Lindsey,

I am so sorry that things aren't going as well as you had hoped with your beloved Layla. Please don't give up hope yet, I know you heard negative things from the vet, but give her little body time to heal. I think you should be encouraged by the small movements that you did see, nerves can regenerate. I shall keep you, Scott and little Layla in my thoughts and my prayers. Miracles do happen.

I am sitting here reading your thread and praying for
Layla, you and your bf. You reacted very quickly to her symptons so hopefully her outcome will be good. Sometimes it takes a while after surgery for things to get better and she was only just operated on. My hopes and prayers for a full recovery are with Layla and you. :animal-pa

It's really tough for me to not think things through to the end. Yesterday before the surgery, all of this came to light about how she may not be able to urinate or defecate on her own and blah blah and if that was too much for us, we may have to think about putting her down in the next few months. And that is what really hurt me. I can NOT live without her and would do anything for her, but if she's very unhappy I can't be selfish. I just want some confirmation that she CAN be a happy dog still even if I have to help her release.

Lindsey,

I know it must be hard not to look that far down the road. I think you have to slow down and take it one day at a time. I don't know the answer to your question, as I have no experience with this. I'm sure there are others here that can answer this better than I. I do know, however, that you will know in your heart if your little girl is happy. We are so tuned into our babies that we always know how they are feeling. I am praying for a TOTAL recovery.

Many times I have done what you are doing right now and everything ended up so totally different than what I had feared. We can all tell you to slow down and try to think only of the moment, but I understand how you are feeling.

I have never had a dog with a handicap like that, so I cannot share personal experience. I am sure someone else will be able to.

I just found the following website and the story about Cody touched my heart...perhaps it might help you right now.


http://http://handicappedpets.com/ww...paralysis.html

Oh...and they also have a forum...you might get some good information there! :)

Wasn't going to put my 2 cents in until the talk of putting her down (if she's not happy) was mentioned. I'll try to word this nice as I know this is very hard for you. The poor thing hasn't even woke up from the operation. It was mentioned about therapy & baths. Alot of other good advise here. I've heard many stories how a pet will be at deaths door & all of sudden they spring to life. One of them being mine. Had a pup w/pneumonia, vet gave me some meds, sent me home. Told me if he survives the night to bring him back. I rocked, sang, & rubbed that pup "all" night. He sprang back that morning & totally shocked the vet. So....my point is....Keep the Faith...Hold that Baby.....Don't lose Hope....She is depending on you. I know you can Do it.
I have faith in your little girl.

Thank you all so so so much. I talked to Scottd after that last post and I mentioned how we had touched the subject before about what choice we would make if she were unhappy and I started to say "after being with her tonight and holding her" he interrupted and said "I couldn't do it." and I said "Me neither."

We are committed to doing EVERYTHING in our power to make her the happiest dog alive, whether she is handicapped or not. She has honestly changed our lives completely from the moment this happened. She has taught me to enjoy every moment because you never know when you'll get another chance. If I could go back in time I would have played with her so much on Sunday instead of spending my time setting up the house and letting her just follow me around and sleep at my feet. Never again. The people (and dog) that I love are so much more important to me. I will never take anyone for granted again. I just want her to come back to me so I can show her the best life she could possibly have because she deserves it.

April is apparently a bad month for me. Last year, out of nowhere, my mom had a stroke in April. Against a lot of odds, she fully recovered. She is on medication now for the rest of her life, and when she's really tired you can notice a slight slur in her voice, but otherwise you would never know anything happened. I only hope I can be as lucky with Layla.

I will check out that link now ladyjane :)

Cody's story touched me too. We can never give up on Layla. She's only 4 years old... if she starts walking in 10 years I'd be ecstatic! We can continue to encourage her even if she comes home in a cart.

There you go...that's the spirit!! Hang in there....you really do not know what the future will bring.

I hope you get some sleep tonight...I am sure you need it. :)

stay positive - when my friends dog went into a coma from ivermectin toxicity she was very upset not knowing what to do and i called a bunch of vets there were some that said put her down she will never be the same,etc but our vet now said no way she will be fine they are like sleeping beauty and she will wake up and be fine so i only called and told my friend that not what the others said and so glad i did as she is perfectly normal now. She came out of it with no seizures, nothing - she got pneumonia as they had to suction her trachea etc but she got through it.

there are alot of support groups on yahoogroups.com so i would join one asap and learn as much as you can. If worst case she is in a wheely cart I would not worry she is tiny enough to wear diapers and be in a wheely cart as my neighbor takes his dog for a walk all the time and his pug is in a wheely cart - he adopted him that way.

I just think it is too soon and they have to give you the worst case scenario as it is prepare for the worst and hope for the best type thing. Yorkie prayers are amazing. I have seen it over and over so give it some time.

Kathy's dog was running around totally fine and next minute no use of his legs and he is now running around again with most use so I would talk to her as she has been through what you are going through just as others have so lean on those who have been through it and be strong as she needs you as dogs sense our feelings and she needs you to tell her it is ok she is going to be ok and that you love her as it will help her get better

I know you are disappointed as any of us would be going through what you are going through i cannot even imagine as i was a basket case when i almost lost dex to pancreatitis and they basically told me he may not live and the last yorkie died that was in there a month before him as he was real severe and i broke down and cried as I thought he was just going in for fluids and all would be ok and when they came in and said it was not good my heart sank. But he is alive and well today now for 4 years and i feel so blessed. Modern vet medicine is amazing these days and the key is getting to the specialists in serious situations which you and your vet did and that increases the odds tremendously.

yes please get some rest she is in good hands. I could always sleep knowing dex had 24hr nurse caring for him so please do the same she is in good hands and you need your rest :)

BUMP ... prayers needed for Layla. :)

Thank you. I dreamed last night that Layla was in a cart. I woke up to my alarm and I immediately prayed and prayed and prayed that she would be back to her old self. Before I knew it I woke up to my snooze alarm and I had just dreamed that she was running around the house.

It's really hard to be here without her, so tonight we are staying in the city at my grandma's house. I will still be on YT at work today but then I won't be able to see anything or update until tomorrow morning.

praying for improvement today :)

I'm praying for you, your boyfriend and Layla. I wanted to tell you that when my daughter's yorkie had the paralysis from his ruptured disc, he did not have control of his peeing and pooping, but slowly, but surely, that came back over time, as did his walking. I can't remember it all as it was a few years ago, but our vet explained that the area will eventually smooth over and straighten out and take the pressure off the spinal column. I imagine there is still a lot of swelling in that area on Layla's back and given time, I am praying she will recover fully. Hugs to you...I hope today you will notice a great improvement!

I am praying for it too. The biggest setback is that she lost deep pain in her legs. I am reading different articles, some saying it can come back with up to a 60 or 80 percent success rate, and some say as soon as it's gone, there might only be a 10 percent success rate. Some are saying the amount of time it's gone is a big factor, and if surgery is done immediately there's a better chance of it coming back, whereas the surgeon working on her said that's not the case at all.

I wrote an email to my office manager asking for permission to bring Layla to work when she gets out of the hospital so I can continue trying to do rehabilitation throughout the day, whether she has working legs or not. I cried while writing it out. Another coworker just asked me how Layla's getting along with me not being able to go home for lunch anymore and I choked out "She's in the hospital right now" and burst out crying and he apologized and I apologized and it's awkward now. I just can't talk, I can't work, it's hard to be here.

Still praying for little Layla to improve. It sure has been a roller coaster for all of you, but it takes time. The surgeon is probably not trying to sound too hopeful as they don't know exactly what's going to happen and probably don't want to give false hope. Addie's surgeon was the same way. It got to the point where I was freaking out that they'd have to remove her leg because of what he was telling us.

Keep hope. She's going to be doped up so she might not be able to make much movement right now even if her body was able.

I wrote an email to her breeder on the advice of the vet. It seems that she was predisposed to this condition since there was no major trauma. I told the breeder all about her fast downward spiral and I wanted to know if any of her yorkies have had spinal problems, because the vets are leaning towards this being degenerative disc disease which is genetic.

She replied that she was sorry and that it's hard when our pets are sick. She said none of her yorkies to her knowledge have any spinal issues. Then she offered me a 7 year old yorkie who is being retired from breeding, to compensate for my loss. I don't even know what to think. I have not LOST Layla. She can't be just REPLACED. I am so upset and maybe I just took it the wrong way but oh my gosh I just need to hold out hope that Layla will be okay.

i agree they will always give you the worst case to not let you down just keep the faith

this is pretty typical :( they usually do not admit to anything at least our breeder did not either when dd started having all the issues she has :( I am just glad i have her and not someone else who may not be able to take care of her or afford to do so and same goes for you as she is in a good place

Just got a call from the hospital, and there has been no progress at all yet.

I keep crying here at my desk and my eyes are so red and puffy I can barely see my screen.

Bump for prayers

I feel obsessed with this. I joined the forum at handicappedpets.com just so I'd know she'd be okay either way. I heard from someone with my exact same story and her dog did not ever recover. It's 6 years later and he's in a wheelchair.

I need to keep hope but it's SO HARD right now. I am just feeling frantic and that I can't wait until 5 to see her. I am stuck at my desk at work and there's nothing I can do and nowhere I can go.

give it time every dog is different keep the faith gf

I am feeling absolutely nauseous. I know that not having hope myself will really hinder her recovery and I need to be more positive but it's SO HARD to not have her with me.

i know i have been there as my dog was in the hospital for 5 days two times and i was so sick but you have to give it time and hope for the best just educate yourself as much as possible as many times with a sick pup it is a team of people working together. Do they have a rehab facility for dogs there ?

Yes they will be putting her in water as soon as her stitches heal and she can try the underwater treadmill and acupuncture. It's just that the more I read, the more I feel hopeless because she did lose deep pain sensation and that means major spinal cord injury. And she does not have it back yet. I am not worried about her walking right away, but the first step is to start feeling again in her legs and every vet seems disappointed that it is not happening yet. If she regains feeling, I am absolutely sure we can have a walking dog again someday!

Lindsey, a dear friend told me one day when I was running around inside my head like you are to pray for faith to replace my fears. I really thought she was cracked, but I was SO stressed that I had no choice but to try it. I remember spitting the words out and telling God that I honestly did not believe it, but that I was doing it because I was told to....kind of funny now when I think about it. Well.....it worked!! :)
Try it...my heart breaks for you. I cannot imagine having to sit at work and trying to function.
Linda

If there was NO hope, they would not be planning those things! :)

From my reading:

If the dog is suddenly paralyzed, in too much pain, or conservative treatment is just not enough, surgery is generally thought to be the best way to go. Surgery is usually more successful the sooner it is done, (Ideally within the first 12-24 hours following loss of deep pain sensation) since the disc material will have less time to damage the spinal cord.

Layla only lost deep pain somewhere between 5 and 7 hours.

Please, God, let her be the same dog she was before. I will give her a better life than I ever have in her 4 years with me.

The results of one dog does not mean Layla will have the same results. People have posted here with the great news that their dog/friends dog fully recovered. Please remember every dog is different and you did get her in when her symptoms showed she needed a vet. Also, I'm sure they have her on pain killers, might that cause less sensation for her right now?

Just remember the vet is doing what they can to make sure she does recover. They want her to walk again too, so she's going to get the care she needs.

When my cat was diagnosed with renal failure, research told me I would have days, weeks, maybe a couple of months until she would pass. She lived for six years after initial diagnosis! Anything is possible. Chin up, we're all praying for you, multiple times a day. {hugs}