Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Sweet Bean

The universe is certainly mysterious and I'm not sure what I'm being told here, but since losing my full-time job and becoming a single parent, there sure has been a rash of dog injuries around here!

The most recent is a luxating patella (dislocated kneecap) which presented itself a few weeks ago in Mr. Wrigley Beans. At the time, I didn't know what it was and decided to keep an eye on his limp to see if it went away since there was no sense in rushing off to the vet if he was going to walk it off in a few days. However, he didn't get better, and it was time to see the vet!

I can't even tell you what a treat our vet visit was with the addition of one xanax to Wriggles. He had a few barking incidents, but he was the calm, happy dog that I knew he could be! Unfortunately, the vet had bad news for us when she diagnosed his knee issue. Pre-surgical bloodwork was done and we were referred to a specialist for the surgery.

Fortunately for us, the surgeon was willing to do the consult, x-rays, and surgery all in one day, which cut down on the travel, trauma, and overall expense. Wrigley was taken in last Friday, the diagnosis was confirmed (grade 3 luxation), and I left him for surgery. Surgery didn't happen quite as quickly as planned when there were two emergencies that popped up in front of him, but his surgery was completed Friday and I was told he was doing fine.

On Saturday, I called to confirm my ability to pick up Wrigley in the early afternoon only to be met with the information that Wrigley had experienced an adverse reaction to the morphine given during surgery and that he would require an extra day in the hospital. The medication had affected his spinal cord which was causing him trouble with his balance. I was worried, but the doctor assured me that this would have no long-term affects and that I could pick him up Sunday.

Sunday morning I showed up with my crew, paid the bill, and picked up my sweet Wriggles! He experienced a lot of bruising as a result of the surgery, but was looking happy to see us and even barked out the car windows like normal. He was also very swollen, poor guy.

It is only Tuesday now, but he is looking better all the time and the only major challenge that we are having is his intense resistance to getting his temperature taken (which needs to happen twice a day to check for infection). He has started putting his foot down and putting a little weight on it when he is outside int he grass and I know that he will keep getting better! Here is a picture from last night while he enjoyed a treat after cooperating (somewhat) with temperature taking.

So it's so far, so good for us! Please keep Wrigley in your thoughts as he continues to heal and get stronger! I can't wait for him to be able to try out his shiny new knee in a few months!

6 comments:

Susan said...

Aww! Poor Wrigley (and Wrigley's mommy!) I feel your pain. We've been having a vet-a-licious month ourselves. I hope Wrigley heals quickly and without incident.

Anonymous said...

I hope Wrigley Bean feels better soon. We will be keeping him (and the other Brown Dogs & the Brown Dog Mom) in our thoughts.
He looks sooo sweet enjoying his treat.
(((HUGS)))


Bella's Mom

Chris said...

Poor Wrigley, I hope he heals soon!

We have been through 6 crushed crucia tendon surgeries (ACL's the football injury)with 3 of our female Rotties and I know what you are going through! Although we never once had to take their temps! They recover quickly and the hardest part is not letting them over extend themselves once they start feeling better.....good luck!

Nicole said...

Susan, I hope your vet visits end soon!!

Bella's Mom, Thanks so much!!!

Chris, That is a lot of rehab you've been through over there! You are pros!

Liz said...

What a beautiful dog! Hang in there Wrigley!

Unknown said...

My little girl (pit-mix), Opal, just had her Patellar Luxation surgery. She's been home about a day and half and is getting a lot of bright red bruising around the incision. I see that Wrigley had that as well, was everything normal? How's he doing now? Opal is already walking on hers fairly well (day 2!).