I just called to check on Sprig. Leslie says he's doing really good. She fixed him a huge breakfast (they're still trying to put some weight back on him) which she made into meatballs and fed to him. I told her they were making him extremely spoiled, she said she thinks he already was.....I can't imagine why she would think such a thing. He went for a long walk with the physical therapist this morning. Leslie went with them and said he did really well. He would stop every once in a while and look back to make sure she was still there. His left leg is of course his dominant leg right now and it's doing great. She said they'll have to wait and see what happens when they take the fixator off, but for now it's working like it should and holding his weight. Sprig is moving his right leg but still not putting any weight on it. He's lost all the muscle in that leg so I'm sure it will take a little time to build it back up to where he can put weight on it again. After the walk Leslie cleaned the pin tracks in his left leg from the fixator. She said they're looking really healthy, not oozing at all. She also flushed out the incision on his right hip. She said it looks good and had very little fluid in it this morning.
Leslie said they're trying to get weight on him, his incision healed and some muscle back in his right leg so they can get him back home to us. She says she'll really miss him when he has to leave. We'll definitely keep in touch with her so she can see how well he does.
October 2, 2010
Just got back from visiting Sprig. The woman at the front desk wasn't the friendliest. I asked if we could visit in the lobby today since my father-in-law and his girlfriend met us there (making it a total of 5 people), I thought the lobby would be better than the small examining room. The woman at the desk seemed less than pleased at my request and told me we could only visit for 30 minutes so we could make room for the emergencies. Maybe it's just me, but I think sitting in the lobby and not taking up an exam room would be a more efficient way of making room for emergencies and not having to cut a visit short. I guess I have a different way of thinking. After driving about an hour and 20 minutes each way a 30 minute visit is pretty disappointing.
Anyway, Sprig looks really good today! He was very excited to see us. His fixator is a little squeaky this morning. Each time he takes a step it squeaks, it was pretty cute. His feet look good, almost all the hair has grown back so he doesn't have little bald feet anymore. I took him a treat but it didn't last long enough for me to get pictures of him with it. His left leg looks really good. He's putting a lot of weight on it and he can bend his knee pretty good. His right leg is getting there. He's moving it like he's supposed to but still not putting any weight on it. His incision looked okay. It's still holding closed with the staples but I don't know if it's healing yet.
October 6, 2010
Charmin called this morning to let us know Sprig's incision is draining a little bit, but not enough to stop him from continuing his physical therapy. They're also doing a fecal exam on him since his bowel movements haven't been normal. Other than that, she says he's doing pretty good. I'm beginning to wonder if he's ever coming home.
I miss him terribly as it is, but as I was getting my gear together last night for the first day of October season he should have been sitting there beside my waders waiting like he always did. I miss him everyday and now that duck seasoned has opened it just doesn't seem right to go without him, he loves it as much as I do.
October 7, 2010
Sprig looked great today! We got to visit outside, the first time since he's been there. He loved it! He perked up every time he heard something, a bird chirping, car doors closing, sirens in the distance. He started off close to the middle of the bed and gradually crept to the edge where he could play in the dirt. He would stretch his front feet out in front of him then kick dirt everywhere. He's always loved being outside so it was nice to spend a couple hours with him out there.
His incision is looking alright. It looks like the majority of it has closed up, there's a spot about an inch long that's still not healed, it's got 2 staples and 3 stitches in it and then there's a piece about the size of a pencil eraser that's open. The rest looks pretty good although he's going to have one hell of a scar. The hair on his left leg and hip is almost grown back out to normal, his right leg and hip still have short reddish tinted hair (I call it his baby hair).
I got him up to take him back inside and he's walking really well. He had no problem going up the step to the asphalt or the step up to the sidewalk. He had to visit with everyone in the waiting room. And as long as he's up he has to be moving, he walked around in circles in the waiting room after he'd let everybody love on him.
I look so forward to going to see him but it breaks my heart to have to leave without him. I can't wait until I get the call to come pick him up!
October 11, 2010
Dr. Stoll called yesterday (after I called and asked her to call me) to let me know Sprig isn't doing as well as I thought he was. The techs I talk to all tell me he's doing really good yet the doctor calls to tell me he's putting all his weight on his front legs, barely any weight on his left leg and no weight at all on his right leg. When I was there Thursday he was putting quite a bit of weight on his left leg and of course no weight on his right leg, there's no muscle in that leg to hold any weight. Anyway, they're going to do more x rays this week to see if anything has changed. I really think the doctor should call more often! She seems to have more insight on his condition that the routine update I get from the techs. If a baby has been there as long as Sprig has the doctor should at least make a weekly phone call to let us know how they think things are going and what they're planning to do. This is getting really frustrating!!!! What was supposed to be a 3 week hospital stay followed by physical therapy is now more than 10 weeks with no discharge date in sight. I know they can't control the first surgery not working or the infection that followed but my God, they can at least discuss with us what's going on and what they can do from here on out. We get our updates now by either calling them or going to see Sprig since they only call once or twice a week to tell us he's doing good.
October 14, 2010
I actually got a message yesterday from Charmin but we've been working on getting a haunted house ready to open tomorrow (with the money made going to Sprig's bill) and I didn't have a chance to get on here and post his update. There was a message from Charmin on the answering machine that Sprig had been moved to a big boy cage with a run in it so he can get up and move around a little more on his own....great news, right? Well that didn't last long, Dr. Stoll called yesterday evening and spoke to my son (thinking it was me) and in him trying to decipher the medical terminology all we really got was that Sprig had to have another surgery, this time on his left knee again. After a couple phone calls last night that didn't get returned Dr. Stoll called this morning and spoke with my wife. She didn't return the calls last night since she thought she had already spoken to me. So after realizing the miscommunication she called this morning and we've got the details now. After looking at Sprig's new x rays, the bones in his left leg aren't sitting straight. His femur is resting on the inside of his tibia instead of on top of it. Although he is walking on it they're worried that when they take his fixator off his knee isn't going to hold up, leaving the bones out of place will just make the arthritis he's going to have worse, and now they're not so sure he'll ever be able to use his right leg so they have to stabilize the left leg for him to be able to walk at all. So here we are, 75 days later, back in the same place we started and looking at yet another surgery. When his knee was done the first time, they didn't put the nylon through the kneecap as I was told they were going to do. They attached pins to the bones which the nylon was threaded through. This time they're going to drill into the bone and attach the nylon. Why didn't they just do that the first time???? As far as everything else goes....the screw that was backing out of his left hip hasn't moved anymore and Dr. Stoll believes it has stabilized, his right hip hasn't changed since the last x rays were taken, his incision is slowly healing and the drainage is minimal. Dr. Williams will be performing this surgery some time between today and Monday, depending on how many emergencies come in. He'll also take cultures from his right hip to check for bacteria.
October 19, 2010
Sorry it's been a while since I updated. I got the usual "Sprig is doing good today" updates over the weekend but didn't really have anything new until I spoke to Dr. Williams last night. I really enjoy talking to him! I learn more during a conversation with him than I do with all the others put together. Sprig came out of surgery fine. He tore one of the sutures in his knee, probably because he puts all his weight on that leg, and that's what made his femur shift. I forget the name of the material Dr. Williams used this time, but he says it's used in humans and they've started using it in animals about a year ago and it's strong enough to pull a car! His fixator has to be adjusted, it's not letting Dr. Williams set his leg exactly where he wants it to be. That will be done this morning, it was well after 10:00 last night when we spoke so he was going to wait until this morning to make the adjustments. Dr. Williams said Sprig lost all the ligaments as well as the meniscus in his knee so he has no cushion between the bones (that's the first I heard of that) and that makes it difficult to stabilize. The incision in his hip is still draining. Dr. Williams is going to make some changes in his treatment and see if he can get it cleared up. He said the infection could be caused by Sprig's body attacking the implants in his hip. If that's the case, IF the bones in his hip heal they can go back in and remove the implants. His last x rays showed new bone growth....a little bit of good news. I also asked about a wheel chair. Dr. Williams does not like to use a cart, as he calls it, on dogs like Sprig. He wants Sprig to walk on his own and not become dependant on a cart. But as a last resort, if they just cannot get Sprig to hold together well enough to support his own weight, he says absolutely, Sprig would do fine in a cart.
As far as when Sprig will be able to come home, that's still a long way off. I didn't get any type of time frame, just that he's still got a ways to go. I'm going to give him a couple days to get to feeling a little better then I'll go see him and add some new pictures.
October 23, 2010
Charmin has called every day this week and left messages that Sprig is doing alright. I finally spoke with her yesterday and found out that Dr. Williams also replaced the screw in his left hip that was backing out, though we hadn't heard about that before. That incision has some drainage also! Charmin did say Sprig is wagging his tail anytime somebody walks by him and he's back to his usual lovable self. They caught him trying to lick his feet again so he's got the cone back on. As much as I miss him and want to go see him, I'm going to give it a couple more days (now that I know he's had a screw replaced) before I go visit.
October 28, 2010
I just spoke with Charmin. She said it was funny I called at that moment, she had just left Sprig's room and told Dr. Williams Sprig needed to get home soon. Of course Dr. Williams says it's still going to be a while. Charmin told me when things start getting to the techs they all take a "Sprig break". They go in and sit with him and love on him and then they feel much better. She said he just looks up at them like he knows exactly what they're thinking, telling them everything will be alright.
Sprig is doing pretty good. They're walking him a little, not overdoing it. He's getting better control of his right leg. The incision in his right hip is starting to turn pink and has very little drainage. He's using his left leg quite a bit. They've got him in a big boy cage with a run in it again so he's moving around some on his own, too.
It's been 3 weeks since I've seen him and 89 days since he's been home....I miss him more than I could ever express! Charmin told me if I could wait a little longer, give it 2 weeks from his last surgery it would be better. I really hope our visiting too soon after all his other surgeries didn't cause him all these additional problems.
If you would like to help with Sprig's vet bills please contact Eastern Carolina Veterinary Referral at 910-790-1070 or use the donate link below.
