 Gidget Made It!!
I apologize. You may see this post twice in this thread. I did a quick reply to a post, probably the wrong spot to post this information.
Hi Everyone,
Gidget made it through surgery without a problem. She was in the operating room for four hours ending up with six screws, four wires, two rods, a bone graft taken from her shoulder and a bunch of bone cement to hold her C1 and C2 vertebrae together.
We left Coopersville at 6:00 a.m. this morning to get her to Michigan State by 8:00 a.m. They didn't start the surgery until 11:00 a.m. and she was out of the OR at a little after 3:00 p.m. The big concern was taking her off the vent after surgery because some fur kids won't start breathing on their own. The next hurdle was the CT scan to determine if the screws were all in the right place and not protruding into the spinal canal. If they were in the spinal canal the neuro surgeon would have to start all over again.
The neuro surgeon, Dr. Probst, put on a new body cast after the CT scan and vet assistants worked to bring her body temperature back to normal. Their body temperature drops after being on a vent and general anesthesia for a long period of time. When all of that was taken care of Dr. Probst took us to the intensive care unit for a visit with Gidget. She was pretty groggy because of the pain medicine but her eyes were open and she seemed to perk up when she saw Gail and me. We didn't visit long and we are planning to go see her tomorrow. She may be able to come home Thursday or Friday.
Dr. Probst gave us a tour of Michigan State University's Animal Clinic after we finished our visit with Gidget. I am amazed by this facility, the doctors, veterinary assistants and students. The clinic has a dozen operating rooms, CT scanning equipment, MRI equipment, obviously a large radiology department; they have specialties for allergies, soft tissue surgery, orthopedics, oncology, cardiology, neurology and I'm sure many others. Dr. Probst and his assistant, Liz, spent a lot of time with us before and after the surgery. We didn't get home until 8:00 p.m. and some of the long day was because of all the attention we received.
I hope some of this information serves as a reference for other ALI parents. Particularly if you are anywhere near a university that has a veterinary school. You shouldn't hesitate to look into the resources available at a university. Personally, I would take my fur kid to Michigan State for any kind of serious condition even if I lived five hundred miles away.
Another important reference is what Michigan State is charging us for the surgery and follow-up care. The price quoted to us today was between $2,500 and $4,500. The cost is higher if we have to leave Gidget at the clinic for more than two or three days.
On a personal level, I was a total wreck when they carried Gidget away for her surgery prep. I wanted to get away from the clinic for awhile and we made the mistake of going to Denny's for breakfast. The waitress must have thought Gail and I were getting a divorce because we sobbed through breakfast.
We still have a long way to go until Gidget is a somewhat normal dog. Thank you for all of the prayers and support. The prayers were answered.
Barry |