A walk in the park...

Ok, I was sitting... but still.

This was my Sunday: Reedu, Jason, sun, bone, Prospect Park = Happiness!

Injections...

Ella's long bout with an infection that won't seem to go away (as a result of the plates and screws that were in her arms for a year), has had her on antibiotics since last June.

Even though the plates, screws and pins are out now, it seems the infection is not 100% cleared up. According to her Dr., the infection is resistant to just about every single antibiotic in the pill form. That leaves us with only one antibiotic the infection is NOT resistant to which happens to be given by injection only. Yikes!

We could either bring her in to the vet once a day for 10 days and pay $80 per visit, or we can administer the shots ourselves once a day for 10 days and have it cost a fraction of the overall price. Bringing her in to the vet once a week to have her bandages changed is difficult enough, so of course we chose the latter.

And what a pin-and-needles comedy it has been each morning! Let's just say I have a new-found respect for nurses and vet techs, I really do.

Jason has been administering the shots and I have gladly taken a back seat as his assistant. I prepare the syringe then hold her head and speak lovingly to her as Jason injects and shoots her up. Then when it is all-said-and-done I reward her with a piece of bacon.

Three down, seven more to go and hopefully good riddance to this God forsaken infection!

Home and resting...

Ella's home and resting -- we were actually able to bring her home last night, a day earlier than we thought. We've been through three other post-surgeries with her, but each time never fails to feel like the first.

She's in two casts with splints for added support and she's still sort of coming off the anesthesia. She's also on a pain medication that makes her very out of it. The good news is that her appetite is strong and she's even determined to walk, which we try to curtail when we catch her doing it.

The only thing different this time is that there's a tube running out of her right leg which is then stitched to her skin with a small plastic balloon dangling down. In short, its a drainage system to get rid of any excess blood, and most importantly, the infection she had in that leg. It's a bit of a pain in the butt to manage, but at least it comes out Tuesday when we take her in for a follow-up.

She also got spayed so the stitches in her elbow and belly will come out in about 10 more days. Because the spay got done, this should be the very last surgery our little girl ever has to have.

I will likely not update this blog again for another four to six weeks when she gets xrays done. I hope to report good news and share some photos then.

Surgery update...

It's been a long day. Jason dropped Ella off at around 8:15 this morning and we just received word from the Dr. at 7:45 tonight that the surgery is over and that everything went well. The plates and screws are out of her elbows and she's all stitched up and bandaged up. They even had enough time to spay her!

We won't really know more until we visit with her tomorrow night during the hospital's visiting hours. Most of all though, we look forward to Friday when we can pick her up. I will have more to write about then - for now, we are just happy that the most difficult part is behind us. Hopefully, this will be the last time Ella will ever have to go through this.

Moving forward...

There's some good news to report! Ella had x-rays yesterday - it had been about two months since her last set. We were told that things look good enough to move forward. While this is great news, the bad news is that it's not 100% completely healed. Still, we've never been given a date to look forward to, so the light that's now shining at the end of this long tunnel is a nice, and much welcomed change.

The important news is that Ella goes in for surgery - to have the metal plates and screws removed that are holding her elbows together - Wednesday morning. If all goes well and her bones don't fall apart upon removal, they'll also spay her. I should note that there may be some complications along the way but I feel it is only worth delving into if they arise.

When Ella gets out of surgery some might be startled to see her in two casts again. Ella's casts will both have splints in them which will give her some stability, support and confidence when she walks. The only downside is that it could take up to eight weeks before she reaches the point of walking without them.

Feeling anxious and hopeful right now. I will be sure to post again Wednesday night when we learn how the surgery went.

Waiting and healing...

Ella had an appointment at the vet yesterday for more x-rays. It has only been four weeks since the last set, but I think we all needed to know, and see, that she is indeed still healing.

The Dr. said he saw some progression, but that the two bones are not completely joined yet. So... we wait, patiently, as we have been. In the meantime, Ella hopped out of the hospital decked out in a pink cast clad with Easter eggs. Very cute.

We won't be doing x-rays for some time, possibly 6 - 8 more weeks. Hopefully the next time I post, I will be able to deliver the news we've all been waiting for. Until then...

Holding our breath...

It's been hard to summon up the effort to post... we were delivered a blow at the 4-month x-ray mark. We were told that from two months to four moths, there hadn't been much healing. It was devastating to say the least and I just couldn't muster up the effort to write about it.

In any case, the day we got the news, the Dr. decided to try something new by removing the splint from Ella's cast, thus leaving her with a soft cast and in turn forcing her joints to work harder and to hopefully fuse. We brought her back in after four weeks in a soft cast, and while we were bracing for the worst, we were met with the optimism. It appeared he had seen more healing than her prior set of x-rays.

We were happy. Elated in fact. But we still have a ways to go so we don't want to celebrate just yet. Ella is still in a soft cast and is due for her next set of x-rays on April 12. In the meantime, Ella turned two years old on March 21. We made her birthday the day she was rescued and brought to Animal Care and Control. It seemed fitting... after all, it's the day she got a second lease on life.

Blog neglect...

I almost headed this post "Ella neglect" and immediately realized that's not good at all, Ella is anything BUT neglected! But her blog on the other hand, now that's neglected!

Ella is doing really, really well - we have x-rays scheduled for this coming Monday which will be 4 months since the surgery was done to fuse her right elbow. We are truly hopefuly that everything will look good and that we can schedule her last and final surgery to remove all the pins, screws and plates from her elbows.

She walks around our tiny apartment now which is something she was never able to do, and she understands her limits. She knows she can't climb up the couch or get down from the couch. And I think she knows she'll never be able to run around and chase squirrels, but then again, she's a Brooklyn dog... there aren't many squirrels to come around here.

Ella's first snow storm...

WOW - what is this stuff? It feels great on my arms! Whatever it is feels good, tastes good and keeps me on my toes. And when I tinkle it melts it away, wow!

Ella all decked out for the holidays...

It has been over a month since the last post and besides the fact that I have been busy, it is also because Ella is in a long recovery phase from her two big operations in October so there isn't always that much to share.

We had a few rough weeks where Ella was losing control of her bladder and eliminating places she never used to -- after a urine analysis the vet had ruled out a bladder infection, so our only guess was that it was a combination of the meds and the pain.

It was extremely frustrating for my husband and I, but luckily, since she's started yet another antibiotic to control the infections in her elbows from all the hardware, the urinating indoors, has ended. Phew!

Anyway, she came home from the vet yesterday all wrapped up and looking adorable in a holiday cast and I wanted to share the pictures...

A beautiful day for change...

Ella went to the vet today and had x-rays done on the right elbow that had the big surgery four weeks ago, and it looks good. But the big news is that she had the cast removed on her left arm! Her left elbow is out and rocking it for the first time since mid-May! What a feat... now if only Obama gets voted into office and then we'll really have reason to celebrate!

Coming out of it again...

We picked up Ella from the hospital this past Friday, Halloween Day. She was decked out in orange casts for the occasion, with a new bandage around her neck which is where they made the incision for the procedure. She was pissed as all hell at my husband and I -- she cried, shrieked and snorted and it wasn't excitement. This poor dog has simply just had it with hospitals -- with being picked and prodded and stitched back up again... and can you really blame her?

The weekend was a blur of care-taking and spoiling and getting her to trust that she was home again. By the end of the weekend after her surgeries we usually see an improvement in her recovery, and such was the case with this one.

The heart Dr. won't know for a couple of more weeks or even a couple of more months the success of putting the balloon in her heart. The hope is that it gets the heart pumping 60 - 80 percent more than it had been.

Ella's rediscovering our old routines and settling in back home again. It hasn't been easy, but one day, when she is trotting around outside with other dogs and smelling butts, this will all be worth it!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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...

Ella update...

I haven't done much shopping lately. In fact, the last three purchases I made were for wee-wee pads, a high-tech doggie stroller, and a custom-made canine harness.

We were one week into giving a dog who has had a very hard life, a new home, when Jason and I got thrown for a loop. As a result, many people have been inquiring about her and sending their well wishes... so this post is an attempt to tell her story, and bring everyone up-to-date.

We learned about the injured dog in late March immediately following her rescue by Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. She was left on the steps of the Brooklyn ACC with two fractured elbows and a broken tail. Had it not been for the remarkable Siobhan Healy with Mayor's Alliance, she wouldn't even be here right now because she would have been put down that day.

We met her for the first time in early April as she was recovering post-op at a vet's office in Murray Hill. We prepared all month for her arrival home and decided to name her Ella, after her broken elbows, and after Eleanor, the woman J and I know one another because of. But we knew when she came home that Ella was only halfway there. She would need aggressive physical therapy, and because Ella was born with a severe heart murmur, she would need more surgery for that, too.

Ella came home the first weekend in May. We learned right away that she wasn't all that house broken. After all, she had spent the majority of her life in a cage at vet's offices around NYC. But she hobbled around some and delighted J and I with her voracious appetite and snorts and grunts and groans. Despite her injuries she was a happy dog, and an instant celebrity in the big, dog-friendly building that we live in.

We noticed that one of Ella's elbows looked funny - she had excess skin and tissue that extended beyond the point of an elbow - but we assumed it was just how she healed from the surgery. Feeling good and feeling proud to have such a determined and beautiful dog, we took El to her first hydro therapy and acupuncture appointment in the neighborhood. X-rays were taken, the first set since the surgery, and they showed that the pin holding the plate to her bone had come loose and could protrude through the skin at any moment. That was last Sunday.

The following morning on the way to 5th Avenue Vet Hospital, while J was driving alone with Ella in the backseat, the pin came through. They whisked her away from J, and what ensued were back-to-back, three hour surgeries on her elbows. The left elbow on Monday, which went well, and the right elbow on Tuesday, which didn't go as well.

We weren't allowed to visit with Ella until Wednesday night. They needed to monitor her coming off the anesthesia and IV meds without her getting excited or stressed from seeing her people. But the following night, we walked hand-in-hand and got into our car to pick her up. The excitement we felt then was mixed with uncertainty, sort of like the night before Christmas meets a box of chocolates.

So Ella's home now and we're back at square one. This time, she's not recovering at a vets office, but in our small apartment, which is actually ideal since she's not supposed to walk around. And unfortunately, we're also back at square one with the house training, too! On top of all that she's been through, Ella is also in heat! Not fun, I know. She hasn't been spayed up until this point because every time she's been at the hospital, the anesthesia's Ella got were for more important operations.

In order for Ella to get her heart surgery done, and to be spayed, the take-two on the elbow surgery HAS to work. So what this means for J and I is pretty much no life, and to be extra good care-givers, which we are willing to do, because we know this dog wants to be alive.

So many people say Ella is lucky to have us. And she is, we know that. But we also feel we are lucky to have her. Ella is an unfortunate example of animal abuse and a symbol of something for which we are both passionate about, animal rights. She has taught us so much in such a short period of time, and has also brought us closer together in a whole new way.

In the interim, as we plan our lives around a handicapped dog, I find myself saying tiny prayers, something I have not done a lot of in my life. 'I hope she heals. I hope she is at our wedding. I hope she learns to tell us when she has to poop. I hope the stroller arrives in the mail today,' and the list goes on...

Ah, the stroller... how much easier life will be when we don't have to carry around a 45 pound dog. Sure, people will point, and they will snicker, but what matters most is that some people will learn something, too. And for that reason alone, Ella is a gift.

Crippled by love...

Readers, the blog is so new, and I've been so busy that I've been unable to post anything. We just got a new addition to our family and our tiny apartment now looks like a zoo -- only you don't have to pay admission and we take better care of our animals. Meet Ella, (and J)...

She's a special needs pit bull that had been abused. We have been waiting for Ella to come home for over a month from a hospital where she was recovering from two broken elbows and a broken tail, in two places. She's a mess, and learning to walk all over again. Wait, have I mentioned anywhere how ridiculously sweet and loving she is? She came home Sunday and our lives have been turned upside down ever since, but in a good way!