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Knucklehead's blog

we spent some time with Jax yesterday & got him to eat some food for the first time since tuesday. when we visited him today he seemed to be in worse shape, although they have his vitals stabilized. we were both crying when we left.
we are meeting with a surgeon tomorrow to discuss options. we both feel that if it comes down to amputation then we may have to put my friend down as it is extremely difficult for such a front heavy dog to survive with one front leg. we are hoping it does not come to this as i can't bear the thought of putting him down. i have had dogs all my life but never had such a close bond as i do with Jax. this is killing me inside. i have to go now.
 
My hopes and prayers go out to Jax, you and Diane. I truly hope he can pull thru this.
 
We met with the surgeon yesterday & got some more x-rays done.
His leg bone & surrounding tissue looked much better, so they recommended exploratory surgery and said that most likely they would NOT have to amputate his leg.
Jax had a couple hours of surgery last night. The dr. called after with an update.
They did not find any tumors or cancer, just massive bacteria infection both in his upper leg bone & the surrounding muscles & tissues. They removed some of the inside of the bone & were concerned about how soft it was as well as the discoloration. They installed some type of material / medicine into the bone cavity to prevent further infection & promote new growth. They were pleased with the results & said he is recovering now. They think this all stems from an infection from a foxtail entering his body somehow, but could not find it, but said they only find them 50% of the time & the rest get broken down by the body. His vital signs are stable. We have been visiting him every day & plan to go again today to see how he is doing & spend time with him. All the nurses comment how lovable & sweet he is. He is on a bed on the floor, not locked in a cage like most of the other pets in the hospital there. His red blood cells are low so he is getting a blood infusion from a greyhound in a little bit.
They said that quite a lot of disgusting fluid has drained out already which will ease both his tremendous pain & swelling, & allow them to taper down the pain medications.
He has a feeding tube now so they can get nutrients into his system to build strength & start the healing process.
This is costing an absolute fortune but is worth every penny if he makes it through.
 
Tim that is great news!
 
Good to hear.

My family spent a fortune on our dog after a car accident, even after every vet reccomended we put her down. 3 surgeries later she was fully recovered.

Totally worth it. Stick with it.
 
Been praying for Jax and you all. Glad this is looking better. Fortunes are worth it if spent on friends.
 
Glad to hear about Jax's progress. Hang in there buddy. I'll give you a call next week when I get back in the US.
 
i hung out with Jax for an hour & a half today.
he just finished up getting a blood transfusion with greyhound blood.
the swelling has gone down a ton in his leg & shoulder, he looked much more "normal" sized, but still swollen more than normal.
they are tapering down his pain medication which should be helpful.
he didn't want to eat at all, but i got him to drink a couple bowls of water.
he has a feeding tube in his nose so at least he is getting some nutrition to help the long healing process. they did some physical therapy on him today & got him to put some weight on his bad leg which is a good sign. we are still waiting to get back test results so they can zero in on the antibiotic treatment.
he seemed to be in good spirits & licked my hand, so i think he is feeling a ton better.
he still has a long road to recovery but we are making progress!
 
Tim - can't believe I didn't see this sooner. Sorry to hear about Jax's infection. Sounds like your vet is doing a great job, though. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you and Diane. My best wishes on a full and speedy recovery. Jax is a great dog and you two obviously have a great bond. Being a dog person myself, I know this must be absolutely nerve wracking.
 
knucklehead 61 said:
We met with the surgeon yesterday & got some more x-rays done.
His leg bone & surrounding tissue looked much better, so they recommended exploratory surgery and said that most likely they would NOT have to amputate his leg.
Jax had a couple hours of surgery last night. The dr. called after with an update.
They did not find any tumors or cancer, just massive bacteria infection both in his upper leg bone & the surrounding muscles & tissues. They removed some of the inside of the bone & were concerned about how soft it was as well as the discoloration. They installed some type of material / medicine into the bone cavity to prevent further infection & promote new growth. They were pleased with the results & said he is recovering now. They think this all stems from an infection from a foxtail entering his body somehow, but could not find it, but said they only find them 50% of the time & the rest get broken down by the body. His vital signs are stable. We have been visiting him every day & plan to go again today to see how he is doing & spend time with him. All the nurses comment how lovable & sweet he is. He is on a bed on the floor, not locked in a cage like most of the other pets in the hospital there. His red blood cells are low so he is getting a blood infusion from a greyhound in a little bit.
They said that quite a lot of disgusting fluid has drained out already which will ease both his tremendous pain & swelling, & allow them to taper down the pain medications.
He has a feeding tube now so they can get nutrients into his system to build strength & start the healing process.
This is costing an absolute fortune but is worth every penny if he makes it through.
Click to expand...

:yelclap: party1:
 
so awesome to hear. Id be a wreck if it was my dog . I can only imagine the stress anxiety that would come with all of this. Youre doing a good job kepeing it together Tim!
id be a mess.
 
Jax is in surgery again, this time to fix a complication from his catheter that caused his bladder to rupture. I feel so sad & helpless, I just want him to get well & come home. He already has at least 53 staples from the surgery on his leg, 2 incisions, about 18" combined length! now he will have even more. We are doing everything possible to treat him, I just hope he will survive. He has been in critical care since 9/18. :bawl:
 
Jax made it through the surgery. they found a hole in his bladder, patched it, & drained all the excess urine & fluids from his abdominal cavity. he is in recovery now.
the dr. was very pleased that they quickly found the hole & said the repair went well.
i'll make my daily visit this afternoon to hang out with my friend.
 
oh man I am glad to hear he is doing better from both surgeries! Poor guy is probably very confused.
 
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