One Step Back

I have time for only a short post today. Our plans for R's surgery went haywire again, and I've been on the phone seemingly continuously ever since, trying to make new plans.

Shyla is hoping that the plans get solidified very soon so I'm not so tense.

For perfectly understandable reasons, our east coast expert surgeon had to cancel his trip here. We have a back-up plan - a west-coast vet who is an "instructor" in the surgery that R needs. That vet seemed enthusiastic about traveling here when I talked with him about 3 weeks ago. I'm awaiting his reply to my latest call, asking that he head out here!

Shyla is begging him to come out and make her brother's elbow less painful.

Shyla's latest, and now favorite, trick - "sitting pretty"

While we wait, one other complication has popped up. R's liver enzymes didn't look great in a blood test. So, he will be having another blood test plus an abdominal ultrasound. We don't want R going into major surgery without us feeling certain that he's at full strength. My guess is that the anti-inflammatories are taking a toll on his liver. I hope that's all it is, although it would mean that he couldn't take Rimadyl anymore.

I never dreamed that a surgery that we first started planning back in February of 2015 (more than a year ago) would end up being so very difficult to get done. It's now spring of 2016 (as you can tell by the elk who are shedding) with no surgery scheduled.

We have our fingers and paws crossed that we will manage to get things scheduled and that R's liver is actually fine. We want him to run freely again before too long!

I have appreciated all the leads and information that you have sent me. They've all helped - believe me! I am more educated about this surgery than I ever wanted to be!