You can and will adjust it is a matter of finding what works for your family. When Paris went blind, it took months of trying different things to find what would work for him. Bless you as you and your family going through this hard time. Give Cali and Mia a hug from me!

UPDATE: Made it home with no events. The girls were great, they slept most of the time. I'm sooooo happy to have my baby girl home (so is daddy & Mia). Now the huge adjustments begin. The vet recommended that I keep Cali & Mia seperate when we are not around. Mia has already jumped on Cali's head a few moments OK so I'll keep my eye on them. Now...the meds....Dear God the meds!!! I can't stand giving meds to people much less my beloved baby girl who doesn't understand why I'm doing this to her. This morning I had to give her 4 pills and 1 liquid. It was a disaster and I was in tears and ill before it was all over. My husband relies on me b/c I'm a nurse but I never "force" my patients to take meds. Anyway, I called Julie from the vet school and she gave me some great tips and some history on how Cali has successfully taken meds. I can't say enough how great they have been and their treatment of Cali. When Dr. Ortinau did her discharge papers, at the end she wrote...."Thank you for allowing us to take part in the care of Cali. She is a sweet and special girl!" Now they may say this for everyone but I don't care, it made me feel great.

I do have some pics and I'll post them later. It's the girls on the ride home....sleeping.

Thank you for you continued prayers and support! Team Cali!!!

Yay! So glad everyone is back home! :D

Just a note: The info I left in an earlier post: Dr Sisson is a world renowned neurologist who has studied and researched immune related disorders/diseases in dogs for many, many years. If anyone can diagnose your pup, I think it would be him.

Looking forward to seeing the pics. :D

I am so glad to read that your Cali is now home with you, where you can shower all your love on her.

I am sorry you are so stressed with all the medications she has to take. It can certainly be an ordeal.

Prayers still continue for Sweet Cali.

Ahhh, I was wondering. I'm very happy with the treatment at MSU so far...do you think my neurology team would be offended? Also, I see that Dr. Sisson is in Jamaica...how does that work since I would not be able to go there...?

Ok all, here are the pics (they could be better but we were all exhausted):

More pics
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Attachment 365237

Can you crush the pills you have to give her? That is the only way I can get Furgie to take pills... good luck! Cali is so lucky to have such an amazing family! Go Cali!!!

Its a big adjustment time I know and I give you big hugs. Its ok being overwhelmed at the moment. We all go through that stage. Give yourself a good cry and then get back to doing what you have been doing. You are both in my prayers and are wonderful parents. This adjustment time is difficult.

With the meds, post AAI surgery with Shelby, I was overwhelmed too both my husband and I are RN's too. Slip the syringe into the cheek pocket and slowly push the plunger. It doesnt matter, the taste of them all is horrible :(, I always try to give a special special treat afterwards.

DH and I took turns sleeping downstairs with Shelby so we could wake up and reposition her frequently clean her up from urinating on herself, and cleaning her BM. I had a alarm clock for the DH and me I am a extremly light sleeper so I could hear her every movement. At this point she was a quadaplegic, head in a brace, on pain meds, steroids, etc.

We set up a x-pen in the living room for 4 months and play pen. Its daunting at the beginning with the time table for meds. At least we only work weekends at the time, and had family help us then.

It will get better! You and DH will adapt with her needs and changes. There is always hope, Shelby went from total quad to walking and being a happy Daddy's girl! Every situation is unique, we dont know it all, but you being a Nurse is God's own intervention for sending you this sweetheart to your loving arms for care.

No matter what you will go through a morning period! its ok I mourned for the little girl I had and how it changed just in a matter of minutes. I firmly believe in God's intervening hands- he gives us what we can handle!

So sorry its so long, I have been following you from the beginning, and rarely post. I hope this helps you a bit, Take naps it helps :)

I read through every word in this thread and want to commend you for your tireless efforts in finding answers and trying to help sweet Cali.

I just want to point out that I took Max to LSU 2 years ago. They do indeed have a neurology department, as Max was diagnosed by undergoing an MRI, Spinal Tap and other tests. My experience with them was phenomenal, similar to your recent experience. If you are needing a second opinion certainly keep them in mind as it's only about 30 minutes from you.

Also, I was told that depending on the pill, certain pills' effectiveness may be compromised when crushed. Make sure you speak with your veterinarian or pharmacist about this.

I'm praying for Cali.

I am so glad your baby is home and being made comfortable and so sorry that you are having to go through all of the medication giving, etc. Before long, the nurse in you will come out and you will begin to think more of the good the meds are doing her than the trials of giving her the medicine. And she will come to better terms with taking it from you - adjust better to it. Try not to think of all she's been through and you are putting her through when dispensing the Rx but what this dose will do for her and how badly her little body needs it. It helps a bit but more than anything, just doing it over and over takes a lot of the guilty feeling out of doing that to your baby and sort of replaces it with let's-just-get-this-done, baby-and-then-we'll-cuddle. I hate hate hate giving medication to any dog but even I eventually can do it better and with less nerves and stress after a while. I keep praying for your baby and you until she is well.

I'm so glad to know that you had a great experience at LSU. I so wanted to go there since it was so close but the reason they recommended MSU is b/c they thought she might need surgery and the top Neurosurgeon is there (he was originally at Auburn). I don't know how MSU stole him away but they did ($$$, I guess). But he does wonderful things for his department, such as partnering with the human imagining side so that pets can have the best diagnostics available. However, if we need to go to LSU I certainly will. Not only am I a HUGE fan, my girls are too....SEE:

It's game day:
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Cali wants to be a cheerleader:
Attachment 365266

Mia is ready for kickoff:
Attachment 365267

UPDATE: Thank you ALL for such wonderful advice. I appreciate it so much and it has helped us adjust. I tried to crush Cali's meds but she is a smart one...she smells whatever goes in her mouth first before her first lick and she detects the meds. Thus, refuses (even in butter). So what we are doing is coating each pill in Peanut Butter (PB). I start out giving her a smidgen of PB on my finger with nothing in it to get her trust, followed by the coated pill, then the next and so on. She gobbles them down. It works like a charm and I'm counting my blessings. I also have been giving her the liquid Dilantin first so that she feels like the PB is a reward for her. Regarding her med schedule, we are adjusting. For all the nurses out there, I made a MAR which includes her meds and treatments. That way my hubby and I can keep track of everything. I've been working with her legs (when I can) and the last time I brought her out to piddle, she actually spread her legs slightly and squatted. It's the first time she didn't get urine on the inside of her legs/feet. I was so happy. She is also walking better on the surfaces we put in her room. I'm not giving up on her until she is walking again like normal.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! This place has truly been a refuge and a beacon of encouragement. My husband always wants to hear what everyone has to say. We appreciate each and every one of you!

Good news! Bless Cali's little heart. She's trying to get well and with your help, she will do it! Hang in there! I'm proud of you and your husband for taking such good care of her.:)

Jamaica Plain, MA is in Massachusetts, he does phone consultations. You can ask your vets to involve him in her case, if they are willing, or you can contact him yourself. He is willing to work with other vets, any treatments or meds will have to go through another vet, but it could be your local vet too. His fees are very reasonable.

Sadly, your neurology team may be offended, depends on their egos, I guess. I think if they have the best interests of your baby at heart, they would welcome a second opinion.

There is a Yahoo group, NewGMEDogs : NewGMEDogs that can offer help and support. I am NOT saying your pup has GME, only something maybe similar.... anyway I think they can help you. They are not officially affiliated with Dr Sisson, but many members have used his services.

HELP! My 7 y/o girl can't use her back legs
 

I have just read this entire post and my daughter and her almost 4 lb yorkie are going through something very similar to this. My granddog is my baby she is 4 years old and her name is Dessa. She lives in Tuscaloosa, AL. My daughter first noticed Dessa was walking and all of a sudden she fell over. They have hardwood floors, so they thought maybe she slipped and they were dropping Dessa off at her other Grandparents house and they were flying to see me in Florida. After they got here on Tuesday they talked to the Grandparents and they said she still was not walking right. They took her to the vet the next morning and he gave her a steroid and I believe an antibiotic and sent her home. Later in the afternoon she had a fever so they called the vet and they took her back into his office. Thursday the vet suggested they take her to Birmingham to see an orthopedic vet and when they called the vet said the next appt they had was Tuesday 3/20/12 so they made the appt. My daughter got back home Thursday evening and picked Dessa up. On Friday my daughter called the vet in Tuscaloosa and then the one in Birmingham and the B'ham vet told her to come there immediately, so she took Dessa there. Dessa's temp. was a little over 103. They thought the ride and my daughter being so upset might have something to do with it. The strange thing about all of this is the week before all this started Dessa was given 5 shots in the leg that is giving her the most problem. It is the back and front paw on her left side. This is breaking our hearts. Dessa has never been sick and has always been super active. They say her knee is out of the socket and they think she may have a slipped disk. They want $1,500 to run test and a MRI on Tuesday. The fever has been gone for 2 days. We want our baby girl well. Anyone having any advice please let us know. PLEASE PRAY FOR DESSA!!!!!!

I have just read this entire post and my daughter and her almost 4 lb yorkie are going through something very similar to this. My granddog is my baby she is 4 years old and her name is Dessa. She lives in Tuscaloosa, AL. My daughter first noticed Dessa was walking and all of a sudden she fell over. They have hardwood floors, so they thought maybe she slipped and they were dropping Dessa off at her other Grandparents house and they were flying to see me in Florida. After they got here on Tuesday they talked to the Grandparents and they said she still was not walking right. They took her to the vet the next morning and he gave her a steroid and I believe an antibiotic and sent her home. Later in the afternoon she had a fever so they called the vet and they took her back into his office. Thursday the vet suggested they take her to Birmingham to see an orthopedic vet and when they called the vet said the next appt they had was Tuesday 3/20/12 so they made the appt. My daughter got back home Thursday evening and picked Dessa up. On Friday my daughter called the vet in Tuscaloosa and then the one in Birmingham and the B'ham vet told her to come there immediately, so she took Dessa there. Dessa's temp. was a little over 103. They thought the ride and my daughter being so upset might have something to do with it. The strange thing about all of this is the week before all this started Dessa was given 5 shots in the leg that is giving her the most problem. It is the back and front paw on her left side. This is breaking our hearts. Dessa has never been sick and has always been super active. They say her knee is out of the socket and they think she may have a slipped disk. They want $1,500 to run test and a MRI on Tuesday. The fever has been gone for 2 days. We want our baby girl well. Anyone having any advice please let us know. PLEASE PRAY FOR DESSA!!!!!!

If you copy and paste this into a "new thread" you will get more responses....

Thanks!! I'm new to the site. I'm still trying to figure it out.

Welcome to YT! Click on a forum title like: Sick & Injured / Emergencies Talk and in the upper left hand corner you'll see "New Thread", just click there to get started....

Thanks!!!

Wow...I'm very sorry ya'll are going through this. It's strange that it is one side versus front/back. I hope she gets checked by a great vet. We were very happy with the neuro team at MSU. You shouldn't be far from there right?

I said a prayer for Dessa!

Why was she given 5 shots in the leg? Was it vaccines?

I will certainly add Dessa to my prayer list and hopefully this poor little one can get diagnosed and treated and find her way back to good health.

She was given her yearly vaccines in the back left leg. Her front leg is better today. She goes tomorrow for testing. They are testing her for spinal meningitis and several other things. We will take her where ever we need to. We are talking her to a vet in Birmingham/Vestavia. Any advice will be appreciated!!! I set her up a post as Please pray for Dessa. I hate to take up so much space here. I appreciated all the prayers!!!

OOPS.....I completely missed the MA part. Please forgive me. I'm going to look into this vet. I haven't done so yet because I've got so much work going on but once April hits, I'll have a break. Thanks for the info!

UPDATE: Cali is doing well. We've been taking her out frequently and that is her new bathroom spot. I don't like this because it will be difficult when it rains or is cold out. Pads have always been our choice but she can't walk on them (she slips). Today when I took her out the neighbors dog was barking and she actually ran (well, somewhat). I was so happy to see her go. But she does get winded and really hot from her stiff muscles. I've been doing ROM on her 3X's a day and it really helps. She gets frequent massages. Tomorrow is my first day away from her since Friday. I so don't want to leave her at home. I'm going to be in tears tomorrow...

Have you considered washable pads? I used disposables for 7 years and recently made the switch, I love them and you won't have the slippage problem. 107barney sells them at tbumpkins.com, I don't think you will be disappointed, my Mini has lp very badly right now and has no problems with these as she did the disposables.

Cali is so sweet, and I am just so happy shes home, please give her a kissy face for me, I think of her all the time. I'm so happy shes improving! Team Cali all the way!

p.s. theres a discount code for yters: ytsave20

Progress! I love hearing about her advances - it is so encouraging. Brave girl(s) - including you!

Or what about a grate system? I had serious problems with Tallulah thinking her paper pads were playthings and got a system that has a tray where you put the pad, then two grates that hold it down. Worked like a charm but it was awfully big. A few weeks ago at The Alley they had smaller system that included a piece of fake grass. I threw away the grass and use the tray and grate with a disposable pad cut in half.

It was so much easier I went back at the next opportunity and bought several more -- now I have one in use, one either drying off after cleaning or waiting to go into action, and a few backups for when the first two have to be retired.

Keeping Cali in my thoughts and prayers!!! We will be taking our Dessa to Miss St early next week. She has similar symptoms as Cali. Dessa just had her shots 2 weeks ago. I still wonder if there is a connection. Your babies Cali and Mia are precious!!!