That's right! Ice bath!
Brrr......
The next day I did an easy 45 minute spin to flush out the legs and when I finished my workout, I noticed Copper, my younger dog, couldn't get up the stairs. She could put her front paws on the stairs but couldn't get enough spring out of her back legs to get up. This really freaked me out because only one reason popped in my mind as to why she couldn't get up... her back was going out from a disc that has ruptured in her spine. I called my dad (he's a vet who does specialized surgeries) to get his opinion. He agreed with what I thought but because she could still walk around fine on level ground, she might have a chance to heal without surgery. I was to keep an eye on her....
The next morning at 5:30 when I was getting up for work, I went to go check on her and she had gotten much worse. She was only able to walk two or three steps before her legs gave out. I FREAKED! I knew time was crucial. If I didn't get her the spinal surgery quickly, I risked her staying paralyzed permanently which meant possible kidney failure and euthanasia. I called my parents and two hours later I was at the airport on my way home for my dad to operate on Copper.
Copper was on the operating table by 12:30pm with little motor movement but still had deep pain sensations. (This was a good thing.) The surgery went well but dad gave me the sobering news that Copper was one of the worst cases he'd seen and to be prepared for her to possibly not get better. Once he opened her up, he had to completely remove 1 disc and clean out 5 others. Here's Copper a few hours post op...
Things were looking positive after surgery. Copper could slightly move her left leg and had some feeling in her right leg. I knew we weren't in the clear, though. A couple more days would be the real test. The next morning I went to go see Copper at the clinic. She wanted me to hold her but I could tell she was miffed at me since she wouldn't look at me at all...
Kind of amusing but I totally get where she's coming from. I'd be mad at me, too.
I had to fly back home that evening to get back for work the next day and was seriously bummed with having to leave Copper behind, even though I knew it was the best thing for her. Dad called me later that night to tell me Copper had dramatically improved! (He was really surprised and impressed with her recovery.) She was very shaky, but was able to stand and take a few steps on her own. Amazing!
Mom was driving down through my town the next evening because she was driving down to be in Florida a week before my sister's wedding (She's getting married this coming Friday.). She and Dad thought Copper was doing well enough to come back home where she could be comfortable and heal quicker. When Mom arrived, I got to see Copper's scar for the first time...
A hella wicked scar, huh!
Poor baby girl! :( She was being so crazy strong, though and was even walking around a little.
So, to wrap up on Copper, she is doing amazingly well with her progress. She's now able to go to the bathroom on her own and is getting stronger each day. It's probably going to take 6 months before she gets back to being somewhat pre-surgery, but no worries. I still have her and that's all that I really care about.
Quick workout update: I had a 10K race this morning and had a really good PR! I've never been a good runner and had also never run a 10K under an hour so I was thrilled to have run today's hilly course in 50:23! I know this isn't really massively impressive but for me, it's baby steps in the right direction. I even got a medal for being the 2nd female to cross the finish line. Ha! Obviously there wasn't much competition but I'll take it! :)
My hardware...
So, that's been my life over 8 days! Good times! Hope everyone's had a less eventful and more positive week!
Good karma to all,
r