Jacey's At The Er

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

Have you considered forced feeding? We did it to Morgan as a last ditch effort when he wouldn't eat after his amputation. He hated it but it got his stomach going again and he recovered. With all those meds, I'm sure she's feeling lousy.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Have you considered forced feeding? We did it to Morgan as a last ditch effort when he wouldn't eat after his amputation. He hated it but it got his stomach going again and he recovered. With all those meds, I'm sure she's feeling lousy.

 

They're doing substantial syringe feedings at the ER tonight. If she can keep it down, they think that just having food on her stomach will make her feel better.

 

She's drinking plenty of water, and managing to keep it down just fine. But put food anywhere near her--either smelly food like fish or less smelly stuff like potato--and she starts drooling huge ropes of saliva and she turns away and looks miserable. (Actually, she vomited a lot on Thursday, after her morning dose of Cephalexin. That's when all this really started. The drugs she's on now aren't helping anything, but they didn't start the nausea.)

[KF_in_Georgia]

They syringe-fed her 40 mls (about 1.35 oz). She didn't fight the feeding, and afterward she just curled up and went to sleep: no vomiting, no "erping." They'll give her more in a few hours.

 

I didn't let them wake her to see me. I'll see her in the morning.

[Yamaha_gurl]

One step forward Sweetie!

[kudzu]

Glad the feeding went smoothly. That's a very hopeful sign. I think you were wise to let her sleep this time. We're keeping her in our thoughts today. Kathy, I know how upsetting this all is. It is hard to decide what is best for her in the long run. All you can do is make the best decision you can based on the info currently available. That's what you are doing. As stressful as it is, you are keeping Jacey's interests foremost throughout all of this. That is the best anyone can do.

 

Hoping this morning brings a positive turning point. Hang in there.

[duncan41]

Praying, praying, praying, praying.

[45MPHK9]

Just checking in on your girl today.

[Guest Adrianne]

Just looking for an update and hoping for good news.

[lukasmom]

I have been thinking of you both since I read this post yesterday. It made me cry. I am so sorry your girl is feeling so bad. I hope that each day brings better news from the vet and she can come home soon. Sending gentle hugs and greyhound kisses to you both- Janice, Luka and Peace

[KF_in_Georgia]

 

I got there about 9:30. The machine count on Jacey's platelets was 38,000; they like to confirm this with a manual count, but the technician wouldn't be in until noon (they run a skeleton staff on weekdays--their busiest times are nights and weekends).

 

The bleeding and bruising mostly looked better. But there's edema and bruising in her rear legs, possibly vasculitis. (I don't know much about this problem, but I don't like what I've read so far.) Jacey's been getting pentoxifylline for days in an attempt to ward off vasculitis.

 

More scary (to me--I don't know how the vet feels about it), the skin on her belly is yellow (low on the belly, below the bruise you can see). Her liver is having a rough time.

 

I tried to feed her. The tech said it was getting harder to get food into her and that they'd had to cut back on the amount. I had applesauce (and apples, kibble, tuna, potato, vanilla yogurt--trying to cover all the bases). Jacey loves apples, and when she wouldn't take any applesauce and just laid there, I dribbled a little into the side of her mouth. It just sat there.

 

 

And sat.

 

The vet came in and we talked. Her bilirubin and albumin and creatinine numbers were all off...nothing drastic, but not the same numbers she had at her vet on Tuesday. And there's the yellowing... We discussed a plasma transfusion, which would help a bit with most of the new issues and would likely make Jacey feel much better. Her platelet numbers being so much better (at least, on the machine's count) was encouraging.

 

But she just laid there. That applesauce on her tongue was like a mockery. Some people ask vets, "What would you do if this was your dog?" I didn't ask, but the vet volunteered, "I don't know what I'd do if this were my dog." What's been haunting me is the idea that Jacey isn't fighting this--that she's just enduring it. The vet said that if I decided to stop this now, she wouldn't have any argument with my decision. Then she left me with Jacey, saying Jacey rested so much better when I was there.

 

I cuddled on the floor with her, spooning her, and cried. (Crying again, here.) I told her I needed a hint from her to tell me if she wanted to keep going. She's such a passive dog--always has been about medical stuff--but that's a disadvantage when you want to know what your dog is thinking and feeling. I mean it's nice that she's not frightened or distressed at the vet or the ER--it makes treatment easier and less stressful--but sometimes you need some input from your dog. It's her life at stake, and an apathetic dog doesn't make decisions easier. (I know: I'm the grown-up, and it's my job to decide--but give me a clue!)

 

I cuddled her and cried. One time she heaved a great big sigh--scared me, and I had to wait for her to start breathing normally again. I kept petting her, and asking her, "What do you want to do?"

 

She licked her lips and swallowed the applesauce.

 

I grabbed the spoon and dribbled some more into her mouth. She licked it and swallowed it. A little bit more, then we switched to the yogurt. She was more enthusiastic about the yogurt. She let me keep dribbling it into her mouth, then she sat up a bit and groomed her chest (Vanity, thy name is Jacey.). And she actually licked the yogurt off the spoon. Once she "erped" and we paused. A few minutes later we went back to the yogurt.

 

 

When she finished it, I sat and petted her, scratched her head. For the first time in days, she moved her head so I would be scratching in the right place.

 

I called the vet. We're doing the plasma transfusion (hey, it's only money). I promised Jacey on Friday that we'd fight this as long as she wanted to.

 

Tomorrow we assess the vasculitis and liver situation. The vet said the liver situation could turn around quickly, and the plasma might give the liver a chance to cope with the overwhelming load it's had. But if the liver is worse--or the vasculitis--we may be finished. But I'll know I kept my promise to Jacey and that I gave her every chance. I won't keep fighting if she's failing, but right now she's in the mood to keep going. And so am I.

 

Edited August 22, 2011 by KF_in_Georgia

[racindog]

PRAYING!!!! I'm so glad you had the presence of mind amid this terrible storm to ask her what SHE wanted. And bless her heart she answered you. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. Oh the love you two share! There is clearly reason to hope. Hang in there.

[kudzu]

Ah, man. You gave, Jacey, gave us quite a cliff hanger this time. Little missie I hope your liver feels better quickly & you keep up the fight. Your mom is working hard to do what you want, God bless her.

[TheFullHouse]

No words, just prayers.

[duncan41]

[greyhead]

Spencer's liver got wonky a few months ago, after two years of meds for his IBD. On the vet's recommendation, we gave him one SAM-e pill per day (Nature Made 200 mg, from Costco), a half hour before food, and his values soon went back to entirely normal. Granted, he wasn't turning yellow, but it was still scary and needed to be turned around. We could probably have given two pills a day or more without hurting him. Maybe this would help Jacey?

 

Continuing to hold you and Jacey gently and hopefully in our thoughts.

Edited August 22, 2011 by greyhead

[Remolacha]

[Yamaha_gurl]

What a tough situation. Still sending more prayers. Has her bleeding slowed down?

[Trihounds]

Wishing you tons of healing thoughts and compassion.

[maryz]

Your last post made me cry, but it does sound like she wants to fight more. Prayers that the transfusion gives her the "push" that she needs to feel better and fight harder.

Hugs to you for your enduring love, patience and loyalty.

[sweetdogs]

Very best wishes for both of you.

[KF_in_Georgia]

The bleeding--except for the new edema in her rear legs--is better every day.

 

But vasculitis--Wikipedia calls it "a heterogeneous group of disorders that are characterized by inflammatory destruction of blood vessels"--that's what may be going on in her rear legs.

 

I don't know how they'd treat it in dogs, and I don't know if it's going to be treatable in her case, especially since she's been getting pentoxifylline all along to prevent vasculitis--and the med might not have done its job (or maybe it just did all it could, and we're screwed).

 

The plasma transfusion might help that, and might also help her overwhelmed liver. Or it could help one, not the other. Or help neither.

 

We're trying the plasma transfusion because she's in the mood to fight and because there aren't a whole lot of other options--besides sit around and see if her numbers are better or worse on Tuesday.

 

The money is about to become a big problem, I'm afraid. The transfusion is expensive--but so is sitting around waiting for something to happen. A transfusion wouldn't have been helpful before, when her immune system was attacking her platelets. But the prednisone apparently has that situation under control, and a transfusion might help the new issues. I can go to Care Credit, and I think I'll have to, but she's going to be very expensive for a while, even if we do get things under control. This is day 4: the ER bills have averaged $1000 a day, and there's still no assurance that she'll survive. I'm scraping the loose change off the bottom of the savings account, with the mortgage and all those other bills sitting out there, waiting to fall on me. (I have to remember that Care Credit will help with my vet bills, but it won't pay the mortgage, so I must not spend everything I have on vet bills.)

[mychip1]

Continued good thoughts.

 

 

[Guest gurehaundo]

Oh man... I'm sending you and Jacey tons and tons of good thoughts. She just has to get better.

[lukasmom]

I was holding my breath as I read your update. Your baby wants to keep fighting! What a good girl. We are all hoping and praying for your both. Hang in there sweet girl, you are stronger than you know!!

[tbhounds]

To try to save a couple of dolllars you should contact Dr Couto. He mentioned once that sometimes they have "off color" plasma that they can't sell but, nothing is wrong with it-- I'm sure it's yours for the asking.

Praying for your girl-- reading your story is extremely difficult for me as I lost my heartdog dog to immune-mediated pancytopenia. I know the tug of war you are going through-- it's very hard -- my thoughts are with you.