Looking Better

Seymour is doing better with the increased dose of his Prednisone.  His head is no longer tilting to one side and he is walking better.  He is rubbing his eyes quite a bit, though.  We haven't heard from his doctor yet today.  I guess that autoimmune disease is still a big issue with Seymour and the medication is still needed.  He is supposed to go from a full pill to half a pill on Sunday - along with his other meds so hopefully he will continue to at least stay the same.  This really is a long process!

Update to Update

I talked with Seymour's nurse about his condition this morning.  She responded "That's not good" and went to talk with his neurologist.  They are upping his prednisone dose to 1/2 a tablet twice a day.  He was at 1/4 tablet once a day.  They will call to check on him on Thursday.  I sure hope that this helps.  He had been doing so well.

Another Update on Seymour

First, Seymour and Zooey no longer like tuna.  So now I have to figure out something else to put Seymour's pills in.  I tried going back to the Swiss cheese spread and he wouldn't have anything to do with it.  Peanut butter doesn't work, either.  Tomorrow we will try ham.

On another note, Seymour is petrified of storms and we had one a couple of nights ago. He climbed the steps to the sofa and fell off, twice.  He now is walking with his head tilted to one side and his back legs aren't working as well as before.  I am giving him his pain pills and hope there is a sprain or something cure able causing this.  Otherwise, it will be back to the neurologist.  As an added problem, I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon this week due to pain in my hip and leg.  This is sure the year of the medical issues.

We need to find time and better health so we can go camping!

Changing Attitudes

Seymour has been taking his pills in Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese spread and he has loved it for over a month.  Now that he is only getting his medication once a day, he wants no part of the cheese.  I tried the dogs on scrambled eggs, as recommended by Seymour's neurologist and for two days, they gobbled them down.  Yesterday,  Seymour wanted no part of them.  Zooey still ate hers.  I was starting to worry that there was something wrong with Seymour.  Then I tried giving them tuna fish.  Seymour loved it so at least for now, his pills are being mixed with the tuna.  Who knows how long he will like it.  What a sweet, but strange little dog he is!

The Fight in The Dog

My sister and her husband just sent us this magnet. It is perfect for Seymour!

He is a fighter - healthwise!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Vet Visit

Seymour went for his monthly visit to his neurologist. How many dogs can say that? He is doing about the same except that she found some brain activity in his right eye, which is really good. There still is none in his left eye. Because of the damage to his spinal cord, it is difficult to know if he will improve the function in his back legs and butt area. Even if he stays where he is, I will be happy. He does need to gain weight. It is rare that dogs or anyone on steroids doesn't gain. Seymour eats all he wants but has continued to weigh 6 pounds, 6 ounces for the last two months. Dr. Wolf asked if I have ever given him scrambled eggs - and I hadn't, so that will be our new food offering. We did stop on the way home to get a soft serve ice cream cone to share!

Seymour's blood work was fine and we are cutting back on his daily medicine to see if he can tolerate it. I am so thankful for Dr Henry for referring him to the Specialty Hospital and Dr. Wolf for saving his life. She graciously allowed me to take her picture with Seymour.

Our next visit is in a month. The saga will continue. . .

 

Posted with Blogsy

Catching Up

It has been a while since I posted. I found a new software called Blogsy that is not intuitive so I am still learning it.Seymour is doing about the same. He doesn't seem to be able to hear when we are outside but does hear me in the house. He still has stiff back legs and can't have a bowel movement without "walking it out". But he likes to take short walks and ride in the car. He takes 4 pills every morning and 3 every evening. He goes back to the neurologist on Tuesday. I am having him sleep in an enclosure that includes his bed, water, food and pee pads because I don't want him to have an accident in the house. He has gotten used to it and actually seems to like it. Unfortunately, he still hasn't figured out what a pee pad is for!

I couldn't let Seymour be sick by himself so I came down with an upper respiratory infection that has lasted almost 3 weeks. I am finally starting to feel better.Because it is spring here in Texas and the wild flowers are out, I decided to take both dogs to a Bluebonnet patch for a photo op. Spring feels like a new beginning so we are trying to enjoy each day.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Status Quo

Seymour and I are both at the same level we were on Thursday- I am still sick and he is functioning the same.  I wonder how much more function he will get back?  He can walk pretty quickly - when he want to - on his stiff back legs.  He regularly climbs the 3 steps to the back porch and the sofa without help but I wouldn't let him try to climb to the second floor of our house right now, and I am not sure he will ever be able to do that on his own without possibly falling.

 He is eating everything now and loves to chew rawhide bones.  I am questioning  if he only hears out of one ear because he still can't always know where a sound is coming from unless he is right beside it.  He sometimes just stops and seems to be staring, but then he comes out of it and continues with whatever he was going to do.  His bark is still very hoarse and would not scare anyone.  Zooey makes up for it though.  Even with his disabilities, he is still the Seymour I love.  He wants to lay beside me.  He follows me into the bathroom, hoping that means a walk is in the near future and he lets me dress him in whatever fashion I want. Unconditional love!

I, on the other hand, hope to be functioning and sleeping better soon.  I went to Target to get a recommendation from the pharmacist on what I could be taking and unfortunately, she gave suggestions of things I have already tried. I still bought up most of the cold and flu isle.  I switch between natural remedies and drugs, hoping to find the cure.  I am not a patient sick person!

I am glad the the dogs help me to keep my attention on something besides myself.  I am a bit boring right now.  More, and hopefully more exciting updates in a couple of days.  I am also still searching for a new blog program that will allow me to post pictures again.

Too Much Informatiom?

I still can't get BlogPress to work, so no photos for now.

Monday night, Seymour wanted to sleep with me, as usual.  He had been given new meds at the vets and I put him back on the anti diarrhea medicine.  He sleeps on a pee pad - mostly.  One issue he has been having recently is that he doesn't seem to be able to hold his bowel movement very long.  He sits up in bed ( I can feel him get up), his eyes get big, and before I can run with  him out of the house, he has already started going.  The first two times he got the majority of a regular poo on the pad, but I had to change the sheet.

The next two times - yes four times during the night - he had majorly runny diarrhea, so I changed blankets and the sheet again.

Last night I decided not to take a chance so I set up a portable enclosure for him with his bed and blankets, a large pee pad and food and water.  He wasn't excited but at least he could see me because I was only about 5 feet away.  We live in a "cozy-sized" house. He had no accidents.

Last night he is sitting beside his bed in the enclosure looking at me like a prisoner but when I didn't give in, he went to his bed and slept until about 3:30 am.

I think all of the stress of the last month finally got to me, because I have now been sick for 4 days with no sign of improvement.  Zooey is the only healthy one left in the house and luckily she isn't requiring any extra attention.

The fun never stops.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Blogpress isn't Working

I tried to write my blog and add a picture and it isn't working.  I also couldn't fix errors.  So, hopefully I can figure out the problem soon.  Blog Press updated their software last night to fix "bugs" but I am afraid the bugs have multiplied!  Unfortunately, I can't post pictures when I write directly on the Blogspot account. Hopefully I can post my exciting "bowel movement" blog tomorrow!

Vet Visit Update

Well, the good news is that Seymour really is doing better than most. His diarrhea is probably caused by the Prednisone and the fact that he wasn't on anti diarrhea meds. They said use them until they ran out, but obviously Seymour needed more. So he is back to 4 meds twice a day, with 1/4 pill instead of 1/2 of the Prednisone. I stopped the pain meds and he doesn't seem to miss it. Don't want an addicted dog! Luckily, he is good about taking his pills in a blob of Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese spread. Zooey gets her own blob of pill-less cheese.

During this visit, he was also given the third drug they use to treat Meningitis, which is Cytarabine. He will have to go back for more treatments and check ups for about 9 months. His next visit is scheduled in 3 weeks. The neurologist said that there is about a 10% chance that the Meningitis could return and she just saw a dog this morning whose Meningitis came back about 9 months after his first bout. I am hoping that Seymour is in the 90% category.

Currently Seymour's blood work looks good. I guess that this will become the year of taking care of Seymour. Hopefully, it won't stop us from traveling, but maybe not as far from home as usual.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Little Set Back

Seymour started having diarrhea yesterday, less than 24 hours after his took his final anti diarrhea pill. I called the hospital and they want to see him today. They will also do his follow up visit blood work, etc. today instead of Thursday. Hopefully, this is something that can be resolved quickly.

In spite of this set back, Seymour has been doing well. He is shaky, but he goes up the steps to the sofa by himself now.

I will write more when I know more.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Wimberley, Texas

Shopping Trip

We took our first shopping trip since Seymour got sick. We went to pet friendly Home Depot. Seymour walked from the car to the store and was eager to get in the cart. His back legs are still too weak for him to stand on two legs like Zooey.





He did go up the steps to the sofa twice and once went up the 3 steps from the yard to the porch, but he has also fallen when he has tried, so he is a bit scared to do it. It is something I need to work on with him.

He walks all over the back yard and Zooey now is the instigator of getting into trouble. I left them in my fenced back yard for about 10 minutes and when I came out they were nowhere in sight. I called them and Seymour slowly came out from under the shed but Zooey took her good old time coming out. Why do they easily learn each other's bad habits?

One other little bit of progress. Twice now, I have seen Seymour lift his back leg an inch or so when he went peed. So, I guess it will just take time to get strength back in his back legs. I am happy with how far he has come.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Dripping Springs, Texas

Seymour's Still Doing Well

Progress has slowed down, but Seymour walks, eats, likes to go for a car ride and a stroller ride. Three times I left him on the sofa while I got the mail, etc. Three times he was at the door to look for me. I finally saw him use the steps to the sofa. He is a bit clumsy, but makes it down the steps.



He won't even attempt to go up stairs. I think his back legs are still too weak.

Friends of ours, Mary and Rick, came to visit yesterday. Both dogs have stayed with them and both dogs love them. I think it gave Seymour a boost to see them. Zooey, who is usually cautious around most people, went right up to both of them demanding attention. I wish they lived closer!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Another Update

Seymour now can shake his head almost normally. A week ago, he would try to shake it once and he couldn't do it again. Another good sign, but now the progress is a bit slower.

I probably will write my blog every other day unless something happens. There should also be more news after his doctor's visit on March 19.

Thanks to everyone for their concern. Seymour is a special little dog. I think our trip to Italy bonded us even more. I am glad that I have those memories!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Wimberley, Texas

A Reality Check

Seymour's neurologist called today to check on him. She re-scheduled his appointment until March 19 because (I didn't know this) he needs to come in every 3 weeks for some kind of shot/immunization and blood work to check his white blood cells. She didn't tell me how long he will need to do that. She did say that most dogs don't progress as Seymour seems to be doing and she sounded cautious. So, he has a long way to go and I am still hopeful for a good recovery.

On a lighter note, my daughter and grandson came over this morning and she said she was having a bad day. She hadn't seen Seymour so I thought it might cheer up up to see his progress. Then I said that she might want to hold him because he likes to be held. As we were talking she said "He has bad gas. Here, you hold him". She wasn't quite fast enough, because he was having a bowel movement. Really, he has never done that before, but it is hard to know when he has to go now. So, her bad day continued. Her shirt in being washed as I write this. Luckily we have been able to laugh about it tonight.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Just Another Day with Seymour and Zooey

It is nice to say that. Both dogs are here with me and both are relatively healthy. The improvement I hadn't mentioned before is that now both of Seymour's ears are standing up. When I first brought him home, only one was up and then both were up for a short time. Now both are nice and straight all of the time. I am still trying to figure out his hearing. I think that it is improving and he does understand when I say his name in the house. Outside still seems to be a bit of a problem.



In this dark picture above, you can see a portion of the steps I bought to help the dogs get on and off the sofa. Today, I started working on helping Seymour climb those steps. I think it will probably take some time to get him to do it on his own, but I think he will be able to learn. His back legs still have some weakness and stiffness, but I think that he has the motivation.

I am starting my list of questions to ask the neurologist on Thursday. My two main questions are "Can dogs with his severity of meningitis get back to normal functioning?" and "Since this is an autoimmune disease, can he get it again?".


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Wimberley, Texas

Not Much Change

Seymour continues to walk around but he can't walk straight. I will have to find out if that will ever improve. Yesterday, Seymour was on the couch and I went upstairs to find Zooey. When I came back down, Seymour was on the floor. He did it again when I went to the mailbox. I don't know how he is trying to go down the 3 steps I have for the dogs to get on and off of the sofa. I am guessing he goes down one step and falls down the other two. He doesn't even try to go up the steps.

But just in case, when I went out, I took the steps away so he wouldn't try to climb them or fall off of them.

They are now both spoiled by being given chicken instead of dog food. Seymour can chew strips of chicken and still gnaws on his bone a few times during the day.

I continue to be amazed at his progress!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

A Small Step

Every small step is important. Seymour is still very skinny and very unbalanced, wobbly and stiff. He still falls a lot but can get up by himself if you give him time.

He hasn't been able to chew so I could only feed him puréed food. Last night he started chewing on a small bone Zooey had accidentally dropped near him. This morning I decided to see if he would chew his favorite in the whole world, a chicken wrapped chew bone from Trader Joes. He went after it!




After about 5 minutes, it tired him out, but he loved it. I now plan to go to the grocery store and get some chicken I can cut into pieces, not puree. He needs to gain weight.

It's a small step but hopefully they will all add up to a full or almost full recovery.

Oh, and the hospital called to check on him again and I admitted that I gave him too much medicine twice when he first came home. She said to watch for blood in his stools but that the excess medicine should be out of his system by now. Scary lesson learned - thoroughly read the instructions!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Wimberley, Texas

A Little More Improvement

Little by little, I see improvements in Seymour. This morning I took him and his sister out to the back yard while I checked on plants. Soon I heard his sister
Zooey barking and then I heard a noise like a goose flying over. It was Seymour's first attempt at barking. Unfortunately, he was facing the opposite way from Zooey, so he still is having hearing location problems, but it's a start. I might have wanted the barking to come back a little later.

He has been using his tail to help balance him when he walks but it has always been pointing downward. Yesterday I saw him lift his tail horizontally to his body. He can't lift it up further yet but he is getting there.

He seems to understand basic commands like "lay down" and it takes him a little time to get down, but he does it. When I came back after being gone for about an hour this morning, he was waiting at the door for me.

So, Seymour continues to improve. I can't wait to see where he is functioning when he goes back for his check up next Thursday.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Wimberley, Texas