Post-Surgery, Day 2
Wow.
As I write this, I can barely keep my eyes open. Last night definitely qualifies as being in the top 10 of worst nights ever. Starting from about 9:30pm, Nikki just could not stop whimpering and whining. I tried everything I could think of; I took her outside, both front yard and back, I walked her around the house, and I laid down with her on the bed. Gave her as much water as she would drink as well. Nothing worked…. It didn’t seem like “Pain” whimpering, and according to Dr. Pyne it was likely Dysphoria, brought on by the Tramadol. All I know was that there was absolutely nothing I could do about it, so we both suffered. Finally at about 4am, she went to sleep. Of course my alarm went off at 0415, so the night was pretty much shot. Couple no sleep with stress and worry, and well, it isn’t fun at all…
Instead of driving in to the office for the early morning meeting (Which is normally 0630 on Tues/Thurs) I decided to do the call at the house and then head to the office. It was very interesting to me that Nikki was happy to see Sasha and Buddy when they came down the stairs. She also seemed to really perk up once Mary was up and about.
While I was on my call, Mary fed the other dogs and sat with Nikki, feeding her whatever she’d take. She started to whine less at that point, and by the time I was done with my call and headed out the door, Nikki had that “old spark” in her eyes, and kissed me when I bent down to her to leave…
She slept most of the day, with occasional ups to go outside.. Mary said she was quite happy just sitting on a blanket in the living room with the other dogs and the TV.. So all in all it was a great day for Nikki..
The fun begins though when I walk in the door after work. The normal ritual here is that I open the garage door, and then have a gauntlet of dogs to walk through as I put my stuff in the office, with all of them letting me know that they missed me. (To be fair, they treat anyone who comes into the house as their long-lost best friend) Today was no different, and sure enough Nikki was there on her blanket wagging and bouncing (as much as you can bounce while laying on your stomach I suppose). I walked over to her, and she just positively lit up. She crawled to meet me, then ROLLED OVER to let me rub her tummy. Then she laid on her side, arched her back and did the normal thing she does to get me to scratch her back.. As I did that and got down on the floor with her, she licked and licked and you could just tell she was SO happy…
After a bit of this playing around, I got her up and took her outside, and she really did great, with very little help from me on the sling…
All in all, it looks like we’re turning a corner and getting better. It’s only day 2, and I imagine I’m in for another long night, but it sure is good to see her acting like she is now!
Now, for those that might be a bit squeamish, you might want to stop looking… One thing I wanted to do is show a picture of her wound, and the associated bruise. (I took this while she was upside down letting me rub her tummy) I show this because it is completely normal, and those that may go through this after me need to see this. Don’t freak out when your baby looks like this:
January 21st, 2010 at 17:15
Glad to hear Nikki is bouncing back, literally! 😉 It looks like she is healing quite nicely. Hang in there.
January 21st, 2010 at 17:26
Glad Nikki is having a great day! Maybe over night she misses being with the others?!?! It is hard enough having surgery and add in the abnormal sleeping arrangement. Just a thought! I know how attached dogs get to one another and their humans.
January 21st, 2010 at 17:39
We are pretty much convinced that you are right, she does miss the others. We’re going to try getting her upstairs tonight and letting her sleep on her normal bed. Given that the others did well with her today, I think it is OK.. I will let you know….
January 21st, 2010 at 17:55
Sounds like Nikki is doing okay, even if you are totally not-okay from lack of sleep. But I bet when Nikki looks happy, you are happy.
Most of our dogs stayed at the hotel on heavy drugs for 1-2 nights following surgery, so you are bound to have more whiny sleepless early nights. But it sounds like she is doing fine if she can stand and relive herself and even enjoy the company of her pals and a belly rub. Yay Nikki!
Nice bit of colour there Nikki!
January 21st, 2010 at 18:12
The Tramadol was really, really hard on Nova. As soon as she went off of it, life improved drastically. I got her off of it as quickly as I could.
So glad Nikki is so happy today!
Sue and Nova
January 21st, 2010 at 19:48
Wow, you’re right, but I needed to see the picture, I’ll see it tomorrow on Kanga (roo). Really interesting how I’ve seen some done at the hip like that and some at the knee. Our vet explained that he was convinced that it’s ultimately more comfortable for the dog and there’s no leg to get injured in the future. I’M SO HAPPY TO HEAR she’s acting so like her old self so soon, that’s incredible and so reassuring to me. This is a truly traumatic ordeal and still not convinced more so for me or her! I’m hoping the dogs wake up and think “Ouch, wait, where’s my bone?” instead of “Holy crap, where’s my leg and who do I talk to about this” – I have to laugh at this point, I’ve been awake over 40 hours and can’t go to bed until Kanga’s bed is delivered in about an hour. Ted, you and Mary are so great to share this, I can’t begin to tell you what a true help you’ve been to my entire family and especially teaching me how to take care of my baby girl the best and most informed way possible. I’ll let you know how tomorrow and the dreaded first night go…
Gratefully your,
Paula
January 21st, 2010 at 20:38
Wow…Ted and Mary…be as good to yourselves as you are to Nikki…this recovery period is hard…my hubby and I slept in shifts so that one of us was always awake and checking on Timber…(since we’re retired, this was workable…) but the heavy lifting is all mine since DH has heart problems and can’t participate or even go outside when it’s really cold…and this is Chicago…I used the AST Get-a-Grip Harness from http://www.petsupportsuit.com for help navigating stairs and getting into our SUV…it’s got a padded belly for good support right after surgery, but was a problem on walks when he would pee into the harness…which may have been a bit too large to clear the important areas of his anatomy…I got the Ruffwear harness for great control on our post-post surgery walks and it didn’t inhibit his streaming…OH… well Nikki’s a girl and this won’t matter…
best of luck to you all…this gets better…
and a SHOUT-OUT to Kanga’s mom…girl, I’d love to share with you and hold your hand and Kanga’s paw…big dogs present bigger challenges…where can I find you on this site??
blessings and support and healing and miracles to all…Denise and Timber
January 21st, 2010 at 21:20
Nikki, keep on showing your Dad that things will get better. You go girl!
It’s a long road those first two weeks but I know you’ll be feeling much better in no time. Your pack sounds like a lot of fun, you’re such a lucky girl to have a cheering section 🙂
Keep it up.