Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Fiona Update...

Fiona is doing fantastic. We had another scare recently though. It started when we noticed Fiona acting differently; she was extra clingy, wanting to sit on our chest when we were in bed, she refused all food unless we hand fed it to her, refused water unless we brought the water bowl to her, and didn't want to really move around. We thought it might be her back acting up, so we performed our own mini exam on her (we learned a lot from watching the vets when she was having problems with her back) - flipping her hind paws over to make sure they'd rotate back, we watched her walk, we pressed on her spine... she passed all the tests.

After we decided we probably weren't qualified to diagnose her, we took her to the ER. They weren't able to determine what was wrong with her. But she wasn't getting any better, so we took her back to the ER, still nothing. Finally, we took her to the regular vet, who performed a blood sample on her and Xray, both came back normal. It was so frustrating not knowing what was going on with her. After a couple of days, I realized that they didn't perform a urine test, which should be standard with the bloodwork, so we took her back to the vet to request that this be done. Eureka! Urine sample came back positive for a bladder infection. She was given antibiotics and is finally back to normal. We went on a long walk today and she was thrilled. I was pretty exhausted by the time we reached out building, but Fiona wanted to keep going.... I had to carry her to our door because she wouldn't budge unless it was to go out again! She just loves being outside! Hopefully the weather will get a bit nicer so we can spend more time outside.

Anyway, I like our vet, but I can't believe they overlooked the urine sample. They gave her muscle relaxants, pain killers and steroids thinking that she may have just pulled a muscle. Her poor little liver... all those drugs that she didn't even need. We need to make friends with a Vet or we've decided either Aaron or I should become a Vet - the ROI would be worth it for how many times Fiona has to visit the Vet!!!

3 comments:

  1. So glad she is ok! Maybe you and I should go to vet school... financially we would totally come out ahead in the long run!

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  2. I just read through your blog on Fiona and it has lifted my spirit and given me hope. Our 2.5 year old frenchie Penelope had emergency surgery last night for a ruptured disc. Her symptoms and progression sound so similar to Fiona's and they told us time was so important to give her the best chance of walking on her own again. We visit her first thing tomorrow morning and will find out if she has feeling in her hind legs again. I think my husband and I were most worried that she wouldn't be her same spunky, funny sweet girl now but your updates have brought us some relief. We won't know for sure and we know we have some tough days ahead but I am confident she will be back to her daily walks to the park soon. She is one tough girl. Hope you see this. Thank you!

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