Rest in peace...

Baby - December 2013

Baby - December 2013

Down to 27 pounds :( due to complications of pituitary macro-adenoma. She's been treated for Cushing's Disease with Trilostane for over 2 years.

Trailnet Ride the Rivers Century Ride

Baby - August 2013

Fundraising Request!

 

 

I am very excited and proud to say that I am participating in Bike MS Columbia,Missouri: Express Scripts Gateway Getaway Ride 2013! I am asking you to Join the Movement® by making a contribution to support my efforts. My husband, Darrin, and I are both signed up to complete a 150 mile bicycle ride spanning two days in September.  We ride to support the daughter of a friend with progressive MS as well as the husband of another rider on our team.

The National MS Society is committed to building a movement by and for people with MS that will move us closer to a world free of this disease. Donations collected for Bike MS continuously fund research for a cure, while also providing services and support for those currently living with MS. I am riding this year because I believe in the mission of the National MS Society. More than 400,000 Americans live with MS and every donation will help us find a cure.

Please help by making a donation or joining my team. Join me, and together we can create a world free of MS. I greatly appreciate your support and I will keep you posted on my progress.

Sincerely,

Kim Henderson

Go to my personal page and make a secure, online donation.

Ivy - TPLO - 126 days post surgery

All is great! It really took 4 months for a full recovery. About 3 weeks ago we played ball outside and Ivy jumped for the first time in half a year.  She also has no more evening limping after playing outside for extended times.  All in all, I'm really happy with her outcome.

Ivy - TPLO - 13 days post surgery

This is how Ivy spends most of her days...sleeping in her kennel.  She has been pretty good about it.  I think on all those meds she was a bit tired and we did use the sedative (half dose) at night to keep her calm.  We had a couple of meltdowns or times when she was agitated. I think mostly from boredom and built up energy.  After the 7 day mark I started letting her have a little more time outside on the leash while doing her potty breaks.  We had some snow and ice which was not ideal to have for potty breaks but we made do. We always use the sling for the stairs but once she is on the grass I take it off.

Also, by day 10 I started to let her be off leash in the house on carpeted areas.  Having access to roam a bit burnt off some energy and made her calmer.  We still use the sedative from time to time, but not every night just when she seems to be feeling a bit too energetic or if we have company and need to keep her calm.

Her stitches come out this Thursday.  The wound looks great and the swelling and bruising appear mostly gone. Her hair is starting to come back in so she looks a little less pathetic.

Since we moved her kennel out the living room we noticed that she howls when we run the Vitamix blender.  We do a lot of smoothies in the A.M. and it's so funny to hear her vocalize.  This morning she was loose in the house when I made them and started pacing the kitchen and howling.  As soon as I turned around to look at her she started that crouching, puppy-like, ready to run position! Oh NO! I turned off the blender and tried to grab her which just got her more excited and ready to launch into a full on run around the house. I quickly acted like I had a cookie for her and she came right over before taking off. WHEW! I had to kennel her so I could finish. Crisis averted!

I'm glad she is feeling better but we are going to have to be vigilant for the next few weeks yet. 

Ivy & her Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL)

So......
Our wonderful Labrador (mix?) that we have, Ivy, has had a couple of issues with lameness over the past year.  Mostly after heavy activity, and appearing later in the day after getting up from rest.  Usually it was just a slight limp that would resolve in a day or so.  This past November, after some time out in the yard she actually resorted to carrying her right hind leg for the evening and limping into the next day.  We took her to the vet on Monday and after an xray (and dental cleaning since she was being put under anyway) they diagnosed a partial CCL tear in her knee.  We got some pain meds (rimadyl and tramamdol as needed), added daily glucosamine and kept her activity to normal levels (no induced playtime running).  This managed it pretty well but we felt she was not living a full life and knowing the surgery was inevitable, given the degenerative nature of the issue, we opted to schedule an consult with an orthopedic vet at the same time we were taking our other dog, Baby, down to her internal med vet appointment for Cushings disease.

So on Valentine's Day I carted both monsters down to St. Louis to Veterinary Specialty Services. They checked out Ivy, and opted to do a side shot xray of her right knee.  She doesn't have much "play" or drawer sign in the joint, but they could see swelling and fluid in the xray and that along with her symptoms are indicative of a CCL tear.  We discussed surgical options, they recommended the TPLO.  With her larger bone size and heavy demands, that surgery would yield the strongest repair. It is an 8 week recovery period though which is quite intimidating. I tentatively scheduled her surgery for February 19th, 2013...the following Tuesday.

The Saturday before we made it the best day ever with some ball play in the backyard...Here's the video along with the after effects and her day after surgery at the hospital.

Just an update...

We did move in on December 3rd, then DH had his shoulder plate removal surgery on December 4th.  All is good and he said he could tell right away that it was out. He says it feels great!