Update
Well, I met another person who has seen this blog, so I had better do something about adding a new picture. Here is Bella just the other weekend. We took a trip to Homochitto National Forest with some friends for some camping. Here is Bella after taking a swim and rolling around in the
sand.Many people say they can't tell how wobbly she is. And it is hard to believe she's 13. I can see all her new gray hair though. Most of it happened after the surgery. Plus she is very tippy after laying down for a while. All in all, I'd say she's made a full recovery.
The next step will be to add a ramp to our bed, and a ramp to the three steps to the house. She's still fearless and will run down the steps if she wants to, before you can get a hold of her. Usually she waits to be carried, or she will stop if you say "Wait, I've got you!" She always waits to be carried up the steps, but that is just because her legs aren't as strong and able to pull her body up as they used to. Believe me, she would totally run right up them too if she could.Thank you to everyone who has read and responded with caring words to this blog. I sincerely hope it will help those of you going through something like this. Please contact me if you are going through this, and would like to talk about it.
Love, Amy
posted by feedingthebobbin @ 7:10 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I read your recovery blog, great story, made me tear up a bit. My little dachsi, Jerry, had a bad afternoon at a friends house with his 'girlfriend' and jumped from the deck too many times without us around to stop him.
Well, he ruptured a disc and lost almost all feeling in his hind legs, bladder and bms. The Vet told us he may never walk again, maybe a 15% chance... it was only 24 hours ago when he was running around outside and chasing squirrels! This was one of the saddest days of my life. The Vet left the room and gave us time to cry together. We were almost coming to acceptance that he may need a wheelchair when the Vet came back in the room and said... "There may be one option left for Jerry." She explained we could drive 200miles to North Carolina State Veterinary School emergency room and they would do whatever they could, at any hour of the night. Without hesitation we asked for directions.
We left the Vet and drove 4 hours to the university hospital. We arrived at near midnight and they were waiting for us.
Jerry stayed there for 5 long days and nights. We picked him up 4 days ago. He's going through the recovery now. He's got good function of his bladders now, and knows when he needs to go out. We also know his "I need to go out!" signs :)
How was the physical therapy with Bella? We were told to flex Jerry's legs and stretch them 3x a day. He probably gets more than that though.
Thanks again for the log of events.
This blog has given us total encouragement. 2 weeks ago we heard a squeal from our 3 yr old beautiful standard longhaired Leizel. She was in her room, all by herself so we did not know what happened. (FYI, this is our 4th doxie so we are educated owners. We have doggie stairs and rampus all over our house to detour the jumping but a doxie will do what they want!) We all ran to find out and did not see anything unusual. She is kind of a princess and seemed to be moving fine so we did not think too much about it. Well by that night she could not move her legs. We took her to the Vet who did not give a good prognosis. The options were wait and see or go to the neurologist. As soon as I could get her in, I took her to see the specialist who wasted no time in saying surgery was the only option with only a 50/50 chance of success. It is now 10 days since the surgery. At first, she appeared worse than when we started. I went to her day 7 check-up when the Vet said it was not looking good. They did a second CT Scan to confirm they got all of the rupture. That looked good, but Leizel could not feel her feet. This was a very sad day for me. After reading your blog, I realized there was still hope. My husband and I have been massaging, exercising and praying for her recovery. I took her in yesterday to check on her catheter and the vet thought she definitely had some feeling coming back in one of her legs. While she cannot stand, it is a glimer of hope for us. Thank you for the great story and encouragement.
Hello, I have a dachunds that looks exactly like yours- only mine is a boy. I can't bring myself to read your blog because from the picture at the top I can tell that our dogs have been through the same operation. Having my dog go through that was one of the hardest things I have ever been through in my life. I pray your dog is well. Please know that mine recovered 100% and has been alive for over five years past that operation now. Happy and healthy the whole time!! Good luck to you!
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