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<TITLE>JOHNNY'S HOME!!!!</TITLE>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Johnny was scheduled for removal of a small growth on his eyelid this morning at 11:00 AM – no biggie – sedation and a quick laser zap – in and out within an hour or so – yeah, right! First off, they couldn’t get a vein … not even the vet and Johnny was running out of patience after 5 tries. So, we sedated him with an IM shot since it was such a small procedure. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">As Johnny was laying on the table waiting for the vet, he was sedated and very relaxed. Laura, the head vet tech (we always get the best ones</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Wingdings">J</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> ) was standing there with me and Johnny, and ran her hand over his side. She felt a hard lump, I felt it (actually I had felt it the other day but he had gas that day … so I thought). The vet came over, did the eyelid growth removal, and then she felt the lump. We took him to ultrasound and saw two tumors on his spleen. So, we took him directly to surgery. They got an IV in with some difficulty, even with him sedated. They reversed the initial sedation so they could administer anesthesia, and put him under light until the sedation wore off. I went into surgery with him, like I do for all of our dogs.</FONT></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">The spleen was huge! We saw the tumor we felt right away … then as she pulled the spleen out, she reached up under his rib cage and pulled out this tumor BIGGER than a grapefruit. As soon as she slipped her hand under it to lift it out, it exploded --- literally – all over the surgery room. It looked like Charlie Manson had been there. Bad words were said by all. So, she dug all the spleen and its assundry attachments out of the abdomen and suddenly Johhny almost jumped off the table … at this point it was only the vet and I in surgery because the tech had gone to warm some saline to flush out his abdominal cavity. Dr. Melanie started SCREAMING “I need a tech NOW!” So … needless to say, the initial sedation had worn off and Johnny was trying to wake up and his body was objecting to someone having her hands around his spleen. So in rush THREE TECHS and TWO VETS … turned up his anesthesia and breathed for him for about 10 minutes. Then every time she tried to clamp and tie the main artery and vein from the spleen, he would try to wake up … even though he was fully anesthesized. I was about to come unglued … but hung in there. I started rubbing his ears and talking to him, and she was able to finish up a very messy surgery in less than a total of 40 minutes. At 2 PM, Johnny was awake enough to be extubated and given hydromorphone. His IV went sub-cutaneous after surgery as they moved him. A new IV was placed in a back leg. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">He went outside to poop about 5 PM and blew his IV. He also started dripping LOTS of blood from his incision … we went back to ultrasound … no blood in the abdomen so that is good. It appears to be blood pooling under the skin and seeping out when he moves. His blood counts are improving, so they are not worried but it is messy. They got another one in on his inner thigh … it went sub-cutaneous at 7 PM. They struggled for the next hour to get another one in. Finally got one in about 8 PM … it lasted an hour before blowing. At this point he doesn’t have one and if he needs to have one, the vet will have to come in and do a cut-away. We have done a two belly wraps and compression bandages to stop the incision leaking. We</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">finally got the</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> bleeding controlled with an ice pack</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> about 2 AM</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">. He also had hydro-morphone, went outside to potty but he was on a “where’s the van” hunt. He</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">also</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> <FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial"> got a sub-cutaneous bollus of fluid – no IV sites available, another hemotocrit, antibiotics, temperature</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">, EKG and BP. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">It was a long night but we made it! The bleeding stopped – there is still some seepage but that is to be expected. His hematacrit is up to 42, his hydration is good, he color is good, he is alert (mostly when he isn’t drugged), switched to oral meds, and fairly steady on his feet. He lost 3.5 pounds in 24 hours so that gives you an idea of the size of the spleen and tumors. So, everyone agreed that he would be happier at home and that I can monitor him at home as well as they can at the vets. He has a ways to go in recovery but he will do it. Now we just pray that the tumors were not hemangiosarcoma but I am preparing myself for that diagnosis. My philosophy is prepare yourself for the worst and hope for the best.</FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">Now, I am going to crash for a couple of hours. I got about 2 hours sleep last night. The vet’s office set Johnny and I up in a room with an aerobed and we “slept” on the bed together. Well, he slept … I rubbed ears, massaged him, petted him etc. </FONT></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">Thanks for the drool and prayers. Johnny is a very lucky boy and I am an even more lucky Mom. If that tumor would have burst at home, I would have never been able to get him to the vet’s before he bled out. This was a very close call.</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B></B></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">Each time I have a dog with a crisis, I learn something. The lesson learned this time is that if you have a dog who has a</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">n unexplained weight gain and begins to look</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">“</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">thick</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">”</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS"> in the waistline, try dieting but also have an ultrasound does. Splenic tu</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">mors are sneaky</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">…</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS"> the start growing slowly and are soft so difficult to feel upon palpation but when they</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B> <FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">“</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">take off</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS">”</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS"> they grow fast</FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Comic Sans MS"> and are life threatening. </FONT></B></SPAN></P>
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<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Calibri">Sandi & the Red Bay Boys</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P DIR=LTR><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT COLOR="#7030A0" FACE="Calibri">Grady, Hoagie, Johnny, Norm, Opie and Stachie</FONT></SPAN></P>
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