A Crippling Revelation: After Surgery

The Big Day

I dropped Buddy off at 7:30 am on January 18th.  I then drove home feeling terrible.  It's interesting how even when you are doing what is  for the best, you still feel like crap doing it.

For his part Buddy was as chipper as ever the morning of his surgery.  He went through his usual routing of waking up the boys before heading downstairs to hit the bathroom.  Today was a little different though as my mother had come to stay for the week to help after Buddy's surgery.  She is an avid dog lover and former vet tech, so she was perfect to come and help us get through the first few days.  Buddy greeted her too, all with his signature enthusiasm and pounding tail.

With our morning routine out of the way, Buddy and I headed off to the Viking Animal Hospital in North Canton.  The hospital and its main vet, Doctor Terry Owen, are well known for their quality care and especially good work in surgical procedures.  What surprised me when I dropped him off was how quick everything went.  I was in and out in less than five mintues.  There was no big goodbye, just a happy dog and a distraught owner.

The rest of the day went by fairly well.  I worked in the morning and waited for a phone call.  Around noon the vet called to tell me everything went ok.  Our first hurdle had been crossed.  I spent the rest of the afternoon split between an 11 mile run, playing with Ben (my youngest son), and reading.  Time passed slowly, but evetually we made it to 4:30pm.  It was time to pick up Buddy.

Arriving back at the Viking Animal Hospital we waited for a few minutes before being taken back to a consultation room where we met with Dr. Owen.  He explained how the procedure went, and also told us what to expect and about all the medicines Buddy will be on in the coming weeks.  He also told us something rather shocking.  Dr. Owen, who has been practicing veterinary medicine for over 30 years, said that this particular case of Hip Dysplaysia is the worst he's even seen.  As bad as this is, it actually made me feel a little better.  Had we not made the decision to have this procedure done, Buddy would've had a very short time with us before the pain would've become severe enough that he would have to be put to sleep.  I was also relieved when Dr. Owen told us that Buddy's prognosis wouldn't change, regardless off the severity of his Hip Dysplaysia.

Buddy with his stitches.  He has matching incisions on both hips.  The wrap on his foot is a slow release pain patch.

The First Night Home

Our first night home with Buddy was pretty rough.  Hopefully this will be the worst it gets.  Early in the evening things weren't too bad.  Buddy was still drugged up. He spent most of the evening sleeping on the floor with his eyes rolled back in his head.  This I would find later was preferable to what we dealt with in the middle of the night. 

The difficult part started a little while later when the drugs started to wear off.  My mother and I ended up taking shifts as Buddy passed in and out of sleep.  He would sleep for half an hour to forty minutes and then wake up and cry for a half an hour or more.  My mother sat with his from 11pm until about 3am and I got up at 3am and sat with him until morning.  In the midst of his crying, he also mad several attempts at getting up.  These resulted in yelps, louder cries, and inevitable failure.

At about 4:30am though we had a minor breakthrough.  Up until this point Buddy had not eaten anything but ice chips, but in the middle of the night, as I sat alone with him, I was able to hand feed him a cup and half of his kibble. I even got him to drink some water from his bowl.  It's moments like these that build bonds between humans and animals.  I've never felt a stronger connection with him than I did that moment.  In light of all the sadness and pain the day brought, this one bright point will provide a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life.

As I write this, it's been about 24 hours since Buddy's surgery and he's resting comfortably.  I'll try to update more as he progresses with the good and the bad.   Thanks for reading.

A Crippling Revelation II - A New Year Brings New Hope

What I really wanted was a family pet and a running companion.  Don't get me wrong, I never intended for Buddy to do 20 milers and run daily with me.  What I wanted was for Buddy to be able to do runs of five or six miles twice a week.

Our days of running began just after Buddy celebrated his first birthday.  We started slow, running at his pace, and accomplished a mile or so on our first run together.  From there we worked our way up to our last run of five miles on December 23rd.  This will probably be our last run together and in all honesty, it couldn't have been better. 

After going to work in the morning, Buddy and  headed out to the Nickelplate Trail in Louisville.  It was one of those cool, crisp, December afternoons.  Snow fell lightly on a snowcovered trail.  The trail itself is 2.5 miles on an abandoned railroad that has been resurfaced as an all-purpose trail.  The suface is good and the trail quiet, so it was a perfect spot for our afternoon run.

I'll never forget the sheer joy I watched in Buddy as we made the turn at the halfway point.  Anyone that has ever run with a dog knows what I'm talking about.  Ears swinging up and down,tongue hanging out to the side, he cut quite a silhouette with his shiny black coat against a backdrop of snow.  It's a pleasant memory I'll have of Buddy for the rest of my life.

The problems all started after that run.  Whether he hurt himself on the run, or when he slipped getting back into the car I'll never know, either way I noticed when we got home that he was limping.  I assumed that maybe he has simply pulled something until I felt his hip.  Buddy's left hip was swollen and stuck out noticeably more than his right.  Like any pet owner we hoped that he had only pulled a muscle and that the hip was the consequence of swelling.  By Monday the 27th, it was obvious that problem wouldn't simply go away.

On Tuesday the 28th,  I set up a vet appointment and expected the worse.  I was pretty sure that, at the very least, Buddy has partially seperated his hip.  I knew my fears weren't unfounded when the vet felt his hip, remarked "Wow" and immediately took him back for an X-ray.  When he returned about five minutes later, the news was even worse than I'd feared.  He told me that Buddy was suffering from severe hip dysplasia, even more shocking was when he told me, "I would attempt to pop his hip back into the socket, but there really isn't a socket for me to put it back into."

Burdened with this diagnosis and emotionally struggling to keep things together, Buddy and I accepted a disk of his X-ray and the name of a surgeon as we headed to the front desk to pay the $100 for his visit and the grim news.  I'd like to claim that I'm a big tough guy and that Buddy is only a "dog", but I can't lie.  I lost it when we got to the car.  In one short year this crazy canine that destroyed my house, knocked down the kids, and ruined at least three of my shirts.  He had also truly touched my heart.  Dogs do a funny thing to you.  They slowly work their way into your heart, not by trying too, but by simply being themselves.  Their love is so genuine and without boundries or conditions.  They follow you, make you smile and are always happy and eager to greet you when you return home.  For all of these things they work their way into our busy lives and become an crucial part of our families.  Now I worried that I would lose all of this.

On New Years Eve my wife, Kelly, and I took Buddy to a specialist.  We hoped for the best and feared the worst.  The surgeon and head of the Viking Animal Hospital is a vet by the name of Terry Owens who has long practised medicine and is very well regarded as a surgeon.  After only a quick look at Buddy's X-rays he quickly concurred with Dr. Evanovich in Louisville.  He had severe Hip Dysplasia, but Doctor Owens thought that something could be done.

Dr. Owens offered us two solutions  The first was an incredibly expensive procedure that involved a full hip replacement using artifical hip joints.  The procedure involved an extensive recovery, prostetic joints, a life of anti-rejection medicine, and about $3000 per leg of cost.  On the upside, Buddy would eventually be almost as good as new.  He would be able to run again and would experience no pain once the joints had healed.

Our second option was a salvage operation called Femoral Head Excision.  In this surgery, the femoral head is removed and the resulting scar tissue forms an artificial joint allowing the dog a painfree normal life but limits the function of the joint so that the dog's gait may be effected and they may "bunny hop" when they run.  Unlike the full hip replacement, Femoral Head Excision carries a much smaller pricetag.  The cost to do both hips is approximately $1800.

In all honesty, I don't think that full hip repalcement was ever really an option for Buddy.  He's not a show dog, he's not even a purebred.  What he is, is a family pet.  If we can give him the chance at a painfree, fullfilling life, that's what we will do.  We made the decision to go ahead with the Femoral Head Excision. 

On January the 18th, Buddy will have both of his hips operated on.  He will be completely unable to walk for a week, and will struggle for about six weeks to reach some shade of normal.  The vet expects a full recovery, or at least the best results to be apparent within twelve weeks. 

In the coming weeks I will continue to update this blog about Buddy's surgery and the process of recovery.  If you are a friend and reading this, I thank you for taking the time and for your concern for our family and our dog.  If you've stumbled upon this article because of the tags I've attached to it, I hope this is helpful.