grey14me Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 wow, you go Janey did the bulge go away, I hope... Quote Michelle...forever missing her girls, Holly 5/22/99-9/13/10 and Bailey 8/1/93-7/11/05 Religion is the smile on a dog...Edie Brickell Wag more, bark less :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LolasMom Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Good girl Jane!!! Continued and good thoughts for both of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvgreys Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 What an excellent day Janie's had. WTG, sweetie pie. Quote Jeanne with Remington & Scooter the cat....and Beloved Bridge Angels Sandee, Shari, Wells, Derby, Phoenix, Jerry Lee and Finnian.....If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heavenand bring you home again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trevdog Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Sounds like she had a good day and is doing better.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Holding you both in my prayers. Quote Patti-Mommy of Lady Sophia 7-28-92 - 8-3-04... LaceyLaine 8-2-94-12-5-07... Flash Gordon 7-14-99 - 8-29-09... BrookLynne...Pavé Maria... and 18 Bridge Kids. WATCHING OVER US~SOPHIA~QUEENIE~LACEY LAINE~ CODY ANGELO~FLASH GORDON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBass Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Checking in on Jane this morning. I'm so glad that there is some very positive news to report for her. The trip to the back yard is quite remarkable! Quote Lucy with Greyhound Nate and OSH Tinker. With loving memories of MoMo (FTH Chyna Moon), Spirit, Miles the slinky kitty (OSH), Piper "The Perfect" (Oneco Chaplin), Winston, Yoda, Hector, and Claire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Sounding good. Did the bulge go away? Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VelvetEars Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I'd have posted last night, but an hour before I was supposed to start doula call, the day doula called and said "be here at 7" (when my call started), so I changed clothes and left and didn't get home until close to midnight, at which point I was ready to go to bed. (But we had a beautiful VBAC baby!) While I was gone last night, DH was in the kitchen opening a can of food for her, looked up, and there she was. She'd come to investigate her dinner preparations, I guess! The bulge went away - must have just been her position. This morning when DH got downstairs to let her out, she was standing in her crate. She walked herself to the front door, walked down the steps (with DH holding her harness), and then took off for the street. This time, she didn't aim for the cars, but for the open road. I'm thinking it's time to bite the bullet and just consistently take her out the back. I kind of prefer that anyway, because of the way the stairs curve, she has little "landings" where the steps are wider, and she can lean on the wall the whole way down if she needs to. It's a little harder to get her back up that way, but we can lean on the wall too. About 2 hours later, DH was taking her out again, and she walked to the back stairs and then tried to go down them herself - DH wasn't quite ready for that and wasn't holding her harness, so she ended up on her belly, legs in every direction. But she's fine - maybe just a little more cautious next time. To that end, we're keeping the baby gate up in the kitchen so if she decides to go that direction, she can't get to the stairs. So i think she's definitely making progress. And a funny story unrelated to Jane --- I had switched Jackson's collar yesterday when I switched Jane's, and left his old one on the coffee table. This morning, I was still asleep when my 7 year old came in holding Jackson's collar and said, "Mom, I think Jackson got away." -- "What are you talking about?" -- "I found his collar downstairs." -- "Sweetie, this is Jackson sleeping next to me. I switched his collar yesterday." -- "Oh. Ok." As an aside, I've been putting aloe mixed with some lavender essential oils on her various scrapes (because being unbalanced and knuckling under means some boo boos), and they're healing quite well. She also doesn't lick them when the aloe's on. So if you're looking for a good healer, you might try it. It doesn't burn or sting, and the lavender is, of course, very relaxing. You can get aloe at Walmart, and lavender essential oil (NOT perfume oil) online or at some health stores. (seller lavenderluxuries on eBay is good.) I filled a travel bottle - 2 oz? - about 2/3 full of aloe and added about 15 drops of lavender. Shake well, of course. Lavender is a natual antiseptic, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory, among other things. It can also be used "neat" (undiluted) on boo boos. I highly recommend keeping it in your medicine cabinet. So that's the 4th of July update! Happy 4th, everyone. Be safe, hug your hounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinggreysslp Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 I'm so glad to hear Jane's progress report! Quote Cosmo (Fuzz Face Cosmos), Holmes (He's a Dream), Boomer (USS Baby Boomer), Ella and missing our angels Clay (Red Clay), Train (Nite Train), Trip (Bock's Teddy Bear),Larry (Bohemian Frigid) and Jimmy (Bohemian Raw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighsayer Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Good news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xan Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Just catching up with Jane, and so glad to hear she's doing so well!! :confetti Thanks for the lavendar tip, too. Quote My Inspirations: Grey Pogo, borzoi Katie, Meep the cat, AND MY BELOVED DH!!!Missing Rowdy, Coco, Brilly, Happy and Wabi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hannahmom Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 So happy to hear abput Jane's progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvgreys Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Another happy update. Go Janie! Thanks for the tip about lavender and aloe for boo boos. Quote Jeanne with Remington & Scooter the cat....and Beloved Bridge Angels Sandee, Shari, Wells, Derby, Phoenix, Jerry Lee and Finnian.....If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heavenand bring you home again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Winterwish Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Good girl Jane! Thank you for the update,and I hope you're able to get some rest yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bona60 Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Hi Meredith. So glad Jane is at last doing so well. Considering that the vets had difficulty finding the problem, what was the eventual diagnosis and treatment? Congrats on your latest doula baby. Time for rest. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trevdog Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Oh she sounds much better! Keep up the good work sweetie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LolasMom Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Good girl Jane! Meredith, thanks for the aloe tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VelvetEars Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 (edited) Sam - there wasn't an exact diagnosis. They "suspect" it was a "vascular accident" (stroke), according to the vet report I rec'd. The MRI showed a lesion in her brain. Her spinal tap didn't show anything infectious or inflammatory. Pretty much everything else was w/in normal limits. Her paralysis is slightly worse on the left, and the lesion is a little to the right rather than midline, which would be consistent with a stroke. Treatment-wise, there really isn't any. Dr Couto suggested low-dose aspirin therapy, so she's on 20mg aspirin (1/4 of a baby aspirin) each evening. She's also on clindamycin and doxy for 4-6 weeks, and hydralazine for her high blood pressure (which could have contributed to a stroke). Her bp at one point was 200 over something --- should be closer to people bp. The doxy is still "just in case" on the TBDs, I think, and the clindamycin is treating the neospora (protozoa), altho' they've re-sent her bloodwork off (to Alabama state) to see if her # is high because she's actively infected or if it's actually antibodies after being exposed as a puppy. As for the blindness -- She has an "indolent ulcer" on her left cornea, which was scraped and is being treated with ointment. Other than that, her ophthamologic exam was normal, which is why they are more inclined to believe the blindness is related to a stroke. The lesion could be putting pressure on optic nerves, causing the blindness. Basically, we've eliminated everything else -- TBDs, infections, etc -- and we're left with stroke as the most likely scenario. She's been sleeping a lot --- but then again, she is a greyhound! I decided I wanted her to come eat in the kitchen as per the pre-stroke routine, so I called her when I was fixing her food and she found her way to the kitchen and ate standing up. Then she kind of slid over to the water bowl and had a good drink, got herself turned around, and walked back to the living room and maneuvered herself onto the couch again. She takes her pills very well in American cheese (which is nice because it softens and molds around the pills with a little body heat!), and she tolerates the eye ointment. I'm hoping that by this weekend, we can try letting her spend the night upstairs. She pees and poops in the crate every night, and I know it's because of her separation anxiety. I hate doing it to her, because I don't see how stressing her out is going to help her any, but she's not quite strong enough to go up all 14 steps yet. One thing I've noticed is that she no longer barks. She whines, but that's all. Before this, she was a major barker, thanks to lessons by Jackson. She hasn't barked once since the whole thing started 2 weeks ago. (Hard to believe it's been that long already!) So I don't know if that's also related to the lesion in her brain, or if she's just not found anything to bark about. She also shakes her head a lot when she's standing - like if she shakes her head, she'll clear something out of her ears and get her balance back, except when she shakes, she loses her balance and her legs slide out from under her. And she no longer wags her tail or thump it on the couch. She can lift it out of the way to pee, and if she's really scared, she'll pull it between her legs, but beyond that, she doesn't seem to have much control over it. I can tell she's getting some flexibility back -- she was really rigid for awhile -- but she can't curl up like she used to. I'm hoping she gets more flexible over time. She's tolerating the fireworks well this evening - even the ones our scummy neighbors across the street have shot at our front window right above the couch she's on. Tomorrow I'm in the office all day, so don't look for an update until evening - and I'm on call from 7-11p, so if there's not any update, it means I'm at a birth. Edited July 5, 2007 by VelvetEars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytlady94 Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I'm so happy she is doing better. Quote Greyhound angels at the bridge- Casey, Charlie, Maggie, Molly, Renie, Lucy & Teddy. Beagle angels Peanut and Charlie. And to all the 4 legged Bridge souls who have touched my heart, thank you. When a greyhound looks into you eyes it seems they touch your very soul. "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more then he loves himself". Josh Billings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bona60 Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Thanks Meredith. Your detailed account will help all of us and our greyhounds. Hugs to Jane!! Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vahoundlover Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 Good news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I've been following this closely and thinking of her often. Keep up the good work Jane! She takes her pills very well in American cheese (which is nice because it softens and molds around the pills with a little body heat!) Would whipped cream cheese work? That way you wouldn't have to mold it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chigal950 Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Checking in on Jane and thinking of you often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MomofSweetPotatoes Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Keeping good thoughts for Jane, she's a tough cookie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VelvetEars Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 There's not much new to report. She's following me around downstairs, bumping into things, getting stuck places, and trying her hardest to be Jane. She did bark this afternoon when she eating --- first time she's barked since she's been home. Before the stroke, she would always bark while eating - I guess warning everyone that the Queen was at the Food. So that part of her has returned. She's also becoming suspicious of the cheese with the pills - this morning, I had to add peanut butter. Her left eye - the one with the corneal ulcer - seems to be bothering her some. It's often only partially open. I'm not sure if this is because of the eye ointment, or if it's irritated for some reason. If she's still looking bothered on Monday, I'll call the vet -- she needs to follow up with our regular vet this week anyway for a check-up and to have her blood pressure taken. I left her out of the crate last night, and we got poop in the living room overnight, but no pee, so I guess that's progress. I know she hates the crate, but she's just not confident enough yet to make up upstairs, and it's too far to carry her. So maybe by next weekend she can sleep upstairs. Something to continue working towards. Oh - and on Thursday, when I got home, she wagged her tail! She doesn't do it like she used to (all the time!), but at least I know she still can! Hope you all are having a good weekend....hug your babies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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