Day 4265

This will be short tonight. Literally nothing happened. The hospital drugs have worn off and I am feeling very tired and quite sore. There is nothing wrong. According to the 32 page post-op instructions I was given when I was released from the hospital, everything I am feeling is normal. The most noticible post-op complication is constipation. This is common after any type of surgery, but is almost inevitable when you've had abdoninal surgery. The intestines tend to stop working when your doctor has to move or shift your intestines during surgery. If the condition gets serious it is called ileus and can be quite serious. I don't think I have ileus because I can feel my stomach rumbling and have gas. Spot, our first Dalmatian, did have ileus after having a cancerous section of his intestines were removed and he almost died. He didn't poop for days. Maybe it was weeks. When he finally pooped, we felt like having a giant celebration.

I am following instructions and taking all my medications. Today I took two short walks and Janet is helping with any heavy lifting. The only medication I haven't take yet is the Tramadol. I don't know why they even gave me Tramadol. I have learned a lot about Tramadol over the years working with dogs and I am not a fan. Like any opioid, it is highly addictive and should never be given if there is a danger of paralytic ileus. I hope the over the counter laxatives I'm taking will work. They're safe and usually effective. It's going to be a long three days though. I"ve been told that almost nobody poops for at least three days after abdominal surgery.

I'm glad I like to walk. Walking is the one exercise that is actually encouraged after surgery. We took two short walks with Dawn today. One at sunrise and the other at sunset. Dawn likes the sunset walk, so we may add this to our regular schedule. It's the same little one mile loop, but the second walk doubles the amount of exercise she gets during the day. Dawn's early morning walks used to seem like nothing to me, buy now I feel them. It's amazing how rapidly your body can deteriorate after a week of lying in bed.

I may not feel normal yet, but I'm starting to look a little more normal. When I left the hospital I looked like the Michelin Man. My body was incredibly puffy after being pumped up on fluids all week. You gradually expel all these extra fluids, but it takes a while. I'm glad I can still pee normally. I have ugly bruises on my stomach, but this is considered normal as well. My arms look like I'm a heroin addict. At times I had three different drip tubes in me at once and I lost count of all the blood test I had. There were as many as four a day. I learned later that there was a reason for all these extra tests. The doctors had discovered bacteria in my blood and they were very worried about Pancreatitis and other infection risks. 

In the grand scheme of things, gallbladder removal is very minor surgery. I know so many people who have endured much worse. My sister once had an eight hour spinal surgery that took years to recover from. I don't think she ever fully recovered. Surgery is still very messy, despite all the high tech equipment in the operating room. We still depend a lot on the body's amazing ability to heal itself. I'm going to be fine, but I'm definitely not feeling 100% today. We'll see if I feel up to joining Dawn on her Sunday outing tomorrow. I think this slightly longer walk won't be a problem, but I'm taking things one day at a time.

Mandy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1680

Dot is resting in the ICU after a very long and arduous day. Sometimes waiting is the hardest thing of all. I could hardly breathe until I got a call from Dot's surgeon toward the end of the day. "The procedure went exactly as expected," he told me. This is as close to joy and elation as you'll ever get from a surgeon. Surgeons are extremely matter-of-fact. This is a good thing. You wouldn't want an overly emotional surgeon cutting you open. I've talked to surgeons before and I was delighted with his short message. I could tell from the tone of his voice that the surgeon was pleased. He should be. This was a difficult and somewhat risky surgery and he had succeeded in allowing Dot to move forward and continue her journey to recovery. Dot isn't out of the woods yet, but a thumbs up from her surgeon was the best news I've heard all week.

It was a very long day. I got up at dawn to walk Dash before we drove to the cancer center to have a consultation with Dot's surgeon before she was wheeled into the operating room. You have to bite your lip when talking to surgeons. He mentioned risks that I had never even considered. I trust him though. This was the same surgeon who had expertly removed Dash's cancerous thyroid without any of the complications that are often associated with thyroid tumors. Later in the day when he called to let us know how Dot was doing, he told me that he was very glad that Janet and I had been proactive and gone to the extra step of having a CAT scan. "Sometimes, this is the only way to find these tumors," he said, adding that the growth was even larger than he expected and that if it hadn't been removed, Dot would have definitely died.

As soon as we got Dot checked in for surgery, I drove Janet across town to another hospital and we got her checked in for her colonoscopy. We both have a colonoscopy every five years and today was her turn. I basically spent the day driving back and forth between one hospital and the other. Veterinary Specialists of North Texas is much smaller than the huge complex of buildings at Baylor, but it is every bit as advanced. If you have a very, very sick pet, I would highly recommend VSNT. If I was very sick myself, I would want to go to Baylor. My own liver doctors practice at Baylor and most of Janet's doctors are there as well.

The next few days are critical for Dot. Ileus is always a risk after abdominal surgery. This intestinal paralysis is usually temporary, but if the tiny muscles inside the intestines do not begin functioning again after surgery, food can't move through the intestines causing serious complications. There is always a danger that the sutures won't hold either. It usually takes four or five days before you're out of the woods with abdominal surgery. I'm going to remain positive though. Dot passed a very important milestone in her road to recovery this afternoon.

I'm glad that Dot has so many friends. Three different vets who have Dot as a patient contacted me today to check on her progress. Her medical team is larger and much nicer than mine. Sometimes I worry about what will happen to Janet and I as we grow older and start to fall apart. Dot and Dash will always have someone to look out for them. I think we're going to be on our own.

I'm not sure if we'll be able to see Dot tomorrow. She's still pretty fragile. I hope that she sleeps well tonight and that her intestines begin working normally again as soon as possible. If we're really lucky, the doctors say she might be ready to eat a little food tomorrow evening.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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