Any patient with a dog, knows that our faithful companions immediately sense when we're not feeling well and then do their best to help lick our wounds.
Last night was my turn to help out Betty, our wonder mutt. A little before 5 pm, she started coughing in convulsions. She lost bladder and bowel control. She wandered into the spare bedroom to isolate. Soon, she lost the strength in her legs. She couldn't walk and I couldn't carry her, so my neighbor came to the rescue and gave Betty a lift to the car.
We rushed to the emergency hospital in Eagle Rock and arrived just as they were opening at 6 pm. I was afraid that it was time to say goodbye to my faithful girl. But she pulled through, in spite of literally turning purple, a collapsed lung and a host of other problems set off by an inability to breathe.
We're hoping that Prednisone (the same drug that I take for rising EOS) reduces the swelling in her trachea so that we don't have to do surgery.
When we were at our local vet's office this morning, I stepped on to the giant scale and got a shock. "Is this scale correct?" I asked the vet's assistant in disbelief. Of course, it was. I just couldn't believe that I tipped the scales at 110 - an eight pound weight loss in less than a month. (This in spite of calorie contributions in the form of mac 'n' cheese and soups from two friends.) I've been having a host of ongoing GI problems, which I'm sure explains the plunge in pounds.
I'm scheduled at the City of Hope on Thursday and plan to ask for a referral to a GI specialist.
In the mean time, we sick dogs will just have to stick together and nurse one another back to health.
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13 comments:
If they do a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy, be sure they check for eisonophils and mast cells on biopsy. They need to do a special stain for the mast cells.
Sandra
http://healingei.wordpress.com
Sandra, thanks so much for the great tip. Just perused your great blog and will return when I have more time.
Oh noooo! Hope Betty is on the mend & no surgery is required!
am nursing a sick pup on my end---7mo old pit mix. We think it was the heartworm & flea pills we were asked to feed her last night. Ever seen what a 7mo old puppy can do with barf on a rug?
am hoping your trip to CoH goes well & they find whatever it is giving you issues and can easily fix it.
and as to food---you need to find a good Jewish mother to feed you---you'll be at heavy-weight fighting status in no time! ;-)
I know what you mean about our animals getting sick. It is sooooo hard. You hate to see them so helpless when they are usually bounding around. Hope Betty continues to get better. Good luck on your visit to the hospital.
oh boy, sounds like you guys both need some TLC... hang in there both of you :)
Hugs to you both!
Sweet Betty. I hope she's okay. Boz had some mast cell tumors until his doctor suggested regular doses of Benadryl (we give him the generic equivalent) plus Tagemet (because the Benadryl upsets his tummy). He doesn't get the tumors anymore.
As for you, I hope you're continuing with that restaurant bucket list.
Best to Betty and you. Good luck tomorrow.
Dang, and I hoped my mac and cheese was good for at least one pound!
Glad to hear you'll be getting help from a specialist. I'm sure you're sick of being sick by now!
I hope Betty is stablized by now and feeling a lot better. You are soooo good to your pets. We are now officially residents of Encinitas.
I sure wish I could lose 10 pounds that easily. Of course I don't want the GI issues either, so I'll keep trying the old fashioned way.
Ride my bike more :)
Hope Betty is doing better now.
I can attest that eating lettuce with campylobacter can help one lose 25lb in one week and 45 in less than 2 months...but not the way to do it...and I can afford the extra pounds unlike you.
Hope Betty is doing better and that CoH is relatively easy and finds easy answers---other than hanging out at Hi-Life and eating your weight in grease.
WV: hothooter...well, say no more!
I hope you guys are doing a bit better now?
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