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Wednesday, November 8, 2017

How to put the challenge into your day.

Tuesday morning started out with everything going for it.
Good book, a variety of knitting,
pumpkin spice coffee.  Heaven.
When I schlepped the goober outside for his early morning constitutional, I noticed - to my horror - that his back end was having trouble maneuvering.  As soon as the clock struck 8, I put a call in to my vet and they squeezed us in at 10.  This produced a flurry of emails with my office nobs (one of whom dislikes dogs) wherein I stated confidently that I would be in directly, following the dropping off at home of PB.


Oh, ha.
What a pair we are, waiting
for the neurologist and a couple
of ibuprofens
The vet took one look at PB and declared "you need a neurologist!"  I scooped him up and trotted out in the direction of my car.  Before I reached it, I managed to trip over an uneven patch and had gone headlong - hanging onto PB for dear life until just before impact, when I sort of slid him forward.  I did manage not to injure him further, but my right knee received the brunt of the impact.  As did my best pair of jeans, dammit.  I gimped him to the car and then gimped back into the vet's office to pay.  They took one look at my knee, sat me down and started to work.  If you're going to take a header, it's better to do it in proximity of people with medical knowledge.  We joked about how vet wrap is to vets what duct tape is to farmers.

After taking off the sticky wrap that
was to make sure the vet wrap
didn't slip.  She is nothing if not
thorough


With my knee firmly bandaged, I hobbled back to the car and we headed an hour west to a veterinary specialist.  By the time we pulled into the emergency entrance, the shock had worn off and my knee was throbbing.  And I was getting the little brown stink eye from PB.  Long and painful story short, he was diagnosed with invertebral disc disease and I received an ice pack and two ibuprofens.  And a sizeable bill.  I was happy they didn't charge me for the ice pack or meds.  My only two options, according to them, was to keep PB in strict confinement, on pain meds, for four weeks OR get an MRI done with surgery to follow.  Hmmm.  $168 or $7000+?  Let me think about it - for a nanosecond.  They felt we had caught the problem quickly enough that there was a pretty good chance (65%) that the confinement would work.  By the time we got out of there (after a blow by blow stream of emails to the office, whether they gave a damn or not), we didn't arrive home until 3 o'clock.  We were both exhausted.  I gave PB his pain meds (liquid - citrus flavored.  Why? Why not liver?) which he hates, swaddled him in six fleece blankets and put him in his crate.  I was about to self-medicate, since it was 5 o'clock somewhere, but remembered I had to vote.  This is a small town.  Had I sashayed into the polling place, the Election Ladies would have had their antennae going and the fact that they detected Sauvignon Blanc at 3:30 would have raced through the town like wildfire.


I voted, did my chores and fixed an extra-special doggie dinner.  Then I fixed an extra-special Doggie Mommie dinner that only required one glass.  Sleeping was a little rough, as I kept turning over the fact that I chose the cheaper way out than what may be better for the little guy.  By 2 o'clock, I gave up and got up.  I had pretty much decided that I would find a way to pay for it.  I was not going to have PB end up paralyzed.  He did seem a little, tiny bit more steady this morning, so that gave me a boost.  Then, as I rehashed the day with our office building super (he and his wife have 7 dogs and are super-rescuers), he mentioned laser treatments.  Apparently, there is a third option that has proven highly successful in the treatment of IDD.  At a fraction of the cost, with no meds.  I will be consulting with a third vet tomorrow.  Geezlouise.

15 comments:

DFW said...

Wow Susan. When you set out to have a hectic & stressful day, you don't hold back do you? Hope the knee heals quickly & that the IDD treatments work for PB.

Michelle said...

Oh Susan, tripping and falling with a down-in-the-back dachshund in hand could have ended very, very badly. SO glad it wasn't worse for either of you! And so glad you learned of another possible option for PB; I'll be praying he is a good candidate. And that your knee heals quickly! I've been wearing a knee brace to bed (the one my strong teenager torqued on the trampoline) and that's been helping a lot.

Theresa said...

Oh my yes, I have heard varying success stories with laser therapy. Try to find a tech who has a few years under their belt if possible. Shop around the surgery if you go that route. Miss Bea (RIP) had a bad knee. The cost between different vets was $800-$2300. Same orthopedic surgery. My vet doesn't do it.
And speaking of knees. Ouch ouch ouch! Take care of yourself too.

Susan said...

All this happens when I let my emotions have their head. If I just calm down, things go more smoothly. And less painfully. I am really hoping that the laser treatments work.

Susan said...

I know, Michelle. I had visions of crushing him! I can remember crying, "Noooooooooo!" before scooting him off to the side. I did, however, totally shake a very old lady and her cat. I bet that will give her something to talk about for weeks! Ouch! A torqued knee is painful!

Susan said...

This vet has a very good reputation - the building super's wife worked there as a tech for years. The only drawback about my vet is that they have a fairly limited range of services. Even so, I was surprised that they didn't know about the laser treatments. Ah, knees. Miss Lovey has a gimpy knee herself. One patient at a time....

Mama Pea said...

Oy, oy, OY! Glad you're checking out all the options for PB before proceeding with the MRI, surgery, etc. What a dilemma for you. What ANOTHER dilemma for you. Does it never stop?

Let us all know how your knee is. Really hoping it's just ("Just?!", she says!) a good bump and scrape and will heal quickly.

Don't know that I believe in good or bad phases of the moon, but it's certainly been throwing some curve balls at you. Hugs.

Susan said...

What an awful day. Poor PB, poor you. You need a day in bed with the blankets over your head. Can you try confinement and have surgery as back up or is it better to have surgery immediately?

Nancy In Boise said...

Oh hope you're both ok? Did you get checked out??? Nothing broken?

angryparsnip said...

Oh My Goodness....
So sorry about the fall and knee.
As for your sweet PB.... daughter adopted a PB only he was called Waldie. Three back operations later they had to build ramps everywhere, no jumping, getting up anywhere and always very cautious. Even weighing his food so no weight gain. They are sweet dogs but love to eat.
Did not know about the lazzer hope that works for out for PB.
Fingers crossed !

cheers, parsnip

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Wow, did you and PB ever have a shitty day! I hope you both heal quickly (and without unnecessary expense!)

Valerie said...

There is a facebook group, Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund, for doxie-owners/lovers. Crusoe himself had ivdd, as well as many of the doxies in the group. Many have recovered with just meds and rest--least invasive measures first, then explore other options. I'm sorry PB is going through this. I fell up the stairs with my doxie, managing to turn and land on my wrist rather than on him--it's still sore, but my little guy is okay! Best of luck!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Oh man, I sure hope you find an inexpensive way to treat PB, and I sure hope your knee recovers. Hugs!

Theresa Y said...

Oh my, what a day! I hope tomorrow is better for you both. Here's hoping the third option is doable. Please take care of yourselves and you watch those uneven patches. You know when we injure ourselves we don't bounce back as quickly as we did when we were younger. Take care!!

Rain said...

Geezlouise indeed Susan...my gosh, firstly please feel better soon, have more wine, it helps, I know. :) And poor little PB...I'm very interested to hear about the laser treatment. I'm thinking of the both of you. xx