Eileen and the ugly word

Some craziness with my "oldest baby" Eileen.  I wanted to save some stuff here, please don't feel obligated to read or follow. :)

Email to family on Thursday July 7th:
I got a call from Dr. J this morning and Eileen without a doubt has insulinoma. Normal insulin level are 5-20 micrograms and Eileen's were at 76. Normal glucose levels are 100 mg and Eileen's are at 39 mg. Dr. J has been in practice since 1981 and has never diagnosed a dog with insulinoma. Leave it to Eileen to be extra special. :)


Doc J is off tomorrow, but he insists on coming in for her surgery. He said he loves Eileen to pieces, the whole clinic does, and that he would not let her wait until next week. Yes, I got all weepy eyed. What a gracious and kind man to give up his vacation day for our Mama Bear. He said the surgery is very delicate and that he wanted his full attention on her. He said there was a good chance she could go home tomorrow, but would stay if her glucose wasn't stable. I asked him if she could stay to be monitored over night, as we can't monitor her glucose. He agreed it would be better for us and her to be monitored there instead of risking a trip to the ER clinic in the middle of the night.

I can't tell you what a blessing this news has been. It's upsetting to see such crazy numbers and knowing that this is so rare in a dog, but what a blessing to have someone like Dr. J taking care of Eileen.

Keep your fingers and paws crossed for our sweet girl. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.


Email to family on Friday July 8th:

Dr. K just called and Eileen's surgery went good, but she sounded cautiously optimistic. The mass was pretty significant and her pancreas is still very irritated and inflamed. She said that it could be more cancer cells popping up so they are going to keep a close eye on her. I'm not sure what else they can do to monitor her....


The rest of her abdominal cavity was clear so that's a huge success. Her incision is approximately 12 inches long so her recovery will be long.

Dr. K set her up on a glucose drip and tested her blood sugar, thankfully it came in at 102 so that's a substantial increase from last week. The anesthesia for the surgery was pretty light, but they are giving her a mild sedative/pain control to get her through the day. At 4:30, we will make the decision to either keep her at the clinic or move her to an ER vet, depending on her blood sugars and how she's coming out of anesthesia.


So all in all, we're still nervous about her pancreas but we're very thankful that she was able to have the tumor removed.

Thank you to everyone for the kind words and concerns. Mike and I definitely appreciate the support! Eileen sends her sloppy kisses, too. :)


Mike talked to Dr. K earlier and the prognosis is pancreatic cancer and she may have about a year.  Could be more time, we're certainly hoping for that.  Mike and I are going to continue to spoil her rotten and love on her just as none of this ever happened.  When we adopted Eileen, we promised her a lifetime of love and care and we will do whatever we can to keep her happy and comfortable.

I'll update as I can.