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Spirit's
leg has been injured at different levels. The Tibia
was fractured and the growth plate at the joint
level is damaged. In order for Spirit to be pain
free and have a good quality life without loosing
his leg, the surgery would have to fuse the bones,
leaving him with partial mobility at the ankle level.
He would not loose mobility of the elbow and toes
however and could run and play pretty much like
a normal dog. This surgery however, would prevent
premature arthritis and would keep the ankle in
the socket. Plates and pins would be inserted to
solidify the bone and joint. Spirit would quickly
adapt and only a mild stiffness would be noticeable.
Update:
In light of the fund raising campaign going so well,
we have done several follow ups with the orthopedist
vet. Spirit is seen by Dr. Allan in Mission med
vet. There are good news and bad news about his
leg. The good news is that since being transferred
to a foster home, Spirit's general health and condition
have greatly improved, making the surgery most likely
to be a success. The bad news is that it was discovered
that his elbow is also damaged, which might rule
out the fusion option. The vets are now looking
into a different procedure, a little more expensive
(MPR will absorb the difference), but that should
leave Spirit with full mobility. So in all, some
good news for our boy. The vets want to check him
out one more time before a final decision is made
and the surgery date will be set very soon.
We're
getting there!
UPDATE:
12/09/04 - We
have reached our goal!!! Spirit will have his surgery
ASAP! Thank you :-))
Surgery
date: 12/20/04 - Please
check back Spirit's page to follow his progress.
12/22/04:
"Hey
Everyone, I
picked Spirit up from Mission Med Vet yesterday
and there were many broken hearts. Spirit, AKA "Romeo
Blue", had managed to cast a spell over the
mostly female staff, including Dr. Ruddle, and they
were all very sorry to see him leave :o).
Per
Dr. Ruddle's instructions, Spirit will need to have
practically complete bed rest for the next 2 weeks.
After that, there will be 4-6 weeks of very limited
activity. And, on top of all that, weekly bandage
changes will be needed and his sutures will be removed
in 2 weeks. After the 8 week period, they will see
if he's ready to have the splint removed. When the
splint's removed, Spirit will go through a Bambi
period, where he will need to strengthen the tendons/muscles/bones
and learn to walk on the new leg.
So,
Spirit, complete with morphine patch, elizabethan
collar, and splint is back at my house recovering.
I can already tell, it's going to be a long 8 weeks
for Spirit:o(. He doesn't seem too happy with much
and I sure wish I could have a dog translator right
now to tell me how I can help.
Spirit's
never been a very vocal dog. He rarely barks or
whines. In fact, the only time I ever heard noise
from him was during his daily workouts, where he'd
throw himself on the ground and bicycle leg in the
air, while at the same time, moaning/groaning/growling
to himself to not stop:o). Since being back from
the hospital, he very often whimpers/breathes loudly-even
while in someone's arms:o(. He's on a morphine patch
and pain meds, so I wouldn't think it's pain-but
who knows? I know he's dying to run and walk and
be out of his crate-but I just can't let him per
doctor's orders. I can't get him to stop whimpering,
so I just try and comfort him;o(. Maybe he's just
frustrated and cranky.(cause he sure doesn't whimper
when he's outside or I'm allowing him to walk a
few steps)
I
just wish we could fast forward past all this recovery
time, so he can see what it's all for. I can't wait
for him to walk on his new leg and feel no pain,
then watch out world, here comes Spirit!
I
will keep everyone posted on his progress as much
as possible and will post pictures as soon as I
can. For all of Spirit's fans and supporters, thank
you so much for giving this little blue guy hope,
love, and a new leg just in time for Christmas!!
As his foster mom, I can tell you your generosity
and kindness have overwhelmed me and I am so thankful
he touched the hearts of so many-like he has mine.
I will make sure to give him lots of hugs and kisses
this holiday from all of you and trust me, he's
sending sloppy pit bull kisses right back. Have
a wonderful holiday and thanks again.
-Marisol
Week
2
Hey guys,
Spirit is doing much better this week. No more whimpering
or whining from discomfort. He's actually been quite
the trooper and I hope continues this way for the
next 7 weeks.
Spirit now believes he's fully healed however and
tries to run, jump, and scale anything and everything
if given the opportunity. So, as you can imagine,
I'm aging rapidly:o). He has to be crated most of
the time, but I'll let him lay on the ground with
me on a leash a little bit. He's also managed to
con me and Geoff to let him lay on the couch(on
a leash). Of course then, one of us has to sit with
him or in front of the couch and make sure he doesn't
jump off or anything. Don't worry guys-we're being
SUPER CAREFUL. It's just a little R&R for his
mind and give him a little feeling of freedom from
the crate.
He's being so brazen and "macho", he actually
ripped his morphine patch off prematurely last week.
Like, "Morphine is for wimps, not for a big
strong guy like me. Go make me a protein drink!"
So the biggest challenge for us right now is keeping
him immobile and relaxed. Spirit's always been a
couch potato in a body builder's body, but even
this degree of immobility has been a little much
for him.
Today was his first bandage change/follow up at
Mission Med Vet and as usual, the ladies were lining
up to greet him. He was a brave little guy and the
staff were extra gentle with the little hippo :o).
I hope to post the pictures soon.
I must have heard "I would love to adopt him"
quite a few times today at the vet hospital - for
which I responded, "Get in line. Anyone who
meets this guy wants to adopt him, he's irresistable".
The Mission Med Vet staff agree :o).
Week
3
"Off to the vet we go...". |
Flirting in the waiting room |
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"Yeah baby... Belly rub, please" |
"Hey leave the leg alone...!" |
"I said BELLY rub....!!!!" |
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Week
5
Today
was Spirit's half way mark at recovery.
His last couple weeks have been pretty uneventful,
except that Spirit gets more animated and anxious
to run and play as his leg feels better every day.
Thanks to his good physique, he's probably healing
faster than most.
Mr. Muscles was raring to go to the vet today. It's
getting more and more difficult for me to prevent
him from ripping his bandage off. Which just tells
me, he's feeling better and better :o).
As usual, flirty Spirit was all kisses to everyone
at the Vet clinic today - but especially the ladies.
Spirit loves everyone, but I can tell he ADORES
women. His face just lights up when a lady bats
her eyes at him :o). Which with a gorgeous mug like
his, happens often....
His sutures have been removed and they did x-rays
today. The x-rays are already showing bone growth
(yay!). The doctors believe he's healing beautifully
and just hope that he continues healing well and
that his bones continue to show growth. So, fingers
crossed everyone!!
-Marisol
Week
6
Nothing
major to report this week, so just a quick update.
Spirit is more mobile and we're now allowing him
to walk around the main level of the house-supervised
of course. He seems to really enjoy the freedom,
but is anxious to be able to use the yard to romp
and play. Luckily it's been so cold, my whole gang
has enjoyed just hanging out on the couch under
a warm blanket or on a warm lap-or both:o)!
Today
our weekly bandage change was pretty routine. I
wanted to share however, that Spirit met two little
kids today under 10 today. He was soo wiggly and
happy to see them, no surprise-but he LOVED the
little girl. He couldn't get or give enough kisses.
So, it turns out, Spirit is a real ladies man, who
has no trouble attracting ladies of all ages:o).
I have to wonder who'll end up adopting him...a
family with little kids, a single lady looking for
a handsome companion, or single guy looking to improve
his "game"-hahaha! It won't matter, Spirit
could work in any home:o).
Week
8
Spirit had an appointment today for x-rays and bandage
change. Unfortunately, impatient to get the splint
off and very eager to get on with his recovery,
Spirit broke out of his splint over the weekend.
I was so upset he couldn't make it until Monday
to pull his "I'm breaking out of my splint
like the hulk" stunt, but oh well:o(. He broke
the splint in 3 places! No harm done to his leg,
he just enjoys tormenting me:o)
So, that's really been the hurdle (as in the beginning)
lately, keeping him calm and trying to keep him
from re-breaking his leg. Everyday it gets harder
though, as his leg strengthens and he feels less
pain. In other words, I'm struggling to keep him
from acting like a normal pit bull:o).
But
enough about that and on to the good news: SPIRIT'S
SPLINT IS OFF!!! X-rays show that Spirit's
leg bone has lengthened 1/2 inch!! So, I guess Spirit
knew that splint was ready to come off after all:o).
He's actually walking around pretty well considering-which
just goes to show Spirit's a true pit bull through
and through.
He looked so good that Mission Med Vets don't need
to see him again for another 4 weeks believe it
or not. However, we're still in a semi-scary part
of recovery, as he can still re-break that leg by
doing something crazy. We really won't be in the
clear for another 4-8 weeks, but he's definitely
on his road to recovery and not looking back. The
vets hope for some more bone growth as his muscles
strengthen and flex.
Gone
is the little blue guy with the bad leg that we
pulled from the shelter a few months ago and in
his place is one determined blue hunk, who will
not succumb to his old injury or old life. I'm very
proud of him and am happy to say, he is now ready
for adoption:o).Please
understand that this is one special little dude
with unique needs. MPR is looking for a very special
home for Spirit AKA Romeo Blue AKA Pumba, so please
read his bio well and be prepared to explain why
your home is his home:o).
Thanks
again to everyone who wrote in with words of support
and to all who provided financial support! There's
no way we could've done this without you and Spirit
and MPR thanks you!
-Marisol
March
2005:
It'
been about 12 weeks since Spirit's surgery and he
couldn't be doing better. Today he has an appointment
and they'll give me an interim prognosis and hopefully
sign off on a clean bill of health. He's completely
normal now, in terms of energy level, physical activity,
and spirits.
Just
as I suspected! Back from the vet appointment, where
the docs feel Spirit is good to go and ready to
resume normal activity and adoption! So, no more
carrying this little hippo around and down stairs.
They don't even need to see him again in a few weeks,
as they explain they're too busy with sick patients
to waste their time on healthy hunks like Spirit:o).
Spirit
no longer seems to be in any pain at all. In fact,
the way he jumps off of things and runs around,
it's like he's trying really hard to show me how
sturdy that leg really is! However, anyone interested
in adopting him should understand that Spirit is
mostly a couch potato and due to his leg, he’ll
never be a marathon runner.(though does enjoy a
good romp and race around the yard:o)
What's
left to say? It's been an absolute pleasure taking
this journey with Mr. Spirit and now that he's ready
physically to give his heart and soul to his forever
family, I need to prepare myself to let him go.
Whatever family that is fortunate enough to adopt
him should prepare themselves to fall head over
heels in love with this beauty and to be very loved
in return.
And
for those that might be nervous about his leg and
the future, here are my thoughts: Gone is the little
blue guy with the bad leg that we pulled from the
shelter a few months ago and in his place is one
determined blue hunk, who will not succumb to his
old injury or old life. He may have had a set back
early in life, but in true pit bull form, he has
not let that effect him one bit. And, while he still
has a small limp, it doesn't appear to slow him
down at all or cause him any pain. This little guy
has made it a loong way and he's going to keep going
until he finds his forever home to love and care
for him, then he'll settle in and love them for
the rest of his life:o). That will be one LUCKY
family-I promise.
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