02/27/2023
2 weeks ago Tess got herself in a pickle that resulted in head trauma...
First I called Richie in a panic... and he calmed me down enough to get me to call the vet and see what they said. Then I called the vet to describe her symptoms and get his advice on what I should do... he told me there were really only 2 options: 1.) There really wasn't much they could do for her other than put her on fluids and anti-inflammatories or 2.) Put her down...
I wrapped her in a blanket to keep her warm anhelp with the shock then carried her to the house, holding back tears.
I called Richie back to let him know what the vet said and make a decision. Based on her symptoms, what the vet advised we decided to go ahead and put her down.
While I was waiting for Richie to rush home, I gave her a shot of some strong NSAIDs we happened to have on hand for livestock, to give her some relief; and cradled her while crying my little heart out. I was upset, Tess is my baby. She was the first puppy of ours that I kept by my side 24/7. She's always had a big peice of my heart, because she's loves so big. She's spoiled rotten and it broke my heart that she was hurting.
By the time Richie got home some of her severe symptoms had calmed down some. So, we decided to change out minds, not put her down, and just see if she would make it thru the night with any kind of improvement.
I'm no expert, but I know enough to know that head trauma is a tricky thing. Even if the trauma is survived the quality of life may or may not be the same. Things that the vet mentioned were incontinence, being paralyzed, and coherency. The damage to the brain and/or whether or not there is bleeding are all factors.
Well, she did survive the night! She laid on the couch, wrapped in her blanket, and didn't move a muscle, other than to open her eyes a couple of times. The next day she still wasn't moving, but would take liquids out of a syringe and perk her ears up if you talked to her.... So we kept her on liquids, NSAIDs and hope.
Day 3 She was still sleeping 24/7 and you could tell she was hurting, even on NSAIDs. But she started move around a little bit to get comfy. You could tell she didn't have any balance and that she couldn't even hold herself up, but she would wiggle around to get comfy. I moved her to a pallet on the floor in front of the heater that evening. This was the first day she started taking some yogurt and bone broth from a syringe.
Day 4 At some point during the night she managed to get to her feed and relieve herself away from her pallet. Up until this point she had been wetting herself without even waking up. I couldn't believe she was on her feet! She was more wobbly than a newborn puppy. Couldn't take very many steps without falling over, couldn't walk a straight line, couldn't really see, but she was up! This was the first gilnt of hope for me. If she could semi get around, and potty I would be happy, even if that's all the progress she made. At one point when she was awake I carried her outside and used a towel under her chest to help support her so she could walk. I think the 5 minutes of fresh air and some sunshine did her good.
Day 5 She decided she wanted to eat dog food. I'd been feeding her bone broth, yogurt and canned dog food the last day or two, but she was ready to be back to being a normal dog. She started to walk by herself without me help. You could tell the right aide of her brain was still swollen because she couldn't walk a very straight line. She had to make lots of left circles while walking to try and get to where she wanted to go. She still couldn't really focus on anything. She could see things, but not focus on them. She could hear you calling her, but couldn't really come to you or focus on you.
Day 6-7 she kinda stayed the same as the day before. She could get up and walk around, was still sleeping most of the day, could potty by herself and was eating and drinking good. I figured this was probably where she was gonna stop at. And I was fine with that. She was mostly independent, and I considered that a huge win.
Day 8-9 I saw a pretty big jump. She was walking straight, she could even run around a little bit. Her personality started shinning thru and she could focus on you when you called her. She was back to being her old self!!!
Day 10 We had an appointment with the vet. After I had described step by step everything we had done per their advice, I asked what we should do from here on out. If we could take her off the anti-inflammatories, if I needed to be doing any excercises and therapy, etc...
I tell ya... She made me feel like a rockstar when she told me we'd done a great job with her.
She recommended a check up in a couple of weeks, taking her off the NSAIDs and just letting Tess do her thing and continue to heal.
In a week and a half, we went from thinking we were gonna have to let go of our baby, to thinking she would never fully recover, to the vet giving us a thumbs up and a pat on the back. It's been a wild ride! And I'm so thankful that Tess baby pulled her way thru. She's a rockstar!