Days of Grace

We took Rudi to see our vet on Monday who looked at the x-rays, examined her and agreed with the diagnosis of  hemangiosarcoma.  We talked about the very few options that we have, and have decided to let nature take its course.  More than likely Rudi only has a matter of days left with us, weeks maybe, but nothing more.  Yesterday was a good day.  Her gum color is good, but we struggle with trying to get her to eat.  I'm hoping that putting her on an antacid will help because we think she may be feeling nauseous.  She remains really quiet and subdued, so we're letting her set her own pace and decide what she wants to do (she pretty much did that anyway).  But Rudi's days of wildly chasing the frisbee, running laps around the house and getting the cat food off the counter are behind us.

When some of you have been given a grim diagnosis for your own dogs, and they exceed the time a vet has predicted, those days have been called 'days of grace.'  I've never really known personally just how precious those days can be until I was told on Saturday that Rudi probably wouldn't live through the night.  It's Tuesday morning and she's still with us.  Knowing that this can change at anytime makes me realize just what a treasure each day (with Rudi) really is.  

~Rudi in May, playing frisbee~