Senior sheltie had a stroke :-( Any recovery advice?

My 2 cents....
Gavin had cancer at 10, went through surgery and radiation and all. We knew it would come back, just not when.
It made me realize that EVERY day with him was a blessing and not guaranteed.
And that I was literally his life, his world. everything revolved around me, he only got the experiences I gave to him, went to the places I took him.
So I focused on doing things with him he enjoyed as much as possible, and just being with him as much as I could (he got me though COVID isolation).
Even when his mobility issues arose at 12, I did everything I could to treasure the time we had left. That turned into 5 years.
He lived to 17 (retrospectively, the cancer came back at 15-16 as he had some internal bleeding episodes the last year), so there was a lot of treasuring :)
A LOT of treasuring (as my many threads on SN can attest).

So my advice would be to focus on being with your sweet girl and celebrate her. the rest is just noise that you can't control.
 
@Cindy , do you mind sharing how much it cost for the surgery and radiation for Gavin? I hate to focus on the money, but it has become an issue at this point in my life :-/ $4k for an MRI, then if they find a mass then an unknown expense for a biopsy. Then if they find a tumor then an unknown expense for the surgery and radiotherapy. All of the unknowns makes it daunting! I can come up with $4k but, honestly, it won't be easy. But if I'm looking at another $10k+ for the biopsy and surgery then that money just doesn't exist, so it would be a waste of money to have the MRI.

Updates, though! For the last two days I can see that she's getting pretty restless. She's always been an athlete, of course, and she HATES laying around all day! Sunday night at around 3am she was restless and whining so I took her outside on a leash, thinking maybe she needed to go potty. All she wanted to do was speed-walk around the yard for about 30 minutes! LOL I let her go until she made an effort to come back in on her own. After that, she slept like a rock all night.

I did the same thing last night before bed, and she slept well all night again except for waking me up about 3 hours early to go pee. So I know she's just bored and restless.

Yesterday she brought me her favorite squeaky toy (a Kong bowling pin), obviously trying to get me to play with her. That was kinda heartbreaking, she can't physically play any of her regular games! But she obviously wanted to. The desire to play is very promising!

Then this morning after breakfast, my girlfriend was outside and I was cleaning up on the main level. Katy usually has her second breaky (I always scramble an egg for her) and then lays in the living room to watch me, but this time I noticed she wasn't in her regular spot. I went to look for her, and she was halfway up the stairs to the second level! She's really not steady enough for that on her own, so I guarded her and let her finish up on her own. I let her roam around on her own (looking for mommy, obviously), and noted that she's doing far fewer circles now!

No more barks, but she's kissing me in the morning and at bed time again :-)
 
I know it's sort of tempting to think that if you just could come up with the money, you could help Katy. But in her case, I just don't think it's a tumor, in which case all of the above is a moot point. Just my 2 cents worth. So very glad she is determined to live her best life! What wonderful spirit.
 
Sounds like she is making steady improvement. I tend to agree that you are not dealing with a tumor with the progress she is quickly making. One thing to remember is that 1 side effect of her medicine is balance issues so that may take longer to resolve itself.
It sounds like you are doing everything you can for her, just enjoy your time together and do things together. I agree enjoy your time together and the rest is background noise. I hope your progress continues.:)
 
Ron Atkinson said:
One thing to remember is that 1 side effect of her medicine is balance issues so that may take longer to resolve itself.
Click to expand...
You're right, I know. Everything said that the side effects "usually" go away in 7-10 days, so I KNOW that I need to give it to Friday! I'm just anxious, I guess. It feels like it's been months, but it's really only been a week :-O
 
Gavin's radiation was around 10k. His surgeries 2k each I think. he was only 10 at the time and he did really well. I tell people that is why I kept my car until it was 20 years old!
when he had his mobility issues, one of the things that was suggested was an MRI to see if he had a tumor. I decided not to do that, as I would not have done surgery at that point so it wouldn't have been needed. I managed/accommodated him for ~5 years with only the last year being an obvious downturn in his abilities (he was 16, so not unexpected)

my next puppy will have insurance; Gavin didn't as it wasn't so much a thing 17 years ago when I got him.

I did give him gabapentin and CBD treats to help with restlessness as he got older (particularly in the evening).
 
Thanks so much for the info, @Cindy ! That's very helpful. I wish that I had gotten insurance for Katy, too, but honestly, even if I had then I'd have probably had to let it lapse during COVID. I was barely squeaking by for awhile there.

Hindsight = 20/20, I guess.

Update on Katy for the day:

1. For the last two days I've been walking her to the end of the driveway, which is about 250' each way. She goes slow, but she does it all on her own! I plan to keep doing it as long as she seems like she's restless, though, and at the very least hope that the exercise will help her with the lame front paw.

2. She went down the steps to the back yard on her own today!! That was unexpected, I blinked and next thing I knew she was going down like they were nothing! It's only 3 steps, and I let her do it again several hours later.

3. She went upstairs to the second floor of the house on her own, too; with me guarding her, of course. That's 12 steps, carpeted. I'm not going to let her go down on her own for awhile, though; a loss of balance from that high could really hurt her!

4. Even fewer circles today, she's making straighter lines every day :-D


About an hour ago, though, I was brushing my teeth with my electric tooth brush and she sat down next to the door and howled! That terrified me, she hasn't howled since her beagle brother was here and they would harmonize. My first instinct was that she was in pain, or worse, another stroke!!!! But she showed no other signs of pain or anything. I took her outside with me and we walked around for a few minutes before she came in on her own (up the steps on her own), so no signs of needing to potty. I'm only guessing that she heard the vibration and it made her howl? It's hard to read her mind sometimes, but now I'm going to lay awake all night and worry! :-/
 
I truly think that her imbalance and lethargy are related to the Keppra, so I'm trying to help her fight those side effects. When she first wakes up it's 12 hours since her last dose, and that's when she's the most active and balanced! Then I give her the Keppra, and an hour later she's laying around and stumbles when she walks.

The side effects are "usually" gone in 7-10 days, and today was the 9th day. I really hoped they would be gone by now :-/
 
Something to bring up to the vet at your follow up. I forget - did she have a seizure along with the stroke, or why is she on the Keppra, and did they think it would be life-long to stay on it? Maybe dosage could be adjusted.
 
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