Update - Ava's really sick

[Stacy]

I just got off the phone with one of the Internal Med doctors at the emergency vet. Ava has a fever, and her abdominal ultrasound looked normal, but her chest x-ray shows some significant patchy infiltrates. The vet said that it doesn't look like pneumonia, but it doesn't quite look nodular like you would see in cancer either. They aren't sure what it is. T

hey're going to ultrasound her chest and try to get an aspirate that way, but if they can't they're going to keep her overnight and give her fluids and in the morning do something called a BAL, where they put fluid into her lungs and suck it out and try to get some of the abnormal tissue out with it. The vet sounded... not overly optimistic. Her labs on Thursday didn't show an elevated white count, so I'm afraid that it's not something infectious, but instead cancer. It isn't a typical presentation, but neither one of these girls have ever had a typical presentation for anything.

I can't believe this is happening. This was supposed to be something orthopedic. She was supposed to have arthritis. But I had a really bad feeling. And my bad feelings often have a way of being right. I just don't want her to hurt. She's such a good girl and she's had such a hard life. We haven't had enough time to make up for all the things that happened to her before. I just love her so much.

[charlotte bednarsh]

I am so very sorry; I'll pray for your beautiful baby!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Wrapping you and Ava in a blanket of love and prayers. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

So sorry to hear this and hoping you get better news.

[Angela Cheney]

I am so very sorry to hear that both of you are going through this. We love our sweet fur babies so much, and when they hurt, we hurt.

[Stella]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear your update. Really hoping you get some positive answers soon. Thinking of you guys. Hugs. 

[Trudy Harlow]

Stacy, how heartbreakingly hard to go through this discovery period. I am so sorry — we all are. While we wait with you, please know you are in our prayers, as is of course Ava.

[Stacy]

Thank you all. I saw Ava tonight and frankly, she looks better than I do. More tests in the morning and then hopefully some answers - better answers than the ones in my head. I'm trying to corral the pessimist. Put her back in the box. Just for tonight I have to figure out what to do with all of that extra space in the bed.

[DonMarie and Picco]

So sorry to hear.   I hope things get better.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so very sorry for both of you.  Sending hugs and prayers.

[Stacy]

They just called about 30 minutes ago to tell me they were just getting started. Something must have happened this morning that caused her to be bumped. I understand. I hate it, but I understand. No one wants to have the dog who needs to go first. Hopefully I will hear something soon.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Stacy ~ hoping & prayer your sweet girl is home with you very soon.  the waiting is so very difficult.  Hang in there.

[Stacy]

I just got off the phone with the vet, and we have no answers. Reading from my notes: CT - nothing significant in the head. Lungs look similar to x-ray. But they are concerned because her entire esophagus is dilated. And they don't know why. They are still talking about myasthenia gravis, and running a titer for that. They did the lung wash and she looked at the cytology. She said there were bacteria, but no neutrophils and "foamy" macrophages. Nothing that she could identify as fungal. There were also a significant number of "round cells" that she couldn't identify (she agreed with me when I said those are the cells I'm afraid of) They also did a baseline cortisol level to check for Addison's and it was low normal. She also noted that her scapula and cervical vertebre look "fuzzy," like some sort of periostial reaction. 

She was very straight with me, which I appreciate. They really still don't know what is going on. At all. But they want to keep her another night to start her on IV antibiotics and assuming she does well she can come home in the morning to continue with PO abx. But she said that mega esophagus (I'm going to have to do some research on all of this. I didn't even ask the prognosis of myasthenia gravis in dogs) is very challenging to treat and live with. For some reason I thought that was more of a congenital problem than something acquired in middle age. I just want some answers, and they seem to be so elusive. Hopefully we will know something when all of her test results come back in a couple days. 

I'm going to go hang out with my girl for a little bit. I really had my heart set on her being home tonight.