Surgery Update: Day 7

Today we celebrated Sadie's one week surgery anniversary with not one, but TWO trips to the vet. As I mentioned last Friday, Sadie had lost another staple. I didn't do anything about it because it looked fine. Until Monday morning. I woke up and counted staples (a daily routine now) and noticed that the spot from the missing staple had come open a bit. It was gross and I felt HORRIBLE. The soonest we could come in to see the surgeon was this morning.

I have been feeling a lot of emotion about this. I felt guilty that I didn't take her on Friday and felt scared that the wound wouldn't heal properly and a little bit of questioning as to whether the staples were even done right in the first place. Doug said we should ask for no more staples and instead get some stitches or something else.

At the vet (Dr. V), I asked him if he could do stitches instead of staples, since they just didn't seem to be staying in very well. I showed him several spots where they seemed to be "loose" and expressed my concern. He said that the first dog knee he did was his own dog. He used sutures and had to replace them seven times. Ever since then, he did staples instead. I asked if he could use "liquid bandage" but he didn't think that would work at all. He tried to reassure me that she was doing great and looked fine.

I mentioned that Sadie's been "off" her food for the past 2 days, too. She hasn't had an appetite. He took her temp and found it to be normal. He said to take her off one of her pain meds, as it could cause upset stomach (this is the same med that I just ordered a whole additional week of on Friday, per his direction).

So, she got the spray freezey stuff and about 5 more staples, making a grand total of 17. It was a little tricky, since I had both girls and C was getting queasy with the whole procedure. It wasn't until I had everyone back in the car that I looked at the incision and realized that all the new staples were at the top - not a one in the gaping spot that I had come for in the first place! I didn't know what to do. Go back in? He clearly looked at the incision and must have seen it, but why didn't he staple it back together?

I just got in the car and called Doug. No answer. Now what? I made an executive decision to call our regular vet, Dr. C, and see if they could get me in for a second opinion. They could, at 11:30. Hence the second vet trip in one day! Basically, I just wanted to hear from somebody else that Sadie is OK, that the staples look normal and not to keep questioning and worrying.

The girls and I went home so I could make sack lunches and went for a quick trip to the library before eating lunch on the way to Dr. C's. I got a special treat for them (chocolate milkshake) to share at the vet and hopefully encourage good behavior.

Dr. C said that the staples looked "Frankenstein-ish," but he'd seen worse. :-) He said that the gaping spot had no good tissue to put a staple into, so that's why it wasn't re-stapled. However, he only thought that a small portion (1/2 inch) of the seven inch incision looked as it should after a week of healing. But, he said it would heal, just about a week longer than usual. He encouraged me to keep Sadie on antibiotics until the whole thing was scared over. The biggest risk is infection of the TightRope, which would mean it has to come out. Better to be safe than sorry! He said that if any spot starts to gape out, to bring her in and he would put in some stitches. I guess you have to put the dog out to do that, so it's not a quick thing.

He also said to back Sadie off her pain meds, but not cold turkey. He recommended a "bland diet" (we are, unfortunately, very familiar with this) of cottage cheese, plain yogurt, etc. for her to eat again.

Then, he VERY generously offered to look at Sadie for me at any time. For free. Every day, if I wanted. Just pull up the van, leave the kids inside and he'd come look at Sadie for me. I started to cry when he said this. He didn't charge me for the visit and said to pay for the meds later. He's going to call Dr. V and mention that I'll be having some check ups there instead. It's just SO much closer and easier to get to. I feel reassured and much more at ease. Now we just need to get her appetite back.

A Glorious Day for Apples

Sharon and Chaz are visiting this weekend, and this morning we all decided to take the girls to a local orchard. Sharon was almost as excited as C!

The weather could not have been more perfect: blue sky, warm sun, and cool breezes. We picked some Gala (which are OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious), Jonathon, Red and Golden Delicious and some Honey Crisp apples. The Honey Crisp was the biggest disappointment. They were small, few and far between. These are my favorite apples ever! They run close to $3/lb in the grocery store, but all apples at the orchard were only $0.62/lb, so my bargain shopper gene was going haywire. Maybe next year they'll be bigger?


It was a great time. The place was not busy at all, and they had free parking and free tractor rides. We will definitely be going back for our pumpkins in a few weekends!


C gets a lift to pick a good one
Tractor Ride on a Perfect Day
Family Photo OpTaste Testing the Goods

Surgery Update: Day 5

Sadie's doing better and better each day. Yesterday afternoon I noticed that she was back down to 12 staples, but didn't tell the vet. To be honest, I don't feel like they are in that securely... Why didn't they just use stitches? But the wound is not seeping or bleeding much anymore and I think there are enough staples still in there to keep it together.

My sister Sharon and bro-in-law Chaz came for a weekend visit. They were a little shocked to see the incision in person - it's pretty gnarly. But Sadie was SO happy to see them, and we've had a great time so far.

She does put more and more weight on it, which is very encouraging. I think she's getting used to the e-collar, but it's very comical to watch her bump into things. She just freezes and waits until you tell her to keep going.

Surgery Update: Day 3

This morning I came down to discover that Sadie had taken it upon herself to remove the top two staples of her incision. Great! I had just called the vet last night since I was concerned that her wound was seeping some blood (guess that's normal). Now I had to call again and then bring her in to have them replaced. They told me that her "e-collar" was too small and she could still reach the incision even with it on. Doug later told me that when he came down early this morning, she had managed to get it completely off!

So now she has 13 staples and a new KING size e-collar. She's resting on old towels and tied up to a dumbbell. Hopefully no more drama tonight!

My Poor Baby

I was able to pick Sadie up this afternoon, by myself. THANK YOU a MILLION times, Kristi, for watching the girls during their nap so I could do that. It's a 40 minute drive each way and I would've had to do it during evening rush hour, otherwise. Yuck.

Sadie's doing well. Still a bit drugged-up and dopey. Hopefully she'll get some appetite back tomorrow. She was crying for a while in the car and then fell asleep. Same story at home. She just wants to lay down and have her ears rubbed.

We are to keep her on a 3 ft. leash or in her kennel at all times for the next 4-8 weeks. And I have to put the dish collar on when we can't be with her.

Here's a post-op picture. If you're into medical stuff, feel free to zoom in and count the dozen staples in her knee!

Sunflower Girls

I had F and C make a cute fall craft today. Didn't they turn out well? It involved two of C's favorite things - cutting AND gluing!

Surgery Success!

I just got a call from Dr. V, as he had just finished Sadie's surgery. She did great! She was supposed to go in at 8:30 am, but they had a heart operation that took precedence. I can understand that. Here's all the gory details:

• On first glance, he thought her ligament was about 60% damaged. He applied a slight pressure to it and it instantly snapped in half. Dr. V said any one big impact she had could have easily broken it all the way, so we definitely made the best decision to do surgery now.
  
• Her meniscus was not damaged at all, which is very good news
  
• He trimmed the torn ligament, inserted the TightRope apparatus and double tested the joint. He was confident that it is very stable and was extremely pleased with the result
  
• The whole thing took 1 1/2 hours, his best one yet
  
• She's the 18th one he has done
  
• Sadie will start some morphine and be there overnight and most of tomorrow
  

I'll get a call tomorrow morning to update me on her condition and let me know when to pick her up! I'll post a picture of her in the lovely purple cone collar we bought for her to wear. She's going to LOVE me...

Thanks for your concerns and prayers. I'm so relieved that it's done and now have to steel myself for her long recovery process.

The Latest and Greatest

sewing project! Any guesses as to what these rich fabrics will become?

A Decision Made

I talked with our vet Monday morning, regarding our decision to forgo surgery and see what happens keeping Sadie on restriction for 8 weeks. He was not in favor of this at all. He even said that he feels that making the decision to postpone surgery is the same as making a decision not to do it at all. His reason was that her arthritis would progress so far that many benefits of the TPLO would not affect her. I told him that I did not want to do TPLO because I feel it is just too invasive, and asked if he knew about the brand new Tightrope surgery. He said he was aware of it, but thought it was basically a "glorified banding technique" which has historically not worked for large dogs. But, if we were interested, he did know a doc who was performing the surgeries in a neighboring city. Yes I was interested! So the next night, Doug and I took Sadie to see "Dr. V" in Fishers.

Long story short, we liked him a lot, asked many questions, got estimates for everything related to the surgery and gave it a lot of thought and prayer. It is still expensive, but only half of what TPLO would be and sounds like it is a great alternative. Dr. V thought Sadie only had a partial tear, which is good.

I have her scheduled for this coming Thursday. She will be on extreme restriction for 4 weeks and then can start some light daily walks. After 8 weeks she can take some longer walks and after 12 weeks max, she should be 100%! This is a new surgery and so no long-term promises can be made, but with all my research and "gut" feel, this is the best option for her. She's only 4 years old and we hope to see her back to running and jumping and frisbee catching for many more years.

Thanks for all the support regarding this. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to talk to you about it. It feels good to have the decision made. Now we need to pray for a successful surgery and speedy recovery. I'll keep you posted!

My Foray into Breadmaking

For the last couple weeks, I've been baking my own bread. I've been interested in doing this for a while now, and finally gave it a go. I found a great whole wheat recipe, here, which has been very yummy. C will even eat the crust, since it is very soft and the same color as the bread. It's easy, fun, healthy and frugal!

I got some books from the library and plan to try some other recipes, as well. I'd like to try some homemade English muffins and making my own pita pockets, too!

Spoiling the Dog

My parents came to visit this weekend and mom helped me make a new dog pillow for Sadie. As you may or may not recall, the last one bit the dust after a yucky kennel accident. But seeing as she's having to have extra rest time these days, I thought a good quality bed would be nice for her.

I thought we could pull one off for cheaper than PetSmart and get a custom fit, to boot.

Here's the cost breakdown:
* 2 inch, high-density foam (24" x 39"): $15.20 (used 40% off coupon)
* Sherpa Faux Fur: $12.49
* 24" Zipper: $3.59
TOTAL: $31.28

Not a huge cost savings, compared to this one, but Doug likes that it's reversible since we made the whole pillow out of the fur.

We also got her a new collar to wear around the house, so she doesn't "jingle" so much. She is usually a naked-necked doggie, but since we're leashing her so much, she has her collar on all the time. She's getting so spoiled!