DevilDog Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Wow greyt report! I'm so pleased he is doing so well!! Kisses from Virginia Beach! Quote Lisa with Finnegan (Nina's Fire Fly) and Sage (Gil's Selma). Always missing Roscoewww.popdogdesigns.net pop art prints, custom portraits and collars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgrey Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Welcome home, Charlie! Sending good thoughts for a quick and complete recovery. Quote Cynthia, & Cristiano, galgoAlways in my heart: Frostman Newdawn Frost, Keno Jet Action & Chloe (NGA racing name unknown), Irys (galgo), Hannah (weim), Cruz (galgo), & Carly CW Your Charming Princess http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1018857 "It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." -- Unknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dana Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Kyle (Charlie's dad), I am so grateful that you included pictures of Charlie to help ease my mind a little and to know what to expect. My big boy grey John goes in Friday morning for amputation of his right hind leg. He was diagnosed with what looks like osteosarcoma in that leg. They said of course they couldn't know with 100% certainty unless they did a biopsy. His leg has really started over the last week to give him pain. I wasn't going to go the amputation route but decided to due to the pain. Your Charlie looks wonderful. Is there any advice you could give me having gone through this so recently. What should I have prepared for his return home? How long did they keep Charlie after the amputation? I would SO appreciate any light you can shed on this for me as I am a nervous wreck but want that painful limb gone. Thank you so very much....Dana (John's mom) Dana, I am sorry to hear about John's diagnosis. Please note that Charlie is Charlie and each pup is different and will react differently. I hope John does as well as Charlie for his amp. What I can tell you about his return home and just prior is the following. For coming home: - If you have slippery floors, purchase some rugs or any other mats that will help him grip on the floors - Try to keep him to a specific area of the home and block off the other areas. This will be temporary until he can walk well on 3 legs. - If you have stairs inside, then you need to decide where he will sleep while he is recovering and you should be with him during this time so it means moving the bedroom to a ground floor room. - We obtained a loaner harness (the Ruffwear Web harness) from another GT'er which has helped us a lot. We'll be buying our own so that we can return it. We have used it for him to go outside and down the earth berm I built off our deck so Charlie has no stairs to deal with. We also used it for getting him in and out of our truck. - We purchased a ramp for getting in and out of our truck because it's a pickup and high up. Charlie was a little hesitant to use it but we convinced with assistance of the harness. - Make food in advance for him as you will be busy just taking care of him and also stressed out so why not get this behind you. We made 3 days worth of food for all our pups in advance. Or you may purchase food. - Make sure John has an open area and not too many obstacles so that when he gets up, he has room to move. - Watch for any infections at the wound site when he is home. It will feel a lot hotter if it gets infected than his skin. - Use some cold compresses to help with the bruising. - Read, read and read other people's experiences, e.g. GT'er BigOrangeDog has a blog on what to expect from an amp - there's a link in her signature. - Don't bring him home too soon unless you are sure he is too stressed at the vet and would do better at home. During his hospital stay: - If you visit him during his stay, be prepared that he will be out of it. He may not recognize you at first, may whine, etc. This is normal. - Prepare yourself to see a lot of bruising, possible leakage so don't be too concerned, this is normal as well. - Think over whether you will be doing Chemo and if yes, get this process going if you can. It's usually started as early as 2 weeks after his amp depending on how he is doing. OSU provides the drugs for free if you wish to follow their protocol - you do not have to! That is your decision as there are different protocols and different drugs. Feel free to ask anything and remember there are many on GT that have made this journey before Charlie and I so they are a wealth of information. Kyle Kyle, thank you so much for the list of things to prepare. As soon as I read your post earlier I went online and looked the harness up. It looks wonderful and I think will be a huge help. I went ahead and rush ordered one. The tips were great and well thought out. How long did Charlie stay at the vets after his surgery? My vet is telling me a night maybe two. By the way, his incision looks great...looks much better than I would have envisioned it! I will keep him in my prayers. ~~Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigorangedog Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Kyle - Would you mind if I "steal" that incision photo to use in my "What to Expect" blog? I only have pics of front-leg amps. I'm sure people with rear-leg amps would love to have that photo to prepare themselves. If you don't want me to put it up, that is TOTALLY fine, just thought I would ask. Did you get the Fentanyl patch off okay? How's he doing now? Hugs!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlies_Dad Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 (edited) Kyle - Would you mind if I "steal" that incision photo to use in my "What to Expect" blog? I only have pics of front-leg amps. I'm sure people with rear-leg amps would love to have that photo to prepare themselves. If you don't want me to put it up, that is TOTALLY fine, just thought I would ask. Did you get the Fentanyl patch off okay? How's he doing now? Hugs!! Jen, No problem, the photo is all yours. The patch is 2/3'rds the way off as Charlie did not react well to us pulling it off and it was before I received your advice on how to help remove it. For the first time we had Charlie, he actually gave us a good two warnings, one with no muzzle on, the second with the muzzle on - we were not thinking right the first time. The warning was a slow motion snap but if he really wanted to get us, he could have easily. So we stopped for now and may try your advice of the Baby Oil later today. Last night we had our first sign of discomfort for Charlie. Some hours after removing most of the patch, he jumped up from his bed and started to whine so we held onto him and calmed him down. We gave him his first Gabapentin as we were not sure exactly what the problem was but it sure seemed like pain. After that little panic, he went back to his bed and went into a deep sleep with some of most twitches I have seen him do. His breathing was fairly rapid and that had us also concerned but it eventually leveled off. In the end it may not have been pain but more an upset stomach as we have altered his diet and last night's didn't seem to sit well with him all night and he had gas. When we went out and did his business, all seemed right in the world. My goofy boy from yesterday: Kyle Edited July 22, 2010 by Charlies_Dad Quote Kyle with Stewie ('Super C Ledoux, Super C Sampson x Sing It Blondie) and forever missing my three angels, Jack ('Roy Jack', Greys Flambeau x Miss Cobblepot) and Charlie ('CTR Midas Touch', Leo's Midas x Hallo Argentina) and Shelby ('Shari's Hooty', Flying Viper x Shari Carusi) running free across the bridge. Gus an coinnich sinn a'rithist my boys and little girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerlinsMum Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Checking in on Charlie this morning. What a beautiful roach :wub: Sorry to hear that he had some discomfort last night, but I'm glad he settled down and managed to get a good night's rest afterwards. Sending lots more love and goods thoughts for a quick and uneventful healing process. Dana - I'm so sorry to hear about John Quote Kerry with Lupin in beautiful coastal Maine. Missing Pippin, my best friend and sweet little heart-healer 2013-2023 Also missing the best wizard in the world, Merlin, and my sweet 80lb limpet, Sagan, every single day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 LOVE the roaching picture! What a trooper he is. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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