As you know Lola went in at 8 am this morning for her spay and a hernia repair to be done at 10 am. I was a wreck and know they got tired of me calling to check on her but the vet staff is so nice they kindly checked every time. I was told at about 1:30 pm that she did fine and was just waking up but the vet needed to talk to me when I came to pick her up at 4 pm. At 1:40 pm my phone rang and it was the vet clinic asking if I could come in immediately that Lola wasn't doing so well. I think I made that 15 mile trip in about 7 minutes, of course cussing every other car on the road. By the time I got there my poor baby looked and sounded awful. Being her first surgery or injury we had no idea she is a free bleeder. The vet said the surgery took longer than normal because of the bleeding and transfusions but she had seemed to come out of it OK. Right after talking to me on the phone she went into shock. They got her to come around but it happened two more times while I was there. More rushing, more blood and more meds brought her back again. Making it extremely hard to get her to wake up. I was so terrified and quickly learned being a nurse flies right out the window when your baby is involved. I was asking some very basic nursing 101 questions, the vet kept telling me to calm down and think because I already knew all those anwers. He was right, I was just in in a panic. They don't have an overnight emergency crew there so felt better sending her home, even when it was with a human nurse. So we came home armed with IV's, pre-loaded syringes and anything else needed to stop a bleeding, breathing or shock incident. She has to stay warm and I won't let her out of my site so she is wrapped up like a burrito in my lap. I was very pleased when she wanted to get down briefly to go to her paper and pee, got a sip of water and actually ate a few hand fed bites of food. About an hour ago she barked wanting Her Boy to come sit with us, a weak bark but still a bark. When he came she licked his hand like she hadn't seen him for days. A few minutes ago he got up to go to the bathroom, we were shocked when she got down to follow him. I guess even being as sick as she is the bathroom is just too much of a temptation to her! Right now she is doing much better but very, very weak and I pray she keeps on this path.
Unfortunately for her now that we know she is free bleeder she can't go to dog parks, rough house with other dogs or do anything that could cause a wound, scratch or cut, for her it will always be a life threatening event. She can only be boarded overnight at a vet facility that has a 24 medical staff. So in Mom talk that means Lola will never, ever be boarded and I will never travel without medical equipment.
I do have to praise the quick thinking of my vet and his staff today for saving her life, of course when I see the bill next week I may be the one in shock! I know it is going to be several hundred more than originally planned for but worth every penny to have my baby safe. I do have to tell you this has got to be one of the most beautiful incisions I have ever seen, human or animal. Only another medical person is going to appreciate or understand that comment! LOL
Thank you all for the prayers, good thoughs and all the juju you sent my baby girl today. I also want to thank all her wonderful friends that sent pre-surgery toys and treats for her. I am sure she is going to have a great time playing with them when she feels better. Tomorrow I am going to go see if I can find her some new toys and treats, this baby deserves them after all she went through today.
This is what she looked liked for the first six hours she was home, taking pictures at the hospital was the last thing on my mind earlier:
If you could have heard the labored breathing brought on by the shock it would have scared you to death.
Her little tongue was out for so long I had to lubricate it to keep it from cracking, I couldn't take a chance on it bleeding.
