Sally stared at Doctor Campbell in disbelief. Standing before him as he held up the scan, she finally felt vindicated for all the pain she endured.
Her emotions were mixed. There was satisfaction, a deep love for Skye, but also resentment. Mulling over her options, Sally found herself also wondering whether to take further action against Doctor Campbell.
For 44-year-old Oregon resident Sally Mitchum, the last five years had been anything but easy. Being recently divorced, the ordeal had been a devastating blow.
Restarting her life at that age had been daunting. She knew she had to get on with her life but didn’t know where to begin. That was until someone special arrived.
Having served in the US Marine Corps, she was not a person to complain easily. However, when her marriage ended, it was a kind of pain she was unaccustomed to.
Sally had given up on love. It was an unexpected surprise when she suddenly felt love again. She was beginning to think she would never heal until Skye came along.
Sally had searched for ways to get over her marriage. She certainly had not expected that it would take this long.
Trying to find solitude in her loneliness led Sally to go for hikes in the woods. On one occasion, she was on her way back home when she heard a loud yelp of pain coming from the bushes.
The sound was pitiful. She could tell that there was a lot of suffering behind it, and it was reminiscent of her own inner feelings. Following the sounds, Sally found her way into a clearing.
As she moved aside the large thicket of a bush, the sight she fell upon broke her heart. Clearly injured and badly emaciated, she saw that it was a puppy.
The tiny Siberian Husky was beautiful. It had black fur with white streaks and the most beautiful, deep blue eyes Sally had ever seen.
Sally was stunned that it had survived all alone in the dead of winter. Picking it up and using her jacket as a blanket, Sally rushed off to the nearest vet.
Thankfully, after assessing the pup, she was deemed healthy aside from a sprained paw. Sally had decided to adopt the little guy the moment she saw him.
Over the weeks, the transformation was remarkable. Skye thrived and grew quickly. The pair soon formed an unbreakable bond, but Sally did not know how special Skye truly was.
Skye was a typical Husky. She loved to play and was full of energy. He also loved to explore and forage, and Sally realized that was probably how she had gotten himself lost in the woods.
Skye was fond of rushing off when her nose detected something on their hikes together. Sally soon noticed that there was something unique about her.
When Skye began foraging in the woods and digging up wild truffles, Sally knew she was no ordinary dog. Unfortunately, without training, Skye usually ended up eating or destroying the rare fungi.
Sally didn’t mind. Skye brought a kind of joy to Sally’s life that she hadn’t expected to feel again, but her happiness was once again short-lived.
One day Sally felt an intense pain in her stomach. Over the next few weeks, she found herself in and out of treatment rooms. The pain grew worse, but her doctor kept dismissing it as “acute.”
Sally was shocked when Doctor Campbell eventually began insinuating that she might be a “hypochondriac.” She knew the pain was real, and it was getting worse.
Her only comfort through this horrid period was Skye. The loyal dog never left her side. She intuitively supported Sally by resting her chin on her stomach and intently sniffing her belly.
Sally grew weaker and more frustrated with her doctor as his “tests” kept coming back negative, and he began suggesting she seek “psychiatric help.”
Sally noticed that Skye always sniffed her belly at a specific spot. Oddly, it wasn’t the spot where she felt pain. As the sniffing grew more frenzied, Sally’s own instincts kicked in.
She asked for more scans but requested her doctor to focus on the spot Skye kept sniffing. Doctor Campbell was amazed when it revealed a golfball-sized tumor that could be seen now.
Glad to finally have proof that she wasn’t “imagining the pain,” Sally began treatment. She had lost a lot of time which angered her.
The tumor was pressing down on her bowel, which was why the pain was in a different spot. It had started to spread, and now it was a question of whether it could still be operated.
Despite being a tricky surgery, the tumor was successfully removed. Sally decided not to hold Doctor Campbell responsible for misdiagnosing her. It was no indictment of his expertise. Skye was just a special dog.
After many months, Sally made a full recovery. The pair eventually moved to a new house but, one day, to her horror, Skye began sniffing her belly again.
This time, Sally did not hesitate and immediately got a scan in the exact spot that Skye had been sniffing. Once again, she caught the danger before doctors.
The second tumor turned out to be benign. For many survivors, early detection of recurrence is a constant worry. With Skye at her side, Sally fortunately never had to live in fear again.
