Bittersweet day today. Molly turned 7. All I could think about was how this is going to be her last birthday on 4 legs. She looks at me with such trusting eyes. And I feel like a monster, and hope she doesn’t feel like I’ve betrayed her on Friday when she has surgery. Anyone else feel this way?
She won’t feel that way. My Rocket is as happy on 3 legs as he was on 4 (which is to say, VERY.) I still mourn his leg but he is doing great and never looked back. Molly will get used to her new phase and you’ll be okay too. I know I’d rather have my boy with 3 legs than not have him anymore.
No – Murphy celebrated his 7th birthday not knowing he had cancer brewing in his leg. But we celebrated his 8th, 9th, 10th & 11th happy that he was cancer-free! He was with us and happy and that’s all that mattered to us 🙂
That’s all that will matter to Molly, too …she doesn’t care about that stupid leg – she cares about being with the family that she loves. She soon will be out of pain and she will be thankful.
You both will get through this!
donna
I absolutely felt that way. The funny thing is, I think my Pele associated me with being the one who took her home from that place. After her surgery she was even more bonded to me than she was before her surgery.
Trust me and the others who will write when I say that by her next birthday you won’t be thinking of her as Molly with only three legs…she’ll just be Molly. The only time you’ll think of her as being on three legs is when someone asks you about what happened…and that will happen a lot. And you will get to tell them with pride that losing the leg improved her quality of life and hasn’t held her back or changed her in any way.
Noting I can say will stop your sense of guilt because you cannot know what the rest of us post-op parents know now. But, you are going to be so glad you did this for her. I promise. ~Joanna (Forever Pele’s Momma) 🐾
@DwyerKurtz is my twitter address. Check out some of the media posts of Pele. There are a number of videos to show you that she held no grudge and went right back to doing the things she lived to do.
Happy Birthday Molly. 🐾
I felt the same way the day before my golden Winston had his front leg amputation. I felt like I was doing something “to” him rather than something “for” him. The monster feeling will go away as your watch her recover and adapt, and more importantly get her out of pain. You’ve got this!
I’m sorry you are faced with this horrible choice. That said, a week after we took Casey’s left arm, Ann was sitting with him and looked at me, grief stricken, and asked “What have we done?” I calmly responded “We’ve saved his life.” That is the difficult choice we make, but 115 days ago, his vet gave him a few weeks to two months. We have no regrets, especially when he runs to us, tail wagging and eyes shining with nothing but joy.
We told Casey at the time that his boo-boo was only going to get worse, so we were getting him a new one that would get better. It has. His life will never be the same, but he still has a high quality life.
You are not alone!! Yes, many crazy thoughts go through ur head before amputation. I even cancelled my HappyHannah’s first surgery appt out of fear!!
THE most important thought that you need to focus on right now is this, and repeat after me:
I am doing this FOR Molly and not TO her!!
I am doing this FOR Molly and not TO her!!
And all birthdays from this day forward will be pain free!! Yes, this is her “last” birthday with pain! You are giving her the GIFT of no more pain!!
Sure, r recovery is rough for a couple of weeks. Many of us seco d guess ourselves thise first several days. It’s MAJOR surgery and it hurts!
You will, however, be amazed, truly amazed,, at how well Molly will do on three legs! It may take a couple of days to get her “sea legs”, but that’s mostly due to the heavy pain drugs.
STAY CONNECTED! We will help you navigate through this, okay? You will be sooooo happy once you start to see her sparkle come back! We can’t wait to celebrate all her upcoming victories!
Lots of hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Molly is going to be great. It may be her last birthday on 4, but without surgery it might have been her last birthday. You are giving her a chance at a pain free life. That is a true gift of love. We all feel horrible sending them in to come out less one leg but once this is over you will be surprised at how well she does. Please don’t beat yourself up. You are doing this FOR her, not TO her.
Jackie and Huckleberry