Wednesday, January 16, 2008
My name is Doug Haberstroh, and this is the story of my wife Keri, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 at the age of 25. Stay with me on this one SharePost; Keri introduces a lot in this e-mail to all our friends and loved ones. She begins with how we had to give up ...
Hi,
I just saw your story as I was researching side effects of Oxycontin.
My name is Sarah, and I am going through cancer treatment for a sarcoma.(sept/08)
I am faced with a very difficult decision as I have two sled dogs, whom I think I need to give to someone who can give them the training and exercise that I can't. I had to move from Nunavut, Canada to the Ottawa, Ontario in order to have surgery, and my dogs are not transitioning very well here. They have been raised as sled dogs - living in an arctic climate, and running long distances in the wilderness.
I am having an extremely tough time making this decision- i feel so heartbroken, and
wondered if you had some advice or perspective. My greatest fear is getting better, and then regretting the decision. I have had them for 3 years. I know that I am stressed about this, and that itself is not good for my health.....Help !
Thanks so much,
Sarah
Sarah,
Having to let go of your dogs is painful. If we could have we would have given our dog, Duke, to a friend to maybe one day get him back after all the treatments were done, but as our course took us there would have been no way for me to ever be able to get Duke back. I guess my suggestion would be to see if a friend may be able to dogsit for a while while you take the time to take care of yourself, which is first and farmost the most important thing. I know how much dogs can mean to one's life and they are great healing tools too. If you can keep the dogs I would, they offer great support during this time, but if you find yourself in the situation we found ourselves we just couldn't give the dog enough of our time and we thought it better to give him up to another family that could. It was hard, but there's always another dog out there that will need a family as soon as you get better and can move onto that phase of life again.
My prayers and thoughts are with you and I only wish you the best, God Bless.
Cheers,
Doug
Thanks so much for taking the time to write, and so promptly.
I really appreciate that. I may be able to arrange something with
another musher, and will try to follow that up. I want to ensure that
they get the exercise that they need, and don't want to burn out my
partner who will have extra responsibiities.
It is a tough decision indeed, because they can also be a great
stress release. Thanks again for your kind support.
Please give my best to your partner, and I hope that
all good things come to you both.
Sarah