Good To Go

Reyna’s hip replacement surgery was just a little over a year ago. We’ve had some ups and downs since then, with the significant downs being the soft tissue damage during the initial recovery and the setback that happened during the winter. Our biggest up happened today. Reyna had her follow-up at VetHab, and she has been declared fit. She’s at a healthy weight, she’s moving very nicely, she’s carrying her weight properly, and she has good, solid muscle in both hips. We’re to keep walking as much as possible and do cavalettis at least twice a week, but she’s allowed to chase her ball and start her tracking training (which we’re planning to do Monday). A significant indication that she’s doing really well is that she no longer fights to walk on the grass – she’ll walk on the road without fussing, and she hasn’t done that since well before the surgery. Another big indication is that, during today’s exam, she not only didn’t try to bite the vet, she barely even noticed what he was doing (she was much more interested in the Pupperoni treat). She’s doing so well, in fact, that she’s even off of all of her pain meds, taking the Rimadyl only when she’s having a rough day. Its absolutely amazing to see how different she is now, compared to a year ago. Or even two years ago.

Here’s to many more THR anniversaries.

Firsts

Its been a long road, but we’re finally at the end. From surgery to release, it was over 4 months. Nearly 18 weeks. 124 days. A third of a year. Of course, as someone pointed out yesterday, I’d have been really annoyed to spend so much money and have the whole thing over and done with in just a few days. After all, if it was that easy, it shouldn’t be so expensive. But it wasn’t that easy, and it was so expensive. And frustrating. Heart-wrenching. Nerve-wracking. Terrifying. I sincerely hope we never have to go through anything like this again.

As difficult as it was, though, I know it could have been so much worse. We were very lucky in that we didn’t have any major complications. The set-back in July really only cost us a month. I also know this would have been harder without the help and support of so many people. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to the success of Reyna’s hip replacement, whether financially, physically or emotionally. Reyna may not appreciate what you’ve done for us, but I do.

And speaking of Reyna...she is truly enjoying her new-found freedom. Her first night, Tuesday, was a bit rough, but that’s because she had to relearn a few things. When I told Reyna to go to bed, she was a bit confused because I’d already put her crate back in the garage. It took her a bit to realize that I meant she could sleep on either of the beds, or the couch, or the chair, or even the floor. She also had to figure out that, even though she could see out the kitchen windows for the first time in months, she really didn’t need to bark at every single thing that moved or flickered. That one took her a while, but she was pretty well settled down by midnight.

Yesterday was so entertaining. Reyna met me at the hall door in the morning with her entire body wagging. She got confused again when I took her out the front door to start our walk – she hasn’t gone through that door since the surgery. We spent the evening in the back yard, me in a chair with my book, and the pups running themselves ragged. Reyna and Duncan chased each other around the yard for almost 30 minutes before collapsing for a brief rest. Duncan is so excited that he’s allowed to play with his sister (and that I’m not fussing at him for trying). Reyna also had a great time barking ferociously at some of the neighborhood children, now that she can see through the front door again. All in all, this freedom thing is definitely a blast. But the best part - the absolute best part - is that Reyna isn’t hurting anymore.

Freeeeeedommmmm!!!!!

I am pleased (excited, thrilled, ecstatic, overjoyed) to announce that the surgeon has given Reyna a clean bill of health and said that she is free to go forth and be a dog! No more confinement, no more restrictions other than basic common sense (no seven mile treks through Umstead Park until we’re actually in shape). Reyna is allowed to run, jump and play to her heart’s content. I’m sure that will result in some soreness while she gets used to doing those things again, but we can deal with that. The surgeon said that the implant looks perfect, with no shifting or slipping, and that the fissure that occurred during the surgery has closed nicely. Interestingly enough, the surgeon also said that they can tell she’s really using her new hip – they did a muscle atrophy check, and there is now more atrophy in her left (non-surgical) hip than in her right. I’m glad to know the new hip is doing its job.

As a counterpoint to the trazodone video, I took this little clip shortly after we got home today. Its about a minute, but Reyna is doped on the seriously good drugs that they use when they need get those unpleasant hip x-rays so she's moving a bit slower than usual.



As I’m typing this, Reyna is semi-conscious beside me. Notice the tongue...

Waiting...Again

Reyna’s at the vet school this morning for her check-up and x-rays. The surgeon was upbeat about the likely results, but couldn’t say anything certain until after the exam. So, Duncan and I are waiting, again. Hopefully, we’ll have a definite answer by early afternoon.

Almost There

We hit 17 weeks post-op tomorrow. I’d love to say that everything is going great, but I’m afraid to be too enthusiastic. It seems like every time I get confident that we’re going to make it through, something else happens. I’m going to go with “cautiously optimistic,” I think. That should be safe enough.

The neighbor has been allowed to live. Reyna limped Thursday and Friday last week, but by Saturday morning she was moving nicely. We didn’t walk while she was limping, but we have the last few days, and we’re up to almost a mile per walk. The cool weather has been a huge benefit, and both pups are feeling very frisky. Reyna’s been wanting to play outside a lot more, and I’ve been letting her as long as she doesn’t get too crazy. Course, she’s not really the problem - Duncan is. He wants to play like they used to, and he hasn’t quite figured out what’s allowed and what isn’t. For example, running circles around Reyna and rolling on the ground is allowed, but grabbing Reyna’s back legs and pulling is not. You’d think the distinction would be fairly clear, but apparently not to Duncan.

We have less than a week to go before we see the surgeon. I so hope he releases Reyna to be free and live her doggie life. We’ll all benefit from that (except maybe the cats). We just have to make it through five more days without any major problems. It sounds easy, but...

Four Long Months

Reyna 16 weeks post-op today. Some days, its hard to believe its been that long. Other days, I feel every excruciating minute of it.

This week has been a good one for Reyna. She hasn’t been limping except when she’s stiff, and she seems to loosen up pretty quickly once she's out of the crate. We started taking walks again this past weekend, and Reyna’s very excited about getting out of the house. She wants to go a lot farther than I’m letting her right now, which is a good sign. We go back to the surgeon in 12 days, so we just have to keep it together until then. Which means we can’t have another morning like we did today.

My obnoxious neighbor did something that made me want to slap him stupid. Come to think of it, I still want to slap him. This is the neighbor with the motorcycle. Reyna hates his motorcycle. I know it, he knows it, I’m pretty sure the whole neighborhood knows it (Reyna isn’t the subtle type). The neighbor generally keeps to a schedule in the mornings, moving the motorcycle out of the shed at 6:30, leaving at 6:45. Reyna usually hears him leave his house and go to the shed, and she barks from then until he turns the motorcycle off in his driveway. And then she starts up again for a minute or so when he leaves, depending on how long he revs the stupid thing in the driveway. This morning, I let Reyna out of her crate to go into the back yard before our walk. She hadn’t been barking and it wasn’t yet 6:30, so I wasn’t worried about the motorcycle. Silly me. For whatever reason, the neighbor decided to move the motorcycle from the shed a bit early. Reyna took off for the fence, running, barking, jumping, twisting, and generally doing all sorts of things she shouldn’t be doing yet. Did the neighbor do the nice thing and turn the motorcycle off for 30 seconds so I could get Reyna on a leash and away from the fence? No, he did not. Instead, he sat there and revved the engine several times. And then smirked and walked back into his house.

This same neighbor has given me grief since Reyna’s setback in early July, talking about how its my fault she got hurt, and how he’s told me over and over what I’m doing wrong, and how its not his fault that she goes nuts over his motorcycle (I’ll grant him that her nuttiness is not his fault, but he enjoys revving the motorcycle unnecessarily and watching her flip out).

I took the pups for an abbreviated walk, hoping it would help loosen Reyna’s muscles and possibly reduce any damage from this morning. When I left for work, though, she was limping. Hopefully, that eases by this evening and we’re not looking at a replay of July because of his jerky behavior. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame him for starting the motorcycle when he did – after all, he’s not required to check and see if Reyna’s in the yard before he does that. What infuriates me is the fact that he couldn’t exercise just a bit of basic decency and turn the thing off when he heard Reyna barking. And yes, I’m sure he heard her, as he’s admitted before that he hears her barking at his motorcycle, even when she’s in the house (as I said, she’s not subtle). Instead, he chose to continue moving the motorcycle, and then chose to rev it unnecessarily several times.

I’m not sure any of us in the house can handle another four weeks of strict confinement without going completely off our rockers. Everyone cross your paws for us. And be prepared to send bail money when I’m arrested for assaulting the neighbor.

15 Weeks

Reyna seems to be over last week’s spinning and bouncing incident, but I’m not taking any chances. We’ll try a short, easy walk Saturday morning, and see how that goes. I’d like to be able to start walking her every morning, but I don’t think she’ll be ready for twice a day walks right away, even if we do keep them short. I’ve got to get her doing something to burn some energy, though – she’s still snippy with Duncan, and she’s started obsessing over her tail again. At first glance, her tail looks okay, but if you look closely at the tip end, you see that she’s already licked off the fur and some of the skin. She’s being sly about this time - licking in a spot that’s surrounded by long fur so its not so visible.

101 Days Of Reyna

Last Thursday was 14 weeks post-op. I know the actual difference is very small, but today is 101 days post-op, and that feels like a much longer time than 14 weeks. And to think, we still have 3 weeks left before we see the surgeon.

Reyna was allowed to start going on walks a week and a half ago, but since the temps went so high, I didn’t bother pushing that. Instead, I waited until this past Thursday to start walking. We took a short walk that evening, and Reyna did very well. Friday morning, though, she had a bit of a limp. I don’t think that’s due to the walk as much as to the fall she took Thursday. She was spinning around (as usual) and she ran into Duncan. Unfortunately for Reyna, she didn’t hit him hard enough for him to move, but just hard enough for her to bounce off. And when she bounced, her back legs went out from under her. She didn’t seem particularly distressed at the time, but between that and the Friday morning limp, I decided we’d put walks on hold again for a while longer. She’s still got a bit of a limp, and she’s started licking her surgical hip, right at the top of the implant, which makes me think that area is irritating her. So, we’ll wait til next weekend to try walking again. I certainly don’t want to push anything and have the surgeon extend her confinement. Especially since that’s starting to visibly wear on Reyna. The last week or so, she’s been getting a bit snotty with Duncan when she goes in her crate. She’s not crazy enough to snap at me (yet), so she still goes in her crate with no arguments, but once she’s in there, she starts saying nasty things to Duncan. It doesn’t get her out of the crate, but it does seem to hurt Duncan’s feelings a bit. He always sighs and puts his head down after she fusses. Of course, that could just be his way of tuning her out…

13 Weeks

We’re 13 weeks post-op today, and things are going well. Reyna’s almost entirely limp free again (knock on wood), and we’ll start taking short walks this weekend. Another bit of good news (or bad, if you’re actually trying to keep Reyna quiet) is that Reyna is definitely feeling like her old self. I’d have been happier if she could have waited on that for another few weeks, but it is what it is. And what it is, is a wound-up, energetic, tired-of-being-crated, darn-near-crazy Reyna. So glad we start walks soon.

12 Weeks

Today is 12 weeks post-op. We’re not where I wanted to be, but, as I keep reminding myself, we’re a lot farther along than we could be. I don’t want to be too optimistic right now, because it seems like every time I tell someone how well Reyna’s doing, I get home and find her worse than when I left. The good news is that she is doing better, the limp is fading, and the sass is definitely out in full force (and if I go home today to find her limping and grumpy, I’m going to be so aggravated). We have one more week of taking things very easy, and then we can start walks again. Not really looking forward to the boredom that is looping the cul-de-sac, but I’m going to make very sure we don’t push things.

Making Progress

Reyna is 11 weeks post-op today. Its been three weeks since Reyna started limping again, and she finally seems to be getting better. She’s still limping some, but its not as severe as before. We’ve got two more weeks before we’re allowed to start walks again (although the surgeon’s notes all referred to week 8, when she was injured, rather than week 9, when we actually saw him – I’m going by when we saw him). Reyna’s being a real trooper about the restrictions – outside, anyway. Inside, she starts spinning as soon as she thinks I can’t see her. I’d really hate to see her without the increased dose of happy meds. The good thing about all of this is that her attitude now is still much better than it was before the surgery. Even with the tissue injury, she’s clearly not hurting like she used to. She’s so much better, in fact, that her sassiness is starting to become annoying. Granted, its annoying in an I’m-thrilled-that-you-feel-so-great-but-I’m-going-to-strangle-you-if-you-don’t-stop way, which means I’m usually smiling while I’m fussing at her. Its no wonder she just smirks at me and trots off…

Square 1.5

Good news: Reyna doesn’t need another surgery.

Bad news: We’re back to square 1.5 (not 1, because we don’t have to worry about infection from licking the incision).

Today was an exhausting day that I really don’t want to repeat. Our appointment was at 10:00, and at 10:45, we finally got out of the waiting room and into an exam room. The student vet did the initial exam, and Reyna quickly informed her that she didn’t like the vet messing with her legs. In fact, she tried very hard to bite the student when she tried to extend Reyna’s front legs. Apparently, Reyna’s shoulders are sore. The surgeon came in after that and had me take Reyna outside so he could watch her walk. He commented on the fact that Reyna was hunching her back and putting a lot of her weight on her front legs (hmmm, maybe that’s why she tried to bite the student vet). While we were outside, we had Reyna lie down so the surgeon could check her hips. He asked me to handle the “sharp end” while he worked her legs. He found some soreness in her left knee, which is most likely due to compensating for the right hip. He also said that her new hip was moving very smoothly, which I thought was good, right up until he said that some dislocations move very smoothly, too, and he couldn’t say for sure what was going on until he saw the x-rays.

I got back to the vet school at 3:45 for a 4:00 appointment. At 5:10, the surgeon finally came out to see me. He said they did a neurological exam (since GSDs are prone to certain neurological problems) and the results were fine. He said they also rechecked Reyna’s knee while she was sedated, and its sore but there’s no significant injury to it. Reyna’s hip x-rays came back clear, with no new cracks in the femur or problems with the wires. The surgeon said the new joint is sitting where it should and showed no signs of dislocation. The end result of all of this is a soft tissue injury. He said it could have happened at any time – she could have jumped or slipped and damaged the tissue by pulling some of the internal sutures loose – which means I have no idea of how guilty I should feel about this. Since x-rays don’t show soft tissue, there’s no way of knowing how severe the damage is without cutting her open (and no, that is not going to happen). The only way to fix the damage is to rest. So, we basically have to act like Reyna just had the THR surgery yesterday. For four weeks, she gets potty breaks only. Otherwise, she has to be crated or confined in some manner. After four weeks, we can start walking again – 5 minutes twice a day, slowly building back up. He wants me to bring her back in for a check up in eight weeks. After waiting for a new batch of Trazadone, we finally got out of there at 5:50. Reyna is currently sprawled on the floor in a sedation coma, and Duncan is curled up next to her, just happy she’s home.

Waiting

So, Reyna and I spent a few hours at the vet school this morning. She’s still there, actually, being fed lots and lots of happy drugs so they can do the x-rays. I’m to be there at 4:00 to chat with the surgeon again. Based on information from this morning's exam, best case is a soft tissue injury; worst case is a joint dislocation. I’ll go into more detail this evening, when I have the final results.

Setback

I finally heard from the vet school. Reyna goes in Friday morning for an exam and x-rays. They're thinking its probably a soft tissue injury, which is worse than a pulled muscle but better than anything that requires a surgical fix. She's back on total restrictions at least until Friday, but most likely for a few weeks. The vet suggested I up her Trazadone dose. I think I’ll start taking it, myself…

8 Week Worry

Reyna is 8 weeks post-op today. Officially, she can start having more freedom around the house and yard, but still no wrestling with Duncan. Of course, not being allowed to play rough also means that she still has to be crated when I’m gone and at night. For the most part, though, the most significant restrictions are eased at the 8 week mark. There’s only one snag to this – Reyna’s been a bit mopey during our evening walks lately, so I decided we’d stop the evening walks for a few days, and even take this weekend to just relax. We’ve walked twice a day, every day but one, since she hit the 3 week mark, so I figured it would be okay to take some time off. With this in mind, I walked Reyna a little farther yesterday morning than I have before, just so we’d still come somewhat close to getting the same total distance. She was fine when I left, no limp and feeling pretty peppy, and the sitter said she was fine during her lunch visit. When I got home last night, though, Reyna was limping. For the first time in weeks. The limp had eased somewhat by bedtime, but Reyna was bunny-hopping quite a bit both last night and this morning. With any luck, the limp is due to nothing more than a bit of muscle stiffness, but we’ll definitely be taking things very easy this weekend.

6 Week Split

Today, Reyna is 6 weeks post-op. We’re halfway there! Well, technically, we’re a bit more than halfway, because I’m the type of person who likes to schedule well in advance. July 30 is Reyna’s official 12 weeks post-op day, when she’ll be cleared by the surgeon to go forth and live her life restriction free. I figured 6 weeks was close enough to seem reasonable for scheduling, so I called the vet school today to get Reyna on the surgeon’s calendar. He doesn’t have anything available the week of July 30. So Reyna gets to have her 12 week check on July 20, at 10.5 weeks. Because you know what? I sure wasn’t willing to wait until mid-August to have him tell me she’s fine.

Reyna’s been handling the day-long confinement very well this week. In fact, I think she’s handling that better than I’m handling being back in the office. I’ll admit that there are certain things that are easier to do in the office, but I really miss being home all day. A lot of folks thought I’d get cabin fever, but I never did. Becky (the pet sitter) has been going by the house around lunch time this week and letting Reyna out for a potty break and some exercise. I’m sure that’s been helping, but Reyna’s still nuts when I get home in the evening. I haven’t gotten home later than 6:00 yet, which isn’t exactly thrilling the boss-folks, but hey, I have a dog in a crate. I’m not willing to stay in the office until 7:00 (or later), knowing she’s sitting there cooped up, building huge amounts of energy, just waiting to explode into insanity. The confinement may actually be helping just a bit, because she’s seemed to be more energetic on our walks. That’s probably a combination of excess energy and increasing muscle and stamina. We’re still walking a mile twice a day, and I’ve figured out a couple of routes to give us the distance but vary the view (and smells). I figure we’ll stay at that distance until its just too easy for her, and then we’ll increase again. After all, I don’t want to risk pushing her too hard, too fast.

Save Our Sanity!

We are 38 days post-op today and those not-so-crazy meds Reyna’s been taking the last few weeks aren’t so effective anymore. Reyna’s back to her old self, including the spinning. She’s still taking the meds, because I’m hoping they’re providing at least some calming influence. I shudder to think how she’d be if she wasn’t taking anything at all. Reyna’s also very unhappy with the current restrictions. She tried to eat Duncan’s head the other day, and not in a playful manner. Duncan felt the need to actively defend himself. It was the closest those two have ever come to an actual fight.

Reyna’s limp is almost completely gone – the only time I see it is when she first gets up after a prolonged rest period (although there aren’t many that would qualify as “prolonged” anymore). We’re up to a mile during each of our morning and evening walks. Reyna was starting to lag behind on our walks, and I figured she’d just gotten really bored with making laps in our cul-de-sac, so I finally decided to start walking across the road into the main neighborhood. The first time we did that, she immediately perked up. If the weather were cooler, I’d have added a mid-day walk just to help keep her relaxed, but its too hot for woman or beast to be walking on the road in the middle of the day. The two walks help, but there are a whole lot of hours in between them for her to go nutty. Over the weekend, I decided to try relaxing the restrictions just a bit – a happy medium between what the surgeon recommended and what is necessary to keep Reyna calm. When we went out in the yard, I let her off the leash – still no running (ha!), jumping, wrestling, or chasing Duncan’s ball. She didn’t try to really run very often, but she did do quite a bit of quick trotting (and spinning). I kept an eye out for any sign of a limp to indicate that she’d overdone it. For the most part, the experiment went pretty well, although she did have a couple of small incidents where she very obviously strained the leg a bit. Nothing serious, but not something I want her doing. I have no idea how things are going to go starting tomorrow, since I have to go back to the office and she’ll be crated all day. The sitter and I will swap out giving her a break during lunch, but I’m still pretty sure our evenings are going to be miserable.

Overall, Reyna is doing extremely well. The difference in just a few short weeks is amazing. As a reminder, here she was the day she came home, the day after the surgery (the silly expression is because she sneezed).


These pictures I took two days ago. The second shot isn't a great pose, but I included it to show the change in her incision/scar. The fur has grown over it enough so all that is visible is an odd ridge.

A Major Milestone

Today is a significant day for us. The big fears are over. Reyna is 28 days post-op, which means we’ve crossed a huge hurdle. As of the 4 week mark, Reyna is officially out of the high risk period. Unless she starts chewing on her scar, infection is no longer a concern. Dislocating the hip is also a non-issue now. She’ll still be on leash or otherwise confined for the next 8 weeks, but that’s more to control the healing and prevent set-backs. Now we start building muscle mass. We’ve been taking short walks twice a day for the last few days, and we’re up to just over 4 tenths of a mile with each walk. That doesn’t sound like much, but I don’t want to push things. We’ll be building the distance as time passes. Reyna is really enjoying getting outside and sniffing the various smells (and occasionally being loved on by neighbors). Her limp seems to be fading just a bit more each day, and the walks are helping to relax her. Thank goodness for that, because she’s definitely feeling the confinement these days. Depending on how miserable the weather is each day, I’m going to try adding a third walk to our routine. We’ll see how that goes.

21

Today brings us to 21 days post-op. Reyna’s incision looks great. In fact, I think its time to stop calling it an incision and start calling it a scar.


Reyna is doing very well. She’s been completely off the pain meds for several days, and she’s barely limping. She’s been doing so well, in fact, that I decided to start her walks a bit early. This morning, we went for our very first “real” walk – meandering around the yard during potty breaks doesn’t count. We didn’t walk far, just up to the cul-de-sac, down to near the intersection (we didn’t go all the way to the intersection, since I didn’t want her spazzing out if a car went by), and then back to the house. We went at a pace that was much slower than our normal pace, but not so slow that it wouldn’t count as exercise. I was sorta hoping she'd be so unused to the exercise that the walk would make her tired, but no such luck. Reyna was limping less when we were done than she was when we started. We were supposed to wait one more week before we started walking, but I don’t think it will hurt to ease into it slowly.

The only downside is that Reyna is feeling so good, she’s in full fidget mode. Its getting much harder to keep her relaxed and quiet without just locking her in her crate. She’s demanding a lot more attention and entertainment, as seen by the number of squeaky toys (and these aren’t even all of them).


Marie gave Reyna several books (thank you, Marie!), and I’ve been reading to her when the squeaky toys don’t seem to work. I don’t know if Reyna’s all that entertained by the stories, but Duncan certainly is.


Thankfully, though, Reyna hasn’t really tried to incite Duncan to play, and she’s not spinning, bouncing at Niko, barking (much) at passing vehicles, or walking herself outside. She’s still being very good about all of that, although she has tried to run down the hall at the cats a couple of times. I’ll take what I can get.

A Comparison

This was Reyna’s incision on Saturday, May 10, two days after the surgery.


This was Reyna’s incision on Friday, May 15, eight days after the surgery.


And this was Reyna’s incision yesterday, 14 days after the surgery.


A huge difference in only two weeks.