Letter from my mommy

Dear Marvin-philes,


Thanks to many of you for your concern about Marvin. I am happy to report that it looks like he is as good as he can be, we think.

I took him to Tufts last night in the dark and rain (it was bad) to check him in for his MRI today. The doc said that after a long MRI, it looks like Marvin will not need disc surgery. The doc said that he has 3 or 4 herniated discs in his neck but none bad enough to indicate surgery. He will be on prednisone for a short time to reduce the swelling, etc. and then he should be in a lot less pain. The bad news is that the doc saw an increased mass in a nerve root that goes to his front right leg - it might be a tumor. Normally, the vets would amputate the front leg to stop the spread of the tumor to the spine, which causes paralysis. In Marvin's case, because he has neuropathy and is losing mobility in strength in his two back legs, he is not a candidate to lose the use of one more limb. If it is a tumor, it will most likely be slow growing - so he would have another year before that paralysis sets in - that is about how long he has on his back legs so a year from now should be fun. So, I have to watch for the hobbling on the front leg (which would indicate a tumor) - that will be soooo easy.

The doc said that he personally fed Marvin tonight and Marvin was a pig, so he has still got it. And, I won't have to have a bake sale every Tues, Thurs and Sat at the Y to finance the surgery - only Tues and Thurs to finance the MRI.

Love,
Mommy Moe