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thwick ... thwick ... thwick ...thwick ...
This is the sound that launched us on a long, emotional journey. This seemingly innocent sound propelled us into unchartered territory, and eventually brought us to something truly amazing and wonderful called Reiki.
We explained to the vet that Macko had been licking the left side of his rear end, and we thought that it might be an infected anal gland. The vet went to express the anal gland, and seemed upset by something he found. He double checked his findings and then said the words that started us on our journey ... "There's a mass back here folks." The vet told us that there was the possibility that it could be andenomacarcinoma of the anal gland - a rare and very aggressive form of cancer. He said that he would know more once he got the mass out and sent it to the lab.
His got him into surgery the next day. It was a long, grueling surgery. The mass was the size of a grapefruit! We anxiously awaited results from the lab ... we were disheartened to learn that, yes, indeed, the mass was adenomacarcinoma. We were told that the prognosis was "guarded" - a nice way of saying that he had little time. It felt like our hearts had been ripped from our chests and trampled by a herd of elephants. Our minds were reeling, what can we do to help our "baby", where can we go for help??? Determined to help him fight the cancer, we turned to the oncologist that our vet had recommended.
The oncologist had a very grim disposition, and gave Macko 6 months - even with chemotherapy treatments. She recommended getting an ultra-sound done to make sure that the cancer had not metastasized. The results of the ultra-sound were hard to hear - it had metastasized to several lymph nodes ... but not to any organs, which was good news. They also took x-rays of his lungs to see if the cancer had spread to his lungs ... they were clear, this was also good news. The oncologist recommended a surgeon to remove the lymph nodes. Only two weeks after his initial surgery, Macko was in surgery again to get the affected lymph nodes out. The surgeon removed three lymph nodes from his sub-lumbar region. The lab results confirmed that two of the three lymph nodes were cancerous, the third one had not yet become cancerous.
Macko eventually recovered from this surgery, however, during his recovery he started having problems. He kept throwing up, and the oncologist said it was pancreatitis - they did no bloodwork to confirm this though. She was wrong ... very wrong. It turned out that he was going into kidney failure! We only discovered this when she finally ran blood work in preparation for his chemotherapy treatment. However, this development with his kidneys disqualified him for chemotherapy. We asked the oncologist if there were other things that we could do to help him, she just shook her head slowly and said no. We asked about supplements, like anti-oxidants, several times, and she would just shake her head each time and tell us that there was nothing that could help. She would just say to us, "Enjoy the time you have left with him, there's nothing more you can do. Make him as comfortable as you can." We found this answer not only unacceptable, but intolerable! We weren't going to just give up on him, to let the cancer win. We were determined to help him beat this cancer, no matter what anyone else said to try and deter us. There was nothing more that the oncologist could do for Macko, and we felt that she had no inclination to help him anyway. We never went back to her. Instead, we began the search for other options, other ways to combat the cancer. We found the most wonderful vet, a Homeopathic vet. The vet not only changed Macko's life, but ours as well.
However, in the meantime, Macko was still eligible for radiation treatment. We met with the radiation oncologist and worked on a "plan of attack", so to speak. This vet was more upbeat and a little more positive than the oncologist, but still did not give Macko very long - six months was his estimate. He could not get both sites - the anal gland site and the lymph node site - and we all decided to go for the lymph node site in the hope that it would prevent further spread. After his sixth, and final, radiation treatment, the vet found another tumor growing at the original anal gland site. We were beside ourselves - did we chose the wrong site to radiate? No, no, we couldn't let ourselves think like that, we knew that this was a possibility. His organs were still free of tumors, and his lungs were clear - there was still hope!
It was now January of the following year, and we were all still fighting, determined to defeat the cancer. His Homeopathic vet new of an excellent surgeon, an excellent vet at that. He performed the surgery to remove the new tumor, but was unable to get clean margins as it had gotten too big. He did a wonderful job, and his staff took such good care of him. You could see just how much they all love animals. He even gave Macko his Homeopathic remedies, without fail.
After fully healing from this surgery, Macko went for a second round of radiation treatments, which was supposed to last 6 weeks. Three weeks into the treatments, the radiation oncologist found another tumor starting. We were devastated! He had just finished healing from his last surgery, how could we put him through another surgery so soon??!
Several weeks after this last surgery, we inquired with his Homeopathic vet about other things we could do to help that wouldn't interfere with his Homeopathic remedies. I inquired about acupuncture and Reiki. She said that acupuncture would interfere with his remedies, but that Reiki would not. She gave us the name of a local practitioner who gives Reiki to animals - one of the very few in the area. He has been receiving Reiki treatments from her ever since - at first they were once a week, he now gets them once every other week. Macko seems to enjoy his Reiki treatments, and seems to look forward to them. His physical energy level is better, his energy field is stronger, and best of all ... he has had no recurring tumors! He has been checked several times by his Homeopathic vet, and has gotten a clean bill of health every time.
Macko inspired us to become Reiki practitioners (even though before he was even diagnosed, one of us had been looking into it but had not yet taken any action). We have been helping all types of animals since we became practitioners. We treat animals almost exclusively (with the exception of friends, family and the local Reiki clinic). We have also given Distant Reiki to numerous animals in different parts of the country.
... hence the name Pookybear & Co. Healing.