My Pem and possible 2 torn ACLs!
UPDATE: Jake had his surgery on Tuesday the 27th and had a complete tear in the CCL as well as a blown meniscus so it had to be removed. Dr. guarantees us he can get back to his old running days but WILL have arthritis pretty badly in that leg when he is older. Dr. says that therapy will be crucial.
For more on the Tight Rope procedure, see below.
My Pem possibly torn a ligament in his back left leg in January and the vet saw him twice since then and he was on anti-inflammatories awaiting a visit to Ortho on Apr 23rd. Well, we just got back from vacation and boarding him for 6 days where he went to doggie daycare for 4 of those days and rested the other 2. I got him home, played with him a little in backyard and as he was running for a ball, he collapsed. THE OTHER LEG just gave out and it appears he TORE an ACL or ECL this time. He cannot put ANY pressure on it at all and now is trying to walk on the first bum leg. Called vet right after it happened. He's on a different antibiotic now awaiting the earliest Ortho appt I could make, Apr 13th. He now has to drag his back end around...but does show slight improvement on the anti-inflammatory. OMG, I've been in tears since Wed when it happened. My poor boy. He's only 2.5 yrs old. Anyone else go through this? What is it like if he needs surgery on both legs? Will he need a wheel chair as he heals? Therapy?
I'm so stressed out and feel it's all my fault for playing ball with him that day. The guilt is killing me.
Jill
http://www.arthrexvetsystems.com/en/mediacenter/clientinformation/u...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jill Usher on
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Update on Jake:
Hi, all MyCorgi Friends -
So, Jake had quite the weekend...all Mommy and Daddy's fault. I've been such a stickler and making sure that Jake gets his prescribed exercises, meds, icing, and heat 3 times a day that my husband thinks I'm a nut and a little OCD. :)
ANYWAY, Jake has been doing so good and been showing HUGE signs of improvement (see Daddy, it does pay off!) that we were a little lax on keeping him in his pen. 1st mistake: Sat morning, Sheba gets up and wants to go out at 8am, Jake used to always get a treat on Sat mornings and be able to get in bed with Daddy after Mommy gets up. They would sleep 2 more hours. Well, Daddy took Jake in bed with him not knowing that an hour later THUNDER would rumble loudly (May in CT?) and Jake would get so scared he jumped off the bed. Yes, jumped off the bed. We think he actually scooted across the nightstand (items were on floor when we went back to check) and then jumped onto Sheba's 4" thick Ortho bed which is huge because she is a Shepherd. He was walking very gingerly after that and I freaked out on my hubby. Anyhoo....2nd mistake: our FR is covered now with throw rugs because of Jake's sugery. Well, our kitchen is off that and Mommy forgot to close pocket door to kitchen and Jake heard Sheba barking and he ran into kitchen, slipped, and got STUCK in one position with his boo-boo leg out and his toenails clawing at the slippery floor. It was terrifying. I thought he broke something inside the knee. OMG. Horrible to watch. I scooped him up and put him in his pen and then iced him immediately.
So, bottom line is...Jakey is on full restrictions again...in his pen when he is not going for walks, potty breaks, or his massage\exercises by Mommy. I'm a horrible Mommy for giving him that freedom.
Two days till he has his sutures removed and 1st hour long PT evaluation. YAHOO! I am going to ask her how much freedom we can give him. I know she is going to say NONE. :( I'm a jerk. :(
Jill
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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You're not a horrible Mommy! You know I've had some mess-ups with Seanna--the kids actually let her up on the couch again today, and again, she jumped off when they weren't watching her. So that's twice there, and I too, have freaked out on my husband when he doesn't do what the doctor says to do...I truly think she is doing so well because I've tried to stick to the strict rules...and we've done pretty good...but there will always be some "oops"!
What they told me is that if they do any damage, they will instantly be lame again--put no pressure at all on the leg. Otherwise it's just a sprain. Lots of ice and maybe back off on PT a little...We meet with the surgeon tomorrow, and I can't believe it, but only two more weeks until it's been two months since surgery. Hopefully we can get off restrictions then--we'll see!! Let me know how PT goes!! Hang in there!
Jen
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Hi, everyone!
Update on Jake. He had his staples removed on Wed, the 12th and had his first PT session. He was such a good boy! My therapist said Mommy did a great job up to this point with all his "at home" therapy. Yeah! He still has stiffness in his ankle, believe it or not, but she said otherwise he looked great. He still is not putting his whole weight on the leg, which is perfectly normal. She gave me more weight bearing exercises to do and some sitting exercises so that he learns to sit normally and not with his legs shifted off to the side. Also, he gets two 10 min walks a day with another 4-5 min walk before bed. Icing after walks. He still is in his "pen" during the day and kept mainly in our family room covered with rubbered backed rugs where our large throw rug was not covering the floor. It looks a mess, but it's all for Jakey. :)
So, in PT he had cold laser therapy and he did his first session in the water treadmill. So, so cute! I need to take pictures this Saturday when we go. He loved it. He never complains or whines. He's not a big treat guy, so he just walks along in the 88 degree water like OK, now what....hee hee. He's the cutest EVER!
He left there like a new corgi! He was much more fluent in his movement. However, next day....super sore. Poor guy! BUT, he's gotta gain the strength and flexibity back in the knee.
Jen - what did the surgeon say? Jake sees his surgeon on Tuesday the 18th. We haven't seen him yet because our surgeon had a baby last week.
Take care all & thanks so much for all the well wishes along the way!
Jake & Jill
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I am so happy he's doing good! It was a huge relief when Seanna got her staples out--no more collar and one milestone down! You'll have to post pictures of him in PT--it's so great to see them progress to back to normal. Don't know if you have Facebook or not, but there is a short video of Seanna "in the tank" on the See Spot Run! Canine Rehabilitation- Bright Eyes & Bushy Tails's site. Seanna is off the Tramadol completely, and we are now weaning her off the Previcox. She is to the point where she doesn't whine doing the hydrotherapy, just has the attitude "let's just get it over with". My husband took her last Tuesday, and she was awful!! The rehab tech said it was all for show for my husband...she wouldn't do anything, kept running to him, and was just a stinker. I laughed...she's got him under her paw!
We saw the surgeon Tuesday, and he said she is looking great! We have been released from doing the range of motion excersises, although the rehab still wants us to do it briefly every day just to keep her stretched out. We can do all the walks we want, and for as long as she's not limping, but still no off leash activity until July 4th. Still no running full speed, or jumping-- which is hard to keep a corgi from doing! The surgeon said he doesn't need to see us back unless she has a problem. The rehab doctor keeps him up to date with her progress. He did say however that her hair is growing back in "funny and wispy, and not as fast as it should be". He thinks she might have hypothyroidism, said there is a relation between cruciate ligament ruptures and hypothyroidism...which may be why we can't get her weight down no matter what we do. I had her blood drawn Wednesday at our regular vet (who said she is doing "fantastic" as far as the leg goes), but the results won't be back until Monday or Tuesday. I'd actually be kind of happy if she was hypothyroid--I could finally get her weight down, and maybe if we got her blood levels regulated her other knee wouldn't blow out! It's a cheap and easy fix....I think she just wants to be like me! :-)
So we are definitely in the home stretch...sigh...it's been a long road. But it's hard to believe that it's been 6 and a half weeks since surgery, and two months since she injured it. Time flies when you're having fun! It's great to see her pretty much back to normal now.
I meant to tell you too that Seanna was super sore the first two times after therapy, but every time after that she did great...I was careful to ice her a little bit longer those nights the first couple of times...
I'm looking forward to seeing pictures!!
Jen
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Glad things are going well!
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Hi, everyone! Just wanted to give an update on Jake. He is doing really well and just hit the 4 week mark this past Tuesday! Yeah! He has 3 more sessions of PT left. :( I love, love Jake's Physical Therapist, Barb. She is terrific. I will post again after he sees his surgeon on June 1st.
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Permalink Reply by Judi, Dawn, Soffie & Griffyn on
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That is great news Jill !! Keep up the good work Jake! : )
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Time flies!! I'm glad things are going well!
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Hi, everyone -
Here is the latest on Jake. We saw the surgeon yesterday and the surgeon is thrilled with how the right leg (surgical leg) is doing. He watched him walk and he can tell his surgical leg is now the stronger of the two. He wants Jake to do two more weeks of therapy and see where he's at on June 15th. By then he said he should have a better feeling as to whether or not he needs to have surgery on the left leg. I think he's leaning towards it. :( This time, though, he thinks we should do the suture surgery vs the tightrope. He thinks Jake will be fine with the suture and it's less invasive. With the tightrope they had to drill through bone to attach the filament. With the suture one it's a filament that is just tied around the ligament with no bone involved.
Gosh I pray he doesn't have to go through it but he says Jake is an active dog and about 90% of active dogs will require the surgery and better to do it now than versus a complete blow out like his right leg. Augh!!!!!!!!!!!
I just want to cry. I guess I knew it was coming but I wasn't ready to deal with it. I swear I'm going to lose my job taking off all these vacation days for appointments.
Don't mind me. It's been a rough day at work. I shouldn't even be posting right now. Jake is healing great and he's such a great dog that really...I've been lucky.
Take care everyone.
Hugs - Jill
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Glad things are going so well! I think we all seem to be having a busy season with work and than to have to add surgery sure mustn't be easy! You 2 take care!
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Hi Jill--
I was wondering how the meeting went. That's great that Jake is doing so well! Hopefully the second surgery won't be as rough a go-round as the first...Jake will probably know "what to expect", and hopefully you can avoid all the heart skipping "oh-no" moments!
On the bright side, hopefully the filament surgery is cheaper than the tightrope!! Hang in there...this will all be over sooner than you know it...we are all behind you!!!
Jen
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