Remembering Sadie
Sadie rescued me when I was a senior in college at Texas A&M University, whoop! Sadie was my very best friend, and who I’ve come home to for the past 6 years. She was one of a kind- well-behaved, friendly, loving, stubborn, and a fierce lover of all things edible. In April 2017, I noticed two lumps under her jaw, so I took her in for an appointment at a vet down the street. At that time, Sadie had always been a perfectly healthy little girl and I knew nothing about Canine Lymphoma or where dogs lymph nodes are located. The doctor at this particular place walked in the room, felt the lumps I was concerned about, and immediately said “dogs with lymphoma...” She went on to do an aspirate of the lymph node and go on about the poor prognosis and how treatment is just too expensive. I was devastated, not only by the diagnosis but also with the way it was presented to me. It took nearly four weeks to get results for the aspirate back, due to miscommunication within themselves, too long considering lymphoma is a time sensitive disease without treatment , and without being offered prednisone. After they got back with the official diagnosis and being referred to oncologists, we went a different route. We visited the doctor the rest of my family goes to. This is where we found angels, people who loved Sadie as their own.’ They immediately did a biopsy, started her on prednisone, and we started with her treatment plan. She started the CHOP protocol, but one of the 4 drugs made her sick, and there wasn’t a huge change in her lymph nodes, so essentially failed the protocol. At this point, I think all of us were a little disappointed and unsure of what would happen next. Fortunately, we had a doctor who was doing everything she could and working with other amazing individuals to give Sadie the best chance at a quality life for the time she had left. She started on a drug called Lomustine that worked wonders for her, where you would never know she was even sick. Sadie survived a full 6 months after diagnosis, and had maybe 7 total bad days (most of those being in her last few weeks of life). That’s 6 months without a clinical remission. 6 months she would not have made it without the team she had behind her-her doctor, her tech, and all of the other techs and assistants, and even receptionists that did everything they could for her. On her final day, Sadie ate peanut butter from the jar and wagged her tail in a room of everyone who loved her. Sadie took her last breath in my arms (an experience I never could’ve prepared for, but wouldn’t have changed). She left the world just as happy as she came into it, and although I miss her more than anything, it gives me peace to know she’s no longer suffering at the hands of this awful disease. Sadie taught me a lot about myself, strength, and the type of people you want on your team. Fly high, Sadie Hope.
