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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

R's Elbow

We have R on our minds because we meet with a surgeon tomorrow about his bad elbow.
R has probably never known a time in his life when his elbow didn't hurt. He was born with a congenital defect - elbow dysplasia. He had his first surgery on his first birthday. It was an arthroscopic clean-out of the bad cartilage and the bone chips floating in the joint space. That surgery gave him an excellent five years, within the perspective of a dog with elbow dysplasia.
Then, his limp became worse again, and he had another arthroscopic clean-out a couple of years ago. That one wasn't as helpful as the first one. After it, the surgeon told us that R had "end-stage" osteoarthritis in his elbow. Essentially, that meant that the weight-bearing surfaces had almost no cartilage left on them. Nevertheless, that surgery bought us a couple of years of R being very active and not showing too much pain.

I like to think that I understand what R is going through. My spine degeneration started in my teen years, and I now have several vertebrae that are bone-on-bone because the disks have degenerated away. It's painful but I choose to be active and live the way I love to live even if it hurts.

R is intense and adores romping in the forest - we share that trait for sure! So, based on my experiences and our gut feeling, we've allowed R to remain active within reason.

But now, we are all worrying about R. When he can, he hides his limp except when he's in the privacy of our house with only us present. Recently, he can't hide it anymore - so we feel that we have to do something.

Tomorrow, we'll be discussing a very new surgery that can be used on "older" dogs who have end-stage osteoarthritis from elbow dysplasia. Very few vets know how to do the surgery. It involves inserting metal implants that will be the new weight-bearing surfaces within the joint.
I hope that the surgeon feels confident that R is still a candidate for the surgery. I also hope that we feel confident that the surgeon is experienced enough to do it. He's the only one in our area who has ever done the "CUE" surgery. The alternative would be to travel someplace else to have the surgery done but that's not easy, especially since we feel that R needs surgical intervention soon.

I'm sorry not to be more upbeat today but I couldn't fake an unworried post (I tried, and I failed!). I always feel it's best to be authentic - so I shared what's on my mind.

40 comments:

  1. The love you feel for R is so very evident in this post. Never apologize for writing from your heart...that is one of the reasons I love your blog!

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  2. The pictures today capture your "checking things out with caution" tone in the post. Our paws are crossed that the surgeon is GOOD ENOUGH for our R!!

    Lisa and Otto

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  3. We know how difficult decisions like this are. Millie & Walter are keeping their paws crossed for R and the surgeon.

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  4. Poor R! I hope everything goes well when you meet with the surgeon and I hope he's still a candidate for the surgery! <3

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  5. We certainly understand your concern. R is your baby who you love very much. We a going to be saying a prayer for him. Long may R run

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  6. Your friends understand your concern, we are here for you. We hope the surgeon can do what is needed for R and do it well. Good luck with your appointment. We will be thinking of you all.

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  7. I will say a prayer and keep good thoughts for R and all of you. I know how hard it is and we just want our babies to be happy and healthy. Ziggy will keep paws crossed and sending POTP and lots of love.


    Ziggy Out!!

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  8. Sending out warm hopes for R. He is such a brave boy. It's so amazing the advances in surgery for animals. I'm glad you have someone not so terribly far away. Fingers and paws crossed that R is considered a good candidate for surgery. We know R is; he certainly has the attitude. Now let's hope his elbow is a good candidate. We'll be thinking of all of you tomorrow.

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  9. Be true to yourself and to us also. For R, you have thought long and seriously about this surgery, and I'm sure your gut feeling when you meet the surgeon will indicate what should be. Meantime, sending heaps of love and sunshine from down here.XXX to you all.

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  10. Sending you and R prayers for tomorrow.
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  11. Oh R! Sorry abouts your elbow (and your Moms back) ~ I am sure the dogtor will fix you up so you can run and romp without the pain. I gots my paws crossed real tight for you!! Sendin' lots and lots of POTP and healin' vibes and tons of AireZens!!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  12. I hope it goes well. Your southern neighbor in AZ.

    Kismet the Parrot.

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  13. We understand you KB.. We know your concern,..
    We want R to be free from pain too,, and we need you to know that you do not need to hide your feelings,,,, You can lean on us, because we all care about you too. We are hoping also that R is a good candidate for surgery and that the surgeon has confidence.
    We are surrounding all of you with postitive thoughts,, and healing magical bubbles to calm your minds too
    love
    tweedles

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  14. Thank you so much for letting us know. Our Sammy is having surgery tomorrow, but it's not as serious, we hope. My heart goes out to both of you. Good luck to you all.

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  15. We are sending POTP for R and gentle nudges for you.

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  16. We hope for healing for R. 24 Paws crossed.

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  17. Best of wishes to you and Prince Arrr. Like everyone else I am hoping the vet can do the job, soon and successfully!

    We'll be eager to hear the news.

    Hugs all around,

    Jo, Stella and Zkhat

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  18. Our paws are crossed very tightly that all will go well for you today, R♥

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  19. Hari OM
    You know Blogville is active on POTP so R is added to my listing!!! Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  20. Sending R lots of love and support across the miles. I hope his appointment goes well!

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  21. There are few events in life that are more painful than watching a loved one suffer and being unable to help. I'm thinking of you today with hope that the vet is competent in the surgical technique that will give R many more years of outdoor fun.

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  22. R I hope for good news and I send potp and wish you all the luck for youir appointment. I will cross my paws as hard as I can...

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  23. We will definitely be thinking about R too. Hope the vets can come up with the perfect solution that will help.

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  24. DEAR BRAVE R...I'M SENDING YOU LOTS OF HEALING KITTY KISSES FOR YOUR ELBOW AND PURRS THAT THE SURGEON SAYS YOU ARE A PURRFECT CANDIDATE
    HUGS MADI YOUR KITTY FRIEND

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  25. Keeping a good thought for all.

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  26. feel free to worry and i will worry with you. prayers for the surgery to be a success. your photos are magnificent and your pups are gorgeous to.

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  27. Yes, authenticity is the best. There's no way to not be very concerned about something like this! We cross our Paws for the right decision at the right time with the right dogtur to do the best surgery for the best result with the best recovery.

    Keep Calm and Bark On!

    Murphy and Stanley

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  28. Yes, authenticity is the best. There's no way to not be very concerned about something like this! We cross our Paws for the right decision at the right time with the right dogtur to do the best surgery for the best result with the best recovery.

    Keep Calm and Bark On!

    Murphy and Stanley

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  29. Paws crossed and prayers for R. Hopefully the vets can help him

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  30. Sending prayers for R - I just love him so much - he is so much like my black lab Zeus.

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  31. We are all sending prayers to dear R and we hope to see some good news on your next update.

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  32. Yes, definitely best to be authentic. And your readers care about you and your dogs, so you will have many people praying for R. Hope you get good news about the surgery and all goes well.

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  33. I hope it all goes well. Sounds like you found the perfect Dr.

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  34. I have learned with our blogging friends we can always be honest about how we are really feeling, R and you are in our thoughts today.
    stella rose and momma

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  35. We hope you can find the best way to help him, so he can romp in the mountains again soon.

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  36. Good thoughts and best wishes for a very good outcome for R. Fingers crossed...

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  37. Even though I rarely comment, I want you to know that I read your blog faithfully and am always wishing you and Shyla and R and the Runner the very best. I know you always make the best decisions for your pack and have faith that R will feel better!

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