My Heart is Breaking - Page 6

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

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

Jackie, you are a great dog owner. Good luck!!

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

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

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.

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. 

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

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.

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