WWTBAM Bored

Just checking in to see how she is doing.

I haven't seen her yet today nor talked to anyone at the clinic. I will go over early this afternoon.

Yesterday was good news and bad news. Her mobility is improved. She stood up right away when I came into her room, and she had a lot to say. (She's a very vocal dog -- not barking, but nasal and throaty "words.") The vet tecs said that when she went outside, she held her head higher, faced into the wind, and seemed to have a spring in her step that hadn't been there the day before.

The scary thing, as I had been warned, is that she has started to slough skin, but far beyond the wounds themselves. She has lost a lot of skin, particularly on her rear end. By that, I do not mean that she's losing fur or peeling like a sunburn. I mean that the entire skin layer is gone. The hip muscles are visible. They have covered these areas with an antibiotic ointment, but I am greatly fearful that they are an open invitation to massive infection. My impression had been that they couldn't do anything about skin grafts until the deeper infections had cleared within the worst wound sites. I hope to speak to the vet himself today to hear reassurance -- or Plan B (or Plan C or D, as appropriate. I'm wondering about the possibility of temporary artificial coverings, such as are used in human patients with severe burns.)

Hip muscles, I noticed during a surreal moment of disassociation, are an amazing and beautiful piece of machinery.

I am still thinking good thoughts for her, for her doctor and for her ability to heal.

silvercamaro wrote:I haven't seen her yet today nor talked to anyone at the clinic. I will go over early this afternoon.

Yesterday was good news and bad news. Her mobility is improved. She stood up right away when I came into her room, and she had a lot to say. (She's a very vocal dog -- not barking, but nasal and throaty "words.") The vet tecs said that when she went outside, she held her head higher, faced into the wind, and seemed to have a spring in her step that hadn't been there the day before.

The scary thing, as I had been warned, is that she has started to slough skin, but far beyond the wounds themselves. She has lost a lot of skin, particularly on her rear end. By that, I do not mean that she's losing fur or peeling like a sunburn. I mean that the entire skin layer is gone. The hip muscles are visible. They have covered these areas with an antibiotic ointment, but I am greatly fearful that they are an open invitation to massive infection. My impression had been that they couldn't do anything about skin grafts until the deeper infections had cleared within the worst wound sites. I hope to speak to the vet himself today to hear reassurance -- or Plan B (or Plan C or D, as appropriate. I'm wondering about the possibility of temporary artificial coverings, such as are used in human patients with severe burns.)

Hip muscles, I noticed during a surreal moment of disassociation, are an amazing and beautiful piece of machinery.

Let us know.

Scary to see down to the muscle, no matter how beautiful it is.

I just got through reading the whole saga. Poor Annie! I'm praying hard for her.

The incident reminds me of what happened to a friend's dogs a few years ago. My friend arrived home and discovered one of her dogs with blood all over its fur, so she rushed it to the vet. The vet examined the dog and couldn't find a wound anywhere. About that time, her husband called her to tell her that the other dog, the one with dark fur, was the injured one!

Later, a neighbor who had witnessed at least part of the incident told them what had happened: their collars had gotten caught on each other, so they both got confused and angry. Scraggles (the light-colored one) must have been the only one in a position to inflict harm on the other. It was just a freak situation that caused the fight, and the two dogs got along perfectly well both before and after the event.

Maybe something along those lines happened with your dogs. I hope they can all live together peaceably again, but I know you can't take any chances.

Better news came with today's visit, including encouragement, if not exactly reassurance.

Plans B and C are already under way. The vet now is using "a wet-dry wrap" with a cream that is supposed to encourage tissue granulation. He's already spoken to the surgeon, who will evaluate Annie early next week to determine if she's a skin graft candidate. With her muscles covered, Annie doesn't look quite so pathetic, nor is she smearing blood-tinged goo all over the place. A couple of her remaining drainage tubes appear to be dry, so perhaps she will get some of them removed later today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, an enormous sweetheart of a mastiff has moved into Annie's room. Because she's in the only cage that could possibly be large enough to hold him, his leash is clipped to a ring on the wall right next to her cage. He comes to the end of his leash, then peeks at Annie around the corner of the cage. She peeks back. Because my dog fluency is limited, I cannot be certain, but I believe that they were making plans to escape and go to Vegas. If nothing else, he has made her day far more interesting.

silvercamaro wrote:Better news came with today's visit, including encouragement, if not exactly reassurance.

Plans B and C are already under way. The vet now is using "a wet-dry wrap" with a cream that is supposed to encourage tissue granulation. He's already spoken to the surgeon, who will evaluate Annie early next week to determine if she's a skin graft candidate. With her muscles covered, Annie doesn't look quite so pathetic, nor is she smearing blood-tinged goo all over the place. A couple of her remaining drainage tubes appear to be dry, so perhaps she will get some of them removed later today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, an enormous sweetheart of a mastiff has moved into Annie's room. Because she's in the only cage that could possibly be large enough to hold him, his leash is clipped to a ring on the wall right next to her cage. He comes to the end of his leash, then peeks at Annie around the corner of the cage. She peeks back. Because my dog fluency is limited, I cannot be certain, but I believe that they were making plans to escape and go to Vegas. If nothing else, he has made her day far more interesting.

SC, this is good news! I am glad that Annie is getting excellent care, and will have a "friend" to spend her days with when you are not with her!

I will be sending +++++ vibes to you and Annie.

SC, be sure to take care of yourself too! I am sure this has been an incredibely stressfull time for you and your family.

fuzzy

silvercamaro wrote:Better news came with today's visit, including encouragement, if not exactly reassurance.

Plans B and C are already under way. The vet now is using "a wet-dry wrap" with a cream that is supposed to encourage tissue granulation. He's already spoken to the surgeon, who will evaluate Annie early next week to determine if she's a skin graft candidate. With her muscles covered, Annie doesn't look quite so pathetic, nor is she smearing blood-tinged goo all over the place. A couple of her remaining drainage tubes appear to be dry, so perhaps she will get some of them removed later today or tomorrow.

In the meantime, an enormous sweetheart of a mastiff has moved into Annie's room. Because she's in the only cage that could possibly be large enough to hold him, his leash is clipped to a ring on the wall right next to her cage. He comes to the end of his leash, then peeks at Annie around the corner of the cage. She peeks back. Because my dog fluency is limited, I cannot be certain, but I believe that they were making plans to escape and go to Vegas. If nothing else, he has made her day far more interesting.

I believe it was gsabc who helped me when I was looking into artificial skin for testing purposes. I know they use porcine skin as a dressing to promote skin growth both for animals and people with burns.

I am glad she has someone to flirt with. It will make the time go by much better.

Thanks for the update!

Thank goodness!

I was beginning to worry that Annie's enormous charm would lie fallow as she recuperated (except, of course, for charming the vets and the vets' assistants).

Now, she has someone to charm until she can get back here and charm us.

And big hugs to you, too.

christie1111 wrote:
I believe it was gsabc who helped me when I was looking into artificial skin for testing purposes. I know they use porcine skin as a dressing to promote skin growth both for animals and people with burns.

Thanks for this information. I remember when gsabc was providing sites on artificial skin to you. I didn't know about the porcine skin. I will make certain that the vets have this fact in their mental repertoire, too.

Beebs, Lucky, Jeff, the boys, Artie the Psychocat, and I keep sending healing vibes for Ms. Annie.

silvercamaro wrote:

christie1111 wrote:
I believe it was gsabc who helped me when I was looking into artificial skin for testing purposes. I know they use porcine skin as a dressing to promote skin growth both for animals and people with burns.

Thanks for this information. I remember when gsabc was providing sites on artificial skin to you. I didn't know about the porcine skin. I will make certain that the vets have this fact in their mental repertoire, too.

Didn't catch this yesterday. The stuff I worked with was entirely human, so I don't know if it would be suitable for Annie. It's also quite expensive. Does Annie have Medicare?

I don't know anything about the non-human versions, unfortunately. Cadaver skin, however morbid it might seem, used to be the standard for humans when there was a large area to cover. Self-grafts, taking healthy skin from one area to cover another damaged/diseased area, are still used whenever possible to eliminate the rejection issues. If the surrounding skin and tissues are healthy, then it may be a case of just covering the damaged area with a dressing and letting nature take its course to self-heal. It's actually not any slower or faster.

Good luck to you both. I want Annie to be doing as well as Midnight in her recovery.

gsabc wrote:
The stuff I worked with was entirely human, so I don't know if it would be suitable for Annie. It's also quite expensive. Does Annie have Medicare?

I don't know anything about the non-human versions, unfortunately. Cadaver skin, however morbid it might seem, used to be the standard for humans when there was a large area to cover. Self-grafts, taking healthy skin from one area to cover another damaged/diseased area, are still used whenever possible to eliminate the rejection issues. If the surrounding skin and tissues are healthy, then it may be a case of just covering the damaged area with a dressing and letting nature take its course to self-heal. It's actually not any slower or faster.

Thanks to the glories of Google, I know that pigs are the source for Mediskin, which is used for humans, so I think it's possible that it might be effective for dogs, as well. They're all mammals.

The self grafts, probably taken from the inner thigh, will be the preferred treatment if the veterinary surgeon thinks it can be done. Annie may end up with odd white patches on her brown rear end, but I will find them beautiful.

Yes, the cost will be horrendous, but Annie already is the most valuable dog I know. Her car wreck -- and the thousands of dollars that went into helping her walk again -- have made me put these expenses in a different perspective. She has the strongest will to live of any creature I've ever known, and she has proven she's tough enough to get through the rough spots without much complaining. Above all, she has infectious joy in virtually every part of every day, and that has enriched my life beyond measure. In short, she's worth it.

I'll give her everything I can muster to help her stay in the game as long as she still wants to play.

Thanks for your good wishes. I hope that Midnight is well on his way to being better than ever.

gsabc wrote:

silvercamaro wrote:

christie1111 wrote:
Does Annie have Medicare?

Better........she's on the Silver Plan.


Good thoughts for you and your clan, SC.

She is worth it to me as well.

Her writings and the stories she tells make me want to be a smarter, kinder human being.

Maybe you can start a fund.

peacock2121 wrote:
Maybe you can start a fund.

I wouldn't, because I would never want to divert other people's money away from funds that help people with medical (and other) catastrophes. My primary charity of choice for the past few years has been the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. All of us, including four-footers, benefit from medical advances.

Annie is my responsibility. I recognize that not everyone would make the kinds of financial decisions that I have made on her behalf. Sometimes the "wrong" decision financially is simply the right thing to do.

I appreciate your point of view.

I prefer to consider that I have choices about where to throw my support, whether it be financial or otherwise. I like having choices. I like it when people give me choices.

I also appreciate that some seem to struggle with making the choice of no, adding that it means something that they say no and feel forced to say yes and then resent the yes they said.

Not much of what I said above has anything to do with Annie - it all was what went through my head when you responded to me suggesting you start a fund.

Thank you for letting me see inside your head.