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?
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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!
Sending good thoughts to you and Eric and Sketchie. He is a trooper, I just know it! I just ran over and hugged my pug (who didn’t seem so enthused about being hugged during her naptime).
<3 Sketchie. sending you love and prayers!!
Sorry to hear about your cat’s lymphoma. PLEASE read the Amazon reviews for Essiac Tea!
People are raving about this cancer treatment for their pets & themselves!
Oh, Angela! I’m so sorry to hear about Sketchie! I know how it is seeing your beloved companion animal sick and in pain. My dog, who I grew up with, who was my nanny and my bodyguard when I was a baby, passed away after several months of pain. In hindsight, we were the ones who did the wrong thing. We should have brought him to the vet to at least put an end to his misery, but we just couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. Because of that, he spent the last few months of his life in pain, his internal organs failing one by one and his blood circulation practically non-existent.
However, it seems to me that things are different with Sketchie. As you say, he seems to be feeling better, which is always a good sign. If there’s anything I’ve learnt after having lived with animals all my life, it is that they will show and tell you if something is wrong. If the vet says that he will have a few years left with you, see that as an opportunity to cherish and show how much you love him, every single day. I know it is hard, but there is comfort in that thought as well.
I wish all three of you the best of luck! I’m currently sipping your recipe for the Morning Glory smoothie from your cookbook! I must say that you have done an outstanding job! Also made the fudgy chocolate cake last night for my omnivorous housemates and they all loved it!
Angela, I am so sorry to hear this news. I went through this myself last year & yes, we were totally blindsided. Simba had had a clean bill of health in sept, but I knew something was wrong & we learned of his lymphoma dx in nov.
First I’ll tell you that we know several people with cats with lymphoma who responded well to treatment & are doing well.
We chose not to do chemo. Simba had a particularly aggressive form & that just wasn’t the life I wanted for him. I still struggle with that decision – we had to let him go last January. He did ok for a while (we did see a holistic vet), but went downhill very rapidly in the last few days of his life.
I hope & pray sketchie responds well & you have much more quality time with him.
Big hugs.
I’m so sorry to hear about Sketchie. I hope that he makes a full recovery.
Last night we enjoyed another of your recipes, Angela, but will heavy hearts for dear Sketchie! Our thoughts are with you always.
Oh Angela, I’m so sorry. My heart goes out to you. I have some experience with lymphoma kitties both personally and from my years of working in veterinary clinics. I’ll email you.
Sketchie is such a beautiful cat! So sorry for his ill health, will pray for the little guy. They just tug at our heart and I love my cat so much. Can’t hardly stand the thought of losing him.
Angela, I am so sorry to hear this sad news about Sketchie. Will be thinking of you and praying for Sketchie’s recovery. I know you will love and comfort him through this difficult time.
Dear Sketchie,
You are soooo handsome and you have two wonderful parents, so you must get well for them! You can do it, Sketchie; I just know you can. Visualize yourself as all healed; all perfect inside (which you are already anyway!)
I’m sending you some beautiful Angels with their magnificent Angel Wings to hold you tight – you already have your own fabulous Angels, but we can always use more, can’t we? Sending some for Mommy and Daddy too!
You are SO LOVED, Sketchie and I love your beautiful eyes.
Our two kitties send their love and they say: “Get well, Sketchie!” We are all praying for you sweetheart.
Love,
Nancy, Marty, Katie and Bailey
County Cork, Ireland
I am so sorry to hear about your precious baby and I pray he recovers from this. What a sweet little face. :(
Our Edmund just gave us a scare (10 days very ill with undiagnosed gastro issues). He’s since come home and been ill again once. I’m hoping it’s just an irritable gut.
Cats can be tough, and Sketchie is lucky to have such awesome parents who are willing to go the distance with him.
Angela, before you make an decisions take your cat up to the vet program at Guelph university. The specialists there deal with complicated cases. Good luck.
I am so sorry about Sketchie :( Praying that you have many more years with him.
I’m sitting at my kitchen table, trying to eat breakfast. I’m crying my eyes out, now my husband has joined me. I’m so sorry to hear about Sketchie. We have a 2 1/2 year old orange tabby boy, Chippy. He is our son. This story hits us hard because something similar happened when Chippy was almost 1. He is all better! He is the love of our life. Best of luck to you guys, kisses to Sketchie. Also, congrats on the book. I can not wait to receive mine!
Oh Angela – my heart goes out to you, Eric and little Sketchie!
I hope that the treatment goes well! A massive congrats on your cookbook and know we are all thinking of you :)
The Macadame. xx
creamstop.com
I am so sorry to hear about Sketchie. I had a cat that we learned had feline AIDS. It was quick-moving from when we found out to when he passed, and it was the hardest thing to go through and overcome. I am so glad Sketchie is getting better, and that he is a young cat – he will beat it!
Also, congrats on the continued success of the book!!
In my “real life” I work at a vet clinic. Don’t fret about the staple removal….it is a really quick five minutes or less thing and it isn’t painful and there is no sedation or anything required.
It sounds like the treatment your vet has done up to this point is “good medicine” and you are very lucky to have a good veterinarian be an advocate for your fur baby! *hugs*
I’m so sorry to hear about Sketchie!!! It is so hard when our pets are sick! We are a family of cat lovers and would be devastated if/when something happens to our Igma. Hugs!
As a companion animal enthusiast, it’s heartbreaking to receive this kind of news. Wishing you and yours peace of mind.