1 Week Post IVDD Surgery Update

It's been 1 week since Cody's IVDD surgery. We continue to do the passive range of motion exercises for 5 to 10 minutes multiple times a day. He seems to be starting to resist somewhat which is a good sign. We're waiting for the 'ok' to start laser therapy. According to some studies, laser treatment is said to help control pain and stimulate nerve regeneration and tissue healing. However, no studies have been done on how stem cells react to the laser therapy and we certainly don't want to do anything to harm the stem cells!

Cody has his first post op check-up on Wednesday, where we'll meet with the physical therapy group for a consultation and treatment plan recommendation.

I think Cody is starting to like being waiting on hand and foot, we've given him the nickname of 'Prince Cody'...Look at that face though, how can you NOT love that bugger to pieces.

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Cody is currently 5 pounds overweight, mostly due to that damn Hills Perscription diet food crap (ok, and maybe a few extra treats) so in addition to recovering from surgery we are also working on weight loss. Decreasing his food intake by 10% was recommended and we've been following that pretty strictly. Cody like most Dachshunds love to eat so it's difficult not to give him treats when he looks at us with those little Brown eyes but we're being tough. Extra weight is not good for any dog, but it's even worse for IVDD dogs.

Day Two Spinal Surgery Post-Op

Taking care of a Dachshund right after spinal surgery is a lot like taking care of a newborn. While Cody can go to the bathroom on his own (without us having to manually express him) he has no bladder or bowel control, so much like a baby we are cleaning and changing out his bedding 5 to 6 times a day. He'll whimper when he is uncomfortable and we'll adjust his position. I can't imagine what it's like not to be able to move your lower half.

Each time we take him out of his crate to clean his bedding, we do 'bicycle exercises' with each of his back legs as part of physical therapy. Once we hit the two week mark his therapy will be more aggressive. We are meeting with someone at the University of Minnesota to discuss what type of rehab program would be best for him. My assumption is some type of hydrotherapy but we'll see what they say.

Aside from that, Cody still has no deep pain sensation (that we can tell) but that's to be expected. Cody sleeps most of the day due to all the pain medication but when he's up, he's happy and alert.

Back From the Hospital - Yippie

We picked Cody up from the hospital today!! Cody has a long road ahead of him but with physical therapy and patience I have every hope he'll be walking again.

He was greeted home by a kiss from his big Yellow Lab brother and is now resting comfortably thanks to all his pain medication. He'll be on crate rest for the next 6-8 weeks with rehabilitation starting at 2 weeks. Although he does not have any pain sensation in his back legs he's urinating all by himself which is great news. It also means that we don't have to manually express him as long as he keeps it up. Feces just comes when it comes so we're expecting to have to clean up quite a few messes. We're going to get him some diapers but for now since he's crate bound we want to let him recoup and get re-used to his surroundings before adding anything else that is likely to stress him out (Like Diapers)

My husband is currently making a doggie bassinet that's the same height as our bed so he can sleep next to me safely at night. I'm not sure whose spoiled more Cody or Mommy...

For those Doxie parents curious about the expense, our cost was just over $6000.00 - Keep in mind that includes the stem cell therapy we opted for as well as some time spent in the Emergency Room. The good news is when we adopted Cody we immediately purchased insurance through Healthy Paws in preparation for this very thing. We are not expecting the stem cell treatment to be covered of course but all the basics should be reimbursed back to us.

More to come....stay tuned!

Today's a Happy Day - Chods is Coming Home!

The U called at 10:30 with wonderful news. Cody's stem cell injection went well and he is even going pee pee on his own! The doctor warned us that this is very unusual. (but good) If neurological function is going to be restored (which only time will tell) it usually returns in this order.

1. Deep Pain Sensation
2. Tail wagging
3. Bladder and bowel control
4. Leg Movement, then ability to move into a standing position,
5. Wobbly walking
6. Being able to walk with more steadiness and properly place the feet.
7. Ability to walk unassisted and perhaps even run.

She said they were going to do some more tests and that we can come visit him today at 3:00. At that time we are going to get all the post-operative care instructions and training on how to manually express him. Even though it appears he is able to urinate on his own it will still be important to manually express making sure all the urine is emptied from his bladder. If we are comfortable with everything, he can come home.

She also warned that because he does have some bladder function 'expressing' will be more difficult for us.

Oh well, I'm willing and determined to learn whatever I need to in order to bring my baby home. I am just SO THANKFUL the surgery and stem cell injection went well.

I'll post pictures once he's home!!

IVDD Diagnoses

Cody Before Surgery

I am not a patient person so waiting to hear the results from Cody's CT scan was agonizing to say the least. The call came at 10:30 pm. They did not see anything in the CT scan that would indicate a disk rupture but his symptoms were not adding up so they would like to do an MRI in the morning.

Since we were  told that the CT scan would tell them if surgery was necessary I took this news as a somewhat positive sign. BIG MISTAKE!


Thursday December 6th

10:00 AM we get a call with the results of the MRI. Guess what? Disk Rupture and Surgery ASAP. (Mind you we brought him in at the 9 hour from symptoms mark and it was now a full 24 hours) The first thing that came to mind was did this additional time decrease Cody's chance of walking again?? I couldn't help but wonder why the most advanced surgical center for animals in Minnesota did not have the ability to do an MRI after hours, we were in the ER where time sensitive surgical procedures happen all the time. But now is not the time to dwell on that.

Cody underwent his surgery today and did great according to the doctor. We opted for the additionally stem cell injections (studies have shown stem cell injections increase the chances of mobility) so tomorrow he will go under for a second time to receive his injection. Last we heard we are going to be picking him up sometime tomorrow evening. I cannot wait to see my little guy!

Now we are busy preparing everything we'll need to help him successfully recover. I am trying to prepare myself for what I will see (shaved back and huge incision) but somehow I have a feeling even though I know what to expect, it will still be very emotional seeing him in that state.

More to come...stay tuned!

IVDD - A Dachshund Parents Worst Nightmare

Cody - Before Surgery

This is Cody, our beloved dapple Dachshund. My husband and I adopted Cody from Small Dog Rescue of Minnesota after falling in love with him as a foster and earning the title of 'foster failure"

I decided to document our journey after reading Nathan's blog that documented his journey. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences.

Where It All Begins

Cody sleeps with us and every morning wakes us up by showering us with kisses. Unfortunately that didn't happen Tuesday December 4th. We didn't think anything of it at first other than commenting to each other how 'unusual' it was.

I proceeded to let both dogs out to go potty (we also have a Yellow Lab) and noticed that on the way in Cody came to a dead stop right in front of the small stair into the house. (red flag #1) I lifted him into the house and gave them both breakfast. After breakfast Cody normally goes back into the bedroom and hides under the covers. Instead, he laid on his brothers bed. (red flag #2) When I called him to come over to me he didn't want to move. (red flag #3) By this time my husband agreed something was wrong. Back injury came to mind immediately but then wondered how that could have happened. We are so careful, we have doggie stairs and ramps everywhere and he was in a puppy mill for the first 5 years of his life. After our second potty break I knew 100% we were dealing with a back issue when I saw he was very weak in the back-end. I called the vet right away. We use Chanhassen Vet in Minnesota - awesome place!

The vet did his exam, and did an X-RAY (worthless in detecting IVDD, more on that later) Since Cody still had some neurological function the vet thought there was a possibility things could improve treating him with 24/7 crate rest and meds. Of course that was in the event he did not get any worse. Which of course he did.

Wednesday December 5th

Cody was no better. In fact; he was worse, as the day progressed his back-end became completely paralyzed. I knew from reading that once complete paralysis sets in time is of the essence. For the best recovery success rate after surgery you have a window of 12-24 hours before the possibility of walking again dwindles greatly. I immediately called our vet, gave him the update and he called the University of Minnesota Veterinary Center.

We arrived at the UofM at 7:00 (9 hours since the complete paralysis symptoms set in) They took him back to be examined right away doing some of the same tests our local vet did. Their recommendation was to do a CT scan and that would tell them if his injury was one that could be corrected surgically. We asked why not an MRI and they told us that no one was available after hours for an MRI but assured us that the CT scan would tell them what they needed to know (Which turned out not to be the case) My husband and I had to leave Cody there, we had agreed to proceed with surgery if necessary.

I knew I would be in for a sleepless night, leaving my baby was VERY difficult.