Today is Wolf's Surgery Day

"I'm ready to go to the hospital, Mom."

Today my boy Wolf went in for surgery. I just came back a short while ago from dropping him off at the vet's. Watching him as he sauntered down the hallway toward the pre-surgery area, my heart swelled with pride for my baby boy. Wolf, although he along with his two siblings Chloe and Bandit, turned four in January, he is the baby of the bunch. So I know he was being strong and brave as he headed down the hallway. As he crossed through the door and out of sight, the tears flowed and I had to jet out of there and take a few moments to have a good cry in car. I know he is in excellent hands. I know he is safe. We have a wonderful veterinarian team and hospital. I always say that if I ever relocate, I'll have to figure out a way to move the hospital and all of the staff in it!  Still...I will worry, worry, worry all day about my boy, about how his surgery is going, if they can remove them all, what the biopsy results will be, how much his pain he will be in, how quickly he will heal, and how soon will he forget I left him there, my perpetually happy boy. It's tough being a mom. I also know so many of you fellow pet parents know this exact feeling.

So, why is Wolf having surgery? Wolf has had some papillomas growing on his left elbow since last summer. They started off as a small cluster of growths - similar to a miniature head of cauliflower. I had them checked and our vet took a biopsy of them and, thankfully, they were benign. I just needed to keep an eye on them for any kind of change or if they bothered him, which they haven't. And they still don't. However...

Unfortunately, they have grown in mass and have multiplied, even having some grow on top of others, and a yellowish scaliness has appeared on the tops of some of the growths. After bringing him back in for a recent follow-up, together with our vet, we deiced that he would go in and have them removed, mostly via cauterization as they are on his elbow, a very precarious place as the joint is constantly in a state of flexing and bending. While under, he will take a closer look at some of the larger ones and decide then if they should be removed surgically. Preventative care is what we are doing now...to be sure they don't turn into something more serious down the line and, at the very least, to prevent them from getting torn off during play, etc. and possibly getting infected. Still, I am the nervous mother. He's my baby boy. I keep going over in my head, "why am I doing this?" And then reminding myself it's better to have them taken care of now in their early stages, then later when they could possibly be something more serious.

Still, I worry. 

Flashback 24 hours ago:

 "Surgery? Tomorrow? Me?"

Harley, the pack momma, gave Wolf some nose pokes and kisses. "I'm a little scared," woos Wolf.

  "Don't be Wolf," offers Harley. "You'll be fine."

"I can't wait for my surgery to be over and to be back home on my bed with my family."

 The big brother pep talk. Gibson giving Wolf some 

reassuring woos before bedtime. "Love woo, Bro."

❤

So, today, while I fluff his beds (one in my living room and one next to my bed) and get some of his favorite toys ready for his return home, he will never stray far from my thoughts. I thank everyone for all the kind thoughts, prayers, and for "hanging out in the waiting room" with me!