10/10:
The vet called around 11 that she is out of surgery and all is well. They had to use a smaller cup than they anticipated but it worked fne and should be great!
10/10:
She is resting in recovery, they have taken her outside to go to the bathroom
and she is doing OK. She is a little whiney but that is normal.
10/11: The vet calls at 6:30 AM. Lucy slept through the night just fine. She is walking
on her knuckles a little bit - they call it knuckling. They suspect she may have
neuroplaxia, when the nerve is stretched during surgery. The surgeon is not very
concerned and thinls it will go away in a day or so. A neurologist will look at her later
in the afternoon. It might also be residual effects of the anesthetic. If all is well, I can
pick her up later today!
10/11 evening:
The ride home was a little tough. I really should have gone with someone else. I
couldnt see her since she was in the way back part and she was whining and licking
her incision (bad).
Anyway, we made it home, and Kevin helped her out with me. The sling CJ made is
absolutely perfect. It works great and I truly dont see how I could do it without - or use
a towel. I have to hold her leash and the sling, impossible with a towel I think you
would need 2 hands.
Anyway, she was very agitated for a while when we got in, whining and unhappy. We
put her in her cage to get Penny and her adjusted without jumping on each other.
After about 45 min, she and Penny mellowed out. We gave Lucy a little food and water
and she is starving and very thirty, but we are only supposed to give a little.
We let her out of the cage and onto the bed we have set up in front of the cage. She
has been laying there mostly since. Penny doesn't bother her, just comes around to
lick and sniff.
She has a tough time getting comfortable and every time she readjusts there is a lot of
crying. It is so hard to watch, but if i help her I make things worse.
Her insicion is bleeding a little, but the doc says thats normal.
She does have neuropraxia. She is really just dragging her right foot. I have seen her
use it one time, otherwise she drags it. That is the best reason for the sling. More so
than a normal THR, she really needs it bc she would be dragging her foot otherwise. I
lift her up when she walks so she doesn't put it on the ground as all. Seems to make it
easier for her. The vet thinks it was just some pressure on the nerve. He said it
improved since yesterday so he thinks it will get better quickly. He gave me a steroid
Dexamethazone for 2 days which he says will help. She also has an antibiotic
(cephalexin?) for a week or so.
She has gone to the bathroom several times. Peeing was pretty easy, pooping was
tough until she got the right position.
e is resting now, Kevin is watching her so she doesn't get up. More than Penny, the
cats are annoying her, running up to her and running away. Once she stood up and I
freaked out, but she is OK, I think. I have been putting an ice pack on, the vet
recommended it and she deoesnt seem to mind. Its a nice one I use for knee pain -
fleece lined so it wont be too cold.
She is not allowed to lick her staples at all, and she does want to lick them. I may
have to put the elizabethan collar on for the next 2 weeks when we are not home. That
is going to be interesting, SHe has never used one before - she didnt bother her
incision when she was spayed. How did other's dogs do with that?
Anyway, things have gotten easier in the 4 hours I have been with her. Hopefully they
will continue to do so.
10/12 morning:
Well we made it through the night although i am not sure any of us slept at all. A lot of
whining and crying and having a hard time getting comfortable. She is much better
this morning, some food and water helped. But she is still very uncomfortable and
yelps if she moves the wrong way. I spoke to the vet - he can give her some
azepromazine if the pain is too mch, i will wait and see, it is better this am. he said it
will be much better in a day or so.
He also said i can bring her there if i need to to be watched, which i am considering for
during the day next week - i just cant imagine leaving her alone with an elizabethan
collar in a cage - she will have such a hard time getting comfortable.
10/12 evening:
Lucy did pretty well today, she rested pretty well most of the day, less whining. There
has been more whining as it has gotten later. I had a scare earlier. Kevin was mowing
the lawn and Penny jumped up and ran outside. Lucy was resting on the bed on the
floor and I didn't think she was going anywhere. All of a sudden she jumped up,
jumped off the bed, out the dog door, down 2 steps and into the yard. The only saving
grace is the neuropraxia. She is not using her right leg at all, so hopefully no damage
was done. She is now on a leash attached to me, indefinately...
Hopefully I will get some sleep tonight. I am really getting anxious about leaving her
home alone, not sure how i am going to do it - leaving her in the cage with an
elizabethan collar sounds so cruel to me...I will have to make a decision tomorrow. I
could try out the collor and hopefully she wont mind it (unlikely) or just leave her
without it, and hope she doesn't lick or chew her incision - probably not the best idea
even though whenever i put her in the cage she just sleeps...
I don't know...
10/13 evening
Lucy did pretty well today. Much less whining. She is still not using her foot at all, her leg just hangs as she walks. We use the sling whenever she walks – she really needs it bc she can’t use her right leg. It works great, the fleece is really nice because it is so soft on her.
She had some times today where she couldn’t get comfortable, or she just wanted to stand – I think her left side is sore from laying on.
No interest in rawhide, she is loving bully sticks and a stuffed marrow bone. Stuffed with some kind of cheese/bacon/chicken concoction.
I left her home alone for the first time. In her cage. She did OK, I think. It was about an hour. I was so nervous the whole time, but she was fine when I came home, and it didn’t look like she bothered her incision. We just need to make it to Oct 24 and her staples can be removed. The area is swollen, but not red and irritated. The surgeon says the swelling is normal, and that is will begin migrating down her leg.
I am concerned about the neuropraxia – still no progress on the knuckling. She is not using her foot, its just dragging.
The doctor, and another person’s whose dog had it, said it may be a couple of weeks before she is using it. Its disconcerting because it is hard enough to recover from the surgery – adding nerve damage sure doesn’t help.
Kevin has volunteered to sleep with her tonight so I can get some rest. I am worried about whether he will wake up if she gets up - he is a very heavy sleeper. And I may not be able to sleep away from her, worrying about her…
