Could have been worse…

Maybe this is an age thing, but I think I’ve always loved definitive answers. Even back in my younger days, I thought “no” was a great answer, because it allowed me to forge ahead. It’s that hemming and hawing that drives me crazy.

Maybe this is why I hated the submission process when I was trying to attract traditional publishers. The old, “No response means no” thing does not work for me. No is fine, but tell me that so I can move on.

Today it is about something very different, but I find myself in the same circumstance. To explain it, this photo will help.

That’s a picture of Frankie’s right wrist. I spotted the lump a month ago. Then I did some research. This is what bone cancer looks like, only it isn’t. Bone cancer is one of the worst things that can happen to a dog. They amputate, then the dog fades slowly, and dies anyway.

When we took Otto for his vaccinations, I showed this to Dr. Sessions. She felt it, and asked some questions. She did not think it would turn out to be bone cancer, but thought she should X-ray it to be sure.

Her positive thoughts were that Frankie is only two. She’s extremely active, and bone cancer hurts.

We decided we will not put Frankie through all that. Bulldogs don’t do well on three legs like other dogs can. If she’s happy, we’d let her be happy as long as possible.

We’re not wealthy by a long shot, so we have to budget for these things. We scrimped this pay period so we could get this done. Whatever it is, it is not bone related. This thing is hard as a rock, but has nothing to do with the bone.

I looked at the images myself, and there isn’t even a shadow of a cyst, tumor, or anything. A smart blogger would have had an X-ray image for you.

She wants us to biopsy it anyway. The idea was to watch it for growth or leakage, but we ought to biopsy it to be safe. This means more budgeting, but we’ll get to it.

So it’s a positive outcome, but not a definitive one. It looks like her natural wrist to me, but the lump is not matched on her left side. Could be a birth defect, I suppose.

In other news, I haven’t accomplished much. Frankie has been occupying most of my mental space. Work has also been crazy this week. I owe an author friend some promotion and will try to get to that tomorrow.