[Jsmithaij]

This is my first post, and I wish I had found this site under better circumstances. My Yorkie is named Stoli, she is 4lbs, 12 years old and before this weekend has never had a health problem. Stoli and I are remarkably close, before I met her I wasn't a dog person at all and before she met me Stoli was not a people person and hated to be petted or held. This Sunday while I was not at home Stoli had a stroke. Essentially my girlfriend's dog Colby, a 70 llb Katrina dog, tried to take half of a greenie away from Stoli. Stoli responded by freaking out and barking at him like crazy. My girlfriend separated the dogs and when she came back to where Stoli was, Stoli was on her back with her limbs shaking. Stoli’s pupils were two different sizes (Aniscornia) and her eyes were darting horizontally unable to focus. My girlfriend immediately took Stoli to the emergency Vet thinking she had a seizure. When I got there she was on diazepam and was really out of it. Seeing her out of it and her eyes the way they were really freaked me out. Later on, I was able to calm down and visit her again. She definitely was responding to my voice and trying to follow me around the room with her head. She would try to stand up but obviously couldn’t keep her balance and would immediately fall back down.
The next morning, Monday, the emergency vet suggested we transfer her to an animal hospital near by that specializes in neurological problems. By this time I had done a significant amount of research and was optimistic that Stoli was suffering from Geriatric Idiopathic Vestibular Disease. The neurologist was pretty confident in this diagnosis too and when I visited Stoli that evening the Aniscornia was gone and her eye movements were almost imperceptible. Stoli was drinking water on her own and very interested when they gave her baby food. She was able to eat without throwing up. I was very optimistic.
On Tuesday (~48 hrs in), Stoli was still unable to stand on her own so the doctor ordered an MRI. The MRI revealed a “relatively small stroke”. He then performed an ultrasound to rule out tumors on the adrenal gland. The adrenal gland was “very slightly enlarged” and they detected a slight mass on her spleen. The doctor said he didn’t think there was anything wrong with adrenal gland and the mass on the spleen was unrelated but would need to be monitored going forward. The doctor says she can come home as soon as she is able to stand on her own and the rolling stops.
Has anyone had any experiences with strokes that they could share with me? Did your dog have similar symptoms? How long before your dog was able to stand on move on it’s on. Any information is really appreciated as I am beyond freaked out by this experience. Stoli is my first dog.