I think every mother has mixed feelings about naps. One the one hand, you are very tired and desperately want a break from incessant responsibility. On the other hand, you want to spend those precious hours soaking in the joy and constant developmental changes that small children radiate.
June 4, 2016
We found out this morning that Sophie has a huge cancerous mass around her right shoulder. It’s probably the size of a peach. She’s limping because of it, but it doesn’t seem to be causing her major pain. We discovered it yesterday. I noticed in the morning while I was playing with Selah June in her room that the dog yelped when SJ swung something around in her face. I thought that the baby had accidentally hit her or stepped on her. Sophie ran off but didn’t seem to be hiding or anything, and everything seemed to return to normal (as normal as constant terrorism by a toddler can be to a 5 lb. animal, I suppose). Last night, Jeremy said he thought something was wrong with her…that she was walking funny. We picked her up to look her over, and her shoulder looked way out of whack – like it was dislocated or something – with a huge amount of swelling that was firm to the touch. I assumed it was an injury she sustained that morning and convinced myself that she has some kind of sprain or strain that would take anti-inflammatory medication and rest to heal. Jeremy really thought it might be a tumor.
He called the vet first thing this morning, and they gave her an appointment for 9:00am. Jeremy took her and texted me from the office as news came in. The vet immediately ruled out everything but a mass. She wanted to do an in-office test to see whether abnormal cells were present. They were. She said that a biopsy would reveal whether the cancer was malignant or benign. That’s scheduled for Monday. We’ll hear the results within a week. Given its size, a malignant result would mean aggressive surgery and treatment with no promises. It’s likely pushing against nerves that run down her back.
The house is quiet.