, but it was the longest 5-minutes for her. She gave me a lot of kisses, took a lot of pictures of me, and told me that everything will be ok! This person called a Vet Technician came to our car and took me away after briefing Mommy and asking a few questions. She said that my surgery was scheduled for around 3pm.  I watched Mom become farther in the distance as they took me into this scary place again! 

I’m now sitting in a cage being prepped for surgery!  What is this place? Why is the queen locked up?! It’s D-day for me! I’m scared and all alone and my family is no where to be found. They even gave me a haircut around my belly and arm! I don’t think I like this new look at all!  But it’s definitely not my first rodeo! I’ve had this experience three times before, but why does this one feel so different? 

Daddy even called the Veterinarian's office to check up on me! They told Dad I was resting and was scheduled to go in next ........ in about an hour, as they were running behind schedule. 

One hour had passed and it was my turn for surgery! They carried me into this scary room, and injected a sleepy medicine in my arm so I wouldn't feel any pain during my operation.  I went into a deep sleep and had a dream about eating a gallon of ice cream! Like how any sugar baby would, right?! 

My procedure took longer than it should have. The Vet Surgeon was stumped as to why all of my organs were stuck together. He had to cut them apart to get to my liver and intestines. To his surprise - he found an extra mass that wasn’t caught on the ultrasound! I actually had three masses on my liver! He carefully took them all out and worked on the mass on the knotted intestine!  The entire procedure lasted about an hour or two, but who was counting? Not me! I was in a deep sleep, but Mom was paying attention to the time anxiously waiting for the call for a pup-date. After all, I am the Queen and I’m a very important client! 

The Surgeon gave one final look around my insides to see if there might have been anything else that could have been missed on the ultrasound, before closing me up. He even took two samples of my masses to send to the laboratory for testing.  I was now all finished and slowly regaining consciousness. I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep through the night. 

The dog doctor gave Mom a call and asked her whether I'd had surgery prior, and of course her answer was “Yes.” The Surgeon explained that all of my organs were stuck together and it was possible that something either happened during the last surgery or that I didn’t heal completely.  Mom explained that I was perfectly fine and didn’t show any real symptoms until mid March. He also mentioned that he discovered another mass on my liver that wasn’t showing on the ultrasound. Mom was so shocked to find out that there was so many lumps in my little body!  He explained that I may be at the surgery for up to three-days depending on my progress and if I can hold down a meal. Mom was hoping to take me home sooner. She knows that I never eat post surgery, but she would soon find out her wish would not be granted. 

The hard part was now completed. Next was the time for me to rest and recover. I didn’t do well overnight. I felt really cold and couldn’t hold my temperature. The Technicians put me in this box called an ICU with all these tubes attached to me. I felt like a science experiment. They watched me closely and were so happy every time I did any slight movements to show I was responsive. For a while there, it looked quite grim for me. I had to push through - I wanted to see my parents again! I couldn't give up!

The next morning those lovely Vet Tech ladies came back to see me. They helped me outside as I did my “business”. My back legs were so wobbly and I needed help.  I still felt very weak. There was also something wrong with my blood glucose as it was high at 683 - but not to worry as this is apparently normal after surgery. If us pets are in a stressful environment, our glucose shoots to the sky. I was given an injection of insulin to help it go down. My gums were still pale and I had to be kept in front of a heater. I wasn’t interested in any food, just water, but I also had a hard time keeping the water down too. I felt so terrible! 

To be continued........