Jax was a beautiful little boy that just returned from a trip to Uluṟu. He became unwell with what his local vet said was an eye infection and after about 15 visits to the vet during the week he deteriorated very quickly one weekend.
We made the decision to take him to SASH Central Coast and he was critical when we arrived.
Jax was treated like a king from the time he arrived, he spent a few days in intensive care while the problem was diagnosed. We was absolutely gutted to find out our little boy had cancer (lymphoma)
Dr Natalie Adby took over his care and we had chemotherapy explained to us, we hesitated for a minute as we were very concerned for quality of life but it was explained that chemo for animals is not as brutal as it is for humans.
The CHOP protocol was started, Jax got a little unwell from some of the drugs but Dr Nat worked hard to find a more appropriate drug. Although animals don’t become unwell during chemo prepare yourself mentally as it’s hard on the owners as well. You are constantly looking for signs that something is wrong, you need to be committed to the regime, you need to adapt to giving pills and adjusting diet to suit your little friend. I am not saying this to deter, I’m saying be prepared for emotions to run rampant.
Jax cancer was stage 5 and sadly he didn’t make it to the end, we tried, we and the team tried but he had always been a sick little man, he was 8 years old when the cancer took him. We did however get six months with him to get prepared. Jax’s case was extremely late in diagnosis but he fought like a little champion.
Jax went to a peaceful long dreaming on the 23/12 and I held him tightly as we said goodbye.
Would I change anything? Absolutely not. Will I be forever grateful for the team at Tuggerah… yes I will. They gave me time, they gave me a happy little boy after each visit.
At the end of the day you have to decide what is right for you and your pet. I take comfort in the fact we did everything humanly possible to save him or give him time.
