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10/13/04
After 3 days of on and off favoring of her rear left leg, Cinder was taken
to Maple River Clinic to be diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament. I am
partially blaming myself (okay mostly) and learning how genetics may play
a role in this. For the past year I have noticed a weakness in Cinder's
rear and almost constant shaking of her back legs. Cinder is also very
bowlegged. Has been since she was a puppy. I was also passed along this
information about limb alignment, bowleggedness and a predisposition to
Cruciate injury.
Limb Alignment
Now I blame myself for not looking into it further then and maybe
preventing it. I am not sure. Maybe this last run of agility class was
NOT the right thing to do and pushed it over the edge.
She is spending the next few weeks on confined rest and scheduled for
surgery November 15th.
11/02/04
We got the surgery moved up to November the 10th. The day is closing in on
me and I am starting to get worried. We are pretty much prepared though. I
will bring the x-pen up this weekend and setting up her recovery area.
Cinder is off her
Prednisone (she takes for her allergies) and getting ready to
start her
Deramaxx. They day is closing in.
***as a side
note I am really relieved at how well Cinder has done on the Deramaxx. She
has shown almost no side effects that I can tell as of yet. In the past
she has not tolerated
Rimadyl and had to be pulled off it in a matter a 2 days.***
11/10/04
Dropped Cinder off at 8:30 this Wednesday morning. Waited and finally
heard from the Vet after 1:30 that the surgery went really well and that
she was waking up nicely. She said there was no arthritis in the knee but
it was extremely loose. She will be coming home tomorrow at around 9:30
am. It is going to be such a long quiet night without my Cinder around,
but hopefully I will get a good nights rest because I don't think I will
have many of those for a while now. I will be up and worried all night.
Her ramp is
finished and her recovery area awaits her. Giving it a test run.
11/11/04
She returned home from the clinic in true Cinder fashion. Smile on her
face and tail waggin' away. She is wearing a soft cast and will continue
on Deramaxx and also take
Cephalexin for the next ten days. She can eat her normal diet, she is
going to the bathroom normally and she is being a wonderful patient. She
returns in 10 days for removal of her cast and stitches.
If all goes well in a couple of day when I know boredom will set in and
the itching from being off her prednisone, she has a freezer full of raw
femur bones and a couple stuffed Kong goodies!!
11/12/04
Well the night was
certainly harder on me!!! Constantly waking up thinking I heard her and
that she needed something. But she was great. She did need one potty break
at 2:45am and she did whine a bit after that, I think she just wanted to
come in our bedroom and take her place in our bed like usual. But in all
it was an uneventful night.
One exception
- Kramer is now headed to the Vet clinic. Apparently he is not to be
outdone by his sister.
11/17/04
Well its one week post op and things are just "okay". Being off the
prednisone is taking its toll and boredom has really set in. I hardly
sleep night and neither does Cinder because she is crying and whining so
much. She wants so badly to be in bed with us that it is killing us all
around here. I feel terrible. I am going to go to the store tonight to see
what other goodies I can get her to keep her occupied.
I think her cast needs to be rewrapped. Waiting for a call back from the
Vet.
11/18/04
We got the go-ahead to cut Cinders bandages off from the Vet. As soon as I
pulled away the last bit of wrap absolute feelings of guilt washed over
me. Don't know where it came from, or why??!! I started to panic - Should
she stand? What if she has to potty? How much weight can/should she put on
it? Should I start using the harness to take her out to ease off some of
the weight?
Oh man what
did I do to this poor girl?! Did we do the right thing? I mean, really not
like I had any other options. *sigh* This sucks!!!!
Keep in mind
of course she was a happy and sweet patient the entire time I cut it off
and was even wagging her tail. She seems comfortable. Cinder is NEVER
unhappy really. I am sure if she had her way she would be out running
right now.
She seems
thrilled to have it off and really enjoyed when I gave her shaved leg a
little scratch! You can see she looks to have a bit of a rash. Right now
she is enjoying another bone.
UPDATE
Later this evening I
this is what happened to Cinder's foot!
That sucker swelled up three times the normal size, was grossly inflamed
and sore. We called emergency services and she said to put a sock on it
and watch it closely and to bring her in first thing in the morning. If
any changes and it gets worse to call back any time.
11/19/04
The swelling is down some, but the redness and inflammation remains.
Took her to the clinic and they put some ointment on it and bandaged it up
to keep her from licking it. We go back in tomorrow morning for removal of
her stitches and we will recheck that foot.
They think the foot irritation is a combination of Cinder's allergies,
licking her toes, moisture, etc.
11/20/04
Cinder's foot looked GREAT today. But no sooner that tech took of the
bandage that little brat when right for the foot again to start chewing
and licking. So we put on more ointment and wrapped it back up. We will
keep this up daily for the next few days so she sent me home with a "care
package".
Stitches came out and everything else looks great. She is putting some
weight on her leg but she still needs to take things SLOW and EASY.
Since Cinder is still taking Deramaxx we cannot put her back on her
prednisone yet so we are doing every other day Deramaxx and Benadryl
twice a day.
11/27/04
Well so far all is going very well other than she has an ear infection and
we had to run to the clinic to pick up some meds this morning. Cinder is
putting weight on her leg and using it much more. We still leash walk her
- you see it has snowed here and Labs LOVE snow. It is the only way to
keep her from running her foolish head off out there. She spends more time
with us and not confined to her x-pen as much any more.
The scarring is hardly noticeable.
12/14/04
I have to apologize for such a delay in my updating. I've gotten emails
from a few online friends wanting to know her progress. Sorry I have
neglected making updates. But I am sure you can understand.
It has been very time consuming caring for Cinder and I have not had time
to sit and just type for a while. We have had several bumps in the road
over the past couple weeks. Cinder's allergies took over with a vengeance
from being of her prednisone and was/is losing hair every time she blinks.
She got an ear infection and we had to pick up some drops to put in her
ears to clear that up.
We finally got
her off her pain meds and she started some minor limping again. I was told
this was normal and will probably continue off and on over the next couple
months. We started her back on Prednisone on 12/10/04 and the itching has
let up!!
Last night at
about two thirty in the morning she was crying to go outside. I took her
out and noticed there was blood in her urine. I call the vet today and I
had to collect a urine sample and we are going in at 3:00 to see Dr.
Holly.
I am SO burnt
out. Not from caring for Cinder, I would do anything for her. But just
seeing her go through so much. So undeserving!! I had myself one good cry
this afternoon. Hit me like a ton of bricks.
Hasn't this girl been through enough!! She so misses running in the snow
you can see that in her eyes every time she goes out, and does not
understand why she can't run and romp with the other two.
*UPDATE*
Indeed a UTI and she is taking Baytril
12/21/04
Not much has changed. Cinder is been taking her Baytril and seems to be
doing much better. Still on limited movement around the house and leash
walks outside. Doc said to keep this up for another 2 months.
12/28/04
Well I just cannot believe the luck!!! Cinder's surgery knee was making
some obnoxious popping sounds so I took in into the clinic at 4:15 Monday
12-27-04 and she re-injured the knee. Dr. Holly said she should have put a
second suture in from the start and seemed pretty upset by it and blamed
herself. She had really thought the one suture would do it. So we return
on January 10th for that leg to be redone. Oh Cinder what ever will we
do!!???
01/10/05
And here we are, back were we started. I dropped Cinder off at the clinic
at 8 a.m. this morning and they just called a 11:55 a.m.
She is waking up and doing great. They also removed a cyst from just above
her eye and she certain that it was nothing. So she will come home with a
few stitches thrown in there as well. My poor pin cushion!! I pick her up
tomorrow at 9 in the morning, so now it is the long wait until then.
01/19/05
With just one day to go before the bandage and sutures come out Cinder
really did a number on herself! I jumped into the shower and was not in
there for even 10 minutes. As soon as I jumped out I do as I always have,
that is creep down the hall and check up on her.
WELL in that time she managed to push the bandage down her leg and expose
the incision. Removed about 4 sutures. AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
The bandage now was pinching pretty tight to I quickly grabbed my scissors
and cut it completely off her leg. This revealed much worse, and probably
why she so badly wanted that thing off. She had several moist, red puss
spots on her leg.
I semi-bandaged it back up just to protect it and drove to the vet clinic.
In that short drive she managed to chew her leg even more where it was now
bleeding. Her foot had also swelled much like it did the first time
around.
They cleaned
her up and said her remaining sutures must stay in for another 5 days.
They applied some nfx puffer for those wounds on her leg and said to keep
the leg unwrapped so that it can dry up. Moisture, bandage tape and gosh
knows what else seem to be the enemy with Cinder. I think she is allergic
to herself at times!
She was also "crowned" with an E-collar so she gets to walk around looking
like a lampshade.
This photo is
a bit graphic but looks worse that what it is. She is much more swollen
this time around because of making two cuts in the same area in 2 months
time. She also has some weeping out of that incision (normal) so along
with that puffer powder it has created a green tint and makes it look more
disgusting. You can see where she pulled out those sutures and you can
also see some of those red sores on her leg. The worse is actually down on
her toes and her hock where there was more contact with the tape.
01/24/05
Sutures came out and all is okay.
02/05/05
She is in ruff shape. Losing hair in huge patches. Itchy, gunk in ears.
She is no longer on pain meds and gimping around the house a bit. Taking
Atarax for her allergies but not doing us any good. I so badly want her
back on Prednisone!!!! Still wearing her head gear and maneuvering well
with it...can even manage a back foot in her mouth! SNOT!
Every night we sit on the sofa and watch TV. Blair carries her out there
and lays her on the sofa and she curls up between us. I just want my old
Cinder back.
02/17/05
The Atarax is doing us no good but we are keeping things under control
as best we can for now. To keep her from itching and licking herself into
one giant walking sore she just keeps her cone on. She is spending more
time outside the crate and enjoys evenings out in the living room with us
and snuggle time with Gryphon.
She is using the leg a bit more and some days she does not use it at all.
I think things are just healing slower than before with having two
surgeries on that same spot so close together. I am trying to be
optimistic!!
It became quite
hard keeping up with work, caring for Cinder and updating her Diary. It
has been one long process. Cinder was diagnosed with a pretty bad case of
arthritis in her injured leg and she may possibly have some in her good
leg. Since her second surgery Cinder has gotten grey in the face and she
no long gets around so well. She has her moments when she is feeling great
and wants to run and play, but for the most part she has a very hard time
going up and down stairs and it is almost painful to watch her get into a
sit position comfortably.
Right now I am trying do find what I
can to make her comfortable. The glucosamine/chondroitin supplements just
don't seem do be doing the trick these last couple months.
Thanks to everyone who wrote and
gave us encouragement during those long winter months.
The scar left behind
