Disc Surgery again

[Davese]

First off let me say SORRY this is SO long.....

I guess this is more of a "What we are going through" more than a Who, What, Where, How post although there may be a question or few....

So to start off Sage is 9yo and has had HD all her life and was very painful getting up even at 4 months old.

We took her to Tampa Bay Veterinary Hospital in Largo, FL off Belcher (if familiar with area) and saw a Dr. Matt Oakes. He examined her and gave us many options from surgery to medications to use. The thing I liked best is he did not want to do surgery and seemed very caring. (I'll get to that later) So one of the things he suggested to me to research (that is what I do) was Adaquin (sp), now I am telling you this WORKED for almost all of her 9 years.

Well in Dec 10th of 04 (I know these dates well due to VPI Pet Ins) her herniated a disc and had to have it removed, her only problem was she hurt when moving her neck.

Now in Sept 06 she swallowed a good size rock (she wanted to play with) and had to have surgery to have it removed since the scope would not work.

Oh by the way she developed elbow displaysia as well a few years ago but it has gotten pretty bad the last year or so, she walks ok on it it's just weird looking at it sticking out and her limp (you know it hurts).

She had an orthoscope done on her elbow last year as well to see if there were any bone spurs that could be removed to relieve any discomfort, none there to really speak about.

In July we decided to have one of (her worst) hip replaced as it was awful to here her cry and moan sitting or standing at times (we knew it was getting bad again) well the surgery happened and after a week she was really favoring it, we brought her back and the Dr re-examined her and saw that the stem may have not anchored in the bone (the bone is so arthritic and just white which the Doc said was not a great sign) so he did more x-rays and conferred with 2 other Dr's (one in NC a the NCU and the other in Iowa I believe) they came back and suggested not to remove the stem (they were looking for any fracture (splitting) in the bone from the stem) but to put a bigger ball (head) on as the stem seemed to have maybe sunk in farther. Ok so 2 hip surgeries now...... well after a week it got even worse, we decided that since she is a very strong dog and has loads of muscle in that leg that we just needed to take it all out (TPO) surgery number 3 on the leg.....

When we picked her up from that last surgery you could see the relief and life back in her eyes and face... for the next 4 weeks she was doing awesome.... 3 to 4 block walks, it was great, then........... on Monday Nov 19th, 2007 I woke up and was going to let her and her brother out and she did not get up, so I'm thinking she may be feeling a little tired so I went to give her a boost and her front legs were stiff as a board and she would not move them, she would fall over on her face if I had not held her, so I rush her to our vet (103 lbs of dead weight) and after about 2 hours he calls and says he can take x-rays but that I should take her to TBVS as it seems like a Neurological issue...

Sure enough she had another ruptured disc (how we have no idea and the Doc says the only way we could have caused it is if we dropped something heavy on her ...well o course we didn't BUT all that is/was going through my mind anyway was what happened, did we somehow cause this....well we didn't but that is what goes through your mind)

So Dr. Oakes was not in on that Monday (He is the only one we trusted and had worked on Sage) so the Dr. that was there was a Dr. Bruns, he operated and removed the disc matter.

We picked her up on Saturday the 24th of Nov, she is still dead weight but we can get her to move both front legs by telling her to shake, her back legs move when you tickle her feet, she stretches all fours, but will not get up.

We built a cart for her as her bed, built ramps for the cart to go inside and out , we take her out 2 -3 times daily, (I have back issues so this really puts a strain on me and my wife cannot do it alone) she will not pee, or poo and hasn't for the 6 days since she went in for surgery. My wife found the spot where the bladder is (with the Dr's help) and got her to pee once and poop once this was on Sunday (4am Sunday), she peed on her bed yesterday I was told and has not done anything since.

She eats and drinks just like normal, but is shy (I guess) when we hold her up to go... I am holding her front while my wife holds her back. Again she just stands there all tensed up and has no balance.

She wines so much at night even with us right there (lights are off) it does not seem to be that she is in pain (Doc agrees), she has never done any of that for attention before so we don't know why she is doing this, we can be touching her and she still wines some.

Doctor states the chances of her walking again is 75% and with her actually moving her arms (while lying down) when we say shake, we have optimism that she will soon.

So this Dr. Matt Oakes is and has been a godsend as we would not have had her (we believe) for as long as we do and with a good quality of life, not great.. I know that this is just my opinion of him here, and since this will reach more people that can relate to what I am stating, then I will ever meet and talk to, I just have to say this man is just a awesome caring person about other peoples pets and the parents that care for them.

So if anyone has any suggestions on the whole bathroom and wining issues please share.

Again Sorry this is so long...

Dave

[brunie's mom]

So sorry to hear about your Sage.

It sounds like she has gone through enough stuff in her 9 years of life.
Honestly, if she were my dog (and I do have a 9 year old dog), I would see if there is any therapy (prednisone,acupuncture,etc.) that would help her...and not put her through a major surgery.

If she cannot even walk to pee or poop, there is not much quality of life left for her. She must have some dignity, and peeing in her bed....would be the sign for me that maybe it's time to give her relief from her pain.

She must be in pain?

I would really want to make sure that if she went through this lengthy and difficult surgery and long recovery that it would be worth it....and unless there is a good guarantee...I would not put my dog through it.

Gina

[Davese]

She is still full of life..... Her brain is like a puppy, she perks up, when talking about a ride, walk etc, she plays catch when we sit her up on her stern.. she doesn't want to go yet.

There is no doubt she will tell us when it is time, now is not and as devastating it will be to our lives to let her go, we will.

We are going to get a quad wheelchair from Eddies Wheels and do some rehab walks and exercises.

If the Newfoundland Coochie ( Eddies Wheels - Carts for Handicapped Pets ) can do it, then so can Sage.....

Gina, I had dogs all my life and I live by a bumper sticker I once saw in the shape of a paw that read "We are not disposable and need you to love us our WHOLE lives"....

Now I personally have gone through 2 major disc surgeries where I could not move my left side extremities and there was a probability I never would, I thank God that my wife didn't (and it being illegal) feel that I had to be put down because there was a chance I may not recover.

I am not being mean here please don't take it that way, I just don't agree with your thinking about trying all BUT surgery and if that doesn't work or there is no guarantee of recovery then down they go.

Many Many pets need/ed surgery to fix something and now live awesome lives. Surgery is not evil and can bring many more productive, fun years to your loving pets life.

Respectfully,
Dave

[Davese]

Update to Sage,

We put her out of pain today at 10am. We are so sad, this is the worst thing we have EVER had to do.

We still have her brother and I don't know what I/we will do when we lose him.

You can see her picture in my gallery

[observer]

I'm so sorry to hear about Sage. You did the most unselfish thing you will ever do -- but that surely does not mean it is easy. You loved her to the very end, and she surely knew that. Know that she is standing and walking and running free again, and watching over you all.

Say hello to all our friends, Sage...they will show you the ropes, and play with you all you want.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by Davese

Update to Sage,

We put her out of pain today at 10am. We are so sad, this is the worst thing we have EVER had to do.

We still have her brother and I don't know what I/we will do when we lose him.

You can see her picture in my gallery

Sad to hear this news....but glad you ended her pain.
We must remember these are not people....and a 9 year old Rottweiler is probably like a 75-80 year old person. Some older people can take more pain and recover from major surgery and some may not. I honestly wish people would be put out of their misery and we humans were as lucky as our dogs.
I have two friends dying of cancer now.

If you have pets, you always have to face this pain....with the love of a pet, hard decisions must be made.
RIP Sage.

Gina

[Vista]

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