A set back

I knew something was wrong Friday evening when I got home from work. I took Gracie to the backyard to potty and she was no longer putting weight on her injured leg. I chalked it up to being tired and, possibly, a bit too much walking. Saturday was no better, so I called the vet's office in Beaverton for an appointment on Monday. By Sunday I knew this was serious. Her knee was swollen and I was out of pain meds.

Today I got the news: her patella was dislocated with a probable tear of the ligament that holds it in place.

And the rest of the news: additional surgery, scheduled for Wednesday, to straighten her femur and correct the patellar luxation.

Prior to the TPLO, the vet surgeon explained to me about Gracie's anatomy. Her femurs are bowed, making her look bow-legged from behind. The curvature of the femur was problematic. In some instances, not only is a TPLO done, but also an osteotomy of the femur to reduce the curve. He could do it in Gracie's case, but he felt the angle was not too bad, so we opted to just do the TPLO. That was the wrong decision in hind-sight.

So Gracie is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. The vet surgeon will perform the osteotomy of her femur to reduce the curve and deepen the patellar groove so that the patella doesn't slip out of place.

I'm struggling with this one. Did I push her too hard, too soon? Did I let her get away with being zany Gracie too soon? Did my desire to have her close to me in the evenings put her at greater risk of injury? It's hard to know. Maybe this could have been prevented, or maybe not. I do know that I'll be more strict this go around. She will be spending time in her "garage apartment" and not in the house. Walks will be to the potty area and back, only. And because she is such a strong and energetic dog, I may have to opt for the mild sedatives to keep her calm.

And we are back to square one.

A stitch...and some time

Gracie had the staples removed today from her surgical site. The vet thought she was doing well. Some minor swelling around the wound, probably from her licking the area, but the vet thought that would resolve in a day or so. He also gave the OK to start leashed walks. Five minutes twice a day to begin. Over the next 6 weeks, we'll work our way up to 20 minutes, three times a day. The written instructions advise against hills. That's a problem. I live on a hill. But I guess I can drive her to the bottom, walk her along the flat ground and then bring her home. She's my Gracie afterall.

Thankful Thursday

I've noticed that some of my fellow bloggers have begun a tradition called Thankful Thursday. I think it is always a good thing to take stock in life's blessings and to practice gratitude.

April 2, Dad was diagnosed with cancer and treatment ensued. On April 19, Gracie tore her meniscus and ACL at the dog park. Surgery followed on April 27. In between, we've all battled colds, potty breaks in the rain and wind, fatigue and mental weariness. In fact, I tried to hold a pity party for myself last week and found I was just to exhausted to even muster a tear. Instead, I think I'd rather spend my time on gratitude. So here it is, a short list, in no particular order:

• Dad only has 4 treatments left. He'll be done on Wednesday May 13.


• Gracie's surgery went well. She seems to be healing well. The swelling is markedly down. She still makes me laugh every day.


• The sun is shining...for now.


• Mom & Dad paid for Gracie's surgery. I think they are finally resigned to the fact that my sister and I will produce no grandchildren for them other than dogs and cats. They will dote on them accordingly.


• My sister's visit and care of Mom and Dad timed perfectly with Gracie's need for surgery and initial recovery. I couldn't have done it without her here.


• Good friends and good co-workers who share my heartache over an injured, albeit recovering, dog and who help me keep everything in perspective.


• A faith firmly rooted in the ultimate display of love, sacrifice and forgiveness.

I like this notion of Thankful Thursday and will try to carry it forward - if not in the blog world, at least in my heart.

Back on track

Gracie's body seems to be returning to pre-injury function. Her bathroom forays have been highly successful the last two days. Cross one worry off my list. I do fret that she is doing too much. When outside for her bathroom breaks, she makes the most of her freedom by leading me to believe she needs to sniff each piece of barkdust in the yard. (FYI - my backyard is mostly barkdust.) She is just beginning to put weight on her left leg. Not much, but some. I'm still using the belly strap to help her get to and from the backyard to make sure she doesn't slip and fall.

I talked with the vet surgeon on Friday. He said he was not concerned about her walking around during her potty breaks. He said her main risk was spraining the fragile tendons and ligaments in leg, but he felt certain that the bone was in a good position and the plate firmly implanted.

The sun made a brief appearance today. Gracie laid on the deck for about 15 minutes soaking in the warm rays. It must have felt good on her injured leg. She was really good about allowing me to place cold compresses on her leg for the first 3 days. The instructions then advised to follow the next 3 days with warm compresses. She has not liked that process at all. Happily, though, the swelling is much reduced and the bruising is fading.

Tomorrow we can cross 1 week off our recovery time. Now that she and I are getting a rhythm, I'm hopeful the next weeks will go well (and pass quickly!).

Go potty...please

Editor's note: please don't tell Gracie that I'm posting her bathroom habits on the web. She's already mortified at the prospects of having to potty in the front yard.

It's been four days since surgery and Gracie hasn't recovered her typical potty habits. Gracie has always been very precise in her bathroom habits and I could always count on a poop and pee every morning and every evening. Not so now. Yesterday I fretted over the fact she wouldn't go at all. This morning I shouted for joy following a lengthy pee.

I have a feeling this recovery is going to be harder on me than Grace. I revisited some of the web postings about post operative care following TPLOs. The Vet Surgery Central, Inc., site has been very helpful in explaining the entire TPLO process from start to finish. It confirmed that potty activities will be impacted following surgery.

In other recovery news, the swelling in her leg seems better. I'm trying warm compresses now although she is less eager to lay still for these. Actually she is less eager to stay still at all. She is still not putting much weight on the injured leg, but is taking a few tentative steps. She is very fast on 3 legs so I have to be diligent and keep her leashed at all times. Even so, her strength is returning and she's been a handful on our brief sojourns to the backyard.

Yesterday, our neighbor dogs, Clare and Pre, stopped by for a visit. Gracie laid down and both Clare and Pre, with a display of gentleness and respect, sniffed Gracie and gave her a lick on the snout.

I still find myself anxious about her level of activity - trying to make sure she doesn't over do it and that I, in my selfish want to have her close by, don't put her at greater risk.

I know that the smarter and more patient we are now, the better chance we have of enjoying some nice walks this summer.

Look who's four!

Happy birthday to my best pal, Gracie.

Wish we could be at the park today, but it's enough to have you close by.

You make me laugh everyday.

TPLO

I work in insurance. This field is replete with acronyms. Every procedure and process is reduced to a TPA (three letter acronym). But today I learned a new one: TPLO. Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy.

Gracie's local vet confirmed the diagnosis...she has a torn cruciate ligament in her left knee. This morning, we met the surgeon in Beaverton who specializes in the TPLO. In addition to the torn ligament, he also suspects cartilage damage to the meniscus. His plan is to arthroscopically repair the damage and then, via a small incision, insert the stabilizing plate. Surgery is set for Monday, April 27...three days short of Gracie's 4th birthday. She'll spend the night at the hospital and then home to 3 weeks of confinement with breaks for potty time only. The surgeon felt within 3 weeks she would be ready for leash walking only. Within 8 weeks she should be up to 20 minute walks 2 or 3 times a day.

It seems bad news always comes in threes. Today was no different. The surgeon informed me that Gracie will have about a 40% chance of needing the same surgery on her right knee in the next year. In addition, the Xrays show hip displaysia in her right hip. He suspects she has been compensating on the left side put her left knee at greater risk.

But, my goal is to look for the positive. Here's what I've come up with so far:

• I have the money to afford this level of care.


• I have an employer who is supportive of any time off I might need to take.


• I have two possible locations in the house for Gracie to convalesce in.


• Dr. Gustafson seems to be one of the top notch doctors in the Salem-Portland area for TPLOs.


• Gracie is still wagging her tail every day.