On Her Way

Yesterday was our dachshund Li'l Girl's four week follow-up after her right-sided hemilaminectomy.  She had nothing but growls for the surgeon, but he had nothing but nice words for her.  In other words, she had a great check-up.  He watched her walk outside, where she also showed off her peeing and pooping skills.  In preparation for a possible scan, she had nothing to eat or drink for 12 hours prior to the appointment.  However, because her mobility and neurological status seemed to be almost-perfect, he said there was no need for a scan.   
She has been in confinement in a small pen my husband built for these past four weeks following her surgery, only coming out for potty breaks.  The surgeon said we can now start slowly reintroducing her to her regular routine over the next two weeks.  I'm certainly nervous about this and am going to make sure it is indeed a slow process.  We still have some preparation to do, such as buying or building some ramps so that she (and her best pal LittleBear, our other dachshund) can get on and off the sofa without jumping.
The surgeon also gave us a brochure regarding laser disc ablation, a procedure that is performed on dogs with IVDD to theoretically reduce the risk for other discs rupturing in the future.  I have mentioned it in a previous post.  My husband and I will be discussing it in depth, including the cost involved, before we make any decisions.  Right now we are just focused on getting her fully healed and recovered from her hemilaminectomy.
Yesterday was incidentally also my birthday, and while I have not been physically feeling so well lately, Li'l Girl's great check-up made my birthday a good one anyway.  We are so happy with her progress and our goal is to make sure her recovery keeps going just as smoothly as it has been.  She is past the initial phase, but the spinal cord takes months to heal, as does the vertebral bone in which the window was made during her surgery.  I look at her like she's made of glass, like any twist or overly-enthusiastic turn is going to break her.  We have to be very careful for the rest of her life, but at the same time I have to learn to let her enjoy herself again.  Slowly but surely, she is on her way back to chasing squirrels. 

Making Mama Nervous

We are now 23 days out from our dachshund Li'l Girl's hemilaminectomy, and I just thought I'd post an update even though not much has changed since my last post. 
Now that she's been completely off any pain meds for a while and is returning to her pre-surgery energy levels, she is getting more and more bored with being in her recovery pen.  When we take her out for potty breaks, she is her twisty, wiggly little self and that, of course, makes me nervous.  She's so full of pent-up energy that she also wants to run, which is something else she's not supposed to be doing.  It's difficult to manage how active she is outside the pen, even on a leash.  It has been unseasonably warm lately, so when we get outside, she wants to stay out there a while to explore.  Sometimes we have to lure her back in with a small treat.  I'm starting to wonder if we should put her on a mild sedative - not anything to "knock her out", so to speak, just something to make her a little more... well... sedate.
Other than making me nervous, thus far her energetic antics haven't hampered her recovery.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, her walking is almost normal, with just a few stumbles/sways here and there.  She takes care of all of her "business" perfectly, with just slight variations in body posture from the way she used to do it.  Her sensation is very good, as evidenced by her noticing when a tiny winged insect landed on her rear end while we were outside a couple of days ago.  As soon as it landed, she quickly turned her head around to see what was touching her.  Her incision looks good, as you can see by the photos below. 
She is now whining to go outside, so I better attend to that.  Truthfully, she probably just wants to go outside, but I never take the risk of her needing to go and not going.

Six days after suture removal.

Chew sticks help keep me sane.

Ten days after suture removal.

No More Frankendog

Yesterday, 13 days after our dachshund Li'l Girl's hemilaminectomy, we took her to get her staples removed.  Last time she was in the travel carrier, she was left to go through a major surgery and a traumatic stay at the vet.  So being in it again brought on a lot of fear and stress, and she fretted the whole way there, even with my husband sitting in the seat next to her trying to offer comfort.   
It was a Saturday, so a tech removed the staples and we didn't get to visit with the surgeon.  She said the incision looked great - that it looked exactly the way it should look.  After reminding us to make our four week follow-up appointment with the surgeon on our way out, she set us free.  Li'l Girl was obviously very relieved when she realized she was coming back home with us.  She was quiet and even slept a little during the ride home, only fretting a little each time we stopped.
Back at home and in her recovery pen, we quickly gave her a chew stick to help soothe what was left of her worries.  She went right to work on it and laid down for a nap promptly after.
Her movement progress is still going well.  Potty breaks are all good, with her taking care of business all on her own.  Walking is good too... she stumbles a little sometimes and very occasionally falls over as her back legs give way to some weakness, but her gait isn't very wobbly anymore and more often than not, we are having to make her slow down on the way outside.  Sometimes she likes to take a slow stroll around the yard to investigate, just as she would before.  She needs to rest in order for her spinal cord to heal, but she also needs these short periods of controlled exercise to keep her nerves stimulated and help prevent muscle wasting. 
All in all, everything is going as well as we could hope for and we pray that her recovery continues forward without a hitch.  She is due to have her four week recheck on February 8th, at which time she will undergo another scan to monitor her healing and to see if she's a candidate for laser disc ablation.  Laser disc ablation is a prophylactic procedure to help prevent future disc herniations by potentially reducing the amount of disc material left to herniate.  It is a somewhat controversial procedure because not all clinicians agree that prophylactic surgical measures, whether traditional fenestration or laser disc ablation, are beneficial.  It will obviously be something that my husband and I discuss at length, weighing all the potential risks and benefits, before making any decisions.  For now, we are just focused on taking one day at a time in her recovery and trying to enjoy the progress she has made so far.  

Here is my back after my staples were removed.

 

Back home and cozy with my staples out.

No Early Parole

We are now nine days out from our dachshund Li'l Girl's hemilaminectomy.  Everything is still going wonderfully.  Potty breaks are still good, and her back legs seems to be getting less and less wobbly when walking.  She is definitely not 100% her old self, but her strength is coming back nicely.
While she seems to be getting more and more used to being in jail (in her recovery pen), I think she is also hoping for an early parole, which isn't going to happen.  I know she gets bored in there, and is ready for the freedom she used to have.  I think the hardest part for her is seeing our other dachshund LittleBear out and around the house, doing as he pleases.  Of course there's no way for her to understand why she has to be in there and he doesn't.  She listens intently as I explain it to her, but I know it's all coming through as jibberish.
As we are making steady progress, I probably won't post again unless/until there are any significant changes.  She is due to get her sutures out in 4-6 days, so I will likely update again after that.

Yes, I'm really this cute.

Toys are serious business.

If I give you the sad eyes, will you let me out?

   

Stir Crazy

Our dachshund Li'l Girl is now six days out from her hemilaminectomy to repair her ruptured disc and all is still going well.  Potty breaks are still perfect - on schedule with all business being done outside.  Walking is still a little wobbly and stumbly, but still strong.
She has to be in her little enclosure 24 hours a day, only out to use the restroom, and the cabin fever is really setting in.  She gets very(!) excited when my husband gets home from work every day, and we have to make sure she doesn't get too rambunctious in there.  Well, yesterday, since she was so excited, my husband thought he might let her out (leash-free) for a few minutes to sit and cuddle with him.  I was against this idea, knowing she was just too excited to be still, but the process was already in motion by the time I could open my mouth.  With no leash on to prevent her from going anywhere, she bolted down the hallway to the living room as soon as he opened her enclosure.  We ran after her and caught the little bundle of wiggly, squirmy excitement.  I nearly had a stroke.  Why, you might question.  Surely tearing down the hallway couldn't be that big of a deal.  It may not seem like a big deal, but the simple act of running puts too much stress on her healing spinal cord and discs, possibly causing re-injury; and we could be back to square one or worse.  I can't lie, I was very angry.  Her recovery has been going amazingly well, and now it could all be blown on this one careless event.  I spend all day, every day making sure to be meticulously careful with her movement and activity level, and I felt like he just came home and set her free.  I know that he didn't mean for her to bolt the way she did, but it was everything I could do not to scream at him, "What did you THINK was going to happen?!?!"
I have just been so stressed with all of this happening in the first place, and then so stressed about any little thing causing a setback (or even reversal) in her recovery that being calm, collected, and rational can go right out the window.  I was exploding inside, but I held it in.  I wasn't truly angry at him... I knew in my heart that he was only trying to spend some close time with his Li'l Girl.  The fear of wrecking her recovery was where the rage was coming from... I had to bring the fear down to bring the rage down.  It was time to make dinner and I used my time in the kitchen to collect myself and regain my composure.  I needed to refocus and accept that we can't control everything.  We can only do our absolute best and deal with circumstances, positive and negative, as they arise... stop fearing that the bridge is going to crumble beneath us when we're not even standing on it yet.  IVDD is a lifelong condition, and there is no way to know how smooth or bumpy the road ahead of us will be, but we'll adapt as we go.  
I managed to calm down and the rest of the night was uneventful.  This morning has been good, with her even waking us up before 7 to go outside.  She seems the same as usual, not in any more discomfort or having any harder of a time moving around, so hopefully last night's short blast of freedom won't prove to have any ill effects and her progress will continue forward on track.

Is that Daddy I hear??

Let me outta here -  I know Daddy's home!

Yay for Two!

We are now five days out from our dachshund Li'l Girl's hemilaminectomy.  Everything is still the same or progressing.  She is still urinating and having bowel movements on her own, all outside - not a single accident inside.  Yesterday was her first day to have two bowel movements in one day, which is what is normal for her; and she's already had another earlier this morning.  I never thought that seeing one of my dogs (or any dog, for that matter) pooping would make me so happy, but you don't realize how much that task gets taken for granted until they might not be able to do it on their own anymore.
When we take her outside for her potty trips, her walking is wobbly and fumbly, but there seems to be very little weakness.  We actually have to make her slow down because she wants to go, go, go.  I know she finds it depressing to get right back in her pen after going outside.  I hate that I can't explain to her why she needs to be in there, but I know it would break her heart to hear that she still has quite a few weeks of restricted activity ahead of her.  But she, and most importantly her spine, need the rest.  
While I was tending to her earlier, our other dachshund LittleBear got sick in the other room.  Poor baby.  If he doesn't have a snack in the mornings, his stomach gets too acid-y and he throws up.  We know this is the problem, because he never gets sick as long as he has his morning snack.  I've thought about putting him on an acid reducer, but dogs have their amazingly strong stomach acid for a reason.  It's what keeps them from getting sick when they decide to eat random nasty things outside, rotting earthworms being one example in his case.  Those have a very particular stench and are a favorite for him to roll in or chomp down... or both.  Of course, us humans would prefer our dogs not roll in or eat dead things, but they are dogs and you can't stop all their doggy behavior.  Anyway, the vomit he gets from having an empty stomach too long is always nothing but yellow and would make for great carpet stains if it weren't for products like Nature's Miracle and Kids 'n' Pets.  Seriously, they are lifesavers.  Urine, feces, vomit... you name it, they take care of it.  I know I sound like an advertisement, but honestly, I am truly thankful for these products.  We always keep at least one of the two on hand.
Anyway, they've had their snacks and medicine, and the vomit has been cleaned up.  They are napping and all is well for the moment.

LittleBear is keeping me company as I try to get in the sunny spot.

All this resting is exhausting.

Still on Track

Today is four days out from our dachshund Li'l Girl's hemilaminectomy.  This morning has been good so far, except for the fact that it snowed last night.  Fortunately, there isn't too much on the ground, so she isn't afraid to go out there for her business.  We had a #1 around 7 this morning, then a #1 and #2 around 10.  The fact that she seems to have full bladder and bowel control is just amazing.  She only comes out of her small pen to use the restroom, so this is when we get to observe her walking, and her walk seems to be getting stronger and less wobbly.
Part of me is jumping for joy and part of me is saying, "Now, now, don't get too excited... you'll just be more upset if she has a setback."  We're so proud of her progress, but it's really hard to let myself be happy as I'd like to be about it.  Remaining guarded is my mechanism for dealing with bad news... I live my life in "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst" mode.  I tend not to express much joy at any triumph in life, because I always feel that tragedy may be just around the corner.  It's a terrible way to live that I wouldn't wish on anyone.  I didn't choose to be this way - it's just something that has always been.  Perhaps with more time, I'll be able to more easily cherish every little victory, regardless of what comes after.
She is napping right now.  I love when she naps, because I know for at least that brief time, she is not in pain or feeling anxious about anything.  She seems to be getting a little more used to being in her pen all the time... maybe feeling less like she's in jail for something she did wrong and more like it's good to have a safe, secure place to be while she's vulnerable.
I need to get some more chores done, so the house doesn't fall down around us while we deal with this.  Signing off for now.

I'm feeling a little better.

I like to feel cozy.

Moving Along

Our dachshund Li'l Girl is just about 72 hours out from her hemilaminectomy on 01/08/12 as I write this.  Potty trips are getting better.  No accidents inside since yesterday morning.  She's had a number of successful #1s and two successful #2s outside, one yesterday afternoon and one this morning.  Her back legs are wobbly and unsure, but we know this is normal.  It takes quite a while for the spinal cord to recover from being compressed by the extruded disc material.  She is actually doing very well for this timeframe and we're thrilled with her progress so far.
She is and will have to be in a limited enclosure to restrict her activity for six weeks while she heals, only coming out to use the restroom.  She had a regular wire crate, but we decided it just wasn't meeting her or our needs.  Getting her in and out of it was more physically stressful on her than we wanted it to be.  We considered an exercise pen (usually just called an ex-pen, for short), but my husband decided he could put together something just as good and cheaper too.  He bought three baby gates for $10 a piece at Wal-Mart and connected them together to form a rectangular pen.  Two whole gates make up the two longer sides, and he took one apart to make up the two shorter sides.  It works perfectly and is much less stressful to get her in and out of.  Because it's so lightweight, we can just lift up one side to let her out.  We have a mattress in there (a crate pad), covered by piddle pads in case of accidents, then covered by a fleece blanket (which can be changed out with other things and washed as needed), and usually another small blanket or soft towel to cover her up with.  She also has a water bowl in there and a couple of her toys for comfort, even though she's not ready to chew them/play with them yet.  I will post a photo of it soon.
She is acting pretty sad to be in the pen this morning, though... she keeps whining off and on and just acting defeated.  We know she's as ready to get back to regular life as we are, probably moreso.  I feel more than awful that she has to go through all of this - she certainly doesn't deserve it - but I'm glad that we are able to take care of her.  I have cried and cried and cried, thinking about complications and worst case scenarios, but I've finally pushed myself to realize that I need to be strong for her.  For other dogparents, I know you can commiserate.  For people who think it's strange to talk this way about a dog, imagine if your child was diagnosed with a spinal disease, had to have spinal surgery, with possible complications including infection, worsening of their condition, recurrence of the original problem, lower body paralysis, or even death.  Death related to IVDD is rare, but there is a problem that can develop that is so bad that I don't even like to say the word out loud or even in writing, feeling like I may give power to it somehow.  It starts with an M and you can find it on the Dodgerslist site under Recommended Readings.  My point is... our dogs are our children and every good thing in their lives brings us the same happiness as human children do for others.  Just the same, every bad thing in their lives brings us just the same sadness, worry, and sleepless nights.  I pray for/about them just as much as I pray for/about anything else.  I have experienced quite a bit of tragedy and hardship in my life, but God has always been good to get me through it all.  He will get us through this too.  I pray daily for her recovery, and to give us the strength to manage it all along with all of our other usual daily life demands and stresses.  We have to take it one day at a time, and save for her sadness about being in the pen, today is (so far) a good day because she is making steady progress.   
Signing off for now...

Sleeping in the new enclosure - don't have pad to fit it yet, but that's coming.

 

 

Closer shot of me in the new enclosure.

Back Home

We picked up our dachshund Li'l Girl from the vet last night.  She had a right-sided hemilaminectomy in the T13-L1 area of her spine.  Her surgery was only Sunday morning, and we weren't terribly comfortable with picking her up only one day after, but she had met all her milestones for being discharged.  Unfortunately, since it was in the evening, the surgeon wasn't there for us to ask specific questions.  The ER staff couldn't do much but give us her discharge paperwork.  To be fair, they were very busy.  But at the same time, we were a bit upset about it.  This wasn't a minor surgery, after all.  We were sent home with Rimadyl (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) and Tramadol (narcotic-like pain reliever), both to be given every 12 hours.  The discharge instructions left a lot to be desired.  I am so thankful for sites like Dodgerslist and others, which offer an abundance of information and resources regarding all things IVDD.
Anyway, needless to say, it was a stressful time after we got home.  As soon as we got here, we figured out that she had urinated in the traveling carrier.  We had a thick pillow in there for her and she soaked right through it and left plenty in the carrier itself.  There was so much - it made me wonder when the poor baby had gone last.  We tried later to get her to urinate outside, but she was too cold, scared, anxious, and likely painful to get anything done.  We brought her in and let her be out on the floor with us for a bit before moving her into her crate.  We tried getting her to urinate outside one more time before bed and nada.  However, after moving her crate to the bedroom and wishing her goodnight one last time, she started licking at one of her back feet.  We felt back there, and sure enough, she had urinated in the crate.  Poor baby.  Clean up.  New bedding.  Back in the crate.  Sleep.  A little.
On to Tuesday morning (this morning).  7 am... actually get her to urinate outside.  We create a little makeshift enclosure for her using a baby gate.  This will be easier to get her into and out of when she has accidents, which she did later.  She had been laying on her little mattress and she kept acting uncomfortable, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong at first.  Thought she was just experiencing pain waiting for her morning meds to take effect.  Finally it hits me, and I feel underneath her.  All wet.  Sigh, poor baby.  She had just gone while laying there.  Move her off, clean up, new bedding, put her back.  She still seems uncomfortable, so I'm thinking maybe she needs to have a BM.  This had already been a concern - whether she would be able to do it on her own or not, and when that would happen.  I decide to see if she needs to and can, and take her outside.  Let it be known that carrying her terrifies me - I am SO afraid of hurting her.  I get her sat down on the grass and watch her.  I see her little body folding a little and what do you know... she is pooping!  Never been that excited about poop before, but this is something that they are sometimes unable to do for a number of days after surgery.  I am thrilled that she is doing it on her own.  Get her back inside and she still just won't be settled.  I know she is in misery, but I can tell there's something else and it doesn't take too long to figure it out.  She just isn't happy in the corner we set her up in.  I attempt moving her to the window where her and our other dachshund always nap in between watching out the window.  The problem is... he is laying in one of the dog beds that we usually keep there and she wants in it.  I can't have that... she needs to stay on her little flat mattress.  Sigh... move her again.  Fortunately, this little mattress has a relatively slick bottom, so I can pull it around with her on it.  The compromise ends up being under my husband's desk that is pretty close to that window.  She isn't facing out the window, but at least she's now facing me and she knows she's closer to her brother (he's not really her blood brother, but of course we call them brother and sister).  She's finally laying down again.
I didn't include earlier that we went through a couple hours of freaking me out.  Shaking, heating up, panting, cooling down, repeat the process.  She always has a water bowl, so it wasn't that she was just thirsty.  I was getting scared for a bit, thinking something might be really wrong.  She just didn't seem well.  I also neglected to mention that I called her surgeon earlier in the morning to ask the questions we didn't get to ask the night before.  He answered them, but didn't leave me feeling any more confident.  I still feel like I don't/won't know when something is truly amiss or when she's just having normal post-op symptoms that will get better with time.  I'm the kind of person who freaks out over anything/everything.  I watch her very closely... I am looking at her every few seconds as I write this.  It's only one in afternoon, but it's already been a rough day for both of us.  Her discharge instructions say four weeks of indoor confinement, with no running, jumping, or rough play.  However, so many IVDD resources and guides that I've read say six weeks strict crate rest following surgery, so we're going to stick as closely with that as possible.  It's going to be a long road, but she's worth it.  Enough for today.  My updates will get shorter with time, as I get less stressed about her recovery (Lord knows when that will happen, though).

This crate isn't working - something else coming soon.

In my makeshift enclosure until the new one is built.

Where It All Started

I've never thought of myself as the blogging type - it's just not something I would normally do.  However, these past few days haven't been normal.  One of our dachshunds (Li'l Girl) had to have emergency surgery on her spine yesterday for a herniated disc.  Some breeds are predisposed to disc problems/intervertebral disc disease (IVDD), and dachshunds are at the top of the list.  We always knew something could happen, but we got too confident because our other dachshund (LittleBear) has done so well over the years.  In humans, a herniated disc often only causes pain and some numbness/weakness and will usually heal on its own with home treatment/physical therapy.  In dogs, a herniated disc can cause partial or even full paralysis of their back legs, loss of bowel/bladder control, etc.  Some herniations can and will heal on their own, but some need surgery right away to prevent further spinal cord damage.  To say that I have been a wreck is a monumental understatement.  I haven't been able to sleep or eat since Saturday morning (it's Monday now) and have probably spent more time crying than not crying.  My husband and I don't have any children, so our dogs are our babies. 
I don't want to describe all the details, but Li'l Girl started having problems last Monday (01/02/12).  She would often sit and not want to move at all for a long time (she is very active - this was highly unusual behavior for her).  We took her to the vet, thinking maybe she had hurt one one of her back legs, with the possibility of hurting her back.  Upon exam, the vet could find no sure sign of what the problem was.  We were sent home with Rimadyl, advised to restrict her activity, and told to follow up if she got worse.  By Friday, she was not improving.  We took her back to the vet, who was suspecting it was definitely her back - however, an x-ray offered no answers.  The vet said that if she had a herniated disc, you wouldn't see much on a regular x-ray - that it would require a myelogram or MRI to really see it, neither of which they had the equipment for.  They switched her to Prednisone (with famotidine to help with possible side effects from the Pred) and again told us to restrict her activity.  So, we had no sure diagnosis at first and treatment was conservative, but Saturday she started to lose control of her back legs and bowels, and we knew that time was of the essence.  We took her to a specialty vet practice that could handle her situation better than our regular vet, and had the equipment to do the myelogram that was needed for a definite diagnosis.  They gave her IV pain meds and watched her overnight for signs of worsening.  A little before 7 am on Sunday, they called with news that she had lost more motor control in her back legs, so they were calling the surgeon in.  I spoke to him around 8 Sunday morning and he said that as soon as his surgical team was all there, he would do the myelogram and then take her to surgery immediately following.  I was absolutely on edge waiting for the post-op phone call.  I used the time to read about IVDD; and to go pick up supplies for the recovery period, which will be for many weeks.  The best case scenario would be a successful surgery and successful recovery, regaining full function of her legs, bowels, bladder, etc.  The worst case scenario would be a poor surgical result, poor recovery, paralysis, and loss of bladder and bowel function, meaning we would have to learn and do bladder and bowel expression for her.  Thankfully, the surgeon said he expected a good recovery based on his evaluation so far; but that was before the myelogram.  So I was very hopeful, but guarded.  I couldn't help but to fear the worst, despite all the prayer and trying to force myself to think positive.  Even if she makes a full recovery after this surgery, everything about how she, and therefore we, live will have to change.  She will always be a dog with back problems and we will have to work around them.  Dogs that have IVDD always have chance of recurrence (having another herniated disc).  She was a hard-playing, rambunctious little girl.  Delicate and careful will underscore everything from here forward.  The phone call from the surgeon finally came around 10:30 am.  She did have a large disc herniation in the T13-L1 area and he removed the herniated disc material.  She came through the surgery well and was getting ready to go to the ICU for recovery at that time.  She would stay in the hospital for a day or several, depending on how her initial post-op recovery went.  Again, hopeful but guarded.  I couldn't stop thinking or worrying about her, so I called the vet around 4:30 in the afternoon just to check on her.  They said she was doing as well as could be expected (bear in mind this was only about six hours post-op) and that the surgeon would be calling me the next morning with a status report.  I spent most of Sunday reading and reading and reading (and crying and crying and crying).  I worried about her all day and all night, eating nothing but a few crackers and sleeping maybe an hour, which was more than I had slept Saturday night.  Fast forward to Monday morning.  I was anxiously(!) awaiting the surgeon's promised phone call.  Finally, around 8:30, the phone rang and I received some surprising news.  She is getting released today because she did great overnight, is eating and drinking, urinating on her own, and... get this... already WALKING on her own!  They said they were pretty shocked at how well she's doing already. I'm obviously happy/relieved(!), but staying guarded. Don't want to get too happy too soon.  We will go pick her up later today after my husband gets home from work.  They haven't gone over the recovery instructions with me yet, but from my reading, we are in for at least six weeks of strict crate rest... only out to use the bathroom. I don't know who that's going to be harder on, her or us. 
We have a long road of recovery ahead, but we'll manage. I am so thankful for her improvements so far.  I decided to create this blog to document her recovery process, if for no other reason than to help keep me sane.  I will try to update it as often as possible and photos will be added here and there.  This is my first blog and I'm mostly doing it for myself and my husband as we journey through our Li'l Girl's recovery.  If anyone is reading this, first - thank you... and second - please bear with me as I sort out this whole blogging thing.