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Friday, April 1, 2016

R will get a "new elbow"!

R's elbow surgery is scheduled, and we've been given the green light to go ahead with it despite some other health issues with R.

As many of you know, finding a surgeon and scheduling the procedure has taken a long time (since early January) and lots of work. The reason is that R is having a relatively new surgery ("CUE") for late-stage congenital elbow dysplasia, and not many surgeons are experienced with it. After tons of searching, we finally found a great surgeon who was willing to fly here to lead R's surgery on 4/15.

We had a recent scare that we worried might delay the surgery. R's liver enzymes have been somewhat high and inching upward over the past few months. They continued to go up even after we cut his Rimadyl dose in half. Earlier this week, he had an abdominal ultrasound to make sure that his liver looked okay overall, and it did. We got the "green light" last evening to go forward with the surgery.

The hope is that his liver will return to normal when he doesn't need drugs to control his elbow pain. The surgery can be thought of as giving R a "new elbow" because he'll have artificial surfaces installed for weight-bearing within the elbow. He'll no longer have bones grinding against each other like he has now so we hope that his elbow pain will be greatly reduced or even eliminated.

It's a fairly long recovery so we let him run and have fun in the desert (within reason). He now has 2 weeks until the surgery... and then I hope it's smooth sailing during his recovery!
Thanks for all of the amazing support and offers of help while I was so frustrated by the process of getting his surgery scheduled. Now, I'm starting to feel nervous about the surgery, having cleared all the hurdles to schedule it. That's inevitable, I think!

36 comments:

  1. This is GREAT news! And I know just what you mean - now that you've moved heaven and earth to make the surgery possible, you can start worrying about the specifics. We humans do not make things easy on ourselves sometimes :)

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  2. Fantastic we will have all our feets crossed for you R
    Lily & Edward

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  3. Horray! I'm so glad you finally got it scheduled. What a chore that was.

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  4. OH yay, I'm so glad he was finally able to get surgery scheduled!! Paws crossed that all goes well.

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  5. We are so excited to hear that you got that dang surgery scheduled. What a relief for all of you. We know he'll be just fine and will be back to being his fun loving self soon.

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  6. That is just wonderful to hear. We are happy the date is set. Only two weeks, but it will seem like it goes by slowly. All our best to R for his surgery and recovery!!!

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  7. Good news! Keeping my fingers crossed for y'all, for a successful surgery and a quick and thorough healing!

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  8. Sending all good thoughts and "vibes" to you and R! We will anxiously await to hear the news of the surgery and his recovery. Thanks for keeping us up to date!

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  9. That's so awesome! I'm glad they were finally able to get it scheduled!!! Fingers crossed that everything goes well!

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  10. Wonderful news, we'll pray for success and a solid and strong recovery (and peace of mind for you!) ... and follow as you post on R's progress. Thankful it has all come together.

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  11. We're so glad this is scheduled. Of course we won't breathe a sigh of relief until he is healed and running again!

    Keep Calm & Get an Elbow!

    Murphy & Stanley

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  12. What great news! We are so happy for you and your family, R!

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  13. When I first saw this, I was afraid it was an April Fool's joke but was thrilled to find out it was not. YAY! So happy the surgeon is on his way!

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  14. Oh, yes, I think it is inevitable to be nervous about any approaching surgery, but hopefully all goes well and after a full recovery he'll be back racing around with joy!

    He's lucky to have such dedicated pawrents. We'll be sending good thoughts your collective way on surgery day!

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  15. This is great news.
    So happy for "R"
    xo Linda

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  16. Yay! John's mom had similar surgery on both her knees at nearly 90. She had HUGE reductions in pain! I'm sure this will go well for R too!

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  17. That's fantastic news! I hope his liver calms down once he's off the meds.

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  18. That really is good news and we know R will do just wonderfully!

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  19. Crikey ..... how good is that??? I'll sure have everything crossed hoping for the very best outcome for R. Mum's feeling nervous for you too but I'm sure R will do well.

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  20. It's only natural to be nervous, but at least it is scheduled. Fingers crossed!

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  21. Yes, I do think being more nervous about the surgery itself now is inevitable. So glad the surgery is set.

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  22. Fantastic!
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  23. Great news! We are going to start praying that everything goes perfectly now

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  24. I'm glad it's all come together, and I'm sending good vibes that those pieces stay in place, and your most handsome boy, flies through recovery uneventfully!!

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  25. OMD, this is indeed good news! I am so glads it's gonna happen!!!
    I gots my paws crossed real tight, and I am sendin' tons of good thoughts and AireZens!!!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  26. Maybe the best news of all . Hang in there till the day, all will be fine, and to think a surgeon will fly over, better than best.

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  27. At last! We'll be away, on a blog break, when it happens, but we'll be thinking of you and R, with our paws crossed!

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  28. Hari OM
    Oh that is just wonderfurs news!!! Will keep you on my POTP list throughout "R"... hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  29. I'm glad you have an appointment and the surgeon can help R's elbow... we wish bestest luck and we cross our paws and fingers that efurrything goes well.

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  30. We will keep our paws crossed for R and his surgery.

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  31. YAY!! We are so excited for you and for R!!

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  32. Oh, I am glad to hear it. Fingers crossed.

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  33. This is all good news, and we will be sending R a million magic healing bubbles,, so he does well in the surgery,, and heals good too.
    We are so happy it will be soon,
    love
    tweedles

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  34. Hi KB, sorry I am so late to comment on this, that is wonderful news. I put a reminder on my calendar for 4/15. So grateful for the surgeon who will do this surgery for R!!!!

    Hugs from Indy and I :):)

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