Hit 39 weeks yesterday and celebrated it by having our first ever garage sale. Vin was at work all day so Mom and Dad came over with some stuff to sell and to help out. It was a really nice day and only 1 person showed up 1/2 hour (7:30am) before we advertised opening (8am)...Thought 8am was early enough but I guess the real garage sale goers like to start earlier.
By 2pm there wasn't a whole lot of stuff left so we decided to close up. I actually had someone ring the doorbell at 3:30 looking for the DVDs and records, though.
And then Silas started acted oddly.
He'd been out front with us for most of the garage sale and was acting normally then, but he was pacing around the house, getting into the bathtub and out again, panting, just really unsettled and uncomfortable. I took him outside to pee and only a dribble came out, which, if that's all he had he wouldn't have bothered trying, so it led me to believe there was something really wrong. I called Vin to quickly come home and I took Silas to the vet.
While we waited for the vet to finish with another dog he went from bad to worse; he collapsed on the floor foaming and drooling out of his mouth and appeared to be almost choking. The vet came out and said she thought maybe he had tumors in his belly because it was more doughy than hard (like it'd be if his stomach flipped). She said to get Vin here immediately and in the meantime they'd do an ultrasound to see if they could see any tumors. I asked her if he was dying right there at my feet and she said he might be. Many, many tears.
Mom, Vin, and the boys all came. The vet came and told us his stomach had flipped and he needed surgery immediately or he'd die. She said that many times when an older (he's 6) large, deep chested breed flips their stomach for no apparent reason (you have to be very careful about feeding and exercise, and we are, and he had virtually no activity that day) that it happens because there are tumors around their stomach (the ultrasound couldn't rule it out nor confirm).
We had 2 options:
1) put him down right then
2) do the surgery and if they find tumors they'd put him down then/do the surgery and if they don't find tumors unflip his stomach and pin it into place
We went with surgery.
Before he went in we went to the back to see him and it was a pitiful sight. He was somewhat sedated and on pain meds, but you could tell he was still in a great deal of pain. They shaved him while we petted him and talked to the vet and then were told they'd call us in a couple hours to tell us what they found.
2 hours later we get the call; his stomach had flipped 180 degrees, his spleen was so enlarged it was being pushed down into his pelvis, and no signs of any tumor. Because it'd only been about 1 1/2 hours between his stomach flipping and getting him to the vet there was no tissue damage or likely any long term issues. They pinned his stomach to the inside of his ribcage so it'd stay in place (this is the second time this has happened but the first was in Taiwan and his stomach wasn't as flipped and it went back on its own).
The vet called again late last night and said he'd had 2 big pees and was resting comfortably, but because it was such a major surgery they'd watch him all night and keep him for a few days. We're very relieved and glad he should be okay. He's part of our family and when I see the boys drag him around the house, dress him up, poke and pull at him and he just sighs and goes along with it, and never worrying he'll hurt the kids or let a stranger get them, and always feeling protected in the house when I'm home alone with the kids...well, it's just something we had to do.
That being said, hopefully it's not as pricey as I'm setting myself up for it to be.
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And on a completely different note, baby is still good. Today would be a pretty perfect day to see the little tike (Vin is off from 3:30pm today until 8:15pm tomorrow-plenty of time to get it done), Silas is being cared for, and Mom and Dad are around. So that almost guarantees that we will most certainly NOT see this baby within the next 36 hours.
But ya never know!
By 2pm there wasn't a whole lot of stuff left so we decided to close up. I actually had someone ring the doorbell at 3:30 looking for the DVDs and records, though.
And then Silas started acted oddly.
He'd been out front with us for most of the garage sale and was acting normally then, but he was pacing around the house, getting into the bathtub and out again, panting, just really unsettled and uncomfortable. I took him outside to pee and only a dribble came out, which, if that's all he had he wouldn't have bothered trying, so it led me to believe there was something really wrong. I called Vin to quickly come home and I took Silas to the vet.
While we waited for the vet to finish with another dog he went from bad to worse; he collapsed on the floor foaming and drooling out of his mouth and appeared to be almost choking. The vet came out and said she thought maybe he had tumors in his belly because it was more doughy than hard (like it'd be if his stomach flipped). She said to get Vin here immediately and in the meantime they'd do an ultrasound to see if they could see any tumors. I asked her if he was dying right there at my feet and she said he might be. Many, many tears.
Mom, Vin, and the boys all came. The vet came and told us his stomach had flipped and he needed surgery immediately or he'd die. She said that many times when an older (he's 6) large, deep chested breed flips their stomach for no apparent reason (you have to be very careful about feeding and exercise, and we are, and he had virtually no activity that day) that it happens because there are tumors around their stomach (the ultrasound couldn't rule it out nor confirm).
We had 2 options:
1) put him down right then
2) do the surgery and if they find tumors they'd put him down then/do the surgery and if they don't find tumors unflip his stomach and pin it into place
We went with surgery.
Before he went in we went to the back to see him and it was a pitiful sight. He was somewhat sedated and on pain meds, but you could tell he was still in a great deal of pain. They shaved him while we petted him and talked to the vet and then were told they'd call us in a couple hours to tell us what they found.
2 hours later we get the call; his stomach had flipped 180 degrees, his spleen was so enlarged it was being pushed down into his pelvis, and no signs of any tumor. Because it'd only been about 1 1/2 hours between his stomach flipping and getting him to the vet there was no tissue damage or likely any long term issues. They pinned his stomach to the inside of his ribcage so it'd stay in place (this is the second time this has happened but the first was in Taiwan and his stomach wasn't as flipped and it went back on its own).
The vet called again late last night and said he'd had 2 big pees and was resting comfortably, but because it was such a major surgery they'd watch him all night and keep him for a few days. We're very relieved and glad he should be okay. He's part of our family and when I see the boys drag him around the house, dress him up, poke and pull at him and he just sighs and goes along with it, and never worrying he'll hurt the kids or let a stranger get them, and always feeling protected in the house when I'm home alone with the kids...well, it's just something we had to do.
That being said, hopefully it's not as pricey as I'm setting myself up for it to be.
-----------
And on a completely different note, baby is still good. Today would be a pretty perfect day to see the little tike (Vin is off from 3:30pm today until 8:15pm tomorrow-plenty of time to get it done), Silas is being cared for, and Mom and Dad are around. So that almost guarantees that we will most certainly NOT see this baby within the next 36 hours.
But ya never know!
5 comments:
Oh my, Heather! So sorry to hear about Silas!! Glad he's going to be okay. I was in tears reading about it and it brought back memories...
On the flip side, wanna set up a play date for our kids this coming week? We will be back from the cabin tomorrow, in the evening.
What a day!!!! Glad that he is recovering well! Good thing you acted so quickly! Rest well before this baby comes! Looking forward to meeting ....
Wow, i've never even heard of a dogs stomach flipping. Way to go for spotting the warning signs so quickly! Glad he's on the road to recovery : ) I arrive in Saskatoon on the 15th, for your sake I hope that baby has arrived by that time. So glad i get to meet him/her while i'm home : )
Anna
Had an appointment today with my lovely doctor. She booked me for another one on Monday to book an ultrasound (I guess that means she doesn't have much hope in a baby this weekend?). Then if all is well in there and still no baby by 41 weeks 3 days then I can decide if I want to induce. I kinda think it'd be neat to have a baby on its due date, especially when it's 9-10-11. But I won't kid myself, it's just not how my babies roll.
You'll have to change the name of your website now...
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