My Poor Old Man...

Originally written last week... you know, like the one before this one!!!  

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Well, I have had a scary and tiring past couple of weeks.  Grandparents (Mom and Dad) I am mainly writing this for you as you're not on Facebook dammit!!  :)

It all started off with Squiggy just looking like he was getting old and arthritic.  Over the past month, he's had xrays showing just how much degeneration there is in his elbows, then an ultrasound, showing scarring on his biceps.   Then in the past 2 weeks he just seemed to get worse.  I have been trying different courses of a whole whack of different pain meds on him to keep him comfortable and walking somewhat decently.  I have been terrified of him taking a header down the stairs.  I wasn't sure if the meds were making him worse somehow, so I stopped all the new ones and he just seemed to get worse.   Ataxic in the hind end, dragging his back feet, wobbling

 when standing, and the final straw, not being able to hold himself up when he was doing "numero deux" outside.  

I took him in to see our good friend (as of late), Dr. Nick Parker, a surgeon at work.  "Yes Donna, he's neurological", he said, and trust me, the tears started streaming.   Fuck, it makes me sad to think of him saying it even now.   Anyways, Dr. Parker said a CT Scan and Myelogram would be

 next and they may or may not tell us anything.   After talking with him,  and asking him if he really thought I should bother (he is an old guy after all), I decided to go ahead with everything so we scheduled him in for the next day.  CT/myelogram and then plus or minus surgery if needed.  

So on Wednesday, I took him back in, and watched as he got sedated and prepped for anesthesia, all the while, crying my friggin' head off at work.  I've been lucky with him for most of his life and this is the first serious "I could lose my boy" situation I've had with him.   I was a mess, to say the least, but off he went.  I tried to stay away from the surgical team as much as humanly possible to let them do their work but then Dr. Parker came to get me.... to show me the WONDERFUL spinal cord compression showing up on the myelogram!!!  So what does that mean??  It means NO tumour.  NO strange neurological disease.  NO Wobblers' syndrome.  It meant... Surgery!!!  So off to the CT he went (this is so they can tell what side the disk has herniated on) and then off to be cut.

I'd love to say long story short, but it's kinda too late for that.  Haha.   Squiggy went to surgery... came through it like a rockstar and as of Friday night is home.  I'm happy to say he's doing great.  Not as good as before, but stronger every day.  Can swagger around like a drunken sailor right now, but he's mobile -unassisted.  

I am one happy mom.   Someone, somewhere, has bought me some time with this wonderful creature.  For that, I am thankful.  

Here's TONS of pics for you.... I went a little crazy with the documenting.

This is a slice of the CT through the spine.  Normal cord.  It's nice and round for the most part.. I guess I could have picked a better slice.

Here's the compression.  You can see it squished down (image is actually upside down).

After the myelogram. You can see where the cord section loses 'contrast' where the disk is bulging into it....

My little man on the surgery table, getting prepped.

Melanie, the surgery technician, and a wonderful friend of mine, preps Squiggy.

Update as of April 7th, 09:

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Okay, I really tried to post ALL of the pics I took here to this stupid blog, but I'm doing it wrong or it's designed to drive you insane.  Either way, I have a whole album dedicated to this on my Facebook page, and anyone so desiring to see the rest of the pics, I can email you the link.  Suffice it to say I just wanted to get the story down for my non-Facebooking peeps so they know what happened.

As of this week, he is doing SOOOOO much better!  Better than I can even remember.  On one hand, I feel like hell for not doing it sooner, but in reality, it was very slow for a very long time and without the sudden acute worsening, I never would have figured it out.   Either way, he's almost like a puppy again.  The spring is back in his step and he's walking ahead of me during his walks now, not lagging behind me while I have to stop and wait for him every 10 steps.  Such a difference.

My HUGE thanks to Dr. Nick Parker and the Surgical and Critical Care teams at Alta Vista Animal Hospital.   As worried and upset as I was, I felt so lucky to be able to have this great team taking care of my baby.  I truly don't think he could have been in better hands anywhere else.  I am proud to work with all of you.  

Squiggy is happy= Squiggy's mom is happy.  

May he live another 12.....

Flush.