MP_the4pack

Jen as soon as I get my butt in gear I'll take a video of my Diamond for you. You'll see a happy bouncy, energetic, full of life TWELVE yr old tripod. She was done Oct 9. But I can't honestly remember when she was this happy and feel good.

Isn't Dr. Couto fabulous. I had met him at Dewey and spoke with him. But last month was my first visit to see him clinically. I was doing very well with Diamond's diagnosis until he walked in the room and asked how I was. I burst out crying. And he hugged me. It made the 10 hr trip out there to see him. And it was worth every minute and every penny. By the way, does Glomerulo nephritis sound like the disease he was talking about?

Wow, I can't believe they would send him home the next day. Diamond was in ICU for 2 whole days afterwards. She went to the ward on Monday for the day before she was discharged in the afternoon.

If perchance it's a TIA caused by high BP, he would seem normal once passed. But high BP causes strokes..major strokes. Pearl is on a plethura of BP pills. And we monitor it every 6 weeks. Good luck, I hope it's nothing serious. By the way, if it is high BP and she's put on human BP pills, Costco is the way to go for them. I had the membership paid for the first month I got Pearl's meds there.

It could also be a TIA (mini stroke). If nothing else get his BP checked. I thought Pearl was having a vestibular issue but I still called her cardiologist. She rushed us right it. It was a stroke and Pearl's BP was 280.

Just checking in to see how the newest member of the Tripod Club is doing?

I just went thru this last month. Dima was diagnosed Sept 21 and by Sept 26 it was obvious she was in pain even on strong pain meds. She chose to take the ramp into the SUV instead of jumping in. She didn't come out at 9:30 at night from the bedroom to ask for her ice cream. She definitely wasn't my Diamond. I quickly changed plans from going to Dewey Beach to going to OSU. I felt lucky that I'm within driving distance (9-10 hrs). I had them evaluate her on Thursday Oct 8 and they all said that she's a good candidate to become a tripod. She might have a longer recover because of her arthritis and age. She had her amputation on Friday the 9th. I saw her saturday morning and was in tears not from seeing her limbless but because of the look on her face (I just want to warn you about that, not scare you.) I didn't expect it. I expected her to be groggy, mostly asleep, and was expecting bruising and tubes and the like. But it was the look of panic in her face that made me cry. But...be strong!!! It's very short lived. She was adjusting to being 3 legged by Sunday. All the doctors were surprised when she did so well that they discharged her on Monday!! Dr Couto had estimated a 4-5 day post op discharge as average. She did it in 3! She travelled back to NJ on Tuesday the 13th. (Lots of bedding in the back of the SUV and I had her ramp, which she was now used to). Her sister Pearl came with us, I left the other two at home. She was very restless and panted a lot for the first two weeks. But once she was off pain meds, her personality came back completely. She celebrated her 12th BD 2 weeks after her surgery. Yes....I did this to a 12 yr old! She is now one month post op and she refuses to use the ramp to go into the SUV (I insist for all my girls that they use the ramp to come out). But she demands to jump in. I made a ramp for her to go outside instead of using the 6 steps. But she always had difficulty going downstairs anyway. So she's fine with her ramp on the porch. Other than not having the stamina to do the walks we used to do, she does about 25% of what they were. She's her old self. I do have a problem with a stubborn infection that's not clearing up. And Dr. Couto is getting worried about us not starting chemo yet (as am I). But I am at peace with myself even if she succumbs to cancer within the next couple of weeks because I see a very noticeable different in the before and after amputation. She is not in pain now. And even though she really didn't complain before, I saw her personality disappear. I did not make a mistake. And it reinforces that if I think the next one can handle being a tripod, I will go thru it again. Good luck. This is going to be a difficult 2 weeks. But..........it really should only be about 2 weeks. PM me if you'd like. Mary Pat and Diamond.

Diamond wasn't eating either by Sunday morning (when they did her amp on Friday) and they thought she was going to have to stay in ICU for a few more days at least until she ate. But they started lowering her pain meds Saturday night and she ate a lot Sunday evening. She went home Monday. So I'm betting when the start to lower the meds, she'll get an appetite.

I wouldn't recommend this only two days after surgery. We had to drive home 40 miles with Cosmo the day after her surgery and any time we hit a bump or dip in the road (and believe me, we were driving super gingerly) she'd scream and jump to her feet. If you can't find someone to watch her at your home then I really think the vet is the safest option. She needs to be sequestered from other animals for a while for her own safety so I don't think your Mom's would be a good option. Honestly, she will be on a lot of pain meds and may not react all that much to being at the vet. It took Cosmo a week before she started to seem like herself again so really, I think two days after surgery, the vet is your safest option. I drove 10 hrs the day after Diamond's discharge. She was zonked out and slept almost the whole time. I did have about a foot of bedding in the car for her. But the vet probably is the best option because if she is restless and upset they can give her something to calm down.

Can you bring her with you? Are you driving? That way she'll be alone only for the time you are in the actual interview. if you were here in NJ, I'd babysit.

I know what you mean when you say you might be speaking too soon. So many times I think the same thing. Lexi....you go girl!

I did this just a month ago. While I had been prepared for what her surgical site will look like and all the tubes and other hospital-like shocks. No one said anything about the look on her face the first day. Diamond had a look of shock and panic that she no longer had a leg. She woke up and it was gone. Something was terribly wrong. But it lasted only that first day. After that, she improved tremendously. I just wanted to warn you. That part of her amp was really the only thing that sent me to tears. But I did make the right decision. Even though we are still fighting an infection at the surgical site, she is pain free. She hops around great. Her personality is back. That had disappeared a couple weeks before her surgery. (and in case you forgot...she's 12). The meds she was on did have her panting a lot and restless. But as soon as we were able to get rid of her pain meds, she was fine. Good luck. It'll be a rough 2 weeks ahead, but SO worth it.

I just wanted to add that my Diamond is 4 weeks post op. She had cancer in her right shoulder too. She's 12 yrs old.

She'll be fine. My Nana (Onyx who had her surgery at age 11 and is now 14) does great.

My Bwat hides her head too:

Dima had her leg amputated 2 weeks before her 12th BD. She's doing GREYT!! I have several updates thru H&M. I did drive out to OSU and made sure all the doctor's there concurred with the decision to amputate. They did. However they said she would have a longer recovery time due to her age and the arthritis she has in her remaining wrist. HA! Did she prove them wrong. She was operated on a Friday and to the surprise of her doctors, she was released from the hospital on that Monday. We drove 9 hrs home on Tuesday. I did make a ramp for her to use instead of using the 6 stairs needed to get out of the house. But she has no problem with them. And I can see she is happy to be pain free. (she did not jump into my SUV for 2 weeks prior to surgery because her leg hurt so much. But she is jumping in now. She refused to use her ramp which I had down for her). NOTE: no one is allowed to jump OUT of my SUV. She is getting her remaining staples out today ( we had a tiny setback with an infection in a small area of her surgery site). But that's all better. She will start chemo probably within a week. She's 3 weeks post amp now. While people PM'd me and told me not to do such a thing to a 12 yr old, I can see that I did right by Diamond. She is her happy self again even if she can't do the long walks we used to do. We do shorter ones. The first 2 weeks were the hardest and I think more because of the pain meds than actual pain at the surgical site. She did a lot of panting. But, that was pretty much it. And if you can make it to OSU, there are people there who put you up for free. They are a greyhound support group at OSU. So you save on the hotel bill. And free chemo drugs that you can have your local vets administer. And besides the support they give you, you will feel so comfortable to see greyhounds in the waiting room all the time. When Diamond was in surgery, the first grey I saw was a recent tripod. She was 9 and just 1 month post op. She looked terrific and made me feel much better. Good luck. I know it was the HARDEST decision I've ever made. I angonized for the two weeks before I went out to OSU. It was brutal. And I left it up to the OSU doctors to tell it to me straight if she was indeed a candidate. If at her age she could survive as a tripod. If they said no, I would drive the 10 hrs back and just do pain management.

She jumps into the SUV, but from day one, NONE of mine are allowed to jump out. I make them all wait for me to put the ramp up. Thankfully this made it very easy for Dima once she became a tripod. (even my petite 5 yr old uses the ramp to get out)

Well Dr. Couto got the biopsy results back. It was definitely OS. (And believe it or not, I'm thankful for that. I would be devastated if it turned out to be an infection that we could have fixed without amputation.) And........the lymph nodes were CLEAN!! The tetracycline is working on the infection and it's almost healed, so I'm thinking her chemo starts within a week or so. So, hopefully we get this done, and behind us and she can enjoy another couple of years.

If it is OS and you're struggling with the decision of what to do here's my story to help you. Diamond was diagnosed with OS 6 weeks ago. She was struggling with pain even though she was on high doses of pain meds. I did make the journey to OSU (I'm in NJ) and consulted with the team there. I was very determined to make sure that I got a "how is she going to do AFTER the amp at her age with her arthritis" answer. Even though I took the long drive out there, I would not go thru with the surgery if anyone felt she couldn't handle being a tripod. While there was a concern, the oncologist (Dr. Couto), the surgeon and the orthopedists all said that she may take longer to recover but she's in great condition and we should go forward with the amp. She's 3 weeks post amp and jumping into my very high SUV. She's actually refusing her ramp which she did use prior to surgery and immediately post op. She's almost doing a full walk again (which encompasses circling around a 26 acre farm....it's a long walk). By the way..............she celebrated her 12th birthday 2 weeks post op. I'm not telling you what to do, only you can make that decision. And this was the absolutely hardest decision I've ever had to make. Now, I know, Diamond's told me, that I made the right decision. Good luck. THis sucks. But whatever you do is right.

C'mon Cali, you can do it. You can get much much better!

OMG, I'm just reading this. I'm glad she's pulled out of the crisis as much as she has so far, I hope her kidneys decide to behave now. Paws and fingers crossed here for her.

Diamond jumped into the SUV today. I have a 4runner which is just about one of the highest off the ground SUVs. She told me "enough with the ramp Momma, I don't need it anymore" What makes this so monumental is that just weeks prior to surgery (we had been diagnosed only 2-3 weeks before surgery)......she didn't want to jump into the car anymore and wanted the ramp. This just reinforces that she really was in pain even on the high doses of rimady and tramadol. Now, if we can only get her suture site to fully heal (we have an infection and changed antibiotics to one that the organism is sensitive to). As soon as that's done, she'll go on chemo. But, She's feeling fine. Just fine!

Yup. 3 yrs ago my Onyx was diagnosed with it and we went thru with the surgery (larygeal tieback). She was 11. She's now 14 and doing great. The only thing we need to watch is foods that may be crumbly that she could aspirate. Like milkbone dog bisquits. But even without surgery, you still have to be careful of aspirate pneumonia. I don't quite know the criteria for a "good candidate", but Onyx was.

You know, I'm anal when it comes to my girls limping and I think my vets must think I'm nuts. Two weeks before I brought Diamond in for limping, I brought her sister Pearl for a limp on the exact same leg. It turned out to be arthritis in her wrist. Since Diamond has the same ugly wrist as her sister I just thought the same, but still brought her in. Thank God, my vet still understands the greyhound. He found her sore in the shoulder where Pearl was not. Xrays........showed suspicion. Of course as soon as he said her shoulder was sore, let's xray, I knew. I had been waiting. I knew one of my girls was going to get OS because I was bucking the odds having had 6 greys so far and up to that point none of them had OS. I so hope you're lucky.