Posted By: TiPu
Neuro Damaged Suggie Zoey - The End... - 03/24/15 09:13 PM
Hey everyone,
This is a (long) message I had hoped I would not have to write for a few more years at least. For those of you have followed the saga with my girlie Zoey, know the many hardships and obstacles we have overcome together with her neurological damage.
This past Wednesday, I took her in for her 3 month checkup with my vet. Everything looked fantastic all things considered. Her weight was alright, but she had notably lost some muscle mass in her shoulders. Zoey has had difficulty adjusting to her amputation of 4 digits back in December, and did not really open her hands all too often. She has adjusted to mainly walking on her hind legs and sitting on her haunches and holding her front hands as if she was Mr. Burns from the Simpsons and planning something devious. Pretty cute really :-P. The vet noticed that one of her nails was poking into the paw of her hand, so they trimmed it and a little cut was left from the nail being slightly embedded into her paw. Nothing too major we thought.
Fast forward to this past Sunday night - Zoey was laying on her side looking really lethargic. I had fed her some of her food and massaged her for a little bit. Yesterday morning, I found her laying on her food plate. I rushed her to the vet a few hours later and we believe her paw got infected. There were other signs of some other things going on as well, and my vet recommended I take her to the Animal Hospital at Cornell University. Being Cornell has one of the top vet schools in the country, she knew they would have the resources to best help Zoey. I made the 2 hour trek from Rochester, NY down to Ithaca, NY and saw a wonderful exotic specialist named Dr. Reidel and her 3rd year student assistant. Zoey ended up staying down in Ithaca overnight, and I came back up to Rochester. They ran lab work (came back normal), but also did an extensive radiology exam. She made it through the night just fine, and got a call this morning telling me they were waiting on results from radiology. Tissues ready....
I got the second call and the specialists have discovered a mass in her left ear, which may explain the head tilt she's had from before I got her in 2011. The Dr. believes there may have been an ear infection that never properly healed or was deeper in her ear such that it wasn't noticeable. Zoey's upper spine is more or less like a staircase with some notable separation between the upper vertebrae near her neck. It is possible the attack from the other cage mate back in December was worse than any of us had thought, but it is impossible to tell. The Dr. believes Zoey's sudden deterioration is in part of an infection, but is a significant sign of the deterioration of her immune system from the progression of her neurological issues. The vet and radiologist were surprised Zoey was not paralyzed from the existing spinal damage and has managed as she has this long.
This is something that cannot be fixed.
The vet is currently looking at past x-rays from my Rochester vet to see if she can notice any changes or progression we may not have seen before. It's almost 5 pm here in Rochester and it's getting late for me to make the 2 hour trek back down to Cornell to meet the vet.
I was told I will likely have to say good bye tomorrow morning.
This is a decision that is for the sake of the quality of life for Zoey, and is one I really wish I could avoid. I recognize it is likely in her best interest to not prolong the inevitable, but d*mn it is tearing my insides apart. Considering all the dedication and accomplishments I have with Zoey compared to the other two girls, it is really really hard. The final decision has not been made as I'm waiting for the last call from the vet, but I was told probability is not in her favor.
I don't look forward to the 2 hour drive tomorrow because I know I'll likely be driving another 2 hours coming home with an empty cage. I am however happy that I was able to get Zoey to Cornell. Being a learning institution, all of her records and data will be kept and used for learning purposes for future veterinarians and specialists that go to the vet school. I know Zoey is a rare case with what she has dealt with in the last 5 years of her life; however, as a girl of science, I am comforted in knowing her experiences will help others learn and progress towards a better understanding of this species we love so much.
I wanted to thank everyone on here who has supported me on this journey. I'll continue to update where I can. *hugs*
Here is a picture the folks in my Rochester Vet took last Wednesday for a photo contest. She may have won second place, but she'll always be first in my heart
This is a (long) message I had hoped I would not have to write for a few more years at least. For those of you have followed the saga with my girlie Zoey, know the many hardships and obstacles we have overcome together with her neurological damage.
This past Wednesday, I took her in for her 3 month checkup with my vet. Everything looked fantastic all things considered. Her weight was alright, but she had notably lost some muscle mass in her shoulders. Zoey has had difficulty adjusting to her amputation of 4 digits back in December, and did not really open her hands all too often. She has adjusted to mainly walking on her hind legs and sitting on her haunches and holding her front hands as if she was Mr. Burns from the Simpsons and planning something devious. Pretty cute really :-P. The vet noticed that one of her nails was poking into the paw of her hand, so they trimmed it and a little cut was left from the nail being slightly embedded into her paw. Nothing too major we thought.
Fast forward to this past Sunday night - Zoey was laying on her side looking really lethargic. I had fed her some of her food and massaged her for a little bit. Yesterday morning, I found her laying on her food plate. I rushed her to the vet a few hours later and we believe her paw got infected. There were other signs of some other things going on as well, and my vet recommended I take her to the Animal Hospital at Cornell University. Being Cornell has one of the top vet schools in the country, she knew they would have the resources to best help Zoey. I made the 2 hour trek from Rochester, NY down to Ithaca, NY and saw a wonderful exotic specialist named Dr. Reidel and her 3rd year student assistant. Zoey ended up staying down in Ithaca overnight, and I came back up to Rochester. They ran lab work (came back normal), but also did an extensive radiology exam. She made it through the night just fine, and got a call this morning telling me they were waiting on results from radiology. Tissues ready....
I got the second call and the specialists have discovered a mass in her left ear, which may explain the head tilt she's had from before I got her in 2011. The Dr. believes there may have been an ear infection that never properly healed or was deeper in her ear such that it wasn't noticeable. Zoey's upper spine is more or less like a staircase with some notable separation between the upper vertebrae near her neck. It is possible the attack from the other cage mate back in December was worse than any of us had thought, but it is impossible to tell. The Dr. believes Zoey's sudden deterioration is in part of an infection, but is a significant sign of the deterioration of her immune system from the progression of her neurological issues. The vet and radiologist were surprised Zoey was not paralyzed from the existing spinal damage and has managed as she has this long.
This is something that cannot be fixed.
The vet is currently looking at past x-rays from my Rochester vet to see if she can notice any changes or progression we may not have seen before. It's almost 5 pm here in Rochester and it's getting late for me to make the 2 hour trek back down to Cornell to meet the vet.
I was told I will likely have to say good bye tomorrow morning.
This is a decision that is for the sake of the quality of life for Zoey, and is one I really wish I could avoid. I recognize it is likely in her best interest to not prolong the inevitable, but d*mn it is tearing my insides apart. Considering all the dedication and accomplishments I have with Zoey compared to the other two girls, it is really really hard. The final decision has not been made as I'm waiting for the last call from the vet, but I was told probability is not in her favor.
I don't look forward to the 2 hour drive tomorrow because I know I'll likely be driving another 2 hours coming home with an empty cage. I am however happy that I was able to get Zoey to Cornell. Being a learning institution, all of her records and data will be kept and used for learning purposes for future veterinarians and specialists that go to the vet school. I know Zoey is a rare case with what she has dealt with in the last 5 years of her life; however, as a girl of science, I am comforted in knowing her experiences will help others learn and progress towards a better understanding of this species we love so much.
I wanted to thank everyone on here who has supported me on this journey. I'll continue to update where I can. *hugs*
Here is a picture the folks in my Rochester Vet took last Wednesday for a photo contest. She may have won second place, but she'll always be first in my heart