Wednesday, October 3, 2012
What a day...
Yesterday was a whirlwind...actually since last Thursday has been a whirlwind...
I'll start at the beginning. 4 years ago I found a husky pup for my husband [then boyfriend] for Christmas. My justification? I needed to see how he would be with kids one day...needed to see that he would get up in the middle of the night and had the compassion and love for something as much as me and his family...responsibility for another living thing.
Obviously he passed with flying colors and we have an amazing, well mannered, sweet and loving pup to show for it.
Last Christmas we noticed something with our pooch, Diogi, was off...he was favoring his leg and had slowed down a lot. We originally thought it was hip dysplaysia so we took him to the vet in Virginia [a vet J's family has been using for a very long time] and had tests and x-rays done. He is fine, they told us...hips and lower back could not look better, he's a husky....a breed known for being "wimps". So, their advice? Let him rest and take it easy, there is nothing you can do. And we trusted them.
More recently he has been in a lot of pain, we knew he wasn't faking it but the vet said he was okay....so last week after Diogi stopped being able to climb the stairs for bed at night we went for a second opinion, to a vet I have used here in NC with our fosters and rescue pups.
After a lot of wiggling, poking and prodding they said they thought it was probably early onset arthritis but they wanted to take new films of his hips and this time check his knees too, since they were making weird popping and grinding noises.
When I went to pick him up later Thursday afternoon I was shocked to learn that just like the other Dr., this vet was saying his hips looked amazing...but his knees? Not arthritis like they thought. Like a human, a dog's knee is held together in place by ligaments. In the dogs case, the slope of the bottom bone [his tibia] is at a 30 degree angle [a human's at 5 degrees]. There are 2 ligaments which cross inside the joint...this is called the cruciate ligament, [cruciate, like cross, because they cross over each other].
What they thought was arthritis was not. The pain, atrophy and swelling was from the tearing of the cruciate ligament in not just one, but both of his knees.
The popping and grinding? Well that was apparently his bones rubbing together against where new bone was growing, an attempt his body was making to repair his injuries. How could he have blown both knees, you ask? Well, they said his left [the worse of the two] probably happened first when he was playing with his sister and cousins. Dogs often injure the cruciate ligament when running and have a misstep of some kind-uneven ground and all of that. Then, they said, it is only a matter of time before the second knee gives way. See, when they are over compensating for the lack of function in one knee, it puts added stress on the other knee. It is inevitable.
So, after all of that, J & I spent an evening going through our options and really taking the time to discuss what needed to be done....but knowing it needed to be a quick decision. The next morning, I made an appointment in Hickory, NC with an AMAZING ortho specialist. We went Monday morning and were there all day going through the X-rays, surgery options and pricing. Dr. Born was awesome, she sat on the floor with him and talked to him when she could tell he was scared and nervous. She made sure she answered all of our questions and printed off plenty of information so we could go back to our families and be prepared to answer questions. We decided, after speaking with J's parents, we would leave Diogi that day for surgery.
Monday was our 1 year wedding anniversary....what a way to spend it. We woke up and laid in bed sharing stories from a year ago at that moment. What he and his brothers and best friend were doing...how they were supporting him and embracing him...and the same with my family and friends.
Looking back though, I'm not sure I would change anything. This instance like so many others that arise in your life brings out stress...stress is the truest of tellers of a person's worst characteristics.
In our case? It strengthens what J and I already have....the truest of love, respect, and support for each other. I know I say it all the time, but J is my best friend...if I can't talk to him...I can't talk to anyone.
So as we were leaving the Vet's we decided {since I forgot to get our top tier of cake from my parent's in Va} we would pop by Dairy Queen because...let's be honest...who doesn't like an ice cream cake??
Well fate was not on our side. They didn't have any cakes, so we settled for a dipped cone for me and a pumpkin blizzard for him. We went home and sat on pins and needles waiting for the call that he was out of surgery and in recovery. 2 Lifetime moves and a trip to pizza hut later...{what can I say...we're romantics}we finally got THE call.
Dr. Born said he did phenomenally and that she would call on Tuesday to let us know if he could come home or if he needed to stay until today.
After being in meetings all morning, I got the call. You can come get him and take him home...
I won't even get into getting there...{borrowed a friends Minivan, forgot my house key, wasn't prepared}I get there and Dr. Born goes over everything, guys it was so much information...
Then I sat in an exam room to wait for him. I could hear them out in the hall talking to him and telling him what a good boy he was and he was quiet as a mouse...until they opened the door and he saw me.
Then it was game.over. He cried at caterwalled so loudly {it's my fault for coddling him when he was a puppy} I ended up having to ignore him...even with his head shoved in my lap crying like a big 'ol baby.
Once we got to the lobby and they were finishing all our paperwork up, the nurses had him and were helping me get him in the car {can't really lift a 75lb dog while pregnant} he decided he really had to pee....and not just a little bit. It was like niagra falls and the nile all at once. And all I could do was just watch him pee all over their lobby as the girls laughed and said "welp, guess he really did have to go". Apparently it was raining that morning and he just refused to go out.
But the just of it is...he got home and is now lounging comfortably in our mudroom with 2 extra large dog beds, food, water and his toy pheasant...which he loves.
After doing the outside routine 4 times or so we aren't even using the sheet under his hips, only the leash and walk/hopping very slowly on the 5 rubber shower slip mats lining our kitchen from the mudroom to the back door.
I'll keep everyone up to date on his progress but needless to say I have been a little preoccupied with that and prepping for the craft festival in like...2 days! Ahk!
26 Week post coming soon...I PROMISE!!!
Then I sat in an exam room to wait for him. I could hear them out in the hall talking to him and telling him what a good boy he was and he was quiet as a mouse...until they opened the door and he saw me.
Then it was game.over. He cried at caterwalled so loudly {it's my fault for coddling him when he was a puppy} I ended up having to ignore him...even with his head shoved in my lap crying like a big 'ol baby.
Once we got to the lobby and they were finishing all our paperwork up, the nurses had him and were helping me get him in the car {can't really lift a 75lb dog while pregnant} he decided he really had to pee....and not just a little bit. It was like niagra falls and the nile all at once. And all I could do was just watch him pee all over their lobby as the girls laughed and said "welp, guess he really did have to go". Apparently it was raining that morning and he just refused to go out.
But the just of it is...he got home and is now lounging comfortably in our mudroom with 2 extra large dog beds, food, water and his toy pheasant...which he loves.
After doing the outside routine 4 times or so we aren't even using the sheet under his hips, only the leash and walk/hopping very slowly on the 5 rubber shower slip mats lining our kitchen from the mudroom to the back door.
I'll keep everyone up to date on his progress but needless to say I have been a little preoccupied with that and prepping for the craft festival in like...2 days! Ahk!
26 Week post coming soon...I PROMISE!!!
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