There is no easy way to say this so let me just start with, Seamus is fine and resting comfortably, but we did, finally, have to have his left eye removed. It happened yesterday. The tumor got aggressive two weeks ago and his eye was very inflamed. Increased steroid drops and pills seemed to back things down and in fact a week later the pressure in his eye was down. So I was hopeful. But this past Tuesday afternoon I was home because we were having some repairs done around the house. Seamus was with me. Late in the afternoon, as I stood talking to the handyman, I looked down at Seamus and noticed he was squinting. And his eye was red. I gave him the eyedrops. The next morning when we woke Seamus’s eye area was the size of a golf ball. Chris whisked him off to the eye specialist and we learned the pressure had shot up and it was time to remove the eye. The vet assures me that Seamus had lost sight in that eye awhile ago and at this point removing it would be getting rid of a pain and annoyance for Seamus.  We scheduled the surgery and it happened yesterday.

I went to pick Seamus up post-op at about 4pm. They told me he had come through the surgery with flying colors and was doing well. Then they gave me a list of possible, normal side effects from the anesthesia and medications. They suggested he might not feel like eating until the following morning, and that was okay. Now, Seamus and I have been through a lot of medical procedures together so I did think “that will be very surprising. In fact, if he does not want to eat, I will be alarmed…no matter what they tell me.” I said something to that effect but they assured me, the anesthesia usually kills the appetite.

Then they brought out my little pirate–complete with a patch over his eye and a bandage around is leg where the catheter was, and, of course, a cone on his head. He looked up at me, wagged his tail and then curled into me as I bent down to pet him. I was so relieved to see him. He cuddled for a short while and then immediately walked over to where he knows they keep the jar of cookies and looked up in that direction. When no one immediately gave him a cookie, he gave a little barky howl. He got a cookie. And he ate it. Which is when I knew he would be just fine.

I’ve been home with him ever since. He got a small meal last night (okay and a treat or two) and I slept downstairs on the couch last night with him. Normally we all sleep upstairs in the master bedroom, and Seamus has free access to go downstairs and out the doggie door in the laundry room. But the cone won’t fit through the doggie door, so I wanted to be easily available to open any doors whenever he needed–and of course he needed it at 2:30 in the morning. Let’s just say he went back to sleep more quickly than I did. And then he woke me at 6:30 for breakfast. Naturally, I obliged the little guy. And then Chris came downstairs and gave Seamus some roasted chicken.  He’s been very cuddly and wanting lots of long petting massages (Seamus I mean; well, Chris too, but Seamus actually got the massages) and mostly just resting comfortably. I have the air conditioning on especially for him. (Well, and it’s supposed to reach 107 here today.)

As usual, Seamus is handling this with moxie and aplomb. He is now cancer-free again and that’s what’s important. He even managed excellent timing. We did the photo shoot for Woman’s World on Sunday and his eye looked just fine. Then the problems started and the surgery occurred. He’ll need to wear the cone for 10 to 14 days and then should be just fine. They even shave a smaller area, keeping in mind that he has appearances to make for “his” book. Those appearances start on September 30th–just a few days after his “all clear” date. That’s Seamus for you–a trooper who loves the limelight.  Now, if his mom could just relax about all this…

Seamus resting post-op

It’s been a bad week–my car air conditioning also went out (did I mention 107 degrees??) and that’s particularly annoying because of the 107 degrees I just had it “repaired” 3 weeks ago. And those home repairs I mentioned aren’t cheap. Who knew I’d scheduled that for the same week  Seamus’s surgery and  my car air conditioning collapse!?!! But, Seamus is fine. He’s comfortable. I’m home and getting caught up on other things (nothing that costs any more money!!!). And…in the midst of all of this, this arrived:

The real, published, first editions of “The Dog Lived (and So Will I)” coming soon to a bookstore near you.

Yep. Those are the “real” books. Not advanced reader’s copies. Those are them. They. It. MY BOOK!! And isn’t that the cutest dang cover you’ve ever seen? See, I’m trying once again to take Seamus’s lead and recognize our half full glass. And trying, once again, to remember…The Dog Lived. And So Will I.

Tags: author, books, canine cancer, Seamus

This entry was posted on Friday, September 14th, 2012 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Books, Dog Cancer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.