Thursday, October 30, 2008

Going under...

Ella's been at the hospital under-going pre-op stuff since 8:45 this morning. Even though she's got people who love and adore her there, she was the least bit thrilled about going. I know she knows she was having more surgery, or in her words, "that stuff that makes me go sleepy and wake up groggy and in pain," because after her morning pee she wasn't given food. Instead, we all walked silently and somewhat begrudgingly to the car. When we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, the light bulb went off and she began to tremble. She knew where we were going.

Dr. B called at 3:20, and said they were about to move ahead with the procedure. I was told that in the worst case scenario it could take up to two hours, but that no news was good news. That they would wait for her to come out of the anesthesia, check her out and then give us a call. I don't know if that's a gentle way of saying he'd prefer worried and panicked humans not call for updates, but I will respect it. I will sit here watching time go by while hoping and praying that my phone doesn't ring.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Mending the holes in Ella's heart...

We've been let down before, but it seems it is finally, finally happening -- Ella's heart surgery. We got the call from the Dr. saying that all parts and necessary balloons are in and they are ready to do the surgery this Thursday! This is BIG news for Ella as this is the most important of her ailments that needs to be fixed. It should, and we hope will, add years to her life.

The good news is that this surgery is not as invasive as her elbow surgeries have been and the recovery should be a cakewalk for her, and the care-giving, a cakewalk for us.

Those that know Ella, including her Dr.'s, know this dog has a zest and passion for life, despite all that she has been through. And those that may have just stumbled upon this blog, and have taken a liking to Ella's story, I hope you know that my husband and I are not that crazy - we would never put her or any other animal for that matter, through all this. But Ella had it bad, and now she has it good, and I can't say it any more simply: this dog wants to live.

We pick Ella up from the hospital on Friday... I'll post again then.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Ella dreaming of peanut butter...

Ella got her stitches out yesterday and the Dr. says her right arm is looking good. She's still more lethargic than she was pre-op - thinking it may be a result of the antibiotic she is on, we took her off it for a couple of days.

It occurred to me as she slept through me blowing out my hair in the bathroom, that it's probably the Trimadyl - which is a painkiller - that is making her sleepy. She's only on it for a few more days so we'll just have to wait and see.

Good news is though, that Ella's going to be getting the cast off of her left arm either next week or the one thereafter!! Ella's paws haven't touched ground since May, so you can just imagine how exciting this is for us, and will be for her!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Ella home again...

It was a tough weekend for mom, dad and dog... it always is those first couple of days after major surgery, but things are slowly returning to normal. It has been almost one weekend since she had the operation, and at her checkup today, the Dr. was impressed with her recovery thus far.


Over the weekend she cried relentlessly -- her arm was significantly swollen and even had some bruising that seemed to be getting worse and worse. But by Sunday night, things took a turn for the better – the swelling had begun to go down and the bruise has all but disappeared. She is even starting to walk around a bit.


If I were to explain Ella’s operation in the simplest terms it is that the irreparable broken bone in her right arm was removed altogether. The Dr. removed the bone that allows the elbow to bend and then moves around some ligaments and tendons to support the area missing this bone. The arm is then set at 110 degrees permanently, and as a result, that arm is a hair shorter than her left. She’ll never be able to bend the elbow, but what she does get out of it, is a lifetime of being pain-free in that arm.


Normally, a dog who has one healthy arm and one bad one, the logical thing to do would be to amputate the bad one. After all, three-legged dogs live just as normal a life as four-legged ones. But in Ella’s case, it was too much to ask of the healed arm that had been severely broken to be her sole front support system.


The stitches in her arm will be taken out next week and then there is a good chance that Ella’s Dr.’s visits will be reduced to just every other week. Two weeks from our next appointment, Ella will have x-rays done to see how the arm is healing. Then, perhaps, it will be time to move forward with the heart surgery and the minor surgery on the left elbow to remove the plates. THEN, we can consider spaying her… besides the fact that there is enough homeless dogs out there, and because of her severe heart condition, dogs like Ella should never be bred. In the meantime, Jason and I will just have to keep a watchful eye when she is romping around with other dogs!!


Since Ella is the trooper that she is, and is on her way to a speedy, if not gimpy, recovery, I don’t expect I will be posting that regularly -- only at crucial times when she has these life-changing operations.


I believe that in some remote recess of Ella’s brain, she knows how many people - family, friends, doormen, neighbors, doctors, vet techs, receptionists, passersby – are rooting for her, and it has enriched her life. The support received, the lessons learned and the relationships made during this experience, has certainly enriched ours. So as always, thank you.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Ella in the hospital...

We visited Ella in the hospital last night and she was as cranky as we expected her to be, if not more. She saw us and shrieked and cried and it was so freakishly human it was chilling. According to the Dr. the surgery was a success. It took four hours to fuse the bone in the right arm so they didn't get to remove the plates out of the left elbow, which is her good arm. The plan is to do that one when they do the procedure to fix her heart. They're discharging her at 6:00 this evening. In the meantime, we are counting down the hours, and rolling up our rugs, and laying out wee-wee pads, and getting a big old jar of peanut butter ready for her homecoming! More to come...

Ella's right elbow...

Finally, there is some news about Ella’s surgeries… after weeks of having a procedure to help stabilize her heart canceled because of a missing part, we are now pushing forward with the surgery to fuse her right elbow. Both surgeries are important for her: one will add years to her life while the other will allow her to soon be able to walk on a leash. Both surgeries are important for us, too: we want Ella to be a permanent member of our family, but we are also at this point where we need to see some progress, and thus need to get this dog walking on all four’s.

The X-rays Ella had at the vet today looked good and any signs of her past infection are gone, so she will be going in for surgery on Wednesday morning!

The plan is to fuse the bones in her right elbow which could take up to three hours. If she responds well to the anesthesia they will go into the left elbow to remove the plates and screws that have helped the bones in that arm heal. The left arm could take up to an hour so if for some reason the right arm takes longer, or she has a reaction to the anesthesia, the surgery to the left arm will have to wait until the heart surgery or until she gets spayed.

Of course we’re hoping it goes well all-around and that she can make it through to let them remove the hardware in the left elbow. That would mean that she would be out of a cast in just a couple of weeks on that arm for which she is dying to walk on, and groom, and for which she desperately needs a manicure, too!

The plan is to pick her up from the hospital on Thursday though she may need to be monitored until Friday. We’re hopeful though that her voracious appetite will prevail and that she’ll be able to come home sooner rather than later. In the short-term we can expect a couple of days of grogginess, bathroom accidents and tons of neediness, but it’s nothing we haven’t been through before. In the long-term we can expect weekly bandage changes, progress in mobility and tons of neediness. Again, it’s nothing we haven’t been through before!

As always we are thankful to all of you for your concern and support, and of course to the Picasso Veterinary Fund of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals who has made all of this possible.

More good news to come...