Post-Surgery Day 1
This is going to be a short update as I need to get back in and relieve Mary. She’s been sitting with Nikki all day while I’ve been at work, and needs a break.
Nikki seems to be doing as expected. When I came home from work she perked up and actually kissed my face when I bent down to her. Her eyes also looked a lot better than when I left this morning, so I think the healing is continuing.
I put the makeshift sling on Nikki and took her out front for a walk around the yard. She did pretty good, and for awhile didn’t even really need my support on the sling. I don’t think it’s time to let her manage on her own yet though, so we’ll still use the sling for a little while.
Starting tomorrow we’re supposed to begin reducing the pain meds slightly. We’ll see how that works out.
Anyway, thanks again for the comments. They are very much appreciated!
January 20th, 2010 at 21:24
Sounds like Nikki is coming along really well! I can’t imagine taking care of the dog during the first 24 hrs – you are doing great!
Tazzie was more sore days 3-5 because there was more bruising than on days 1-2. So we could not cut back pain meds until later. (The vet didn’t think he’d be sore, but it was a spectacular shade of purple!)
January 20th, 2010 at 22:24
Sounds like Nikki is doing great. I know it may be hard, but please try to give her time and space to heal. In the wild dogs will often leave the pack to go off and heal on their own when injured. And we often hear how dogs will become dependent on their people for support prolonging recovery.
This is a touchy subject I rarely bring up for fear of getting in the way of people’s emotional connections with their pups, but it is something to consider. I talked about it with a vet recently who told me she recommends that all her clients focus on healing the body. She actually goes so far as to tell people not to baby their dogs, but I won’t go there.
Thanks for the update!
January 21st, 2010 at 04:19
Geez, she looks great! Part of my fear is the color red literally makes me ill and I faint in hospitals. I will not leave her side until she…until when? My attitude may be wrong but I’m the one that’s done this to her, I’ve also saved her life, twice. My other fear is that she growls when you touch her back leg now because of the pain, will she bite me while transporting her from the car to the house or outside to do the do? How did you transfer the dog? I have an Altima and have the front seats forwarded as far as they’ll go with a comforter down in back folded in fours. The vet said they would help me get her in the car, it’s getting her out…believe me, that dog does not do what she doesn’t want to do and the dog trainer offered to give me back my money 🙂 Oh I laughed, whew. Did Nikki not use her leg much before the surgery so she had practice balancing on three legs? ANY and ALL suggestions welcome. Nikki is a champ, I’m very impressed! I’ll get that blog going when my nerves are better.
January 21st, 2010 at 06:48
Hi!
I know it’s hard (trust me, I never could have said that a week ago, even reading about the other experiences here, I wasn’t prepared for what was going to happen and what continues to happen) but dogs are much more resilient than I think we give them credit for. For Nikki, you can see the pictures where we moved her out of the vets office on a cart, but when we got home we lifted her down to the ground, balanced her on 3 legs, and used a makeshift sling (a canvas shopping bag with the sides cut out) to help her along. She made the trip on her own, and practically broke my heart while she did it. (Watching her do this, you can see how much she struggles and how little she complains)
Nikki had already stopped using the leg for the most part (if you can bring yourself to watch the video I posted a couple of days ago, notice her right rear leg at about the 40 second mark) so I think that has helped.. And for what it’s worth, Nikki also growled when you got near her leg.. Post surgery, she’s not growled at all. I think she realizes that we’re just trying to help her.