Not much change between yesterday and today other than today Winston stood up to eat instead of being served in bed. He also seemed a little more concerned about me doing his leg exercises. He's been standing up more, so maybe his leg is a bit more sore? He doesn't really stand on it yet (still), so I'm unsure. Still no word on the results of the lab culture, and as far as I'm concerned no news is good news.
Winston's incision looks good. The swelling is going down and his skin doesn't feel as warm as it did on day one.
Today it's rainy and gloomy and Winston wanted to wander around the yard during his potty breaks, but we don't want his incision getting wet, so that didn't happen. He's bored in his pen, but doing ok.
May 11, 2010
May 10, 2010
Day 4 post left TPLO "explant"
Winston continues to get better. He is moving more easily today and when I did his leg exercises, he just relaxed onto his side and seemed unconcerned. I was able to do a full bicycle motion today.
When standing, he is still toe-touching, but when he walks, he is putting even more weight on the leg than he has in a month. The back pad of his foot looks fully engaged, and his back looks straight as he walks.
Today is the first day I don't feel so guilty about putting him through yet another surgery. I'm hopeful that he can get to a more "normal"state.
Today is also the first day that I might have heard a result of the lab culture (though maybe that depends on when the sample got to the lab... so realistically maybe tomorrow would be the first day). No news at this point is good news. I'm hoping for the best.
Winston's incision looks good, and some of the swelling has started to go down.
When standing, he is still toe-touching, but when he walks, he is putting even more weight on the leg than he has in a month. The back pad of his foot looks fully engaged, and his back looks straight as he walks.
Today is the first day I don't feel so guilty about putting him through yet another surgery. I'm hopeful that he can get to a more "normal"state.
Today is also the first day that I might have heard a result of the lab culture (though maybe that depends on when the sample got to the lab... so realistically maybe tomorrow would be the first day). No news at this point is good news. I'm hoping for the best.
Winston's incision looks good, and some of the swelling has started to go down.
May 9, 2010
Day 3 post left TPLO "explant"
Winston is doing much better today. He's walking more normally on his right leg and is actually putting some good weight down when he walks on the left leg. He isn't struggling so much to stand up. He's interested in both food and water.
I'm feeding him while he is lying down. Our next major step in "progress" will be when he starts standing up to eat.
Today he let me do his full set of range of motion exercises without being too concerned. The leg feels tight and he's worried about what I'm doing, but the action in his knee feels smooth not "clunky" like it did before.
I'm feeding him while he is lying down. Our next major step in "progress" will be when he starts standing up to eat.
Today he let me do his full set of range of motion exercises without being too concerned. The leg feels tight and he's worried about what I'm doing, but the action in his knee feels smooth not "clunky" like it did before.
May 8, 2010
Saturday, Day 2 post left TPLO "explant"
Last night was kind of rough. Winston was uncomfortable and restless. He's in his "room" in a pen down on the landing and I slept on the couch at the top of the stairs. Every time he moved and rattled his big e-collar I woke up. I think I kept one ear open for him all night. He gets pain pills at midnight so I just stayed up til then and then tried to sleep afterwards. He wanted to go out at midnight but then even though he shifted around a lot, he stayed put until the cat alarm went off at 5:30am. He was really stiff, but was able to stand up under his own power.
As the day went on, he wanted to go out and go potty nearly every two hours. There were a few times that I just told him to settle back down. I sat in his pen with him and read a book to keep him company. He was happy for that. I tried to move his leg and was able to move it for about 5 repetitions, but it's still pretty swollen and he finally leaned over to put his head across my arm. I figured this was an improvement, so I let it go and we did the same thing again later in the day.
He's eating ok, but wasn't really interested in water until evening.
As the day went on, he wanted to go out and go potty nearly every two hours. There were a few times that I just told him to settle back down. I sat in his pen with him and read a book to keep him company. He was happy for that. I tried to move his leg and was able to move it for about 5 repetitions, but it's still pretty swollen and he finally leaned over to put his head across my arm. I figured this was an improvement, so I let it go and we did the same thing again later in the day.
He's eating ok, but wasn't really interested in water until evening.
May 7, 2010
Winston's back home after TPLO plate removal
We picked Winston up at noon today and I was a little surprised to see that the recovery for this surgery is very similar to the previous surgeries. Two weeks of almost no activity and then we can start walking again starting with 5 minute walks. The difference here is that every few days we can increase by 5 minutes instead of every week or two weeks. Actually, I guess this makes sense because he hasn't had regular exercise in over a month and his muscles have noticeably atrophied in that time. If we do too much too soon, he'll be too sore to move.
We're to start PT asap, and that will be critical as he heals. I'm to start doing the passive exercises with his leg 20 repetitions three times a day every day is what our paperwork says.
I was a bit horrified to see him walk as they brought him out to the car. He looks awful and it looks like his right leg doesn't work right anymore either. It might have been kinder to just put him down instead of putting him through this again.
We got him home and I sat with him for a bit. He finally struggled to stand up and couldn't manage it so I helped lift him up with the sling and helped him outside to go potty. This is not a good sign. He came back in and went to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.
At dinner time I helped him up again and we went out for a potty break. He is definitely not walking normally. It looks he went horseback riding for several hours and his legs are bent into that "cowboy" shape. I'm pretty worried.
I fed him dinner in bed, and he was interested in food, but not water. I tried to do his passive exercises and he leaned over and took my arm gently in his mouth to tell me to stop. I remember how I felt the day after my shoulder surgery and if someone had tried to move my arm for me that day I would have gladly shot them, so I decided we would try again tomorrow.
Later in the evening, Don took him out to go potty and said that he'd stood up on his own. Winston's incision had drained all over his leg and made a puddle on his bed. It looked ok, so I blotted up the puddle and left the residue on his leg alone.
We're to start PT asap, and that will be critical as he heals. I'm to start doing the passive exercises with his leg 20 repetitions three times a day every day is what our paperwork says.
I was a bit horrified to see him walk as they brought him out to the car. He looks awful and it looks like his right leg doesn't work right anymore either. It might have been kinder to just put him down instead of putting him through this again.
We got him home and I sat with him for a bit. He finally struggled to stand up and couldn't manage it so I helped lift him up with the sling and helped him outside to go potty. This is not a good sign. He came back in and went to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.
At dinner time I helped him up again and we went out for a potty break. He is definitely not walking normally. It looks he went horseback riding for several hours and his legs are bent into that "cowboy" shape. I'm pretty worried.
I fed him dinner in bed, and he was interested in food, but not water. I tried to do his passive exercises and he leaned over and took my arm gently in his mouth to tell me to stop. I remember how I felt the day after my shoulder surgery and if someone had tried to move my arm for me that day I would have gladly shot them, so I decided we would try again tomorrow.
Later in the evening, Don took him out to go potty and said that he'd stood up on his own. Winston's incision had drained all over his leg and made a puddle on his bed. It looked ok, so I blotted up the puddle and left the residue on his leg alone.
May 6, 2010
Left leg TPLO plate removal today
We dropped Winston off this morning for removal of his TPLO plate and a check of the meniscus in his left knee. Putting him through this again was heart wrenching. He figured out what was up as we loaded him into the car, and he was not a happy camper. When we got to AMVS and we went into one of the exam rooms, he started crying and buried his head in Don's lap and begged us in doggy body language NOT to leave him here. My poor boy. I wish I could explain that we were trying to make him better.
I chose the DNR option again, and there was a part of me that honestly expected to get a call that Winston had died during surgery. I wouldn't be surprised if he just gives up. The hours crept by, and the more time passed without that call, I figured that he'd made it through surgery.
Finally, Dr. Duerr called to say that the surgery had gone well. He said that a couple of the screws were loose, and he hardly ever sees that, so he's going to send off a culture to the lab to see if there's an underlying infection going on. Also the meniscus was torn and frayed, so they removed part of it. He wasn't sure if they were going to keep him overnight or if he could come home later, so he said he'd call back in a couple of hours and make the decision at that time. After another hour, they called back and decided to keep him overnight.
I chose the DNR option again, and there was a part of me that honestly expected to get a call that Winston had died during surgery. I wouldn't be surprised if he just gives up. The hours crept by, and the more time passed without that call, I figured that he'd made it through surgery.
Finally, Dr. Duerr called to say that the surgery had gone well. He said that a couple of the screws were loose, and he hardly ever sees that, so he's going to send off a culture to the lab to see if there's an underlying infection going on. Also the meniscus was torn and frayed, so they removed part of it. He wasn't sure if they were going to keep him overnight or if he could come home later, so he said he'd call back in a couple of hours and make the decision at that time. After another hour, they called back and decided to keep him overnight.
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