Aruba update

Hello everyone and thank you SO much for your thoughts and prayers for Aruba! So appreciated!

We were able to quickly get an appointment with an Internal Medicine veterinary specialist yesterday. She evaluated all of the many blood tests Aruba has had, examined her, and did an ultrasound. The news is a bit mixed, but is more positive than negative ... as best that she can tell, Aruba's pancreas is HEALTHY !!! It's her liver and possibly spleen that appear to have some complications, to what degree it's still uncertain. I say "as best that she can tell" because the pancreas is very difficult to see in an ultrasound, I guess it's buried behind other organs/tissue??... but she said that she and another specialist took a close look and since the tissue, fat, etc. that surrounds the pancrease is not inflamed or anything, then the pancreas itself must be fine. Apparently, if the pancreas were diseased, the surrounding area would be, too.

During the ultrasound, she noticed that Aruba's liver looks a bit abnormal, and that her spleen has a nodule in it. So, she took cell samples from both (through a tiny, fine needle) and sent them to a pathologist. Hopefully, everything is benign. {more waiting}

Apparently the organs in the digestive system --- liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines --- are all so interconnected in their function, that when one is abnormal, it can actually show up in blood tests that another organ is instead (or too). The vet admitted that it's a frustrating and challenging part of her specialty.

Overall, she said Aruba seems quite healthy, and that maybe her liver needs support with antioxidant supplements and monitoring. We'll also be watching that nodule in her spleen. We're relieved, but cautiously optimistic until the analyses of the cell samples come in....

On a lighter note, Aruba was such a trooper ... I'm sure she didn't like having her belly shaved ... and she apparently wasn't willing to lay still for the ultrasound, so they gave her a sedative. She looked adorably "stoned" afterwards! It made her more goofy than usual, LOL! She's so precious.

Enjoy the weekend,