nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7ct5d3shxtnwdaehgu3wd3skueqpp3mhxue69uhkyunz9e5k7qpqkumadawgefxjt2c293whsan5sfmdg5tylm0uk39enc6uxxfy5m4sdln07f update: All things considered, she's doing EXTREMELY WELL!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Over about four days she steadily got her conscious mind back. Lots of eye contact, happy tail, fully interacting with us, regained bladder control (👀), holding toys in her mouth, and just being her loving, joyous self again.

https://v.nostr.build/wmw29S64QttU2c9g.mp4

I was desperately hoping for this. When she was in mindless robot dog mode, it was horrible to think that the real Kuma might be lost to us forever.

It's just a momentary reprieve but at least we have her truly back for at least a little while. Getting the chance to really appreciate her is such a gift. Every moment beyond this point is a bonus win.

Her very positive response to the prednisone has given the neurologist and radiation therapist enough optimism that we all agree it makes sense to go ahead with radiation therapy.

A directed beam zaps the tumor and hopefully kills a big chunk of it to buy her more time. Successful treatment yields prognosis estimates from 6-18mo to 18-24mo (depends on the tumor type, which we don't actually know).

But it can't get all of the tumor so eventually it re-establishes itself.

It's NOT a cure but getting that much extra time with her would be the best possible outcome given the bad cards we've been dealt.

Next steps: Another expensive MRI+CT scan next week to plan for the even more expensive radiation therapy (so far her pet insurance is coming through for us. 🤞). Then it's 10 anesthesia+radiation zap sessions over 2.5wks.

Success obv isn't guaranteed. We'll have a sense if it was effective about 8wks later. But unfortunately many dogs succumb to their tumors before that point is reached; time just runs out on them. But we're happy to give her that fighting chance.

❤️❤️ Also: ❤️❤️ The pics here all feature gifts she received as part of a cancer care box from LiveLikeRoo.org - the stuffed animals, the blanket, the treats, a ball, a gift certificate, and a (😢) bucket list of fun activity suggestions.

Incredible, wonderful organization that's dedicated to helping families whose pets have cancer. Very niche and, yes, there are certainly bigger tragedies out there, but their warmth right now is an incredible boon.

They're also facilitating some local experiences for us (doggy photo shoot; an indoor pool just for dogs! etc).

I'll be sharing more about them in the future.

#dogstr

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