Search forum
Back to German Shepherd Dog
Liked top 20
ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > My Heart is Breaking (153 replies)
by windwalker18 on 15 January 2012 - 00:13 |
Sorry, Jackie... I misread your post, and missed the last one. Hope that things turn out well for you and your gal... Best wishes to you both |
windwalker18 by starrchar on 15 January 2012 - 00:33 |
| I am not sure what to think, but based on your last post, I think Kali is still with you...or maybe I missed something. Jackie, No matter what, my prayers andf thoughts are with you and Kali, whether she has gone to the Bridge or not. My heart goes out to you in such a big way. I think everyone here can relate to loving a dog so deeply that we can't imagine life without her/him. Tears are flowing down my face as I write this. I am so sorry you are going through this awful ordeal. Hugs, Char |
starrchar by Kalibeck on 15 January 2012 - 03:16 |
| Thanks so much for the well wishes; yes, Kali is still with us, for now. Both of her front legs are shaved, & she's got a 2 inch incision right where her leg joins her shoulder wth 3 or 4 stitches in it. She's being a very good girl, & leaving it all alone for now. We're waiting for the pathology report to come back on the mass that was removed, & watching her leg for swelling. If that starts again, I don't know what we'll do. That would be life threatening for her. And, of course, we're making sure she's not hurting. She's on pain meds 24/7 now, & they seem to be helping a lot. Still, the vets are not optimistic. So we'll take it 1 day at a time, for now, & keep praying for her. God bless you all for your concern, I so appreciate knowing that we're not going through this alone. Thank you, jackie harris |
Kalibeck by Brandi on 18 January 2012 - 12:42 |
| Jackie, How are things going? It's been a few days since you posted. Keeping you all in my thoughts. Brandi |
Brandi by hexe on 18 January 2012 - 21:13 |
| Bump. Been thinking about you as well. Hoping that all's going good with Kali and everything else, and that you're just busy juggling life as usual. <wishing there was a 'fingers crossed' emoticon> |
by flygirl55 on 18 January 2012 - 21:32 |
| Jackie, The whole family here is pulling for you and your girl. The waiting is the worst part(I went thru that myself...I know how hard it is...). But I'm sure that you'll do what is best for your girl. Many prayers for you both. |
flygirl55 by ShelleyR on 19 January 2012 - 04:17 |
| News? |
ShelleyR by Kalibeck on 19 January 2012 - 14:11 |
| Hi everyone. Kali went back to the vets yesterday for increased swelling in her leg. The vet, after examination, decided that Kali has lymphedema in that leg secondary to ALL the lymph nodes in that leg, axilla, clavicular, & cervical area now calcified. We do not have a result back yet on her biopsy. We did increase her pain meds, & added an anti-inflammatory med for a couple of days, changed her antibiotics. We took her home with instructions to massage the edema from her leg & then ice it to help prevent the edema from returning, like we do for women who suffer lymphedema after a radical mastectomy. We did so, & it worked well, except all that fluid had no where to go, since the deep nodes in her neck & torso are probably also calcified, so her incision began leaking. Nothing major, just soaked 3 wash cloths & then a box of ABDs before it tapered off to a dribble. So we are still fighting. Kali's getting very spoiled because she's not too interested in food with all the pain meds, we are tempting her appetite with any good thing to start her eating, once she starts she's OK, she's back on Evo, but getting her started is a trip. We're hiding her pills in cored hot dogs, it's the only thing that hides the smell of the cephalexin. And some how I managed to contract pneumonia. Seriously, why can't we have 1 problem at a time? I've been working night shift so I could be home for Kali's appointments, another nurse has been out with an injury so there was a need, so my angels are still watching us! Also my computer keyboard has konked out, so I have to answer via my phone, I took some pix but can't upload them. I appreciate the prayers & well wishes, we sorely need them. Every time we take Kali outside now, Beckett must howl mournfully, & of course the 2 girls join in; they all understand she's fighting for her life. She's very happy right now, sleeping a lot, & a little tipsy when she's awake. Oh, the vets office is now totally team Kali, they refused to accept payment for the last visit & for her pain meds, God bless them! jackie harris |
by ggturner on 19 January 2012 - 14:21 |
| What a wonderful vet practice! God bless Kali! Stay strong! |
ggturner by Sunsilver on 19 January 2012 - 14:44 |
Keeping you in my prayers, Jackie! Are you still able to work with pneumonia??  BTW, I got reminded you're a nurse when I saw 'ABD pads'! LOL! And a whole box of them is 'nothing major'? Or were you being sarcastic? |
Sunsilver by Kalibeck on 19 January 2012 - 15:19 |
| Ssshhh! I am working, taking MucinexDM & my ABX, & being grateful to 'hide out' on night shift! I've mostly been doing paperwork, & wearing my mask when in contact with patients or co-workers! And, yeah, I pretty much knew why it was pouring out serosanguinous fluid everywhere, so I wasn't freaked out, but had to fetch a bucket for my Hubby to barf in, LOL, a pad to protect my bed, & the box of ABDs, leftover from Carl's knee replacement. Sometimes you just need 3 arms! But I think it helped with her pain, she laid there enjoying all the attention! jackie harris |
by Slamdunc on 19 January 2012 - 16:44 |
| Jackie, I'm very sorry to hear that Kali is sick. She is so lucky to have you as her owner. I know it must be hard for you, but you are certainly making it easier for Kali with your care and loving. I'm sure she knows and appreciates everything you are doing for her. You are a really exceptional person and I'm saying some prayers for Kali. Jim |
Slamdunc by Blitzen on 19 January 2012 - 17:08 |
Jackie, you are a great dog owner. Good luck!! |
Blitzen by Kalibeck on 19 January 2012 - 17:56 |
| I think my key board is up again, please forgive any rediculous typos! Kali is an exceptional dog, she is a true embassador for the breed, everyone who knows her, loves her. Our vet drops down to her knees to hug her whenever Kali visits, Kali watches over our neighbors & they all love her (save one nut case), she richly deserves anything we do for her. She saved my life, (she did, she alerted me to a life-threateningly low blood sugar!) how could I do any less for her? And she's my friend....! This is what she deserves, there is nothing exceptional about it. She takes care of everyone in the house, human or canine; she has taught my husband & I so much. I have promised her I will not let her suffer, but she made me promise that I would not let her go easily, either. She's ready to fight. So, we're treating each symptom as it arises while we wait for her biopsy results. She still has those eagles in her eyes! jackie harris |
by Kalibeck on 19 January 2012 - 18:42 |
.jpg)  Here's our poor girl's 'poodle' cut, you can see she's already down on her other pastern from carrying the weight of her body basically on the one leg. And you can see how puffy her poor leg is. You can also see the crumbs left over from her cracker bribe, LOL! I never knew how shaggy she was until she was shaved, she is super plush coated!  And here she is right now, head on the pillow I made of an old, soft flannel sheet, dreaming next to my bed, her favorite spot.jackie harris |
by hexe on 19 January 2012 - 19:38 |
| Jackie, I'm relieved to hear Kali's battling back against whatever this bizarre attacker is, and now get to worry if you'll exhaust yourself to where this pneumonia bout lands YOU in the hospital...Kali actually looks much better than I'd imagined--I was expecting her foreleg to look much, much worse, so I consider that to be a good sign, too. If she gets wise to the cephalexin in the hot dogs (my girls both did after about ten days), I found that liverwurst or braunschwager stinks so much that it REALLY masks the ceph smell, and you can roll it up into little balls and play the 'catch it' game, trick them into swallowing the first couple of 'blanks' in one gulp, and then toss the loaded one with the same results. ;) Will keep thinking those positive thoughts for you and Kali and Carl and the other dogs, too, and hoping the biopsy report comes back with an identification of something benign or at worst easily treatable. |
by LMH on 19 January 2012 - 20:20 |
| Jackie, I'm so happy for you. She does look like she's making some headway. Realize you're the nurse and know more than me, but if she was mine (lol), I'd be massaging that girl. Keep those juices flowing. The world comes to a stop when your dog is in trouble, and everyone here knows how much she means to you. It's a positive sign she looks this good. |
by Kalibeck on 19 January 2012 - 20:49 |
| Thank you so much for your concern, Hexe, right at this precise minute I feel really cruddy, like someone poured cement down my wind pipe. But the only thing to do is just keep on keeping on, & it'll all come round right in the end! I'm using my nebulizer, & my spirometer, & all the tricks I learned years ago in a pulmonary intensive care unit that I worked on 'back in the day' - it's old school, but it works. And tonight I get to try to sleep! YAY! I'm relieved that you think Kali's leg looks good....! To me it looks terribly misshapen, but it has no really negative signs, I can now find a pulse between her toes, the swelling resolves quickly when I elevate it & give some gentle massage; yes, the incision still weeps a little when I do this, but it's good, clear serum, no s/s of infection. Since we have her pain under better control she's eating again, her coat is shiny, she's picked up a couple of pounds. In fact I'm going to have to watch that she doesn't gain too much. Her left ear has a new crimp in it where she had one of those lumps that seems to be resolving....the whole ear was puffed up like a hematoma, but then went down so you could see the lump, & now it's getting smaller, I think her ear may even stand again. The skin lesions are healing, & itching, she keeps sticking her rear up to me to scratch her rump, LOL. The vets are preparing to do battle, trying to come up with a plan both effective & economical, they will be consulting Penn State on our behalf if they feel they need to. But right now, it's still all theory; until we get our biopsy back. The fact that it's taking longer than usual is not making me happy....I sure hope we're not the pathologists "Hey, look at this!' case, too. My vet's a pretty sharp cookie, if she's baffled, it's baffling. She says she's hoping it's calcinosis cutis, but preparing for a weird lymphoma. Maybe it's a sign of middle age, but I'd really rather NOT be interesting any more! And I know Kali feels the same! (At least to the veterinary professionals, anyway!) Thanks again everyone, for your prayers & well wishes, we do appreciate them so very much! jackie harris |
by Eldee on 19 January 2012 - 23:37 |
| Stay strong, she needs you to stay strong. It is her time. I lost my baby girl last summer, she had one heck of a good life. Never knew what hunger was, never felt a beating, never too cold nor too hot. 14 years and it was time. She lost her quality of life, and I knew. She would look at me and I just knew her pain was now unbearable. I loved her and I know that dogs can't live as long as us. They are put on this earth to make a difference in our lives for the short time they are in it. We buried her out back on the farm and every day I walk up to say hello. We have a new shepherd now, and I know old tara would be happy for us. A dog that can run and jump and live life to the fullest the way it should be. tara will always be my baby girl but now i have a new little girl and my time for grieving is now over. I will always miss her but she is happy now and without pain. My heart goes out to you in this time of sadness. |
Eldee by starrchar on 19 January 2012 - 23:53 |
| Jackie, Kali is one very lucky girl to have you as her owner/caregiver. Bless you for taking such awesome care of her. I continue to hope and pray Kali can pull through this and have more quality time with you. I don't know you personally, but I can feel your stress, anguish and emtional pain. Seeing our beloved pets decline is heartbreaking. Hang in there Jackie an ddon't forget to take care of yourself. Eldee, I am very sorry for the loss of your beloved Tara. For a GSD to live 14 years is a true blessing and she was obviously very well loved and taken care of, so I hope you can find some comfort in that. We never really get over the loss and we miss them for as long as we're here on this earth and they are a part of us always and then one day... we are reunited with them again on the Bridge. I so look forward to that time. Hugs, Char |
Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!