I've been limping around on my back left leg for a few days. Since my cancer scare about a year ago my personal veterinarian has been watching me like a hawk(Sheila the vet is not as easy-going as Sheila the mom).
She was a little worried that it might be an osteosarcoma(quite common in Berners, and very nasty). It probably didn't help that one of my daughters just got done in by this short of her 6th birthday.
Anyway, that would mean bye bye left leg tomorrow(palliative treatment to alleviate pain and buy some time) and bye bye me shortly thereafter. Veterinarians don't call my breed Bernese Mountain Time Bombs for nothing!
She told Randy that it didn't seem like cancer to her(bone cancers are usually quite painful and can often be palpated), but being Sheila she dragged my butt down to Sangre de Cristo for a radiograph, in the heat of the day(whine). She had to take two shots because I wasn't feeling cooperative. Afterwards I lay down in my normal place between reception and pharmacy and tripped employees for a few minutes while Sheila held her breath and looked at my X-ray.
The picture showed nothing more than a probable cranial cruciate ligament tear in my left knee(bone cancers produce starburst patterns in the radiograph). Knee problems are quite common in dogs and humans but not life-threatening. Randy said whoever designed that joint should get a pink slip then mumbled something about "not likely" and "tenure". His right ACL has been AWOL for about 35 years.
We have now stepped down from DEFCON 1. I doubt if we're at green, though. Maybe blue, or yellow. I doubt if we'll ever be at green again while I roam the Earth, which makes me like an airport.
What is the point of having a condition colored green?
