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.
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