Surgery Update: Week 8

Sadie's had three physical therapy appointments now. Halfway done! Today I had the girls with me, so she went back with Holly alone. Holly said she did great. Last time, Sadie was very nervous about going over the cavaletti. She kept trying to duck out of them, or else drag me through them at a racing speed. But, I guess she did just fine today. She was on the water treadmill for a while, too, and all by herself! I'm amazed and thrilled at how well that's been going.

We are doing our best to keep up with the exercises and stretching that she needs at home. To be honest, it's a lot, and we're not getting it all done, but are doing the best we can.

I bought her a sweater from Old Navy that will help with our increasingly long walks in the increasingly cold weather.

Surgery Update: 7 Weeks

Today was a huge milestone for Sadie - her first day of physical therapy! My awesome friend Julie came over to watch the girls, as the first appointment was supposed to be 2 hours long. And it pretty much was.

The therapist, Holly, was very, very, very nice and great with Sadie. I loved her. We spent a while going over Sadie's case history and she did an exam of Sadie - basically getting a baseline of heart rate and temp, but focusing on all of her joints and the range of motion on all her legs. She thought that Sadie's "bad" knee joint felt "really good." However, there's not much muscle mass there and Sadie has about 20 degrees less than normal range of motion in that leg.

Holly said that she is probably not likely to regain 100% range of motion, due to the heavy amount of scar tissue that has been built up in there. She recommended we stay on pain meds throughout her therapy, or at least just give her a pain pill on the days she has therapy. We will do six sessions, and about two a week (ideally).

Holly sent us home with a list of exercises and stretches to do with Sadie. She's not a vet herself, but she was very knowledgeable and I almost wish we had seen her sooner. She mentioned that it may have been better for Sadie to have been walking around a bit on the leg, even while it was still draining and open. She also suggested maybe heating it a bit during that time might have stimulated blood flow to the area and helped flush out the "bad stuff." But, she said that different folks have different opinions on that. It doesn't do us any good to play the "what if" game at this point.

Now what you're all curious about: the infamous WATER TREADMILL (aka water DREADmill...). Sadie did great! I was shocked! We only did about 3 minutes of it, and will gradually build up. There was one moment at the beginning where she briefly freaked out, but after that she walked steadily on. You can tell she was very nervous about it, though, since she was panting heavily and would not take a treat during or right after the experience.

I took a video, true to word, but was so caught up in the moment that most of it is sideways... Oops! I found some software to edit it back to normal, so enjoy. Future sessions will be around an hour long. I may bring the girls with me to some of them, especially when Sadie is more comfortable with the treadmill. I trust Holly, she greatly impressed me.

Rainbow Fish

It's been a while since I've posted any crafts we've done. This one was really fun, however, and deserves a post.

I drew lines for a bowl, which C cut out. Then I traced her hand and had to cut most of that out for her. Finally - decorate! A cute google eye, some Cheerios made our "bubbles," sequins for scales, and we added some seaweed yarn as well.


You could really be imaginative with this one!

Surgery Update: 6 Weeks!

Well, I am happy to report that six weeks post-op, the hole has finally healed up! It's scabby and crusty looking, but it is CLOSED. All the test results that Dr. V received back showed no infection. God has protected Sadie greatly, considering how long it took for that incision to heal.

We got the green light to begin therapy and have an initial 2 hour consultation next Tuesday. I'm thrilled! I spoke with the therapist on the phone and she thought we would be looking at 6-8 weeks of therapy. With Thanksgiving week in the middle of that, it may be January when we're done, but I have high hopes.

Next step - give that dog a BATH! :-)

Surgery Update: Days 34 - 38

Tuesday
Took Sadie to Dr. V where she got some joint fluid extracted from her knee to be sent in for tests. Dr. V was pleased that she was putting weight on her leg again, of course. He also flushed out the little hole with saline, and found that it all ran out clear. Sadie literally dragged him out the door when he offered to walk her back out to the lobby... She is a strong girl!

Thursday
Dr. V called to say that everything looked normal with the cytology report. Hooray! Now we're waiting on the "panel" results to know for sure we're in the clear, as far as infection goes.

Friday
Took Sadie to Dr. D for a flushing of the hole and advice about her e-collar. I had been to two pet stores and found that the collar we have is the biggest they sell. But Sadie has been managing to pick at the bandaids we've put on the hole. I fear she has eaten several of them... They did not have a bigger collar, but we decided to double-up with this wonderful inner-tube. So far, this combo has helped keep her away from the bandage.


She's got such a long, thin neck and a long, narrow snout that it's hard to keep her away from that knee. Another reason one of her nick-names is "Snout Snout."

Saturday
Sadie's hole is almost completely closed! I am SO excited! I am hoping that we can go have a consultation with the physical therapist as early as next week. Still haven't heard back on the panel results.