It’s been a really tough weekend for the Joneses. I debated writing a blog post on this topic, but I figured, perhaps with more people thinking positive thoughts, maybe our little Cady can pull through this.

To those of you who may not know, on Friday afternoon we noticed Cady was acting very different. Although she was smiling (yes, she can totally give you a full grin showing off all of her tiny little teeth!), she seemed to be very lethargic, wasn’t moving around much, and just overall, wasn’t her peppy self. We took her outside to see if she would walk around, but when I picked her up, her stomach was hard as a rock. We kept saying, “Something’s not right.” And with that, we loaded up our little fam in the car and headed to our vet. We thought it would be a simple trip, another one of those “upset stomach” diagnoses for Cady and a prescription to send us on our way. Little did we know that our Friday night in the vet would be such a life changing event. Dr. Baker did an x-ray to see if she could see if there was something going on in Cady’s stomach that was causing her enlarged abdomen. The x-ray didn’t show much, and it was that lack of detail that led to Dr. Baker’s major concern. On the x-ray we could see a large mass surrounded by complete cloudiness, and with that image on the backlit screen, the next words that came out of Dr. Baker’s mouth just about crushed me. “Cady has a tumor in her abdomen.” She calmly told us that we needed to make our way over to the emergency veterinary clinic, Georgia Veterinary Specialists (GVS). I remember Dr. Baker looking at me with such sincerity and asking, “Are you ok, sweetie?” as tears were streaming down my face. Marshall held me tight and knew that this was a day that I would never handle well, but to have to handle it almost five years earlier than expected, surprised us both. As Marshall and I stepped outside to get some fresh air, the staff called over to GVS to prepare them for our arrival. Baby in tow (well, make that 2 babies in tow), we made our way to GVS where we spent the next four hours. After a review of Cady’s x-rays, the internist came in to talk to us a bit more about what may be happening. Most common in large dogs, Dr. McAllister explained that it looked like Cady had bleeding in her abdomen (which led to the blurry x-rays) and that the tumor on her spleen could be Hemangiosarcomas. The highly malignant tumor begins as a large mass that often develops in the spleen or liver, and then those cells spread rapidly through blood vessels. Her talk was followed by an ultrasound to give more insight beyond the abdomen x-ray, followed by a chest x-ray to see if she could notice any abnormalities in her lungs and heart. Dr. McAllister came back into the exam room after the ultrasound, and along with Zoë who had just had one of the biggest diaper blowouts ever (seriously- everywhere!), Marshall and I just listened as the vet explained the situation. She mentioned that a radiologist would be in the next morning to offer a more thorough diagnosis and could tell if the condition had spread to her other interior organs. Either way, it was likely that Cady was due for an emergency surgery to provide her relief for the ruptured tumor. We left Cady in the hands of GVS that Friday night. I guess if we had to leave her anywhere, this was the place to do it. The hospital is one of the only ones like it in the state, and the triage area lined with surgical prep and operating rooms was like that of a research hospital. Each nurse cared for only 4 animals on their 10 hour shifts, and Cady’s every need was tended to- IV fluids, a few cuddle moments, monitoring of her blood cell counts, and pain management. The doctor promised us a call first thing Saturday morning with further results of the ultrasound.

Sleep was hard to come by on Friday night; tears on the other hand, were not. To give you some background, I first held Cady in my arms over eight years ago as I brought her home from a breeder in Loganville, GA. She weighed less than a pound and since then has grown to be a happy and round yorkie. From road trips and moving from new apartment to new apartment to our first house, to playing with her toys by my feet every morning while I get ready and chasing chipmunks in the yard each day, to meeting Marshall and becoming our first baby, to most recently, welcoming little Zoë in our home, Cady is so much my life! And for Marshall, it is no different. Cady spends every day as Marshall’s sidekick while he works from home- together their routine is inseparable. To say we are devastated by what could be, is an understatement.

The surgeon from GVS called us on Saturday morning. She confirmed that the ruptured tumor in Cady’s tiny stomach could be Hemangiosarcomas and literally speaking, was a ticking time bomb. She was willing to meet with us within the hour, so we once again loaded our little family (minus one) into the car and rushed to GVS. On the way, we made a couple of calls, and also asked Marcy to head to Atlanta and help us out with Zoë. Once at GVS, Dr. MacDougal was compassionate and honest as she revealed that only surgery could offer them an opportunity to biopsy the mass and her internal organs to see if she has cancer and to also remove her spleen. Sadly, she revealed that biopsies of this sort are generally 80% malignant. When bluntly asked how long we have with Cady, she said that if malignant, only 1-4 months. If benign, Cady could make a full recovery. Given the love that we have for our Cady, we wanted to know.  If Cady could be the 20%, we wanted to know. The surgery was the only way we could find that out, so with that, we said our goodbyes to Cady (below) and left her in the capable hands of Dr. MacDougal and her team.

We went back home and waited for the after-surgery call. The surgeon soon followed up with good news- it didn’t look like things had spread; and the tough news- we have to wait 3-5 days to hear biopsy results. We visited with Cady Saturday night and it was so comforting to hear from all of the nurses and doctors that she was recovering well. She seemed to be a favorite in the unit and loved to be held. Despite the long scar across her shaved tummy, she still had a way to making others feel good- just like she does and has done for me her entire life. On Sunday afternoon, we were able to bring our Cady back home. Now, she’s moving slow and sleeping lots because of the pain medicine, but she’s home!

Cady is the first little baby of this family, and I so want Zoë to know and feel the unconditional love that can only come from our sweet, furry friend. Each morning as I start to walk down our stairs, Cady waits by my side and doesn’t take her first step unless I do. I think that is so telling of who she is- she is with us every step of the way. So, that brings me to the title of this post, please say a little prayer for our Cady.