Oh boy... (actually GIRL) - What have I DONE????

[yorkieusa]

That is such a touching thing you are doing.

And, Breny, it brings back memories for me, too. I used to follow your threads.

[yorkie mom-3]

There are angels on earth Praying for little Emma. Bless you both.

[AHicks99]

Congratulations you are truly a life saver. We need more people like you on this earth. You are a true blessing and obviously being blessed.

[DvlshAngel985]

Any more Emma updates for us????? I fell asleep thinking about you and Emma, and the first thing I did this morning is look for updates! Hope all is going well, and in your pictures she looks comfortable!

[mrlmonroe]

What an angel you are....bless your giving heart!! I am always thrilled at the love that is expressed for little furry babies on this board............it's so touching.

I hope the little cherub thrives and finds a forever home

[Deenie]

bless your heart (((Hugs)))

i'm still trying ot take care of a baby squirrel that was kicked out of his nest and it's a job in itself! what a loving person you are

[Breny]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

That is such a touching thing you are doing.

And, Breny, it brings back memories for me, too. I used to follow your threads.

BIG Memories!!! I went and re read my WHOLE thread and just balled I went home from work at lunch and ran right to Tia and gave her huge hugs and kisses.. She was probabably like "WHAT MOMMY!!!! What the heck!!!"

Any updates on baby Emma?

[cmgny42]

Hi Dena,
I just read all the posts in this thread and wanted to say that it is a wonderful thing that you are doing for baby Emma! I wish you the best of luck!!

[IsabelsMom]

You are a wonderful person to take in this little dog. It encourages my heart that there are still really good people out there who really care about the well-being of others (whether that be a person or a helpless little puppy). I think you are great!

[ARCHIE]

What a story. May God bless you Dena for your caring heart.
I just know little Emma is going to make it. What a little fighter she
is. It takes a very special person do do what your doing.
Prayer's coming your way that all be work out perfectly for the
two of you. I will so watch for continued updates on your new
precious one. Bless you little Emma. Stay strong so we can watch
you grow up on YT. You have lot's of Aunties here who are praying
for you.


Hugs,

[lulababy]

aw poor lil baby girl.. you are really saving her

[SexyJessi257]

wat a wonderful thing u are doin!!! prayers that everything will turn out fine at the end. please update us wen u get back from the vet...

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by Breny

BIG Memories!!! I went and re read my WHOLE thread and just balled I went home from work at lunch and ran right to Tia and gave her huge hugs and kisses.. She was probabably like "WHAT MOMMY!!!! What the heck!!!"

Any updates on baby Emma?

Yes. I'm sure she was thinking that - while she was enjoying all of the attention!

[Mom2BabyNatalie]

Okay.... Whatta' day already!

First off.... you guys are the absolute BEST!! Thank you SO much for your continued show of support and concern for this precious girl....

Breny - I am in awe of your accomplishments with baby Tia... yours and little Joker's stories gave me such inspiration .... I felt as though I was right there holding your hand through it all!!! (OH, and I can't forget little Zaccheus, who instantly brings a smile to my face!!)

Thank you all so much for posting your journey - - it is so very calming to have such a wealth of information and have been able to watch these babies thrive and do so well in the face of all of their obstacles!!

Now... as for little Miss Sunshine over here.... Baby Emma is 40 hours old now.... and she and I had a busy, yet uneventful night together...

She's taking the formula pretty well.... she's already decided that it's "not worth the effort" to try and suckle, so she just opens her tiny little mouth wide like a baby bird, and waits for me to give her tiny droplets of formula with the med dropper.

I don't want her to "give up" on being able to retain what little suction she's able to muster - so every feeding I start off giving her the bottle.... trying to help her form her tongue and back part of the palate to increase some strength so hopefully, she'll be able to nurse eventually.

When she gets frustrated with that, I switch to the dropper and she happily swallows down at least 1 cc every time. (I know, it's not much, but she's so tiny it seems to satisfy her).

First thing this morning we were off to the vet... arrived before they even opened and was able to get her right in for an examination.

Three hours and two surgical consults later - I'm told that........... SHE HAS A CHANCE!!!!

As slim as it may be.... she has a "fair chance" at growing into a happy healthy little girl!!

Number one obstacle .... she's an orphan ... she's COMPLETELY missed out on the "holy grail" of prevention - - her mama's milk....

While "puppy formula" does carry the benefit of SOME colostrum - we all know that there is NOTHING more sacred to the general health of a newborn, than her mother's milk...... and there's no way at this point, they say - to "go back" and regain those lost antibodies ... and no way to instill new ones.... so Emma is essentially in constant danger, just breathing the air around her!

That alone, keeps me a little ill at my stomach... not to mention overly OCD about her.

"Situation" number two..... it's obvious that Emma has a primary cleft to the lip and nostril.... unfortunately, she also has a secondary cleft to the hard palate. (in the pictures below, I tried to let you see the "split" in the front of the roof of her mouth....)

So.... this means of course, more dangers.... the main concern being, aspiration pneumonia. We have a little bit more of a deterrence against this though, since the cleft is of the hard palate rather than the soft palate at the back of her mouth.... in a good instance, we can bypass the cleft by dropping the formula directly down to the back of her tongue and throat. As long as she cooperates and swallows rather than spitting or bubbling, we can pretty much keep the majority of the liquids away from the frontal opening - and out of her sinus cavity, airway and lungs.

The downside to this, is that as mentioned above, she doesn't use those muscles and never learns to properly "work" her mouth and tongue. (so in addition to trying the nipple at feeding times, I also have a preemie "binky" / pacifier - that I'm using regularly to encourage suckling... it's a little big for her though, so it's tough going... )

The vet says that, while it's still awfully early on to tell, she seems otherwise healthy at this point.

They all let me know right up front that I "maybe shouldn't get too terribly attached to Emma".... ummm, hello..... too late!! But that the fight is certainly worth every effort as long as she shows some positive milestones over the next few days to weeks.

The surgeons want to repair the deformity at 4 - 6 weeks of age.... but they doubt very much that she'll be at a "suitable weight" by then to risk the procedure. So... we just wait... watch... pray… and help her to thrive.

I’ve read through all of the “cleft palate puppy instructions” on the Hennwood website and found much of it helpful….. Emma’s vet though, is very hesitant about using antibiotics as a preventative for pneumonia, so I’m not quite sure yet how I’m going to handle that, seeing as how the use of Cephalexin is so highly recommended by the site owner, experienced in cleft pups.

The vet read a long list of risks related to the prolonged use of Cephalexin – some of which involve a decrease in both red and white blood cells, kidney problems and a compromised immune system - - - which, considering she already has relatively NO immune system to speak of …. I’m not sure how to go with that…

What I didn’t see on the website, is at what age is recommended to begin the preventative antibiotic therapy if I did decide to proceed? Immediately?

As well, the dosage for such a tiny girl of 96 grams…. (I know the method to decipher it is there, but I think lack of sleep has me a little ditzy right now).

According to the vet… she can “pull Emma back” from pneumonia …. But she has no chance of bringing her back from some of the other “adverse reactions” of long term use of the antibiotic….

In the website owner’s opinion, most cleft palate puppies do not survive once pneumonia sets in…. and I for one, having battled pneumonia with my Natalie – am utterly terrified at the idea of watching another little one endure the same thing...

So, this is where we are at the moment…. The vet wants to see her back in two weeks. (evidently she has a bit of faith that Emma will make it to two weeks, which is a welcome ray of hope!)

Thank you all once more!!!

[SexyJessi257]

thanks for the update. its comforting that the vet believes she will be around 2 weeks time. thank u for taking time to save this little girl. sending many prayers that she will get better and gain enough weight to get the surgery...