Alan's Spinal Cord Injury

[Aerosmom]

Cricket had a lot of trouble when she first had what has been diagnosed as "spinal cord disease" by a vet neurologist. It takes a little while for the steroids to work. I can see his left rear has the neurological deficit at this point. Hopefully some of the infllammation will subside and he'll regain sensation there.

 

Cricket is still a little off in the back -- she sinks when she stands still for while, almost as if she doesn't realize what her legs are doing. But, she can climb stairs and run in a hopping fashion and it hasn't stopped her from enjoying life at all. At one point, you could turn her paw upright and she wouldn't right it either, just like Alan she'd just drag it. It's because they can't feel anything. Alan doesn't look too bad. I bet he'll surprise you and figure out how to copmpensate until things hopefully improve. Using a sling or a harness helps a lot too.

 

Hang in there. It's really difficult at first. We've found that using a strong food incentiive like chicken crack (the dried chicken) as an incentive helps Cricket's motivation to try new things.

 

 

[Guest Karyl]

Why does it seem like life is always 2 steps forward and 10 steps back?

 

Alan went down while running last night and we had to rush him to the Vet (they have 24 hr emergency care) he was in lot of pain and could not move his back legs. It was the most frightening thing I have seen. He was dragging his hind legs in circles trying to stand up. The Dr. took x-rays and nothing was broken but they kept him over night and gave him a high dose of steroids and some pain meds. I met with the Ortho. Specialist that evaluated Alan today and he said it is more than likely a spinal cord injury...he is not sure exactly how it happened (slipped disk, clot etc.) he just knows that he has obvious neurological damage. As of this afternoon he remains hospitalized and may be for several days. He can not walk they stand him up and he can bear some weight on his right side but his left side is not well. The ortho Doc said he may improve on his own but these types of injuries can get better then all of a sudden get worse than what the original injury was! he may even need surgery! I am devastated!

 

I feel so helpless and it just breaks my heart to see him that way...

 

Has anyone else been thru a spinal cord injury with their Greyhound? What was recovery like? Did your hound need surgery? Will he ever be able to walk again???

 

I don't ever ask for much from anyone, but I know my fuzzy grumpy old man could sure use some prayers right about now.

 

When Brian gets home from work we are going to the Vet Hospital to see him.

 

*Update 5/30*

We went to see Alan tonight and he got his first acupuncture treatment while we were there. He still will not stand on his own and he can not walk. His left side is much worse than his right side. The staff at the hospital have all fallen in love with him already! He gets LOTS of attention, so, altho I miss him dearly, I know he is in good hands! Brian and I both agree that it would be best to do everything we can for him to help him recover without needing surgery! It sounds as tho this is going to be a long recovery for Alan and he may not even fully recover so I have to try to come to terms with that It will absolutely devastate Alan if he can never run again.

I told Alan that everyone was praying for him and he told me to tell you all that he appreciates that

 

*Update 5/31*

I went to see Alan this afternoon and met with the physical therapist and Dr. and they helped me with what we will need to do as far as care and therapy. His diagnosis is FCE - Fibrocartilaginous Embolism (I think I spelled it correctly?) Good news is they are letting him go home tonight, so when Brian gets home from work we will go pick him up. Bad news is that he still can not stand up on his own and he still can not walk. His left leg is very bad...he does not use it at all...when they stand him up it just knuckles under, they straighten it out and it knuckles under again. We are going to have a very hard road to recovery but I am going to try and be strong for him and not give up. We did it for Miss Nellie, why should it be any different for him...

I am already working on getting acupuncture treatments lined up for him and I am going to talk to my friend that does Reiki and massage therapy and in a couple of weeks we will get him started on hydro-therapy. I am praying for a full recovery, but at this point I am not totally convinced of that till I see him start to use that back left leg!

Once again, I must thank you all for your support and prayers and well wishes etc... I don't have lots of time to spend on GT and I know lots of you have problems with your hounds too and I wish I had time to respond to everyone with prayers and well wishes, but please know I think about each and everyone of your hounds when they are hurting and I always pray for them even tho I don't have the time to post..you guys are the best

 

*Update 6/2*

We got Alan home Thursday evening and he had a bad night and Friday he seemed to be doing worse so I emailed Dr. Couto and he was out of the country but he told me to talk to Dr. Liliana Marin and they could get us in right away at OSU. So, we loaded up Alan and Maggie and headed for Columbus, OH. They are still saying FCE just because of the nature of the injury and the symptoms presented. They let us take him home Friday night but he may have to go back on Monday and stay thru till Tuesday to have an MRI done. He is feeling deep pain in both rear legs but he can not use his left leg at all and there has been no improvement...he still can not walk at all because his right leg is not 100% either I just don't know what to say or think, it deeply saddens me to see him this way but I know we also have to give him time to heal. What's discouraging is not seeing any progress His prognosis is neither good nor bad right now because they just don't know when it's an injury of this type. Thanks you for your prayers and well wishes because they are very much needed right now I will try to keep everyone updated but he's requiring lots of attention right now and unfortunately, Katie-bug is not doing well either...this week has been awful...

 

*Update 6/3*

I am posting links to some video I took of Alan while we had him outside today. He seems really tired

I thought the video would better explain what we are dealing with here. I have a feeling it's going to be a long road to recovery. While he can get up on his own and does take steps you will notice that he does not move that left rear leg and you will also see how it knuckles under. He does still feel deep pain tho and that is the only good news! Thanks for you continued prayers and well wishes for Alan!

Alan's progress 1

Alan's progress 2

Alan's progress 3

 

[Guest Karyl]

My Name is Karyl, I was at OSU on Friday waiting on my Greyhound, Zeus. My Vet student Paulo, told me the same thing that happend to Zeus,

happened to your Alan.

 

Zeus is a beautiful 5 years old dark brindle we adopted him last July. He is precious to us and to our 3 year old standard poodle Joli and our 17

year old cat Sabastin.

 

I let Zeus out as usual on Monday May 14th at 6:00 AM, he came in and his rear end was wobbley, I knew something was wrong immediately,

he still wanted to eat so I supported him while he ate, he made it into our family room, and fell down and was unable to get up. He is a blood donor

at OSU. I called them and I had him there before 8:00 AM. Dr Kuoto cared for him. He had an MRI on Tues. May 15th. They said Zeus had a

DVT long suspected in Greys and other large breeds but never documented on an MRI. Zeus was at OSU until Friday in ICU.

 

It has been 3 long weeks but Zeus can not get up by himself and walk it is a delightful miracle for us, he had many people praying for him, as I

will do for your Alan. He is not steady yet, but he is improving everyday.

 

Please contact me if you wish. There is much more to tell, but way more than I can write.

 

Blessings to you both,

Karyl

[Guest loveagrey]

Poor guy! Prayers coming your way express post for Alan for a full and speedy recovery!

[grey14me]

Oh Suzie While it breaks my heart to see Alan like this, I honestly thought that he would be in worse shape than what the videos show. I am just so happy to see him standing up! I am happy to hear that he doesn't seem to be in pain, and that he is so obviously trying. Continued prayers for your sweet boy :hope

[Guest Machbragal]

Oh, poor baby. I am praying for your baby and for you.

[TheFullHouse]

Suzie, I just saw this! I'm so sorry this has happened to Alan. You are all in my prayers. Come on baby boy, you can beat this thing.

[NevadasMom]

Wow! Although it's difficult to watch, I find it very hopeful. Alan still seems interested in his world & seems to be motivated. I think that he looks remarkably good. He just needs time to figure things out & get back to a normal home routine. Remember, this is all confusing to him. Hang in there...........by the way your DH looks to be a great therapist!

[Jackandgrey]

When I watched the videos, I cried but really , reading the posts of people who have experienced this with their babies is so unbelievably positive and hopeful. So away go the tears and down to work sending positive and healing thoughts for Alan.

[kickchick2000]

I'm sending so many prayers for a good recovery your way. The video gave me two opposite emotions, one of sadness, and one of hope, Alan looked happy and you could just see he is going to be ok no matter what.

[Guest jettcricket]

....couldn't view the video at work, but just watched it now. Sending good strong healing thoughts to you and your boy. We're all rooting for him. Come on sweetie you can do it...one day at a time.

[Xan]

Oh poor baby!  I just held my breath through each of those videos!  

 

But!!  I want to remind you about Wabi, and how she gets along with one back leg knuckling under.  She's built  up strength to compensate for it, and we put a bootie on her goofy foot so it doesn't get banged up, but she still enjoys a nice walk and will bark and shove her head up the other dogs' hineys to get them to run so she can chase them!    Remember the dandelion video!  

 

It probably will be a long road to whatever recovery he can make, but adjustment to what stage he's at will also take place.  

[Guest grey_dreams]

Poor sweet Alan. He is really trying. for all of you.

 

I didn't read all the posts, and probably it has already been suggested to use a sling to help him walk. This could help him not to buckle under. And with you helping him, with the sling bearing some of the weight, he can start to build up strength in the other leg.

 

 

 

[Guest Baloos_Mom]

Ugh, Suzie, I am so sorry to read this! Prayers from here for your whole family!

[turbodogs]

How heart-breaking. My hopes and prayers are with you, Alan and your family. He is a sweetheart. Bless you and DH for giving him so much love and patience.

 

Liz

[Guest tammymacb]

I'm really sorry. I just saw this! Suzie, give your boy a hug from us, I'm sorry this is happening to you...You are in our thoughts...

[Rickiesmom]

Continued good thoughts and prayers for Alan.

[greytdecals]

My Name is Karyl, I was at OSU on Friday waiting on my Greyhound, Zeus. My Vet student Paulo, told me the same thing that happend to Zeus,

happened to your Alan.

 

Zeus is a beautiful 5 years old dark brindle we adopted him last July. He is precious to us and to our 3 year old standard poodle Joli and our 17

year old cat Sabastin.

 

I let Zeus out as usual on Monday May 14th at 6:00 AM, he came in and his rear end was wobbley, I knew something was wrong immediately,

he still wanted to eat so I supported him while he ate, he made it into our family room, and fell down and was unable to get up. He is a blood donor

at OSU. I called them and I had him there before 8:00 AM. Dr Kuoto cared for him. He had an MRI on Tues. May 15th. They said Zeus had a

DVT long suspected in Greys and other large breeds but never documented on an MRI. Zeus was at OSU until Friday in ICU.

 

It has been 3 long weeks but Zeus can not get up by himself and walk it is a delightful miracle for us, he had many people praying for him, as I

will do for your Alan. He is not steady yet, but he is improving everyday.

 

Please contact me if you wish. There is much more to tell, but way more than I can write.

 

Blessings to you both,

Karyl

Hi Karyl,

I can't pm you because you don't have enough posts on GT so I hope you came back and read this! I wanted talk to you before you left Friday but didn't get a chance. We have not had the MRI done yet on Alan...we were hoping he got better but it's not looking that way. He is learning to get along without his left rear leg but we constantly encourage him to use it. I think he may have to have the MRI Thursday. I am not familiar with DVT? They are saying Alan is suspected to have an FCE.

I am glad to hear Zeus is doing better!

suzieq

[Jiffer]

Oh hon, what a going on.

 

At least Alan is walking again, that's the important thing.

 

You're in my thoughts and prayers.

[Guest DoofBert]

More good thoughts for you all.

[Xan]

Oh yeay!! He's getting around better!

 

Did they talk to you about how, and how much, to encourage him to walk with that back leg? With Wabi (and this didn't work, btw, but she was born with her issue, so she never had the brain program a life of experience would give to support this), we did a bit of stretching and patterning after every potty outing, so several times a day. I'd stand over her, lean down and stretch the foot as flat as I could, and make her leg do walking motions like that, actually doing a touch/drag of the foot on the floor with each "step". I also tried shifting her weight to that foot, gently, by picking up the other foot with the goofy foot carefully positioned.

 

You all are constantly in my thoughts!

[jodyksam]

I was nervous to see the videos, and as hard as it is to see him in this condition, I can see some positives, because he seems to really be trying to use his left leg. I hope you continue to see improvement in him today.

 

:grouphug :hope

[greytdecals]

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and well wishes for Alan! He is scheduled to have an MRI on Thursday at OSU. Dr. Couto, Dr. Hosoya and Dr. Marin all agree that it is needed. The only improvement is the fact that he is learning to drag his "anchor" around better and can balance himself and walk a little bit but the left leg still has no movement It has now been 1 week since his accident. I hope and pray he will regain some use of that limb. I have never heard of amputation due to loss of movement from FCE but if Miss Nellie could get around well on 3 legs then I see no reason why Alan couldn't...he has the determination! We shall wait and see the results from his MRI Thursday.

 

 

[Rickiesmom]

Hope the MRI provides a definitive diagnosis, and that the prospects are good. Continuing good thoughts for Alan and for you.

[Guest vahoundlover]

Hope the MRI provides a definitive diagnosis, and that the prospects are good. Continuing good thoughts for Alan and for you.

 

Me too!