Well, this is a post I thought I would never write. To say that my heart broke after receiving this news is an understatement. We were so excited to bring Sketchie home from the vet last week. As you may recall, he had exploratory surgery in an effort to determine his health issues (see this post for more info). I was convinced that he had IBD. To be honest, I was second-guessing our decision to proceed with the surgery. Would it even help him? Was it worth it to put him through all of this? I felt so unsure and conflicted.
Eric picked him up from the vet last week and I stayed back to finish up some work. He was gone a really long time which I thought was unusual. When I heard the door open I yelled, “Sketchieeee!!” like I always do in a high-pitched voice whenever I see him after being out. I ran down the stairs to greet them both and stopped in my tracks when I saw the look on Eric’s face. I knew something was terribly wrong.
After seeing Eric fight back tears I could only get out “what’s wrong?” in a choked up voice.
“Sketchie has lymphoma.”
I just collapsed into Eric’s arms. Completely lost it. The whole day was like one long nightmare. I wasn’t prepared for any of this. Even though the vet mentioned lymphoma might be a possibility, I thought “not Sketchie”. Eric explained that it’s small cell lymphoma (in his intestines) which apparently has a decent chance of responding to the treatment. I kept reading things online that treatment could help them live a few years (a few years?, I’d wail) and then I had to just stop reading about it. It was too much to process.
To make matters worse, Sketchie was still in a fair amount of pain, totally not himself and unsettled. Seeing the 15+ staples in his shaved belly was hard. It was a really difficult few days, but we gave him so much love and attention to try to help him feel better. His eyes looked so sad, obviously not knowing what the heck happened to his body. I’m so grateful though that the surgery went well without any complications.
So here we are a week and a half later still grappling with the news and trying to figure out what course of treatment we’re going to take. If anything, I’m so grateful that we were able to get the exploratory surgery to determine the root cause of his digestive issues and low B12. And that we caught it early. Knowledge is power!
I just want to thank you for thinking of Sketchie over the past couple weeks. Many of you left lovely comments and tweets and it really means a lot to me. I’d love to hear from those of you who might have had a similar experience with your pet and what treatment options you used. Right now, we’re open to exploring our options while keeping in mind his quality of life, above all.
The good news is that Sketchie is recovering well from his surgery! He’s a trooper! After 4-5 days, he seemed much more like himself. His appetite is back which is reassuring because he lost a lot of weight over the past 6 months. The spark in his eyes is back. Today he gets his staples out which I’m nervous about, so I hope it goes well and he’s not too traumatized by going back there so soon.
He’s still a young cat (7 years), so I’m hoping he will respond well to treatment. I know this one is not going down without a fight.
Now go on and hug your pets for me, will you?
+++++++++++
Updates:
In lighter news, I wanted to thank you for your incredible comments on my Cookbook Launch & Sneak Peek Post this week. I was on cloud nine all week seeing your tweets, Facebook messages, and comments come in. It really helped cheer me up and take my mind off things.
Newsletter:
I sent out the second cookbook newsletter yesterday, so be sure to check your spam box because they have a tendency to end up there. If you still haven’t received any newsletters yet, please add “[email protected]” to your email contact list to ensure that you get future newsletters. That should do the trick! If you’d like to read the 2nd newsletter in the meantime, you can do so on my book page (it’s linked near the bottom of the page).
New OSG Virtual Cookbook Blog Tour Reviews:
Check out these new reviews and don’t forget to enter the giveaways!
Dreena @ Plant Powered Kitchen (review, recipe, giveaway)
Kate @ Cookie + Kate (review, recipe)
Kaila @ Healthy Helper Blog (review, recipe, giveaway)
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies! (review, recipe, giveaway)
Kathy @ Healthy Happy Life (review, recipe)
Cadry @ Cadry’s Kitchen (review, recipe, giveaway)
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan (review, recipe, giveaway)
Nicole @ A Dash of Compassion (review, recipe, giveaway)
Livvy @ 86 Lemons (review, recipe, giveaway)
Ashley @ {Never} home maker (review, recipe, giveaway)
Emily @ Daily Garnish (review, recipe, giveaway)
Sarah @ The Sweet Life (review, recipe, giveaway)
Jess @ Get Sconed (review, interview)
Canada AM:
Lastly, I had two fun TV appearances this week. The first one was Tuesday morning on Canada AM. I somehow managed to get through LIVE TV without passing out. hah. You can find the link to watch the video at the bottom of my book page. Thanks to my friend Karly for the screenshot above!
Steven and Chris:
The second appearance was a taping for the Steven and Chris show. It was also a total blast! We made my Empowered Noodle Bowl with Orange-Maple Miso Dressing. I don’t have an official air date yet, but I will let you know as soon as I find out. It should be within the next week or two. I hear that it’s syndicated on the Live Well Network in the US, so hopefully those of you in the US can watch it online as well.
[a couple behind the scenes photos from Steven and Chris. Thanks to Ange for the bottom photo!]
Thank you again for making this week one I won’t soon forget. Have a great weekend!
I wish you lots and lots of good luck with Sketchie! Hopefully he recovers well and he can jump around for another 7 years!
I’m sorry to hear about Sketchie. He is such a great little cat with a wonderful personality. You will make the decision that is best for both him and you.
My eyes are teary after reading your post. So very sorry about Sketchie my hearts broken for you guys. You’re all in my prayers.
Karen
I’m so sorry to hear this but focus on that fact they said he will likely respond well to treatment. A vet will usually give it to you straight if they don’t have a good prognosis. My fur sister had an aggressive form of lymphoma and didn’t have that option. So please do what is suggested. While internet research is good, remember that you’re likely to find a lot of horror stories because unfortunately when people get through the crisis, they rarely come back to message boards/forums to say “hey, everything turned out okay!” like human counterpart medical boards. So stick with reputable sites, give lotsa love and know you’ve got a lot of people saying prayers for your little nugget!
I’m so sorry to hear about Sketchie’s diagnosis! I have a cat and a dog that both had surgeries done but can not imagine having to go through lymphoma. After reading your beautiful, if tragic, piece, I broke into tears and went to hug my dog. Sending you all the positive vibes!
My heart goes out to dear Sketchie. I am so sorry to hear this! It breaks my heart too, he seems like is such a loving and happy cat. He is lucky to have you two in his family and I am sure he will get better. It is good you caught it early!!
Oh I’m so sorry to hear about your sweetie. We had to say goodbye to our sweetheart Mason over Christmas. He had been with us for 14 years. He was always a trooper and responded to treatments to some serious issues he had developed. Not until the last 6 months we started to see a change in him and we finally knew when it was time. Although we still fought tooth and nail to look for treatments. Praying for your little one, for wisdom in choosing what path to take and for your hearts! And yes, I will now go hug my other kitty, who is our remaining little princess. ;-)
This is so sad to read and I can feel your pain by reading your words. Our cat was diagnosed with kidney disease around this time last year and he was only 8 at the time. So I can understand what you are going through. I hope Sketchie lives a very long time! I’m thinking of you, Eric and your cat during this time. :o)
Hello Angela,
From an animal lover to another I feel you hurting snd struggling with such news. I thought I might share a wonderful link that helped my pets get through some tough diagnosis and go on and live long happy lives. Take a look and see how you feel… sketchie is so lucky to have you both. Take care and feel a hug right back!!
www.hampl.com.au
A holistic online vet who has helped animals worldwide. Fantastic people. Xxx
Oh I am so sorry! We adopted a kitten in August and I am so head over heals in love with him! Reading this post just reminds me to enjoy every moment we have. Thinking of you and your furry friend!
Angela,
I know all of this all too well. My two sibling cats were diagnosed several years ago with IBD, basically by process of elimination. Prednisolone was their treatment, and it managed it well for quite a while. We were told that long term use of Pred could cause lymphoma…. but there was no real choice. Their symptoms (daily vomiting and diarrhea) were so extreme. My little girl Daisy (my HEART!) was diagnosed with lymphoma in October. She turns 17 this year. At first, she was lethargic, and did not do well even though we were told that most cats tolerate the chemo treatment (pills) very well with few side effects. We had to change the appetite pill and stopped the pain meds and she is doing really well! I am grateful for every good day I get with her, and her quality of life is the only consideration here. We can’t just extend life. Life has to be good, and full of happy and love! I would be more than happy to discuss our experience with you. Her lymphoma is also in her intestines, and she also happens to have had Pancreatitis already existing to further complicate. Our protocol may be helpful to you. Email me if you like. I’m here for you, with a compassionate and understanding heart. Praying for you all!!
xoxo ~ Jodi
Oh Angela, I’m so sorry to hear about Sketchis’s diagnosis! I will keep him in my prayers and hope for goid news. We had a cat, Boris who had a stomach tumor removed when he was 14. We figured that since that’s around 70 in human years, he wasn’t that old. We did chemotherapy for several months after and he did very well. He wound up living until he was 20 and was a very happy guy until the end. I know it’s different than lymphoma, but just wanted to share my experience. We had people tell us we were crazy for spending money we didn’t have on an “old” cat. Boris proved them all wrong :)
First off, I am so sorry, in all honesty I had to stop reading this post as soon as I saw the word “lymphoma”, we just lost one of our babies to the same disease in November, he went into cardiac arrest and couldn’t be revived. However, he was 12, some say it was time, but as a fellow pet parent the loss is still unbearable. My thoughts and prayers are with the the three of you, hang in there the best you can, hug each other as much as you can and take so many pictures, I realized once our Peter was gone there weren’t enough pictures it seemed. So all my love, and Kathy Patalksy of Healthy, Happy Life had some helpful advice. Take care!! And congrats on your book!!
Angela, I am so sorry to hear the news about Sketchie. What a tough week you have had managing the OSG book release and media publicity (obviously great things but tough when you have other things on!) around your concerns about his health. I haven’t got any practical advice to offer on treatment options but will definitely be thinking of you and him xo
I’m so sorry to hear the news about Sketchie. Thinking of you and sending positive thoughts concerning his surgery recovery + treatment. I’m sure you and Eric will make the best decision for Sketchie’s well-being.
My kitty who had FELV and FIV was diagnosed with lymphoma last year. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him so I opted to initiate palliative treatment. His liver and spleen were full of cancer and after several months, I had to say goodbye as he just wasn’t able to have the life he wanted to live. I am not sure I made the right choice to keep him alive, I cried almost every day that summer, and when I made the decision to let him pass, I cried again for days. Even now, I cry when I am reminded of him (your kitty’s shaved belly is much like my baby’s shaved belly). There is no good answer to seeing your babies suffer, I just wish we knew when it was definitely time to let them go.
Poor Sketchie with his cute little bare belly. He has some great support around him. :)
Also, just made my first two recipes from your book… the edamame/sprouts/carrots/sweet potato bowl with the orange miso sauce was SO GOOD! And the chocolate hazelnut tart… I didn’t have enough ingredients to make the whole thing, so I made a few mini tarts in silicone cupcake wrappers. So yummy! And so pure!
Thank you. I gave my little kitty TONS of pets and a big hug after reading your post. Sketchie will be in my thoughts.
sending you much love and healing thoughts for your precious kitty.
Angela. So sorry for the Sketchie’s recent problems and diagnosis and will include
Sketchie, Eric and you in prayers in the coming weeks. Although I rarely respond to
your page, I truly enjoy your recipes and comments on life, but today felt like I needed
to let you know how your readers are affected.
*My copy of your book came yesterday- love the recipes and will put at least a new one
in our meal plans soon.
Oh Angela, tears streamed down my face as I read this post. Our pets are like our children, and we treat them like part of the family. I am sending so many good vibes your way to you and Sketchie!