Marley's First Chemo

Marley is such a wonderful and loving part of his family! He serves so many purposes, including being a step stool to little Emmy! Marley started his chemotherapy today. I just talked to my brother who said he took it very well. The tough part is how he will respond in the next few days though. Marley did get a good report from the oncologist today in that the cancer does not appear to be in his lymph nodes. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! I'll keep you posted.

If you'd like to write an email to my brother and his family (Will and Marcia)... send the email to carolina1993@aol.com and I'll forward it to them. They need all the support and good thoughts during this difficult time. Thanks so much. ~MaryMarsh

Sweet Marley

Marley is beginning to adjust to his new life on 3 legs, however it is a very slow progress. There is some bad news though about Marley... the cancer he has is called osteosarcoma and it is one of the worst types of cancers to have since it is a very aggressive cancer. Without chemo, the doctors are saying that Marley has about 3 months to live. With chemo, he has about a year to live. It is such a sad situation. Please continue to keep Marley and his family in your sweet thoughs and prayers. Thanks so much! ~MaryMarsh

Marley's First Day Home

Just a little update on Marley... he's back home now. Below is the last picture taken of him with all fours. (Just a warning, the pictures below may be disturbing to some as he is still bandaged up from his amputation surgery.)


My mom and their kids, Ethan and Emmy, made a welcome home sign for Marley today.

Here is a picture of my brother, Will, with Marley... on the way home.

Marley is getting lots of love and attention from everyone.

Marley, seen below, has a lot of healing to do as well as adjusting to his new life on three paws.

Thank you all for your kindness and support throughout all of this. It not only means a lot to me but to Will and Marcia as well. Marley gives his love too! Bless you Marley!

Marley's Surgery

Marley had his amputation this morning. The surgery went very well. I just got off the phone with my brother, Will, who is keeping me updated as to Marley's status. Marley will spend the night at the vet tonight, and Will and Marcia will bring him home tomorrow. Will has already prepared the house with ramps to help Marley in the beginning. It will be a rough few weeks ahead as they all adjust.
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Marcia had made the most special gift and gave it to Will after they dropped Marley off. It was a framed picture of Marley, the last picture taken of him with all four legs. On the other side of the picture was a paw print... the one from the leg that was going to be amputated. What a touching and beautiful gift!

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Thank you to everyone for all the well-wishes, thoughts, and prayers. It meant so much to all of my family, especially Will. It was the outpouring of support that has kept everyone strong and hopeful. I will continue to keep updating with Marley's progress. Thank you all!

Sami

Meet Sami, a bone cancer survivor. She is a 14 year old lab who is seen here just a few months after her amputation. You can also find a wonderful article about Sami by clicking here. She is truly an inspiration to us all!

For more information, visit http://tripawds.com. The website is devoted to learning about and coping with amputation, dog cancers, and life on three legs. A special thanks to Michelle, Sami's mom, for sharing Sami's story.

Miracles for Marley

There are miracles in this world and Marley is just one of them! The great news is that the bone scans do not indicate that the cancer has spread to other parts of his body! It is solely in his front paw. The tests also show that his other organs have not been affected either. Marley will have to have his front leg amputated though. This is his best treatment option. I am just grateful that it has not spread to his other bones!

It will take a little while to adjust to 3 legs, but dogs are remarkably resilient. A girl wrote to me yesterday who went through the same situation with her lab. She offered me a website devoted to 3 legged pets. www.tripawds.com It is amazing to see how well these pets adapt to life with 3 legs. This gives me much hope that Marley will be okay too.

Marley's amputation will be on Friday. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He's not out of the woods yet as this journey is just beginning. The oncologist will know more on Friday. I will keep you posted.

I just want to thank you all for your kind words of support, positive thoughts, and prayers. Marley's parents,Will and Marcia, greatly appreciate each and every one, as I do too. Bless you all.

Marley

This is Marley. He is an 8 year old chocolate lab, full of love, life, and joy. Here he is giving a piggy-back ride to my nephew, Ethan. :) What a gentle-natured soul he is! He is my brother's family dog and is loved by so many.

Yesterday, Marley was diagnosed with bone cancer. Marley had developed a small mass on one of his paws which turned out to be the unthinkable. My brother will take him to an oncologist tomorrow to determine treatment options including a possible amputation.

Marley could use some positive thoughts and prayers sent his way. Marley's family (Will & Marcia and their two children) could use some too as they face this difficult situation.

Thank you.

A New Day, A New Look

I'm one of those people who gets easily bored with monotony. Now, I am not referring to my marriage in any way... oh, that one, it's definitely a keeper! :) What I am referring to though are the simple little things around me. For example, my desktop image and screensavers get a little overhaul quite frequently. :) Upon searching for a new screensaver this morning, I ran across this awesome site and wanted to pass it along. It's completely free and works for Windows Vista users. The images are awesome!! http://www.vistawallpaper.org/ Below are some of the images that can be found on their site.

Note: I did try these desktop images on my personal computer which runs Windows XP. Unfortunately, the images were very distorted and not very clear as they are on my laptop which runs Windows Vista. Hopefully, I can find a similiar website for Windows XP. If I do, I'll definitely let you know!

~~Update~~ I did find a similiar website that has some great images for XP users! I believe even Windows ME or Windows 2000 users might even give this one a try. Here's the link... http://www.dowwallpaper.com/index.htm When I found the picture that I liked (which happened to be the "Winter Tree", I chose the Classic (4:3) version and saved it to my files. Added it with no problem. Isn't this one simply beautiful?? http://www.dowwallpaper.com/item.php?id=6724