dr. starr
throughout sullivan’s journey we were referred (by many!) to dr. suzy starr of paws in motion (natick, ma) for water-based therapy treatment.
we brought murphy to enjoy dr. starr’s heated, indoor pool for recreational swim to keep his hind, arthritic limbs working the best they can.
on the phone when booking murphy’s appointment, dr. starr asked us to bring sullivan in for an assessment. she gave sully two treatments in the water treadmill in an effort to strengthen his lame front leg; but when no improvement was made she gave us an unorthodox offer.
dr. starr’s husband, dr. david knapp, is a former orthopedic surgeon at angell. she invited us to her home on a friday evening for her husband to take a quick look at sullivan and make a few recommendations.
in less than ten minutes, dr. knapp stated that sullivan likely had a nerve sheath tumor in his brachial plexus. apparently nerve-based tumors are very difficult to diagnose and often do not appear on diagnostics; hence the ongoing testing result ambiguity. given the severity of the diminished muscle mass/lameness and the nature of nerve sheath tumors, dr. knapp said that sully would need to have his front left leg amputated.
he genuinely and warmly assured us that this procedure was in sullivan’s best interests, confirmed that his other three legs were strong and able to bear additional weight, said that sully would come out of the operation happier and stronger than ever before and could live a wonderful, healthy life for many years to come.
both suzy and david projected a speedy recovery for sullivan. unlike dogs who have tragically been hit by cars, or developed a quick onset of bone cancer; sullivan was forced to train and condition his body to walk on three legs since the initial onset of lameness on july 31. though four-legged, sully dragged his lame leg and simply used the toenails on his paw to help with balance from time to time. because of this, sully’s three legs became very strong and it was proven he could get around and navigate with three legs.
our path did not cross suzy’s by accident. suzy has provided us much needed sound reason, a medical mind and a warm heart. not many people go out of their way to help others, and her countless acts of generosity toward us to benefit our sully are so appreciated.
