Thursday, October 27, 2011

Luxating Patella Surgery - Post-Op Day 7

Today is Wednesday, which means, that yesterday it had been 7 days since Oliver's surgery. It seems like much longer than 7 days.

He's doing really well. The stitches look good, more photos of that below. He's using both legs when he goes out to potty. It's really pretty amazing, that only 7 days ago he had total knee overhaul.

His favorite part of today was that Grandma Carol sent him a get well card. We read it together, and he already feels better. He says "Thank you Grandma!!"

He's already bored with the crate rest, 1 week down 7 more to go. It's going to be a long season.

His poor little back end, he looks so funny with all his fur gone.

Since it's been nice outside, I've been trying to give him a little more time to lay in the yard, as long as he doesn't try to run and play (even though he wants to soooo badly). Yesterday we went for a walk around the neighborhood. I know what you're saying, "but you just said he's on crate rest for 7 more weeks!" I mean that I walked, and I carried him. It looks really ridiculous, but I think he really enjoyed it. He had something different to look at and outside smells to smell...so I think it's going to have to be a regular thing for us all to keep our sanity.
P.S.--that rope is our makeshift leash. We have to use it or he'll take off and run around the yard.

This is what devil tape does to my precious pomeranian. The poor guy, we just got this off tonight. He took it pretty well this time, and God bless adhesive remover pads. We still have the other leg to do (that's slated for tomorrow night). We got a little tape off his ankle last night, and the redness is gone today, so I'm hoping that this will go away and feel better for him by tomorrow.

Earlier this week he managed to get out of his Kong Cloud collar (it looks like a travel pillow, we thought it would be something nicer for him than the regular cone) and pop a stitch..maybe 2 we're not sure. You can see the area in the middle where there is nothing holding it together. Lucky for us, and for him, that it had already healed enough to hold together. We've been taking it really easy on carrying him and moving him around so we don't disturb it...because we all know that we'll be really screwed if that opens up.

The left leg looks pretty good too. It's a little crusty, but not infected or anything. Earlier this week it was a little puffy, so we were keeping a pretty close eye on it, but it's fine now.

He's still on all of his pain meds. I can't tell if he's in any pain or not. The funny thing about dogs is that they will do everything they normally do, even if it hurts. So we're keeping up the dosing, Tramadol 3 times a day, and Meloxicam 1 time a day with dinner.



Here's a little clip I shot yesterday. You can sort of see that he's still having a bit of trouble getting up, but that he's walking almost normally. It's still a little stiff, but he can get around ok. As far as the rehab goes, I'm not sure how much walking he'll be able to do, but for sure there will be no stairs or jumping for at least 8 weeks. This is going to be the hardest part since we have stairs everywhere. So we'll have to continue to carry him outside.

So, overall it's going pretty well, we weren't sure what to expect, but it definitely could be worse.
Happy Wednesday.

Jessica

Friday, October 21, 2011

Luxating Patella Surgery - Post-Op Day 3

Hello.
I suggest if you have a heart condition that you stop reading/looking right now, because this will break it. Also, I should let you know that if you have a problem with pictures of bandages or stitches, you also should stop..because today, it's all here.

My whole point in putting this info out there is so hopefully if someone else has to go through this they can find the information they'll need. I never could find a specific case concerning a pomeranian. There was quite a bit of info on forums and things about malteses and shi tzus, but nothing on poms.

Luxating patella, or slipping knee cap, is very common in Pomeranians, as well as other small breeds. I'm not really going to go into detail about what it is because there's tons of general information out there. Basically the knee cap slides around and out of the groove it's supposed to be in. This causes a skipping when the dog walks. Mostly it's not painful, but in Oliver's case it was becoming increasingly so. (I'm sure if we asked him, he would take that pain over what he's got now..but too bad.)

On to Oliver's story.
It was rapid onset, we were playing, then I guess something tweaked just the right way, he howled and wouldn't use his left leg. Same thing happened 2 weeks later, only this time it was his right leg. So now it's both legs. We got some opinions, and it needed to be fixed. Both of Oliver's knees were Grade 3.
We made our appointment with the MU Vet Teaching Hospital. Today is Friday, our appointment was Monday. We met with our student first, then the actual vet, Dr. Cook. He's a leading orthopedic surgeon...nothing is too good for my baby. Our appointment was short, they didn't really have anything to say that I didn't already know. Oliver was a candidate for surgery, in fact, Dr. Cook said that Grade 3 was really the best situation, because it was bad enough to need to be fixed, but not so bad that anything degenerative had set in yet...so he expects a full recovery. We left Oliver there. That night he had x-rays done and some blood work. Tuesday mid-morning he had surgery. Our student was absolutely wonderful in keeping me updated.
They did what they call the 4-in-1 on both of his knees. The deepened the groove, they loosened the ligament on one side, tightened the other side, and they cut and relocated part of his tibia. They also check the ACL while they're in there, since it can't be seen on an x-ray. They said they prefer to do both legs on small dogs, because they tend to recover so well, and you can just carry them.
When we went back to pick him up we had a new doctor (Dr. Cook wasn't in that day..which was Wednesday) and a new student, it was time for them all to rotate. This was sort of less than desireable, but I figure I can call them as Oliver gets better, because there was some conflicting statements between new Dr. and Dr. Cook, so we'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, he's on 2 drugs, Tramadol, the pill, and Meloxicam, which is a liquid. He gets the pill every 8 hours, and the liquid once a day. He's supposed to be on 6 weeks of crate rest. That's not a problem now, but I see it being difficult in the future.
In 6-8 weeks we go back for a recheck visit, where they will maybe do more x-rays, but for sure feel the knees to make sure everything is still in place. AND this I didn't know, I never read it anywhere, so I was surprised when they mentioned this in our discharge appointment. There are pins in Oliver's tibia (this I knew) ((and we got to see the x-rays..straight as a arrow!)) but these pins are smooth, and can work their way out of the bone. New Dr. said that in 95% of her rechecks that she sees, these pins have to be removed. They do it there, under heavy sedation. This was news to me.

So, on to the photos...

He's definitely a sad pomeranian. He likes his crate, so that's working out for now. He can't really walk, and the drugs make him really sleepy. We pretty much get up to go out every 2 hours or so, then he goes back to sleep. It's only post-op day 3, so hopefully he'll feel better as we go along. He looks like a Chinese Crested, they shaved his butt fur.

Right after the surgery they had pressure bandages covering these. But those came off Wednesday morning, leaving this sticky mess. During our discharge appointment, they made it sound like these would come right off (we hadn't seen Oliver yet) with a warm washcloth or something...yeah, that is not true. This was Thursday night, after his meds, so he was drugged up...we started (carefully) peeling the tape off, and he was just throwing a fit! We weren't making any progress either. It's sticky like packing tape. As you can tell, it pretty much covers his whole legs, and his thighs. I can't say I blame him..it looked painful. We had to remove the devil tape so we can look at the incisions, to stay on top of any infections. So what does it take to remove the tape? It takes, 2 college educated adults, a 50 something second career nurse, a cone of shame, 2 giant dog cookies, part of a can of puppy EZ-cheese, adhesive remover pads, and it has to be 10 o'clock at night.

And this is what you get. Poor Oliver was so snappy and snarly (I can't really blame him, I'm sure it hurts a lot)((he bit both me and Jon)) that we only removed enough to see the stitches. This is his right leg, which was worse. He doesn't stand on this one at all.

This is his left leg, the wound looks much better on this one...well the other one doesn't look bad or anything. He'll balance on this leg when he's out in the yard.

We're going to work in the next few days as he's feeling better at removing the rest of the devil tape. I suggest if something like this is in your future, that you make sure they don't send you home with a dog that had this crap on their legs...for what you pay, they should take this stuff off...and I'm sure they would, but MU is 2 hours from here.

Turns out, Oliver maybe has a career as a circus dog.

Actually it was pathetic. We got home sort of late Wednesday night, well, at least it was dark. They had told us that he was still refusing to walk on this back legs, and that we might need to use a sling to help support him to potty. Well....we tried that, with no success. We were trying to hold him up with a piece of fabric under his legs, while trying not to bump his knees. Turns out this is impossible with a boy dog. The bits get in the way. We gave up, went in side and regrouped. Tried again, and turns out, all you have to do is set him on his front legs first, and he'll take off on his own. I'm really glad the sling isn't something we have to keep using. It really is amazing, because this was the practical part I was worried about, the dreaded potty time, with only 2 working legs. He mostly just takes off like nothing is wrong, balances on the back left leg when he goes, then picks it back up to walk back to you. He gets tired really quickly, and you have to pick him up and start over if he hasn't gone yet..but so far we haven't had any potty problems.

So far it's going pretty well. He's slept for the 2 days we've been home, but he seems comfortable and fairly happy.

I'm glad it's over with, that's for sure. I plan to have more updates on his recovery, so that anyone who wants to know can see what it's really like. If you fall into that category, feel free to contact me with any questions, and I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know.

Jessica

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Slider Halloween Cards

I thought I'd bring you a happy post before I start posting about Oliver's recovery..because it's sad..you'll see what I mean.

But on a happier note..I have a couple of Halloween cards.

These are slider cards. The circle part rolls back and forth in the groove. How awesome is that? They are super easy to make, and I sort of want to make tons of them.

See, it moves! You just tilt the card back and forth, and giggle like a 5 year old.

I loved it so much, I made a second one. I've got 8 of those little stamps..so really I could make 8...believe me, I've thought about it.

I'm a little sad I don't have any more of that paper, it was from Hobby Lobby a few years ago, and they don't sell it any more. Damn.

I hope everyone had a good week, or will have a good weekend. We've been home all week, which sounds fun, but it's not when you baby is 2 hours away. I'm doing much better now that he's home.

Jessica

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Our 3rd Year Anniversary

3 years ago today Jonathan and I got married. It was the best day of my life, and also the best decision. We've never been happier.

We have decided to give the traditional wedding gifts to each other every year..to make it a bit more challenging. Year 1 was paper, I got Jon a wonderful stationary set with a monogram wax presser...he got me a kindle (cheater). Year 2 was cotton, I made Jonathan a shadow box with cotton seeds, as well as some cotton undershirts, he got me some shirts, and an iPod dock (cheater). So we're on to year 3, which is leather. I put my foot down this year...no cheating, and no supplemental gifts! I got Jonathan a pair of leather driving gloves, he got me a pair of fur lined leather mittens!! Win! And it further proves my point that we truly are soul mates.

*On a completely unrelated note, Oliver is out of surgery, and doing wonderful, or so I'm told. I plan on fully blogging his procedures and road to recovery so that hopefully someone in need of info stumbles upon my blog and is able to find the answers I mostly had to guess..but more on that once we bring him home*

I have an anniversary card today!

It's semi-manly. I used my medallion stamp and I colored it with markers to give it that multicolored look.

A brad in the center really brings it together. The inside is plain, with room for a loving message.

I should have several more updates this week. We go to pick Oliver up tomorrow, and I couldn't be happier.

Jessica

Friday, October 14, 2011

Watercolored Halloween Card

3 posts in the same week?! Crazy I know.

I'm on a Halloween spree. I've got a card today, and 2 more waiting in the wings. I think I'm shooting for 12 cards this year, so we'll see if I make it in time. It's sort of difficult because I like them all to be different (I say that, but the next post will have to very similar cards..but more on that later) or to try a new technique on each one...so it takes more time.

For example..this card took 2 tries. I used Stampin' Up's water color paper and painted the background. I embossed the image with black powder. When I went to stamp it the first time it was really crooked..so I had to start all over. And since the image is sort of involved, I went with really simple on the rest of the card. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the front with a spider web.

The image is sort of shiny from the powder, it's also raised up.

The inside is pretty simple too. As I'm sure you're noticing, this is one of my favorite sentiment stamps for Halloween.

I might get something posted tomorrow, but I'm not sure, some friends of ours just had a baby, so I'm hoping to go see them tomorrow. Exciting.

Jessica

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Watercolored Fall Birthday Card

I'm on a roll this week!

I ended up with the day off today, so I'm spending a little time in my fishbowl. This morning Tim the Trainer came over for a little backyard agility. Dogtober Fest is this weekend and he is part of the agility exhibition with his 3-legged dog Dixie. Dixie is good, but today Oliver was really on his game. He even tackled the A-frame. It's a shame he'll be benched for 8 weeks after his surgery.

Today I have a fall birthday card.

I made this for a friend's mom. The stamp is a 2-step stamp, and I sort of used a watercolor technique...I painted directly on the stamp before I stamped it to the paper. I love this shade of purple, but rarely have an excuse to use it.

It's pretty simple, but that's what I think of when I think of moms, pretty and simple.

I echoed the front on the inside, leaving plenty of room for a nice birthday message.

We're planning on going to Dogtober Fest this Sunday to see what it's all about. It will be sort of a final fling for Oliver. I'm also hoping that he will be really tired so he will sleep on the car ride to Columbia.

Jessica

Monday, October 10, 2011

Pop Up Ghost Card

I've got another Halloween card toady...I'm getting caught up..sort of.

This one is pretty simple...but I still think it's cute.

Ooooh, pop up ghost..

Some day, I promise I'll get a light box and take properly lit pictures...some day.

It's Monday already, this weekend went by too quickly. Another week of work, and next weekend will go by fast as well I'm sure. Next Tuesday Oliver is having surgery, so life is about to get complicated around here.

Jessica

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Embossed Candle Halloween Card

I haven't fallen off the wagon completely..

It's been a long week, and so far, a long weekend. Today we went to Warrensburg to watch the UCM game. My sister is in the band there. It ended up being an all day event...ending with a sunburn which is wonderful.

It's October already..I'm not sure what happened to September..and August for that matter.

I'm putting out my best effort to get in gear and get some Halloween cards made. I have a few done that haven't been posted yet, so that's what I have today.

This one is pretty simple, but I sort of like how it turned out.

The candle is embossed with silver powder, so it's shiny and metaly looking.

The card folds in the center, which is different that I usually do things. I kept with the silver theme and stamped the greeting and some accents in silver pigment ink.

I'm still working on more cards, and I have a few that just need to be posted...maybe tomorrow..maybe not.

Jessica

Monday, October 3, 2011

Washington DC Trip Day 6

Wow, so as usual I'm a day late..I'm lots of dollars short, but oh well.

Yesterday we had our final day in Washington DC. We got back to Kansas City last night, picked up Oliver from my mom's and picked up Jon's truck from Blue Springs..needless to say, by the time we actually got home we were exhausted. So I have a post today.

After much deliberation we decided to go to Arlington Cemetery yesterday.
It was overcast all day, and pretty chilly. We opted to ride the tour bus around the cemetery. It stopped at 3 places, the Kennedy grave site, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and Arlington House.

I could not believe how many headstones there were.

250lbs of marble.

John F. Kennedy, his wife, and 2 of his children are buried here, under the eternal flame.

This is the marble amphitheater where they hold important ceremonies.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. There are 3 buried here currently. The 4th from Vietnam was identified using DNA testing, so he was removed, as per the family's request.

There is a group of soldiers that guard the tomb every day. During the summer they change the guard every 30 minutes, and in the winter they change every hour. During non-public times they change every 2 hours.

We got to see them change the guard.


They walk back and forth, and everything is based off 21 (like the 21 gun salute) 21 steps across, 21 seconds facing each way, etc.

This is the old amphitheater. It was in use until 1920. It was just outside Arlington House..which we have no pictures of...can you guess who had the camera?

It was a pretty good way to spend half a day...even though it was freezing.

Well now that our trip has been documented we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming, hopefully some time this week.

Jessica

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Washington DC Trip Day 5

Today Team Rodgers put on their fancy pants and got chauffeured in a town car to the other Air and Space Museum. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. It's about 40 minutes away from our hotel, and there's really no good way to take public transportation...so we upgraded.

It's more air than space, so Jonathan loved it. There were planes everywhere, as you can see.

But this one, the SR-71, I've had to hear about all week. I think this was the only thing he wanted to see on the whole trip. I've been informed that this is the fastest plane ever.

I like space better, it's like a mobile for the nerdiest baby on the block.

It's crazy to think that this computer used to be top of the line, not that long ago.

A Mercury capsule. I'm convinced that people were tiny then. There is no way I could sit in there for very long.

Here are more examples of why I can't be an astronaut. This is what people really want to know about space travel. Pee and poop collection is on everyone's mind.

I mean you really can't top bodily functions...I freaking love planes!

A flying car..

Ok, this is for all you wildlife majors. There is a group of people that teach cranes how to migrate. The fly the little things in the picture in the back of the display case, and they wear the white suit. They are not allowed to talk in the presence of the cranes. They travel from Wisconsin to Florida...it looks like it sucks. I'm pretty sure there's no texting either.

This plane..I learned, dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.

The Space Shuttle

It was a pretty big place, we saw a lot. This was our last full day. We had Chinese food delivered from a local place, it was ok, but nothing can hold a candle to Kin Lin.

We head back tomorrow. We've got about half a day left here before we have to catch our plane, we're not sure what we're going to do.

Jessica