I don't know if I blogged about it before or not, but the very first day we were in Champaign, we met a couple from Peoria in the waiting room. They were there with their dog Sammy. He was a beautiful golden. We noticed that his back leg was shaved. His mom started crying as she told us that Sammy had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and that he would need to have his leg amputated. Even with that and chemo, they might only get a year with him. Lucas and I even discussed at lunch that day how sad we were for them and awful that would be. We felt grateful and lucky that we were just there for a orthopedic consultation. Anyway, as we were talking to them, they said something about Sammy's brother Sosa. We realized then that we'd actually met them before! Lakeview pool used to have the Pooch Plunge on the last day of the season. We met Sammy and Sosa there a few years ago. They were fantastic swimmers and just loved the water. Our beautiful golden, on the other hand, was not fond of the water at all. Sosa had to go fetch her ball from the other side of the pool when she wouldn't go in after it. :) We remembered them mainly because of their names (they're obviously also Cubs fans). Anyway, weeks later, Brooke pointed out an article in the Pekin newspaper about Sammy and Sosa and their deep bond to one another. The article was written by Sosa's mom, Amy, who's an editor at the paper. Her parents are the ones we met in Champaign, Sammy's parents. :) I ended up emailing her just to tell her how much I enjoyed the story and how we'd met her parents and Sammy. I'd wondered how Sammy's surgery had gone and was grateful for an update on him. Well, we've emailed back and forth since then, keeping each other updated on the "kids". (I'm happy to report that Sammy's enjoying several weeks in Florida and is finishing up chemo. They're starting him on an alternative drug protocol as soon as he's done). Amy's kept me updated on new/experimental things to try. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to sustain Emma's remission long enough to try anything like that. But I hope it works for Sammy! It's been nice talking to someone who understands the bond we have with Emma. I know that most people don't. Almost all of our friends have been so supportive though, even if they probably think we're crazy. :) Long story short - Amy and I have exchanged pics of the "kids" a couple of times. She emailed me this week to see if she could run Emma's picture in the paper. They were having a segment on pets. So here she is. :) Emma's famous.
2 years ago
That is really cool! :-) Yay Emma!
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