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The Invalid
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‘We set about re-structuring our lives around the invalid but Rowan soon found being carried about undignified and sleeping on my bed may have been all right for playboy Willow but was definitely not for him. All his life he had shown a peculiarity when sitting on his sofa by slowly sliding down with head and neck on the floor and body still on the seat cushion. Very gradually as he drifted into sleep his body would slide off completely onto the floor and once when Chrissie came and found him half-way in the process looking like a slain deer she cried out.
“Oh no! Rowan’s dead” as we ran in hearing her shrieks. “Oh he’s fine. He’s just larming”, we chuckled and explained that he often slept like that and for some forgotten reason we called it ‘larming’. He tried this from my bed but it hurt him so he stopped and we never saw him do this again. He stayed in my room for a little longer but after three weeks Rowan moved out! He astounded us by getting around relatively easily and we were able to take him off Rymadil in a remarkably short time. His leg was still an awful mess and he limped badly but he was weight-bearing on it, if somewhat gingerly. The pleasure of seeing Rowan moving around again was countered by our concern that any sharp movement or attempt to run would shatter the leg again and so our first step was to cordon off the gardens more effectively. The barrier that we used to block the steps to Michael’s area when Ash and Rowan were both outside became a solid permanent one and we could no longer leave him unsupervised to patrol with feisty young daughter Paschale as before; the idea that Rowan might rush up to defend us from passing moshav dogs or the feral cats my house neighbour fed was just unthinkable. His life and ours became very restricted and the late night ritual of sitting beside me on my front steps could only continue if he was tethered in some way. Rowan of course thought it all out and formed his own strategy: Paschale would take on more responsibility on the front line and he would back her up with ferocious growling from his tethered point. Alternatively, he would use his bagpipe howling to rally the other troops into action. He tired easily and we knew he needed lots of rest but he dealt with this himself by commandeering various rugs and mats around the house and piling them in the cool dark cavernous area under the main house steps. Every afternoon he would take himself off in there and allow me to prop an old piece of wood across the lower half of the entrance so that he could still see out but nothing could come in and disturb him. He usually slept deeply for two or three hours like this which gave me a break too and time for other things. Rowan’s bandages had been necessarily tight but his leg appeared far too constricted with the inevitable swelling after the op. and Linda decided not to continue with fresh dressings but leave the leg exposed to the air. (Photos below) This was far earlier than expected and the limb looked ugly but Rowan immediately seemed easier and his mobility improved rapidly. There remained just one area that was especially raw and leaking blood and this was above the top end of the inserted pin holding the leg in place. After a while this caused some distress and he was patched and stitched again and again until it became obvious that the pin was too long and was protruding through the skin. I agonised over the talk of more surgery but my fears were allayed when Linda and Jenia both felt competent to deal with this minor surgical procedure themselves. So Rowan was left with them again (which pleased Jenia especially) and the complete trust we had in our vets proved justified when he returned to us in a far better and more comfortable condition. This was what we could see in his outward appearance but even more encouraging were the results from the x-rays taken while Rowan had been sedated for surgery. These not only showed there to be no further deterioration from the tumour but also revealed that the bone was actually growing round the pin. This was something of a miracle to us all and we remained hopeful that Rowan might be one who beat the odds or at least live beyond the average survival times. I had refused x-rays up to this point fearing worse news so there were tears of relief for me but I was still restless; I could not escape the feeling that something horrible was eating away at this dog that I loved and nothing was being done to stop it. In my mind I could almost see the inner slow destruction, like an evil variety of caterpillar munching through bone instead of lettuce. I felt helpless and ached with compassion for those with beloved children, family members, dear friends who also felt powerless in the face of this insidious disease. In 1992 my own mother had succumbed to a secondary cancer when we thought she was clear of the disease after extensive treatments had seemed effective but, in the end she left us so quickly we could do nothing but just be with her. Well, 20+ years on I know there are new drug protocols and more could have been done for her but at the time she had received all the treatment available and perhaps she would still have died even with the benefit of advanced medical knowledge. The point is we try to do all we can at a given time. I began my own research to find some help for Rowan although he seemed to improve every day. It was an unhappy task as there seemed to be universal agreement that complete removal of the infected limb was the only real option and Michael and I had never had much belief in alternative remedies for any serious condition. However, now I turned my attention to that world of alternative/complementary medicine and spent hours reviewing ‘natural’ products and non-invasive techniques. I was grateful for all those kind pet owners who had posted their own stories on the internet and began to try out some of the diets and health products they recommended. Sadly, it became very obvious that the most extravagant claims for ‘complete cures’ came from stories on manufacturers’ or retailers’ sites promoting the sale of their own cancer-beating products. Aside from these, most of the tales ended with a page dedicated to the memory of the loved animal who had finally lost the battle and these I felt were the genuine cases. Even so, like this account, they were not without encouragement as they all highlighted how they had managed to establish and enjoy a prolonged period of near normal daily life. Those twin considerations - the length of survival time and the quality of that lifespan - were the focus for these canine guardians and now became ours. The most consistent advice seemed to be to try to introduce some form of immune therapy into the daily regime. Some had given up on drug protocols and traditional treatments and switched entirely to alternative medicine, while others had tried immune boosting and other dietary supplements as adjuncts to veterinary care. In the fairly rare cases where amputation had been chosen, immune therapy had also been used to give their animals the best chance of recovery. I spent a long time studying all this on the internet and then even more time, becoming increasingly frustrated, finding suppliers. Today there are many and possibly better immune-boosting products on the market one of which I used during Shira’s illness (q.v.) but actually getting the supplies took even longer. However, at the time of Rowan’s illness, I was persuaded by the argument that certain products could help a sick animal to utilise their own immune system more effectively to counter the growth of disease, particularly the one that had struck down my dog in his prime. I noted also that some scientific studies disclaimed these theories but yet others were more positive and many vets were advocating the benefits of such products used alongside tradition treatments. Doctors also had been using the same theories for a variety of human medical conditions and particular attention had been focused on the hope of help for AIDS sufferers, a disease affecting the immune system. There was nothing conclusive in anything I read but there was a helpful tone to most of the literature and, in the absence of any treatment at all for my Saluki, I finally decided to go for a preparation based on the theories of transfer factors. The idea behind this use rests on the understanding of the protection from disease newborns receive from mother’s milk (colostrum) in the first hours/days after birth and attempts made in laboratory conditions to utilise chemicals from this natural process or from human or animal sources with immunity from a specific disease. Still in an experimental stage, the product I chose was marketed as a nutritional supplement and a version for canines/felines combined with other dietary aids was available online in tablet form from the USA. Eventually I managed to get a regular supply from a health-food company in Wales at moderate cost. Linda and Jenia had certainly not forgotten Rowan and came to see him at my home and were encouraged to see him doing so well. Linda who, as a friend and living on our moshav, was already well known and respected by Rowan so he welcomed her in his usual dignified style but I could see the new and special bond he had made with Jenia. He left the ‘cave’ from where he was normally reluctant to forego his afternoon rest and lay at her feet in a protective way usually reserved just for me. It was a moving sight and one that Jenia fully appreciated. Linda had some news for us though; she had continued to see what help could be given to Rowan and told me of a drug called ‘Alendronate’. This is often prescribed to women (in particular) suffering from osteoporosis and helps prevent the degrading and fracturing of bone, improves density and promotes the growth of new bone and could be obtained from most chemists/pharmacies with a prescription Linda would supply. |
The 4-Point Strategy
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That evening, Michael and I sat on the steps outside my front door with Rowan discreetly tethered by my side and assessed the situation. We were so relieved to have Rowan at all but we faced the fact that unless there was a complete cure he would never be allowed to run again and we pondered just what kind of life he would have. Rowan had formed his own strategy so for now we adopted a 4-point strategy of our own:
1. Prayer 2.Alendronate 3. Immune Therapy 4. Love Without the first and last points we didn’t believe the other two would be effective and they were the easy parts; giving the pills would be a bit more complicated. The Alendronate had to be taken in the morning with water and followed by more water after which Rowan was not allowed to sit or lie down but remain active for at least half an hour. No food was to be taken with the tablets whereas the Transfer Factor pills were thought more effective with a meal, so it was a bit confusing. There was nothing more now that could be done for Rowan unless we moved him abroad so we started in with the pills and diet. We followed the advice of others with experience of canine bone cancer and bought dog kibble with supposedly immune-boosting ingredients and high in omega 3 usually obtained from fish oils, plus additional calcium and protein. We also added cottage cheese and linseed oil to his food and cut back on the usual daily dish of pasta and minced fresh meat. I added grated hard cheeses to increase the calcium for the growing bone as x-rays continued to show this forming around the pin. At first we obtained a small syringe and squirted water and Alendronate tablets down Rowan’s throat which was horrible and upset me as well as the dog but after a day or two as I was preparing this he just walked up to me and took the pills from my hand. I put a small bowl of water with a tad of milk in front of him which he drank fully, my sensible boy! Thereafter he did this every single day until the end. We would then take him out for a short walk on the lead and on returning he would have a small amount of food as advised to avoid gastric problems associated with the medication. When he had been free-running and enjoying his walks Rowan had often chased mongoose and when we were wondering if he would eat cottage cheese and linseed oil I jokingly said to Michael, “tell him it’s a dish of creamy mongoose” and so the saucer of these foodstuffs combined with Transfer Factor after his daily exercise became known as ‘having his creamy mongoose’. Rowan, being him, of course just followed the regime without objecting.’ Rowan continued to make an astounding recovery with new bone forming around the pin until after 3 months he appeared almost normal again. He was pain-free and mobile but the respite was short and after 6 months the cancer returned causing rapid and devastating irreversible damage. We did not allow him to suffer long but said goodbye to our faithful noble friend. His story has very positive points but not a miracle end. Perhaps in another country treatments could have prolonged his life further and new treatments are now available so no-one should despair in a similar situation but we do feel that it is best to concentrate on the quality of the dog’s life while hoping and seeking for a long-term cure. Let us know your thoughts. |
Left and centre: Recovering Right: Rowan 3 months on from his op. -
would you know there had
ever been anything wrong?
would you know there had
ever been anything wrong?