k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
I'll be thinking of you guys as you wait to hear something. Heck, I know I'm on edge waiting to hear something. More hugs to you.
Edan sick again :(
- Thread starter Silaria
- Start date
take4roll10
Moderator
Couldn't have said it better than Katherine. Leaving our dogs at the vet is very hard, but you are doing the right thing for Eden. Do not feel guilty about trying to help him. He is very lucky to have such a concerned furmom.
I pray the vet can quickly figure out why Eden is not eating and I hope it is nothing serious.
corbinam
Moderator
I'll just echo what the others are saying. You're doing the right thing. Edan is in a place where he will be taken care of and monitored closely. I'm praying that soon you'll be picking him up, and he'll be wiggling around in happiness at seeing you.
Please keep us posted. We're thinking of you.
Please keep us posted. We're thinking of you.
Ann
Moderator
You're doing the best thing for Edan to leave him in the hands of the vets. They will figure out what's going on, get some nutrition into him, and then you'll have an answer and he'll come home on his way to being cured.
It's so hard to drive away without them, but we're all praying for Edan and a quick cure. Hugs to you!
It's so hard to drive away without them, but we're all praying for Edan and a quick cure. Hugs to you!
Silaria
Forums Sage
First, let me say that I am SO BLESSED to have all of you to discuss this with. I forget who said it but its true, we all feel connected to each other and care about everyone's dogs as if they were our own. Thank you for reading along and staying with me through this drama as it currently changes hour by hour.
Now, the latest updates - yes, multiple updates in one post - because things are changing faster than I can post.
I got a call from the emergency vet around 3:51 PM ET. She reported that while they hadn't done the ultra sound, the x-ray showed some foreign matter in it - cloth like. She called to confirm that he hadn't had anything to eat for as long as I told them. I let her know as far as I knew, he last ate something "substantial" on Tuesday night with ground beef and rice. She was going to show the x-ray to a surgeon for their opinion while waiting for the ultra sound to happeen.
About 25 minutes later she called me back. The surgeon confirmed her analysis. Because there was a long backlog for the ultra sound, she presented me with a few options:
1 - Continue to wait and do the ultra sound. The ultra sound may not really add to the information we have because the stomach gasses can interfere with clear readings.
2 - Skip the ultra sound and go straight to surgery. The risk there was it could always turn out there is nothing in the stomach and the x-ray was anomalous. But, if there was something there they could remove it right away. (There was no indication of obstruction in the small intestine.)
3 - Continue to give him fluids and see if the body will flush the object out naturally. (The risk here is either it wouldn't move at all or it could cause blockage.)
After discussing the pros and cons of each option, I opted to just send Edan to surgery. I just couldn't rationalize waiting for a test that could be more inconclusive (in this case) than the x-ray.
After taking care of the administrative end of things via phone, Edan was transfer to their surgical department. He went into surgery pretty quickly.
At about 5:10 PM ET, I got another call from the vet. She reported the found a "foreign object" in his stomach and removed it. HOWEVER, while in there, they noticed his gall bladder was "highly irregular", covered in a mucusy shell, and were recommending it be removed. DH was home by this time so I had the conversation on speaker phone. After a few questions, we decided to give them the OK to remove the gall bladder.
Just before 6:00 PM I got a call from the surgeon himself. First he assured me that Edan was in recovery and doing well. He told me the "foreign object" in Edan's stomach was a stocking. (I have NO CLUE where he found one. I'm very careful to keep them away from him since he's been known to chew on them in the past.)
He then went into a bit more detail on the issue with his gall bladder. In some dogs, and apparently Shelties are prone to this, the bile that is normally processed by the liver builds up along the gall bladder. Over time it hardens, gets infected, and then infects the liver. (Dr. Shelli may be able to describe this better than me.) Normally when he sees dogs with this problem, the liver is already infected and often results in the dog's death. In Edan's case, the liver is fine! The problem with the gall bladder had not progressed far enough to damage the liver.
Edan will be home tomorrow or Sunday. It all depends how he's doing tomorrow. If he eats something and there doesn't appear to be any seepage, etc. he should be able to come home tomorrow. If anything changes over night they will call me.
Edan has a guardian angel watching over him somewhere. If it wasn't for the stocking and his not eating, we would never have found the issue with the gall bladder.
I'll let folks know tomorrow when he's coming home.
Now, the latest updates - yes, multiple updates in one post - because things are changing faster than I can post.
I got a call from the emergency vet around 3:51 PM ET. She reported that while they hadn't done the ultra sound, the x-ray showed some foreign matter in it - cloth like. She called to confirm that he hadn't had anything to eat for as long as I told them. I let her know as far as I knew, he last ate something "substantial" on Tuesday night with ground beef and rice. She was going to show the x-ray to a surgeon for their opinion while waiting for the ultra sound to happeen.
About 25 minutes later she called me back. The surgeon confirmed her analysis. Because there was a long backlog for the ultra sound, she presented me with a few options:
1 - Continue to wait and do the ultra sound. The ultra sound may not really add to the information we have because the stomach gasses can interfere with clear readings.
2 - Skip the ultra sound and go straight to surgery. The risk there was it could always turn out there is nothing in the stomach and the x-ray was anomalous. But, if there was something there they could remove it right away. (There was no indication of obstruction in the small intestine.)
3 - Continue to give him fluids and see if the body will flush the object out naturally. (The risk here is either it wouldn't move at all or it could cause blockage.)
After discussing the pros and cons of each option, I opted to just send Edan to surgery. I just couldn't rationalize waiting for a test that could be more inconclusive (in this case) than the x-ray.
After taking care of the administrative end of things via phone, Edan was transfer to their surgical department. He went into surgery pretty quickly.
At about 5:10 PM ET, I got another call from the vet. She reported the found a "foreign object" in his stomach and removed it. HOWEVER, while in there, they noticed his gall bladder was "highly irregular", covered in a mucusy shell, and were recommending it be removed. DH was home by this time so I had the conversation on speaker phone. After a few questions, we decided to give them the OK to remove the gall bladder.
Just before 6:00 PM I got a call from the surgeon himself. First he assured me that Edan was in recovery and doing well. He told me the "foreign object" in Edan's stomach was a stocking. (I have NO CLUE where he found one. I'm very careful to keep them away from him since he's been known to chew on them in the past.)
He then went into a bit more detail on the issue with his gall bladder. In some dogs, and apparently Shelties are prone to this, the bile that is normally processed by the liver builds up along the gall bladder. Over time it hardens, gets infected, and then infects the liver. (Dr. Shelli may be able to describe this better than me.) Normally when he sees dogs with this problem, the liver is already infected and often results in the dog's death. In Edan's case, the liver is fine! The problem with the gall bladder had not progressed far enough to damage the liver.
Edan will be home tomorrow or Sunday. It all depends how he's doing tomorrow. If he eats something and there doesn't appear to be any seepage, etc. he should be able to come home tomorrow. If anything changes over night they will call me.
Edan has a guardian angel watching over him somewhere. If it wasn't for the stocking and his not eating, we would never have found the issue with the gall bladder.
I'll let folks know tomorrow when he's coming home.
corbinam
Moderator
Oh my gosh, Sheri! I read your last post with baited breath.
I am so so happy to hear that the stocking AND gallbladder were removed. I'm crossing my fingers that he will be back to normal ASAP (and it sounds like he will be).
I cannot believe the luck (blessing?) it was that he ate that stocking, it showed up on the xray, you sent him straight to surgery, and his infected gallbladder was found.
Can't wait to hear how Edan is recovering, but I am so happy to hear that his issues have been identified and taken care of. I'll be sure to thank the Big Guy Upstairs!
I am so so happy to hear that the stocking AND gallbladder were removed. I'm crossing my fingers that he will be back to normal ASAP (and it sounds like he will be).
I cannot believe the luck (blessing?) it was that he ate that stocking, it showed up on the xray, you sent him straight to surgery, and his infected gallbladder was found.
Can't wait to hear how Edan is recovering, but I am so happy to hear that his issues have been identified and taken care of. I'll be sure to thank the Big Guy Upstairs!
take4roll10
Moderator
I'm a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason" and this is a perfect example. Thank goodness Eden ate that stocking!!!
I'm so happy surgery went well. Fingers crossed for a easy and speedy recovery.
I'm so happy surgery went well. Fingers crossed for a easy and speedy recovery.
Ann
Moderator
I'm so relieved for you and Edan! Who would think we'd say it's wonderful that Edan was smart enough to eat that stocking! It sounds like your vets did a great job and he'll be on the road to recovery now. I hope you can take a breath and get some rest!
Katherine
Forums Enthusiast
Hallelujah, know you'll sleep well tonight. What a relief and what an amazing story!