FCE: The Story of Belle
11/2005 Update: Hollie is pregnant and needs
to find a home for Belle as the demands of caring for a
newborn and Belle are too much. Her letter is at the bottom
of this posting.
Posted
By: Hollie LaFavor
Date: Monday, 18 April 2005, at 5:17 p.m.
Hi, I am so glad I found this site today. On Saturday April
16th my 2yr old female St.Bernard Belle was playing with one
of our other dogs, yelped, and all of a sudden fell limp
without use of one of her back legs. We immediately called
her Vet. and he said if she wasn't feeling any real pain,
she probably sprained it. So he advised us to put her where
she could rest. My husband and I did so and when we came
home discovered both of her back legs paralyzed. This was at
10pm on Saturday night and thank god we were able to get a
hold of one of the other Vets in town and she was willing to
meet us immediately. Belle is experiencing no deep pain and
needs help expressing her urine, ect...and still has no use
of legs. After X-Rays and evaluating her symptoms, the Dr.
is diagnosing her with FCE. From what I've read, the
prognosis is not very good and I could use some words of
wisdom and encouragement. We are hoping to take Belle home
on Tuesday with instructions of bedrest and patience. From
what I have read, it says that if there are no signs of
improvement with in 21-30days, chances are slim that she
will recover. I am looking for anyone who can give me some
info and feedback. I am absolutely going out of my mind
worrying about Belle and her future. I do not want to even
consider euthanasia at this point and have never dealt with
caring for a handicapped dog. Any response would be greatly
appreciated. Sorry for the winded message! Thanks to all who
read, Hollie
Posted
By: Judy
Date: Monday, 18 April 2005, at 6:25 p.m.
In
Response To:
Dogs FCE (Hollie LaFavor)
There are several FCE patients
here and you will find a variety of timetables for recovery.
From my experience my dog's chart was marked poor
prognosis-discuss euthanasia w/owners. For me that was not
an option even though she was 12 and weighed 90 lbs making
it hard for me to express her. 85% of dogs make a recovery
and the 15% includes some owners that gave up. Crate rest is
not needed there is a post here somewhere and I checked with
my vet when my dog went down. Of course you want to protect
against skin injuries and getting into difficult areas if
she drags. My dog didn't show deep pain response until (I
think) day 5. Learn how to express VERY important to
completly empty the bladder. Keep the spirits up - don't
show your worry --really important. Start standing her up
with a sling. Use a rolled towel under the belly. You can
also express this way. I did because of my dog's size. Time
varies but I'd say even the slightest improvement in 3 weeks
is a very good sign. Check back here often and search for
other FCE's. An FCE isn't like other spinal injuries. By the
way my Alice is still with me and chasing rabbits-she is
normal except she can't scratch with her left leg-that's
what dog mom's are for.
Good luck!!
Re: Dogs FCE
Posted By:
Shaz
Date: Tuesday, 19 April 2005, at 4:05 a.m.
In Response To:
Dogs FCE (Hollie LaFavor)
Jasper had his accident, very similar to what you describe
happened to yours, approx 9 weeks ago. He is now up on all
four paws, but very weak from lack of muscle usage. He still
knuckles with one paw, but he is making slow progress every
day. He now goes to hydrotherapy once a weak, to help build
his strength up. All cases are different, but the first sign
of any recovery we observed in Jasper was around four/five
days of his accident. He was asleep, and both his back legs
started to 'run', as if he was chasing rabbits in his sleep.
The next sign was when he wagged his tail, just the once,
when my husband came in from work. This was after about a
week. From then on, he progressed in tiny little stages each
week. He was incontinent for around 2 weeks (LOTS of
washing) and keeping him clean was very important. Also,
make sure you turn your dog regularly if he can't do it
himself, to make sure he doesn't get pressure sores. Our vet
was very negative, and kept giving the worst case scenario.
Our specialist (who we were referred to by our vet when the
accident first happened) was great. He did say that if there
was no improvement within three weeks, that we should
consider having Jasper put to sleep, but I know from others
who have posted messages here that their dogs can take much
longer than that to show signs of recovery, but it CAN
happen. A lot depends on you, and how you can cope with the
situation. Even though Jasper has done really well and is
still progressing, the stress of looking after him has been
hard. Once you get a routine going the better you'll feel -
but it IS hard work and at times you'll be tired, stressed
and frustrated. BUT, the rewards, when they come, make it
all worth while :-)
I hope things go well for you and your dog makes a good
recovery :-)
Re: Dogs FCE
Posted By:
critters
Date: Tuesday, 19 April 2005, at 5:46 a.m.
In Response To:
Dogs FCE (Hollie LaFavor)
Your pupper can
recover for quite some time; jdf, whose Roxy had an FCE at
about age 11, showed improvement for well over a year (I
wish I could link to his original posts, but they seem to be
gone). nursing/expressing links:
http://dmroster.tripod.com/bladderbowel.html
http://www.k9carts.com/nursing_care.htm
http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/msg/webbbs_config.pl?read=10708
(may be some duplication)
http://www.nfneurology.com/care_of_recovering_neurological_.htm
Re: Dogs FCE *LINK*
Posted By:
critters
Date: Tuesday, 19 April 2005, at 6:05 a.m.
In
Response To:
Re: Dogs FCE (critters)
Well, the explosion and fire are over and lights still
on--the duplication note is for Carol's previous HP posts,
which may duplicate these. HP also has an expressing page,
which I can't find the link for. I'm sure Carol can get it
if it's not in her previous post. http://www.rushmore.com/~dds/InformationalBladder.htm
If incontinence is a problem, you'd do well to shave the
butt and use a barrier spray, such as Cavilon , now widely
available as first aid spray http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/nexcare/nosting.jhtml
. This keeps poop/pee off the skin and may help prevent
odors. Diapers may be used as well.
I'd limit dragging around because it's so easy to tear skin
up. Do you know about walking aids? If not, try the
"harnesses" button to the left of the bb.
http://www.rushmore.com/~dds/InformationalBladder.htm
Posted By:
Lesley
Date: Tuesday, 19 April 2005, at 11:37 a.m.
In
Response To:
Dogs FCE (Hollie LaFavor)
All I can tell you is that it takes time to tell if your dog
will recover, partially or fully. My 90# lab had an FCE
7/2004, began attempts at walking in 10/2004, and last week
walked a mile with me, falling down sometimes but still, a
mile is a mile! Swimming is the best therapy if possible. I
also attribute her recovery to CP7, you can find the website
and research it for yourself. As soon as I began giving her
this liquid CP7, she began to improve. It does become
frustrating because they are so dependent on you until she
can walk, but she will learn to drag herself to get to where
she needs to go. If incontinence is a problem, you will need
to diaper her to avoid accidents in the house. I still help
my dog uriniate when I am home to make sure her bladder is
emptied. Research all available websites to learn what you
can, but your dog's love for you will help you get through
this. Best of luck with her recovery!
Re: Dogs FCE
Posted By:
rebeka
Date: Saturday, 23 April 2005, at 11:35 p.m.
In
Response To:
Re: Dogs FCE (Lesley)
hi-
i also have a dog that had a FCE 2 days ago, she is now home
with us but fortunately the vet who gace her the dye test/MRI
says she has a good chance of recovery, so it was not as
severe as it could have been. she has use of her one hind
leg now but the other one still drags & she still falls
down, and the getting her to go to the bathroom thing is
challenging. anyway-- i wanted to ask you, what was that CP7
product you mentioned? i tried to look it up ion the web but
couldn't find it. i'll give her anything i can and do
whatever it takes to help her recover. it's so hard to see
her being so depressed and confused, since she doesn't
understand what's going on. :(
thanks- rebeka
Therapy ideas (long msg!)
Posted By:
Annie
Date: Tuesday, 19 April 2005, at 2:56 p.m.
In
Response To:
Dogs FCE (Hollie LaFavor)
Hi Hollie. I am so sorry to hear that you baby Belle had an
FCE. My husband and I know first hand what you are going
through as our dog Bailey had an FCE on 2/8/04. Like your
dog, Bailey had total paralysis in the rear, no bladder or
bowel control and no deep pain sensation. The prognosis was
"guarded". We were told she could recover but be patient as
recovery could be very slow and sporadic, think 2-week
increments for a tiny improvement like a tail twitch. We
were given exercises to do at home with her, sling walking
instructions and we were told that we couldn't hurt her,
just had to keep her from falling off of furniture or down
steps. According to our vet, FCE dogs don't need crate rest.
What does help is massage, physical therapy (we checked into
taking her to a therapist but saw improvement at home with
our own PT), lots of love, and of course nursing care.
You've gotten some great advice on that already. Most
important is to keep her spirits up, play with her, and try
to make things seem as "normal" as possible and keep loving
her like crazy. Don't let Belle see you upset, share those
feelings between your husband and yourself. She'll sense
fear and distress. It's not easy and it was a heartbreaking
experience but Bailey is almost totally like she was before!
Poops still fall out of her sometimes as she doesn't always
know that she has to go and she has a somewhat "floppy"
behind. But she runs, plays, uses the steps. Watching all of
the tiny improvements was so exciting!
The physical therapy that we used at home on Bailey
consisted of 2 range of motion exercises, massage and what
we called "tickle toes". My husband and I usually did it
together as able. She would lay on her back on a cushion
with her head in his lap with her rear legs towards me.
First we would do "bicycles". I would take her left hind leg
and move it in a full circle as if she was bicycling. I
would do 25 then switch to the other leg. Then we would do
"ins & outs" where I would let her hips open with her legs
wide and gently move her legs in and out with my hands. We
would do 25. Massage would be next. I would massage one leg
at a time. This is very important for muscle tone and blood
circulation. Plus it feels good. I would wrap up "therapy"
with "tickle toes". Dogs hate to have their toes tickled and
this exercise really tells you how their reflexes and
strength is improving. Take one foot at a time and tickle in
between the pads. You can tickle pretty vigorously. You
won't hurt anything. At first Bailey didn't move at all but
as she improved she would kick pretty hard. Then I started
giving those kicks some gentle resistance with my hand. Of
course we would top it all of with lots of "good girl's" and
a treat. We also bought her some new toys that were easier
for her to play with which I think helped her confidence and
spirits. She now plays with all of her toys. The vet
approved all of this activity. We tried to do the therapy
twice a day. But if you only have time for once a day, it
will still help. You can do all these exercises with your
dog lying on her side also. Any type of activity will help
the muscle tone improve. It takes time though so don't watch
for improvements on a daily basis. It takes so much
encouragement from us to make sure our pets keep trying. To
see a couple of pictures of Bailey you can do a search by
posted by Annie and change the time frame to go back to at
least 2/8/04. The one dated 2/13/05 has the link. For more
information you can search by topic of FCE. We wish you all
the best. Keep in touch with any questions and let us know
how Belle is doing. Annie, Bob and Bailey
Posted By:
Hollie
Date: Tuesday, 19 April 2005, at 4:24 p.m.
In
Response To:
Therapy ideas (long msg!) (Annie)
Annie, Thank you so much for the information on the at home
PT and the much needed support. Everyones information is
very encouraging. Tim and I love Belle soooo much and want
her to be ok and are frustrated with the whole situation. We
get to bring her home tonight!! How long did it take before
you saw some/total improvement with Bailey? I will
definitely keep in touch and let you know how we are doing.
Thanks again. Hollie
Posted By:
sheri
Date: Wednesday, 20 April 2005, at 3:21 p.m.
In
Response To:
Re: Therapy ideas (long msg!) (Hollie)
Pete had an accident almost 2 years ago and is still
improving. It took pete 15 months to regain any feeling. He
now uses 4 legs in his wheels, stands to eat and is even
trying to walk (stiff leg try). Never give up hope just give
lots of love. It has been a long 2 years but worth it.
Posted By:
Annie
Date: Wednesday, 20 April 2005, at 3:36 p.m.
In
Response To:
Re: Therapy ideas (long msg!) (Hollie)
Hi Hollie, I bet Belle was happy to get home last night! All
of your love is the best thing for her. When we brought
Bailey home it was wonderful to have her with us but it was
very scary, too. We love her so much it was so hard to see
her like this. You will get into a routine so everything
will get easier. I think it was 2 weeks before we saw any
type of improvement. I kept a journal and I will check it
later and let you know if it was different. Best wishes to
all of you!
Help Needed: carts/sores
Posted By: Hollie
Date: Thursday, 8 September 2005, at 6:16 p.m.
I am looking into getting a wheelchair for my St. Bernard
Belle she has no use of back legs. Which chair would be
better for a larger breed like Belle. I don't know if the
pelvic support would work very well for her. Also what works
best on a nasty sore from dragging. We put up our softside
pool for rehab & she was doing great, moving her back left
leg while knuckling over and post on it (because the water
was shallow she was able to stand). This started a small
sore that has now become much larger. The tissue is
granulated in one spot & I've been using Wonder Kote for
horses which has helped, but it's not healing like I would
like it to.
Any suggestions to both questions would be awesome. Thanks,
Hollie
Vet Wrap? *LINK*
Posted By:
Dianne
Date: Thursday, 8 September 2005, at 7:19 p.m.
In
Response To:
Help Needed: carts/sores (Hollie)
Hollie, Have you wrapped the area that is abraded with Vet
Wrap? Link below. Petsmart carried this the last time I
visited. I have not had the problems with wound care, but
perhaps I would also use some Cavilon spray on the area
before wrapping with vet wrap. Dianne
Re: Help Needed: carts/sores *LINK*
Posted By:
Murphy's Dad
Date: Friday, 9 September 2005, at 12:55 p.m.
In
Response To:
Help Needed: carts/sores (Hollie)
When Murphy went down due to paralysis, he got bad bed sores
while in the hospital. Our vet recommended Silver Sulfa
Diazine (SDD). Its used on burn victims as an antibiotic and
aids in skin granulation. Keep in mind, Murphy's sore took
about 6 months to finally close. As for the cart, I
recommend Doggon Wheels. They are light, sturdy, and
reliable. The saddle is adjustable and can double as a
sling. Murphy's cart is 5 years old and I have only had to
replace the tires. (He wore them out.)
Good Luck. http://murphysworld.jaisp.com/
Re: Help Needed: carts/sores
Posted By:
Joanne
Date: Friday, 9 September 2005, at 2:52 p.m.
In
Response To:
Help Needed: carts/sores (Hollie)
My 80 lb mixed Dane/Lab Simon, has an Eddie's wheels cart.
it's working really well, and is very sturdy. could use a
little more padding around his groin area, because after 2
months in it, he gets a little red from rubbing and most of
the hair in that area is now gone. Whatever cart you get- be
sure to measure your dog REALLY well- you may want to take
your dog to a rehab center that has a hoist/sling, so she
can be measured properly. i can see how terrible it could be
in the dog if the cart fits improperly. Better yet, go to
Eddie's wheels (mid-western Massachusets) and have them
measure him themselves. We had a similar issue- he got a bad
abscess on his butt, directly after disc surgery- he was
pooping and peeing out of control, and cleaning up after him
was a nightmare and he got a terrible infection in a hard to
treat area. I've tried a bunch of things- from Vetro-Biotic,
to a great Calendula/tea tree/aloe/vit e ointment that I got
from the Animal Wellness Center in Chadds Ford, PA (Dr. Rose
Di Leva) that worked better than anything else. Whatever you
do- most importantly, keep it CLEAN- I use a diluted
solution of Chlorhexadine solution (get from your vet) in a
spray bottle, and I constantly spray his butt and groin
area, wiping it w/a soft huggies wipe or wet paper towel. I
also use Gold bond antibacterial powder once he's dry, to
keep groin area dry and less chafed. Most of these things
were given to me by various vets during Simon's recovery.
Simon constantly tried to move around, and drags his butt
allover my apartment- I found that keepiing him calm is key,
so he doesn't keep sitting up/down, and moving around from
room to room. Try giving a valerian based calming formula-
it will give her a chance to heal better w/o total sedation.
I use something called Shizandra Dreams. I also put nylon
tarps down all over my rugs, to provide a grippable but
cleanable surface, that won't rub him as raw as carpet
fibers.
Good luck- it is a lot of work and you really need to be
very vigilant- infection can happen overnight.
Joanne
Help Needed: I'm pregnant & trying to live "normal"
life w/Belle Posted By:
Hollie
Date: Wednesday, 16 November 2005, at 12:37 p.m.
Update on Belle & her FCE: It's been a couple months since
she got her Doggon wheels & she absoulutely loves being able
to go for walks now.(I'll try to attach a picture) We've
over come a couple sores on her leg & a major UTI since my
last post.I just found out that I'm pregnant with my first
child & I'm really nervous about how I'll be able to
maintain me & Belle's daily routines.My husband Tim & I work
fulltime & I go to school too & I feel bad when I don't get
to spend alot of time w/Belle, even though she doesn't seem
to mind much. I guess I'm looking for advice on how everyone
elses daily routines work & what you do to help you & your
down dog live 'Normal' lives? Now that I've mastered
expressing,I think we could try to bring her in the house
from her room in the garage at night for a couple hours. How
do the rest of you manage/make it work with your down dog in
the house? Any advice would be extremely helpful to me &
Tim, since he will have to help me more as my pregnancy gets
further along. Thank to everyone for you past & future
posts, I don't know what I would have done had I not found
the great people at handicappedpets.com. Hope every one is
well! Thanks, Hollie LaFavor
Re: Help Needed: FCE care while I'm pregnant &
general advice
Posted By:
Anita
Date: Wednesday, 16 November 2005, at 6:21 p.m.
In
Response To:
Help Needed: FCE care while I'm pregnant & general advice
(Hollie)
Holly,
Hopefully by the time the baby comes taking care of Belle
will be like second nature to you. It will be something that
you schedule time for every day with out thinking. The baby
will take a lot of your time but you will manage. It will be
like having two babies but you will already be use to one.
Just make sure that your husband know what to do and is
comfortable with it all and you will be fine. As for Belle
coming in the house, I don't see why not. It probably is
better for her that she is closer to you anyway. Just buy
puddle pads for her and she should be just fine. I get mine
at Sam's Club and for a large box it is $22.00. I cut them
in half and express my girl on it and they work fine. Enjoy
being pregnant and it will all work out, I am sure. You have
come this far already.
Anita
Posted By:
Hollie
Date: Thursday, 17 November 2005, at 11:45 a.m.
In
Response To:
Great Photo! *PIC* (Mark Robinson)
Mark, Thanks for the help getting Belle's photo posted. I
think it's awesome that you would like to do a story on
Belle & have no problem with that. She has been down since
April 2005 & this experience has completely changed my
outlook on life. I would love to share the story of our
journey together! Thanks again, I really appreciate the
opportunity & everyones help at handicappedpets.com.
Hollie
Novenber 2005 update:
Mark,
Thank you so much for making a page just for Belle
and wanting to do a story. That
was an awesome surprise for Monday morning!
But, here's my dilemma. I know you read my post from
last week about how I just found out that I'm pregnant &
kind of freaking out about taking care of Belle now.
My husband and I did a lot of talking this weekend
about how we could make it work & still have time for
ourselves, the baby, and Belle.
We just don't think that there is any way that we can
do it, and that really stinks.
Honestly I am already extremely physically &
mentally exhausted from the past 7 months,
and can't even imagine throwing a baby into the mix.
From the beginning I've said that there was no way I
could take care of Belle if I had any kids, and now that is
becoming a reality.
This is a time for us to put all our time, energy,
and focus into our new family.
So, with
that said I think you know where I'm going with this.
We would really like
to see if we can try to find a new home for Belle to go to
before even thinking of the alternative.
Maybe with your help
& the help of Handicappedpets.com, we could make that
happen? I have
contacted my vets office & will be contacting the Nebraska
Humane Society for assistance & any other organization I can
find to help us to get Belle a new home.
I am desperately seeking guidance from anyone, and
you seem like someone who might be willing to help spread
the word.
Please let me know if there is anyway you can help or if you
even think that it is a possibility.
We love Belle so much and have to give her this
chance, she has a lot of love to give everyone.
See Also:
FCE Link |
