Lorna Doone's Sweet Journey

Lorna is still up and moving! September 2 will be 3 months POST SURGERY! She is starting to throw up about once or twice a week. Just bile? Anyone have that happen to them.

I know I should write more but things are going great and we (my wife and I) have gotten in such a great routine!

I know the cancer will return but man, Lorna has impressed me with EVERYTHING!

The past few days we have noticed Lorna has had a limp on her back leg. We wasted no time and went to our Vet. He said this isn’t uncommon and due to Lorna using new muscles and adjusting to her new way of life, sometimes muslces get over worked, tweaked, etc. He also didn’t rule out cancer returning but told us that shouldn’t be the top thing on our mind.

Either way he said X-Rays wouldn’t help. They wouldn’t help because even if it was cancer coming back….what can we do? Nothing. She has gone through enough and we just got to keep her comfortable and relaxed.

He put her on anti-inflamitory meds and said to keep have her stay on it only because we (the owners) should just keep her as happy and comfortable as possbile. We didn’t want the pain meds only because thats when (as we all know) our pups become zomies and they lose their personality.

Anyway, she is better, still limping but it doesn’t seem to bother her as much. No yelps late at night so we are happy.

For now….all is good 🙂

Hello All –

It’s been awhile since our last post. The past few weeks have been good. I got married and went on our honeymoon to the Bahamas and got back this week.

Lorna is doing better. I am proud of her! She now sleeps on the side of our bed because the day BEFORE OUR WEDDING, Lorna slept on her side wrong and tried to jump off the bed and ended up hurting herself. (we have a high bed) and then Lorna couldn’t walk for 10-15 mins.

We ended up going to the Vet for an emergency visit. The vet said she may have pitched a nerve or something like that. 🙁

This August 2 will be her TWO MONTH post amputation. Whats in the back of my mind is the Vet said 3-6 months (For survival) with no Chemo. We didn’t do Chemo (we couldn’t afford it) so we need to go to the Vet for some X-rays in a few weeks.

Anyone out there known of other owners only getting 3-6 months?

 

Overall we are doing great!  I’ll send pictures soon

Its been awhile since my last post. Just wanted to say things are going well. Lorna now has gone up and down stairs! (She needs some help going down still). This means we can finally sleep in our bed and Lorna sleeps right next to us on the floor (in her own bed). She has completely mastered the “excited run” (thats when myself or my fiance come home and Lorna can’t hold her excitment). She has no problems running around the house and pickup toys. Her fur is coming in (slowly but surely) and her scabs are gone.

To all you just starting off as tripawd parents….patience is the name of the game. Realizing your dog will be back to their old tricks, it just takes TIME. Something I learned while doing through this. Lorna didn’t really “bounce back” until 2 1/2 to 3 week mark.

Here is the latest picture of Lorna after coming in from again……eating the water out of the hose. (As i finish writing this, she is now passed out in front of the fan)

Haven’t posted in awhile.

Lorna is doing great. We haven’t tried the stairs yet…..fiance is very scared to try, but I said she won’t learn if we don’t try. My finance is going to a baby shower in NJ this weekend so I think i will try and get Lorna down the stairs by myself this Saturday or Sunday.

I was thinking of buying a harness to assist her getting down the stairs, getting into/out of the car and even walks if she needs it. Anyone have one?

Lorna is doing better like I said, she is sleeping on her side (where her incision is) which to me is a good sign. She is learning to “throw” her body weight in order to get up if she’s laying on her side where the incision is.

I read my past post and I see I wrote that Lorna yelped and cried. Well…she cries sometimes now but its not a cry of pain…its more a cry of  “annoyance” then anything else.

Her walks are getting longer and longer as we want her to get used to walking on three legs as well as rehab her remaining legs. (Typically Bullmastiff…she doesn’t want to do anything but lay around….even with 3 legs)

All in all, she is eating/drinking, sleeping fine, getting better walking,….it took  a few weeks but she is back!

Alright it’s been some time since our last post. Lorna is doing much much better. She is off all drugs/pain killers so her personality is back in FULL swing. The picture attached with this post is her chasing the water from the hose while I “try” and water the plants.

Her staples came out this past Saturday, and the surgeon said everything looks good. Her walk is much better. I feel since she is a bigger dog, it’s taking her a bit longer to figure out how to walk faster, more stable, etc. Her hair is growing back as well!

Any tricks to getting her up and down the stairs? Any stories from you all in regards to our next hurdle?

The car is officially sold and her surgery is now paid off. I’m in the process of car shopping as well :-). Anyone have a 2011 Subaru Legacy?

Wedding in 26 days……oh boy

 

What a good day. I go take a shower before church and as I came downstairs, I see Lorna laying in her favorite spot! Now i didn’t see her jump on the couch but man you could tell she was saying “OHHHHHHH YEAAAA” in her head.

I got nervous she didn’t know how to get down so i said, “Lorn wanna go outside” and she slowly (she does everything slow – typical Bullmastiff) got up and put her front paw on the ground and slowly slide her two back legs off the couch!

After the staples come out, I’m gotta buy a good harness and practice going up and down the stairs. She can do it, and when she does, my fiance and I can finally sleep upstairs!

I’m off to Seattle for the week for work….i’ll keep ya posted next Saturday when Lorna gets her staples out!

Lorna is doing pretty good. She is walking much better and hasn’t yelped in a few days! She has lost her appetite and doesn’t want her dog food anymore, which is weird because this only came about roughly 2 days ago?

Her incision is healing but I noticed her elbow on her good leg is swollen a little bit?

We took her outside yesterday and she did her FAVORITE thing…..laid in the back yard in the evening sun and watched the birds. We had company over from Cali and we told her that Lorna has not been this happy this the surgery.

I also noticed Lorna doesn’t want to come towards me when I call her. She used to come right over and sit by my feet, now she looks at me and either walks away or doesn’t move? Like I say, its been ups and downs. I leave for Seattle (work) morning morning and my fiance will be taking care of Lorna by herself. I feel horrible but there is nothing else we can do.

I don’t know where to put her for our honeymoon in a few weeks? The kennel is usually good with her but she hates it, she will hate it EVEN more now. Its tough. 9 days post-op —- at least I can its better then day 2 or 3 post-op.

Thanks all. Enjoy the weekend

Longest week of my life! All of you are correct. There has been some ups and down. I have read my past BLOGS and I can see myself writing them with worry sometimes and other times with joy.

I was told by all of you to focus on the positives and that is what I have done the past few days. Thanks everyone for the thoughts and comments.

Lorna’s swelling is way down and her bruising is down as well. She is off her antibiotics and tonight is her last dose of one set of pain killers. (the one that begins with the “T”).

Many people from work have been asking about her which makes me feel good as well.

Next weekend Lorna will have some friends over and maybe that will cheer her up. I sold my car yesterday so now her surgery is paid off. (Yes I sold the car to pay for surgery)

Overall I know this blog is all over the place but i truly learn a lot and thank all of you who not only BLOG but also comment back to me with encouragement and/or ideas.

Can’t wait for 14 days Post – Op!

Lorna is doing better. She hasn’t yelped in a day (which to me is great). She really isn’t herself though. I know she is on meds and stuff but she looks sad. She doesn’t want to get up a lot, even when my fiance comes in the door which is different for us.

Her swelling is down and bruising is going down as well which is good.

Her staples come out the 18th which we can’t wait for, however we can’t afford Chemo. I have read average life post amputation with no Chemo is 3-4 months?

Anyone reading this (and/or you know someone) have their pups last longer then 3-4 months? I am worried. I know I shouldn’t worry about that now but I can’t stop thinking about it.

Here’s the pic for the day…..enjoy it