We are feeling empty around our house tonight because Cleo is not with us. She is in Austin recovering from emergency back surgery that she had today.
Yesterday around noon we noticed she was moping and all of a sudden not walking well. Then she started shivering and whimpering. Roy took her to our vet who thought it was a bulging disc and gave her three different medications. By late last night, Cleo couldn't even walk, so first thing this morning Roy took her back to the vet who said one of her discs had ruptured and we had to get her to Austin to a specialist for surgery immediately to prevent damage to the spinal cord.
Through many tears, we got ourselves together quickly and got to Austin by just after 10am. The surgeon examined Cleo and felt he could reverse the problem and prevent future ruptures by surgery. We left his office at 11am, and after 2hrs of surgery, the doctor called us and said our sweet Cleo did perfectly, there were no complications, and she was recovering nicely.
He said several of her lower discs were already calcified, so they would have likely ruptured in the future. He performed a preventative procedure where he drains the fluid in the disc so future ruptures won't happen - she only has a 1% chance of ever rupturing a disc again. She's only four, which means she has many great years ahead of her.
Right now, Cleo is with the surgeon at his home (he is keeping her by his bed tonight; talk about service!), and tomorrow night we will go back to Austin to bring her home. She is on pain meds and antibiotics, and she will have to stay mostly in her crate for three weeks, but afterward, she should be just fine.
We had hoped this day would never come, but it has, and we have faced it with tears.
No comments:
Post a Comment