First is for my mom and her dog. My mom is on her way back from a Vegas vacation with my aunt for my aunt's birthday and she left her dogs in the care of my older sister while she was away. My mom's Rottweiler, Riko, who is 7 years old has been limping for about 6 weeks. At first my mom thought nothing of it because he plays rough with her other dog and figured it had something to do with that, but recently it got worse and so my sister took him to the vet while my mom was in Vegas only to find out that he most likely has bone cancer. My sister really debated whether or not to tell my mom while she was on vacation because she didn't want to ruin their fun... Well, my mom called me yesterday from Vegas and asked me if I'd heard "the news" which solidified the fact that my sister did spill the beans (which I'm glad she did since days are precious in his case). They needed to do further testing on him in order to figure out what it was and I'm pretty sure they needed my mom's consent. So, anyway, my mom told me that my sister took Riko back in after his initial visit for a follow-up and they have confirmed the worst: it IS cancer.
They did a biopsy yesterday to find out what kind of cancer it is. There's a really bad one called osteosomething ( I cannot remember the full name) that they are hoping it turns out not to be, but they won't know the kind or severity until the results are back on Monday. The good thing is that they did a scan of his lungs and it has not spread there yet, which they say it's typically the first place it does spread to. In the end, it doesn't really matter since at this point there's not much they can do and the options they do have are only to delay the inevitable. My mom's dog is going to die. They are giving him anywhere from 3-9 months depending on the severity of the cancer and any treatments they can do. My mom has said that they've given her two or three options: they can try doggie chemo (which my mom doesn't have the $$ for), they can give him painkillers to just keep him comfortable, or they can amputate his leg. Right now, my mom is leaning towards the latter even though her regular vet has said it's not the wisest idea because of the fact that he is such a big, heavy dog and really needs as many legs as possible to offset his weight...otherwise it could cause support problems for the legs he has left and when his remaining limbs become brittle as well, amputation won't really be an option anymore. However, the bone in his leg is so brittle at this point that it's at a huge risk of breaking so amputating the one leg might help. She doesn't like the idea of amputation as much as anyone else, but as she told me in a tearful voice yesterday, " [she'd] rather have him lose his leg if it will help to keep him around longer".
As I've said before, my mom doesn't deal well with the reality of death. I don't think it would be nearly as hard on her as it is if it wasn't for the fact that she's lost both of her parents and her younger brother all in 6 years. Her youngest brother, Mike, also has cancer and has opted not to do any treatments on it either so she knows he will meet the same fate too...just not when. My grandma died in June 2008 and they were very close so that loss is still much too fresh for her. In addition, my mom is one of those people who cannot be alone. She can't stand it. She has the burning desire for a long, lasting, romantic companionship and she's struggled ever since her last divorce 3 years ago to find her "soulmate". I fear that she's feeling lonely and depressed from the lack of a male companion in her life and she thinks that she's going to end up alone at home as the "dog lady" because she may never find that one special person for her because she's "too old" and no one wants her. Honestly, my mother (despite her quirks that can sometimes drive you batty) is one of the most loving, sweetest, generous, and just plain wonderful people I know. Plus, for a woman of her age (and she's not OLD...surely not by my standards anyway) she's absolutely beautiful. People think she's one of my sisters when we are in public! I'm very blessed to call her one of my best friends. So, my heart just breaks for her to hear this news. Her dogs mean so much to her...they are like her kids too and I'm afraid that facing this newest impending loss will just crush her.
I pray for wisdom for the vets to help guide her and make the soundest decisions concerning Riko's care. Hopefully this will give my mom a little more clarity, understanding, and assurance as she can get in a time like this. I also pray for as much peace and strength during this time as God sees fit to provide her with. I wouldn't go as far as to say that my mom is a non-believer but she has not committed herself to Christ, and I think it's wonderful that she has asked for prayer. I'd like to help her any way that I can. I don't believe that even if I asked for a miracle it could happen because at this point there's not much of a chance of complete healing but I would like to ask that, if you feel comfortable, please keep my mom, Debbi, and her Riko in your thoughts and prayers. Please pray to help this transition in her life be as seamless as can be achieved. I've added a picture below for you all of my mom and Riko at Christmas so that you know who you are praying for and thinking of. Thank you.
Lastly, in lighter news, Aaron's contract job is up this month (well, January actually but seeing as December is hours away from being over...you get it) and the contract company he works for is supposed to be looking for new positions to place him in once his contract is up. We have not yet heard back from them regarding any new positions lined up for February, but Aaron has been in contact with a different company who wants to submit his resume for a 9-month contract which starts right at the end of his current contract. The position is a Project Manager position for Microsoft and it pays $30 an hour which is a HUGE increase from what he's making now. He's making good money where he is at SCCA but this is a major, major increase for him. In addition, it would look wonderful for him to have Microsoft on his resume and would open many doors for his future employment options and also would help us reach our family goal of paying off our debts that much faster. The representative for the placement company thinks that Aaron would be a great fit for the position, said his resume looks fantastic, and seems rather confident that his chances are good since they typically like to start with the smaller contracting companies first (lowest bidder type of thing, I guess). The position opens for resume submittal on January 8th so Aaron will be placed in the pool for selection. I'm not sure how long it will be until they select someone but I imagine we would know something within the next 3 weeks or so.
Please feel free to pray for us, and most importantly for Aaron, that he would be selected for this job. It would be so wonderful for him if he did. He's been striving to get good experience on his resume so that he can find better-suited jobs for his abilities and this would definitely open up some avenues. Looking at the bigger picture, though, please pray that even if the Microsoft position doesn't pan out that he will soon have something else lined up. If he doesn't have any job in the works by the end of this month, he'll have to get back on unemployment which would slow things down financially for us until he receives a new contract (or permanent position). Fingers crossed that we are able to find a job for him soon and have a longer period of financial stability. We are most grateful that he's able to have any work even if it is in the form of a contract position, but we'd ideally love to have a permanent placement for him so he doesn't have to stress out and we don't have to worry as much about finances and job security.
I hope you all have had a wonderful year, keep looking towards the future, and thank you very much for your kind thoughts and prayers for our family. There are wonderful things on the horizon for 2010 and I cannot wait to see what is in store.
Happy (almost!) New Year!
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