Sleeping Beauty

Lainey is still doing great!  Every day I can see improvement and it makes this mama VERY happy.

She still sleeps most of the day, but she continues to eat and her overall demeanor is getting better.  There are small spurts throughout the day that her ears will perk up and I can see that happy-go-lucky puppy we used to know!

Here she is yesterday being her silly old self.....I had just given her some pain medication and a couple minutes later this is what I saw

There's no place like HOME

Monday night hubby and I drove across the state to pick up our Lainey girl.  After the vet gave us clearance for her to come home, we immediately made the decision that we needed to go get her.

It was a long night, to say the least.  We got home from the vet about 11:00pm and then I was up until after midnight getting her all situated.

I functioned all day yesterday on a mere 4 hours of sleep and this old lady just can't do that kind of stuff anymore!

I'm home....I'm home!!!

For the next week or so, I will be bringing Lainey with me to work.  She needs to have a sling for assistance with walking, and since the hubby is in a wheelchair, he can't help at this point.  Unfortunately, since we had to bring her big cage to my office, that leaves us with only having the plastic, octagon "den" for her to sleep in at night.  Do you know what that means?  Mommy has to sleep next to her in the dining room on the floor!!  If I even try to leave the room and attempt to sleep on the couch or in my bed, she cries and whimpers.

Remember when I said I was too old to function on lack of sleep?  Well, I'm really too old to be sleeping on the floor.  We need to come up with a Plan B immediately.

If I look pitiful enough do you think she will take this silly thing off?

Lainey slept most of the day yesterday, which makes it easier on me having her at my work.  She would wake up long enough to eat, take her meds and go potty, but then it was right back to sleep.  I can only hope that it remains this way for her remainder of her stay here.

Today is a new day.....One day closer to complete recovery.

A step forward, no matter how small, is still progress!

The weather here in West Michigan has been horrible!  It has snowed for 5 days straight and they are calling for another 2-4 inches today, with even more expected tomorrow.

I was all set to make the trip over to see Lainey Saturday morning, but with the roads in the condition they were ,and the "white-out" conditions being reported on the highway, I chose against it.

I'm actually glad that I didn't see her on Saturday because it sounds like she had a pretty rough day.  Her TPLO surgery on the 2nd leg was on Friday and she was just a mess on Saturday.  She wouldn't eat, wouldn't get out of her cage and wouldn't even attempt to put either one of her legs to the ground.

Fortunately, by Sunday when the hubby and I arrived for our visit with her, she was a whole new dog!  She was walking ON BOTH LEGS (with assistance from the sling) and was just so happy to see us.  It was the first time in a long time that you could "see" that she felt better.  I was able to feed her and take for a walk to do her "duties".  It felt so good to get a glimpse of the dog that I remember.

If she continues to improve, we should be able to bring her home early this week.

Day 10 Post-Surgery on Leg #1 and Day 2 Post-Surgery on Leg #2

2nd Surgery (technically, the 3rd)

Lainey got the green light to go ahead with the next surgery today. They will conduct what's called a TPLO on her right hind leg this afternoon. This entails cutting her tibia bone and then rotating it to reduce the slope of her knee. A plate and screws are used to hold the tibia in place so that the bone can heal in its new position. This surgery has a faster recovery time and will give her better range of motion of the joint in that leg.
 
As far as her left leg....she is in slow motion with the recovery phase and will continue to be this way probably for the next couple months until we can start physical therapy. She has lost a ton of muscle mass in this leg and the cartilage issue in her hock is causing her issues with walking (although, the new brace should eventually help with this issue). She also has "limited" range of motion in this leg due to the lack of using it the past 6 months, so she is having problems fully extending the leg.  

 If we can get the right leg on the road to recover after today's surgery, we can concentrate more on the left leg and getting it back to "working condition".

I will be traveling to the east side of the state again this weekend to visit with her.  I'm so ready to have her home with us!  Although, I'm a nervous wreck anticipating what the recover process is going to entail once we get her home.

Wish us luck!

Somewhat of an Update

I didn't get to talk to the vet last night as they had an emergency going on when I called, but as of yesterday afternoon when I spoke to them, all her vitals were good and she finally started eating (only if her favorite nurse fed her though).  Can you say "spoiled"?

She is not walking on the leg at all, but that is normal since the cast was just removed Sunday night. The incision and staples look good and she doesn't have any swelling and only minimal bruising. 

They are waiting on some cultures to come back so they can check her bacteria levels in order to get approval for the second surgery on Friday. She is taking her meds well (pain meds, anti inflammatory & antibiotics), but her fentenyl patch is no longer working, so she has started showing signs of some pain (as to be expected with what she has going on). 

Lainey has 2 favorite nurses and it sounds like everyone there just loves her. A couple of the nurses (her favorites) even get inside her cage with her throughout the day and love on her until she falls asleep in their lap.

This is 2 days post surgery...I think she is saying "Mama, pleeeease get me outta here"

Whirlwind

It's been such a whirlwind the past few days! I was able to visit with Lainey this weekend and planned on doing another update, but I think I will hold off another day or so. Things seem to be changing so quickly, and I would rather have all the information to give you, rather than just bits and pieces.

In the meantime, here is a pic of Lainey 3 days post-op! Doesn't she look so sad? My heart just breaks....

And the Saga Continues!

Yesterday was Lainey's appointment with the Orthopedic Specialist.  Originally, the plan was for the doctor to do surgery on Lainey's new injury, but unfortunately, that is not what happened.

After the initial exam on the new injury, the doctor started examining the old injury and we discussed all of the complications we've been having since Lainey's surgery in September.  After discovering that Lainey has been hyper-extending her leg for 4 months since surgery, causing the cartlidge to harden in an odd position in her hock, we decided that emergency surgery on her first injury was more of a priority at this time.

The plan is to do the surgery on Leg #1 yesterday, board her at the vet for the next 10 days and then do surgery on Leg #2.  The type of surgery we have chosen for Leg #2 will actually allow her to "stand" and bear weight on that leg within 24 hours and the recovery time is only about 8 weeks.  This is a necessity given the fact that the recovery period for Leg #1 will be 4-6 months.

I spoke with the surgeon yesterday after the first surgery was completed, and it sounds like everything went as planned.  She was able to determine what was causing each of our complications and resolve each of those problems (we hope)! 

As of now, Lainey is resting comfortably and is adjusting to the full leg bandage she is wearing.  As for the issue with her hock, she will need to wear a brace for an undetermined amount of time (see pic for example of brace)

Fortunately, the vet is only 10 minutes away from my dad's house on the east side of the state, so I will be staying with him this weekend in order to visit Lainey as much as possible.

Please keep the prayers coming...Lainey (and mama) could use them!

You will NEVER believe this...

Lainey tore her ACL in her other leg on Monday. 

Are you as shocked and saddened as I am?

Due to the complications we have had with the first surgery, we have decided to take her to a specialist (all the way across the state) for them to perform a specialized surgery that won't entail using any nylon material.

As I told you here, her body is rejecting the nylon, so it didn't make sense for our normal surgeon to perform the same procedure.

In addition to her having surgery we will also need to get her fitted for a doggie wheelchair.  She will be unable to bear weight on either leg for quite some time and this will help us avoid any further damage to her first leg and assist in healing with the second leg.

Her surgery is tomorrow so please wish us luck and pray for some healing strength for Lainey.  It also wouldn't hurt for you to pray that I win the lottery to pay for all of this either :-)

Lainey Surgery Update #1,000,000,000,000

We are 4 months, 3 days post op and I feel like I should be done with surgery updates and just be able to say that she is a healthy pup who is enjoying running again!

Unfortunately, that is not the hand we were dealt.

The week before Christmas Lainey was put under again and they aspirated some fluid and sent it for testing.  The test results came back and showed very, very little amounts of bacteria, which means there was little to no infection.

Even though the bacteria levels were so low, the surgeon wanted us to complete the cycle of antibiotics anyway and continue on the pain meds.

During this time, a miracle happened.  Lainey was happy, she was walking again with little to no limp, and on a few occasions she even did her zoomies in the yard and played in the snow.

I truly thought that we had finally turned the corner and things would only continue to improve.

I was wrong!

This spurge of energy and excitement only lasted about 2 1/2 weeks and then I noticed that she was limping again, didn't want to get out of bed and whined all through the night.

I finally got a chance to talk with the surgeon about this and he is worried that her body is rejecting the nylon that was used to repair her ACL.  If this ends up being the case, we will have to schedule surgery to remove the nylon and replace it with another artificial material.

Not only is the money an issue, but you guessed it....we would officially be starting over as if we were back on Day 1 post op and not Day 117.

I'm stressed and praying that we don't have to go this route.



This is the look she gave me when I told her about the possibility of having surgery again! 
The sadness in her eyes says it all!

Lainey

Lainey from Amy Rall on Vimeo.

2013 Started with a Bang

Sorry things have been so quiet around this little ole blog!  I had 2 weeks off from work for the holidays and I vowed to spend as much time with my family and loved ones as possible, which left very little time for the internet.

And then on the second day back to work this new year, I came down with the flu and was totally bed-ridden for four days straight.

Needless to say....2013 has not started off the way I had planned.

But, It's a new day and I'm back to work and feeling healthy once again.

I'm buried in work and don't see myself digging a hole out any time soon, so my "2012 in Review" post probably isn't going to happen.  Which is okay.  I'm not going to stress out over this little ole blog.  (That is one of my resolutions....don't stress the small stuff)

On a brighter note, I just received a call from Lainey's surgeon and it looks like for the first time since her surgery she is A-OK!  They recently drained all of the fluid off her knee and since then she has been doing amazingly well.  She is no longer limping and she walks on her leg ALL THE TIME now.  I even took her out to the backyard the other day without a leash and she was running around in the snow.  She was so happy that it brought tears to my eyes.  I think we have finally turned the corner and she will continue to recover from here on out.

I can't think of any better news to brighten my day!  This has been such a long and stressful time for us.

As far as I'm concerned....my New Year starts NOW!  So, HAPPY NEW YEAR my friends!

I'm Back

I can hardly believe that I am back in the office this morning!  My body (and mind) does not feel like I had 13 days off.

New posts to follow as soon as I can "get back to the grind".  I'm feeling all out of whack today.

Happy New Year....Bring on 2013!

Lainey: 3 Months Post Op

This has not been an easy road...for Lainey or for us!  Today we are officially 4 months out from her ACL surgery.  According to the paperwork, Lainey should be exercising like "normal" and running, jumping and rough play should gradually be introduced until at a normal level.

Unfortunately, she is still not even walking on that leg yet. 

We had another visit with the surgeon last night and he took another set of x-rays (assuming the artificial band had snapped), but everything looks as good as it did the day he placed it in there.  The metal plate is even still in the same spot (he said sometimes it can shift a little). 

He did notice a lot of fluid around Lainey's knee and mentioned that she is in a lot of pain.  He tried touching her knee when she was under anesthesia and she reacted to it.  He said only patients who are in severe pain will react to anything while being "under".

We will be dropping Lainey off at the surgeon's office tomorrow so they can aspirate the knee and get some of the fluid off.  They will then send the fluid to a pathologist to run some tests.

For now, we are back on pain meds and antibiotics.

I JUST WANT MY DOG BACK.....MY PUPPY!!!

I knew this was going to be a loooong process, but knowing that we are 3 months post op and she is healing at about 20-30 days post op is so frustrating.  We have done everything that is expected and it still seems to be one thing after another.

I pray that here is where we will turn the corner....After handling this fluid issue that is around her knee, we will (finally) be headed in the right direction.

No Regrets

I am one of the few women who never wanted children.  I adore my nephews, but even as a young adult I had no intentions of having any of my own. 

But then I met a handsome fella and we got married, bought a house and joined our 'families'.  He had 2 children already (who were teenagers when we met), but I started to want my own. 

Due to the fact that my husband is a paraplegic and I had had cervical cancer, we decided to see a specialist to discuss our options.  Soon after that appointment, the so-called "urge" was gone, so we decided not to move forward.  I enjoy our life and for many reasons I don't care to discuss here, we cancelled all future doctor appointments and have never really discussed the topic since.

But, every year around Christmas I get a little depressed.  I tend to think of all the things I won't be doing this year.  I won't attend any Christmas programs at school, I won't make anything awesome from Pinterest for my child's teacher, I won't be able to play Santa, and most of all, I can't pass along the Christmas family traditions that I grew up knowing and loving.

I've learned that the best way to cure this feeling is for me to spend some extra special time with all the little ones around me.  I've got a special date with one of my nephews tonight and I can't wait!

I don't regret the decision my husband and I made, but that doesn't mean I can't dream every now and again of what it would be like to some day be called "mommy"!

Lainey gets Sirius

Poor little Lainey has a mama that is obsessed with cute dog collars.  I would venture to guess that in a one week span she wears at least 5 different collars.

I've been trying to curb my addiction lately, but as soon as I saw that Sirius Republic came out with a new holiday collar I jumped on it.

Seriously...I just can't get over the cuteness of these sock monkeys!

And not only did she get a new collar, she also got a Sirius Republic snood. It slides right over her head and I can even use it to keep her ears warm.

(You can always tell how tired she is by the redness of her eyes...
On this particular day she had skipped her nap)

Am I the only crazy dog mama with an addiction to collars and/or leashes?

Christmas Cards for Dummies

I have never sent Christmas cards, and this year I really wanted to start.  I originally wanted to get all the pets dressed up in their holiday gear and take a picture, but after Walker passed away the excitement was no longer there!  

We had family photos taken with my in-laws back in November and the same day that the photo disc arrived...so did a coupon from Shutterfly for 10 free cards!  Perfect timing! 

I have used Shutterfly for my prints and have made dozens of photo books, but it never crossed my mind to use them for our Christmas cards!

I'm happy with the end result...what do you think?

(P.S.~ There was a back-side to the card also, but I wasn't sure how to embed that.  I guess I need Blogger for Dummies!)

Wishing You Merry Christmas Card

Customize your Christmas cards this season at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

http://www.shutterfly.com/

Welcome Home Dasher

During the first four weeks after Walker passed away, my husband kept dropping hints about wanting another cat.  I, of course, was not ready to give my heart away again and was worried that I wouldn't be a good mama to another cat by expecting him to be just like Walker.  We agreed that we would wait until I was ready, but I had no idea how I would know when that time came.  Not to mention, I was enjoying the special one-on-one time I was getting to spend with Tucker.

There was a big cat adoption event scheduled for Saturday & Sunday last weekend and my husband really wanted to go, but knew that if I wasn't ready he wouldn't force the issue.  I knew we weren't going based on the fact that a week prior, I had stopped into our local Petco and there was a small local group doing an adoption event.  As I entered the store a small, black kitten made eye contact with me and I broke down in tears.  I wasn't even 5 steps into Petco and I was crying.  After explaining my tears to one of the girls working the event, I left the store totally humiliated.  I got to my car, buried my head in my hands and cried. 

Periodically, I log onto petfinder.com.  I like to keep tabs on the pit bull counts at our local shelters so we can donate needed items, visit with them and be the best ambassador for the breed that we can be.  Last Thursday, I was doing just that, when I found myself doing a search for black cats in my area.  I scrolled through dozens of cats (mostly kittens) when I stopped on the profile of one particular cat named "Six".  I stared at his profile picture for what seemed like an eternity before I opened it.  Unfortunately, there wasn't much information listed.

I quickly realized what I was doing and reminded myself that I'm not ready for another cat and exited the site immediately.  But, as the afternoon dragged on I could not stop thinking about this cat named Six. I knew that even if I was ready for another cat, that I would want it to be a kitten and Six was clearly not a kitten from the looks of his profile picture.  This didn't stop me from obsessing over him for the next couple hours.  Before I knew what I was doing I was on the phone with the animal shelter. 

I was told that Six had been in the shelter since April 1, 2011 and that nobody had showed any interest in him the entire time he had been there.  They take him to every adoption event, but have never had any luck finding his forever home.  She explained to me the stigma around black cats and gave me some numbers on the percentage of black cats that are adopted in the US and my heart broke.  I told her my story of Tucker & Walker and explained my love for black cats. She said Six was about 2-3 years old, very friendly and would get along great with other pets.

Mere seconds after hanging up from her I called my husband and told him about this cat named Six and how he already had a piece of my heart.  I cried over the thought of any animal living in the shelter for that long.  My husband I agreed that we would make a trip to the shelter over the weekend and pay Six a visit.  

Ironically, my husband I both had the same idea.  Within a 1/2 hour of hanging up from him, I left work and was in the car headed to the shelter.  I called him when I was about 20 minutes away from the shelter and told him what I was doing.  He laughed and explained to me that he was already at the shelter and holding Six in his arms!

I arrived at the shelter and met my husband in the parking lot.  I was talking a mile a minute and asking a million questions about the cat.  I was still nervous about the thought of another pet and my stomach was in knots.

Long story short....We adopted Six the very next day!  After 20 months of living in the shelter, he is finally HOME!

The name "Six" was not suitable for us and the shelter said with that many cats living together at the shelter that he didn't answer to that name (or any name) and we could change it if we preferred.

Meet Dasher (named after Santa's reindeer, of course)

And here is Tucker and Dasher meeting for the first time.  They were rubbing on each other and my heart melted.  Another confirmation that we did the right thing by bringing "Six" into our lives.

A.K.A. Debbie Downer

I really hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel like I'm overwhelmed with every aspect of my life right now.

I am freshly coming off a 9 day vacation and I don't feel any better today than I did 2 weeks ago.  Is that normal?  Don't most people come back from vacation feeling refreshed and ready to face the world?

I don't feel like thinking long enough to write in paragraphs so you are getting bullet points!

• I'm tired!!!  No matter how much sleep I get....I am still tired!  And not necessarily tired like I need to take a nap, but more like I need to sit down and just relax
• My job sucks!!!  Yes, I am thankful to have a job....but that doesn't mean I can't hate every minute of every day that I am there.  I am over used and under paid and it's taking a toll on me.
• I'm sad!!!  The loss of Walker is still affecting me.  And watching Tucker mope around the house doesn't help!  I wonder if I will ever get rid of the guilt I feel over the whole pill incident.
• I'm broke!!!  Between all of the money we have spent on Lainey and her chiropractor appointments, her acupuncture, the surgery, the trips to the emergency vet, her medications, daycare fees, etc...and then the emergency vet appointments with both cats, the cremation fees, etc...we have spent a huge chunk of money the past 4 months.  It is money that we had (in savings), but nonetheless, it makes me stressed to think about not having that "comfort" just in case we need it.  I can probably bet on the fact that this will probably be the year our furnace will go out...just our luck!
• Christmas!!!  My entire life Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year.  It is a time spent with family and friends, everyone is happy, and Christmas music makes my heart skip a beat!  This year it feels different.  This year it is so stressful.  The holiday is losing it's meaning (not to me, but to others close to me).  I am actually thinking of boycotting and spending Christmas with only my husband. 

I just realized that this list could go on forever and I like you too much to put you through that kind of torture so I will end now!

Actually, here are a couple "happy" pictures from my vacation....that way the blog-o-sphere won't consider me a total Debbie Downer.

Walker is "HOME"!!

Last night I picked up Walker's ashes.  It was such mixed emotions...I cried and cried the whole way home, but once I got him inside, I felt like he was "home" again and a sense of calm came over me.

The second I walked through the door Tucker was all over me.  I finally took out the urn and sat it on the counter and Tucker was rubbing all over it.  My heart literally broke into a million pieces.

I'm not sure how to explain Tucker's reaction to the urn, but it continued all night long.  No matter where I put the urn, Tucker would find it and meow like crazy.  I would take it out of the bag it came in and he would rub all over it.

I ended up having to put it in one of our closets because Tucker just would not leave it alone and it broke my heart to watch his reaction.

This worries me because I ordered a ceramic black cat urn to transfer the ashes to, but I am concerned that Tucker will knock it over and break it.  I will have to see what happens.

In a perfect world, I wouldn't be writing this post...unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world! On the other hand, if the circumstances must be....I at least feel like I have some peace now that Walker is HOME with us again.

Welcome back buddy....Mommy loves you and misses you every day!!!

R.I.P Walker

I can't even begin to describe the pain in my heart! 

We lost one of our family members Friday...

R.I.P Walker

I will never forgive myself for letting him eat one of those pills, which ultimately was the beginning of the end for him. He was suffering from kidney failure and I know I did the right thing by putting him to sleep, but it doesn't make the pain hurt any less. I don't know if I will ever love another 4-legged animal the way I loved him. There was definitely a special bond between Walker and mama and I will hold onto those memories forever. 

Not the best picture of me....but this is the last photo I took of Walker. 
This is a great example of how loving he was.  He would sleep every night with his arms wrapped around my neck...I sure do miss that!  {tear}

R.I.P Walker...you will forever be in our heart!