Last week was a hard week, but we got through it. Java is not too happy being confined to her spot in the living room. She also is having bladder issues, because she has an infection and as a consequence is peeing a lot. As a result, I'm doing a lot of laundry. I bought a half-dozen beach towels that we are using for her bedding, as they are washed easily and are comfortable for her to lie on.

Java had a triple whammy yesterday: acupuncture, a neurology re-check and physical therapy. Acupuncture went great. Java was very relaxed. We then went to Woburn for her re-check and PT. The great news is that Java is moving her leg. Some of her reflexes are still there, while one is not. Her pee still stinks so I think we'll be doing another round of antibiotics soon. Java had fun in PT. She was manipulated and allowed to walk around the room. I think she did more walking there than during the last week combined. Then they put her in the water treadmill, which she hated. She won't even walk in a puddle if she can avoid it, so it was her worst nightmare come true. But she got through it, did it, and lived. She'll be going once a week for the next few weeks.

Java is home! It was hard being without her all weekend, but I'm glad she was at the hospital and able to rest and heal. Dr. Silver looked at her again on Monday and decided that a second surgery was not required at this time. Neurologically, her leg is the same as before the operation, kind of useless. However, she is out of pain, which is the most important thing.

She is home but is not all that happy because she is on strict crate rest. She usually sleeps in her crate when we go to bed or when we leave the house, so she's used to it. The problem arises when we are home when she's in her crate. She gets very upset and fusses and refuses to relax. So we have her barricaded on her blanket in one of her favorite spots, which seems to be working much better. In the picture, you can see her under a pink blanket, behind the chair cushions.

The picture is a screen shot taken from the camera we have set up. It's such a cool thing. We set up our laptop, which has a camera built in, with a program called iCam. iCam also has apps you can install on your iphone or android phone and it allows you to monitor what your camera is pointed at when you're away from home. So we were able to watch Java sleeping in her crate last night and this morning when I went out to get my hair cut.

We were concerned over whether Java was not settling down in her crate because she was anxious or because she was uncomfortable. We are pretty confident that it was anxiety and not pain causing her to be so agitated. It's good that she's able to settle down in her crate and out.

We went to see Java last night. She was off the IV meds and still fairly comfortable. We're holding to the plan of keeping her there over the weekend and her being re-evaluated on Monday. I miss my girl.

I feel pretty guilty about leaving her there, but we feel it's best for Java to stay there where she can get pain meds if she needs them, and stay quiet so she'll heal. The vet agrees that it's best. They don't even want her walking around to pee; they express her bladder right where she is and then just clean it up.

Dr. Silver called and the short version is that we're taking a "wait and see" approach. She consulted with her colleague and he felt that she needed to give Java more time. So the plan is to keep Java at the hospital until Monday (unless she starts feeling better at which time we'll take her home) and she will be re-evaluated then.

We went to see Java last night and she acted as if she were in pain, just like she did yesterday morning. In between yesterday morning and evening, she slept and rested quietly. So Dr. Silver thinks that she may not have operated on the correct disc and depending on how Java is this morning, Dr. Silver may do another surgery. We just want our little girl out of pain. It's so heartbreaking. We're anxiously awaiting a call this morning.

Java update

So Java came home on Monday. We were shocked to find that her left leg was almost completely paralyzed. The worst thing was the pain, though. When she moved around, she'd still snork and we could tell that she was still really uncomfortable. Dr. Silver said she wanted Java to come back on Tuesday for a more thorough exam.

I was happy to bring Java back, because I'm not very good at witnessing her pain. I hate it and tend to withdraw. I guess I'm not a very strong person in that way. I remember one time when I spent the night with Sarah and brand new baby Elizabeth, who ended up crying all night. It killed me. Not because the crying annoyed me, but because it killed me that she was crying and there was nothing I could do to alleviate whatever was bothering her. I hate that helplessness and that's how I feel with Java in pain.

Anyway, I brought Java to Woburn yesterday to see Dr. Silver. We have been managing the back pain medically for two years now and it was the worst it has ever been. Dr. Silver asked what we were thinking. I told her that if she thought it was feasible and there was a chance of success that we were thinking surgery. Of course I had been thinking surgery since 2009, but Dr. Silver always advised against it as the risks outweighed the benefits at that point. Now, Dr. Silver said the benefits would probably outweigh the risks. So we agreed on an MRI and then if that showed surgery would be required then she'd go ahead and do it.

The MRI showed that the left-bulging disc was worse than it was in September and it was what was causing the paralysis in her left leg. So she operated. There was a lot of old, crusty, hardened stuff because it was an old bulging disc. She took out what she could and got some fibrousy stuff out. She said it was a wait and see thing now as to if it was enough.

Her tech called this morning and said that Java had a good night. She was up and walking around, but there was still weakness and some pain, so she's on an IV and is receiving painkillers. They are going to keep her very quiet and lying down today. We will visit her this evening.

I hate the time change, even if it's only one hour. It kicks my butt every spring. The good news is that the snow is melting; we can see the cover of the well cap again. I haven't seen it since January. That means there's only about 1 foot of snow left to go.

Java spent the weekend at the emergency vet's, for pain. She woke up feeling ouchie and making her pain noise a lot on Saturday. Then Saturday night when Robert got home, he ended up taking her to Woburn because she was panting in pain and couldn't get comfortable. She couldn't even stand. It kills me.  So she's coming home today; she's much more comfortable now. The bad news is that she'll be back on the prednisone and peeing in the house again. I'll just have to break out the diapers and the onesies again. Glad I didn't throw them away.

I cannot believe the horror and the devastation in Japan. I cannot imagine having my whole world that I know erased or wiped away. It's just terrible. There are no words to describe it enough.

Here we are at Sarah's


house with Martha and Katie.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Another test from my new iPhone.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sorry. Just one last test.

Test

Trying to do better

I looked at the sidebar of this blog and saw that I only posted one time in February. I'm going to try to do better than that this month.

This squirrel and his brothers and sisters as well as his red cousins have become the bane of my existence, and Bobby's existence lately. He runs from window to window to check for them and then when he sees one, he makes all kinds of noises in his frustrated desire to rip one apart. The squirrels are all over my feeders, all day, every day. I took this picture from my picture window. He's raiding the suet. The bears will be out soon, so the feeders will be coming down in a few weeks anyway.

Bead-making machine

I have been a bead-making machine. I'm really glad that this is one resolution I've been keeping, and enjoying keeping.