First Morning Awakening
Sebastian slept fairly well last night, though I did wake up to him whimpering next to me. With a bit of encouragement he stood on his own. I wrapped the towel we are using to help support him around his torso, and we headed for the back door. In all honesty, this dog barely needed any help getting around, just a smidge with maintaining proper balance so as to not fall over. He drained a very full bladder in the yard, made it inside without incident and happily drank a pan of water. He took his pills (sandwiched in some pie, of course!), made it back to his “nest” in the bedroom and seems like he may be drifting back off to dreamland.
I’m amazed and inspired by his determination, adaptability and good attitude. I am hopeful this transition may be easier for him than we originally thought since he was very rarely using the leg that has been amputated anyway since the ugly cancer had pretty much taken over.
Cheers to another great day!
7 comments so far
9:53 pm - 6-13-2014
How wonderful! Dogs are so resilient. May you continue to have great success.
11:47 pm - 6-13-2014
Wonderful to hear! We always celebrate a pee around here! Sending pawsitive thoughts your way. Look forward to updates.
Luanne and Spirit Shooter
9:32 pm - 6-14-2014
That is TERRIFIC! So glad to hear you’re having a normal recovery. Normal,when it comes to Tripawds is REMARKABLE isn’t it? Yep, they are so darn inspawrational.
Congratulations, you’re moving right along and things are great! Let us know if we can help with anything OK?
4:42 pm - 6-17-2014
I am inspired by this. My 7 1/2 year old chocolate lab “Jake” came home last night 48 hours after his right hind amputation. He is doing well, but very tired. I also have two more labs.. 7yr old yellow “Logan” and 7 month old black “Toby”. Although I am a nurse, I am having difficulty balancing it and question myself as to “IF WE DID THE RIGHT THING”. I know the first two weeks are rough. Any pointers?
Laurie AKA Jakes MOM
5:06 pm - 6-17-2014
Hi Laurie,
I can tell you that the first couple of days Sebastian was VERY groggy, not only from the onsite anesthesia, but also from the take-home pain medications. His eyes seem brighter as of yesterday and even more so today. He still gets worn out quickly – hopping from the kitchen out the back door into the yard to relieve himself leaves him slightly winded, for lack of a better word, but the progress he’s made has been amazing, imo… especially when I think about how I’d be if I had a limb amputation late last week.
The things I’ve found to be helpful so far (granted we are only 5 days in at this point…) are rugs / runners – we’ve pretty much covered EVERY hardwood surface in the house with a carpeted path for him, as his back legs were flailing out from under him every time they touched the wood surface, allowing him to navigate about on his own, but with supervision – I was VERY nervous about his mobility (especially since he came home the night of his amputation), but ultimately determined that I was more of a hindrance than a help to him as he was ready to move more quickly than I realized. For the first couple of trips outside, we wrapped a towel under his bottom side and used the ends of it like “handles” to help keep him centered and his balance where it needed to be, but truly by the third trip out, he was moving pretty quickly and ready to go on his own. He still hesitates at the two steps coming from the backyard to our patio door, so I stay close behind in case he starts to wobble, but ultimately he has successfully made it on his own every time – once he did biff his chin on the step for a moment before catching himself and getting up the second step. His appetite isn’t quite where I’d like it to be – he has no interest in eating his normal dry kibble, but put a hot-dog in front of him and he gobbles it right down.
We also have other dogs – another Siberian Husky, Brody, a Husky / Australian Shepherd mix, Nico, a Pittie / Lab mix, Sable and we have my Dad’s Beagle, Tang, “on-loan” indefinitely while he finds a place where he can have her once again. I was very surprised how little interest they’re showing in his amp-site – they’re truly acting like nothing changed. Not sure how Logan and Toby are acting, but if your house is anything like ours, the other dogs have hardly noticed-or if they did notice, they didn’t react.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to let us know. I will continue to update the blog so everyone continues to be “in the loop” on his progress.
Good luck to you and Jake!
10:39 am - 6-18-2014
Victoria, Thank you so much. Sebastian and Jake seem to be on the same path. Isn’t it amazing the determination that they have? I will also keep in the loop as it is nice to know we are not alone. I wish you the best.
10:40 am - 6-20-2014
Just a quick check in. Hope all is well. Jake is doing well… 6 days today! He is spontaneously returning to his old self. Appetite is at about 95%, but treats, carrots and ice cubes have probably taken up the remaining 5%. He is up more and following me around as he used to. I have cut back on the pain meds and he seems to be doing fine. Hope Sebastian is doing the same.