Maggie Loves Her Dishtowels (Rags) ...

Like I said, dishtowels seems to be the fav for now ... I do hope she grows out of it sometime as all my dishtowels have holes in them!!!

Dishtowels ...

Maggie is very "spoiled" with lots of toys to play with but for some reason she seems to like my dishtowels that I place on my counter or hang over the stove. There have been many times that I would "catch" her taking off with the dishtowel in her mouth ... "Maggie, no" as I see her make a bee line for the doggie door ... I don't care at this point (probably a mistake), I just like to see her playing ... after all, dishtowels are a dime a dozen ...

The AM Washes

Having Maggie home feels really great although I must admit, it's a lot of work. Maggie basically doesn't have much bladder control, now don't get me wrong, she knows to go outside if she's up, but when she is laying down it just leaks out ... I truly believe she doesn't even know it ... I sat there one night and just watched as she slept and her bladder leaked ... It is so very sad ...

I have blankets all over the house for her to lay on because I am not going to keep her in a crate all day. If anyone bought stock at Walgreen's I bet they made money because I have spent a lot of money on 24 x 36" pads that I put down under her blankets.

If Maggie gets up too fast, she will just "squirt" all over ... I feel so bad for her and I do pray that God will heal her ... every morning when we get up, I open up her crate (because there is no way she can sleep on my bed), let her out, feed her, (she's on a high calorie diet), dispense meds, wash her fur in the back so she smells nice and start the washing machine ... I usually have a full load each morning of blankets to wash and I actually called my landlord and told him if the water bill is too high I would gladly pay for the excess ... (geesh, only I would think of that) ...

So this is our little ritual, one I don't like but one I will have to contend with ... after all, I love this dog of mine.

Only time will tell ...

It's February 9, 2008 and after being in the hospital for 15 days, I finally get the okay to bring Maggie home.

After much discussion, I was basically told that Maggie would almost certainly never live a normal life. She would not have much, if any, bladder control and she would most likely have to live outside for the remainder of her life. With this said, Dr. B. also stated that dogs have an amazing recuperative power. Nature (God) has granted them an amazing ability to regenerate themselves and their various organs and tissues. He stated that he had seen many, many dogs with horrible injuries and diseases recover themselves ... it may take six months to a year to know what Maggie's life would be like ... only time can tell ...

With all that said, I gulped on her bill, and took Maggie home. She's a little bit thin, (okay a lot) and her hair looks like she been through a lawnmower with all the different shaves on her from her surgeries. Tonight I made my second promise to Maggie ... "I will never put you through this again. I will not be selfish with myself. I only want what is best for you".

With that said, we finally get some much needed rest. My prayers are that I am so thankful that Maggie is home and "Dear Lord please give me the strength for the days to come."

Dr. R. and the Offer of Adoption ...

Maggie is still down south and even though I receive phone calls daily from her Drs., both Dr. B. and Dr. R, whomever happens to be on rotation, it still doesn't sound very promising. Mags has been in ICU/CCU for five days and right now they have not told me when she may (if ever) come home. The Drs. keep giving her the "cocktail" of antibiotics to fight off this terrible infection. They put her in the hyperbaric oxygen tank for an hour daily, and hopefully along with me, they pray for a miracle.

It's a Saturday morning and Dr. R. calls me to give me the feedback on Maggie. It's the usual, she's on meds, hyperbaric oxygen tank daily, supportive care, etc ... then he kindly stated that he would be willing to "adopt" Maggie. He lives in British Columbia (Canada for those of you that don't know your geography,) and he offers her a good life there. She would be an outdoors dog and play with his other dogs.

I was a little taken aback with his offer, but yet in my heart I felt that maybe he thought I was "giving" up on Maggie. I know the bill down there has to be astronomical and I haven't even gave it a thought ... all I know is that he wasn't ready to give up on Maggie and I wasn't quite ready yet either.

He is truly a great Dr. who invests his time and care for these animals ... I'm her Mom and I'm not going down without a fight.

Thank You Momma For Your Thoughtfulness!

The phone calls these days are not very encouraging ... I know the Drs. are doing all they can to heal Maggie, but how can you heal something if you don't know what you are treating? The lab was not able to "grow" the cultures they took, so they were basically treating her blind sighted. Along with her treatment, they have placed Maggie in a hyperbaric oxygen tank for an hour a day which I believe is to control her infection and help her heal ...

By now I have my vet here involved with phone calls from down south along with my dear sister, Dr. Terry. It's just sometimes I don't understand exactly what they are talking about and I need a second or third explanation ...

It's crazy right now ... I have never felt so alone but yet I know Maggie is getting the best treatment possible ... I pray nightly to God for His healing power, and then I receive this wonderful card in the mail from my Mom ... it is exactly how I feel right now (only a Mom would know) ... It goes like this ...

Your silent prayers uttered on tearstained pillows were heard before they were said... Your deepest questions were answered before they were asked. He sees you ... He hears you ... He knows you ... You have a special place in God's heart ...

Thank you Momma, that is just what I needed today ...

The Second Major Surgery of Her Short Life...

After a phone call from Dr. B, Maggie had the second major surgery of her short life.

Dr. B performed bladder surgery (with a Dr. Gregory assisting). Dr. G is a world recognized expert in the field of canine urinary surgery treatment. Dr. G, a professor at UC Davis, came out of the surgery scratching his head ... "he had never seen anything like it." Maggie's bladder was a mess .. it was scarred, malformed, infected, and even the inner lining of her bladder was dead (tissue was dead.) Maggie had a massive infection that has attacked her bladder.

During surgery, they took cultures to try to identify the critter(s) responsible for the condition. Maggie was put on a "cocktail" of antibiotics, the truth be known, the best vets in the world were firing blind. They were simply trying to kill anything and everything they could ...

I finally realized how sick Maggie is and that she may not make it ... I am so very sad ...

Dr. B, The Russian

Dr. R, who performed Maggie's hip surgery, was on his days off so I was to meet with another Dr. to evaluate Maggie. I took Maggie into his office and was questioned by an intern resident who was working with this new Dr. I was going to meet.

In comes this new vet, Dr. B, with a Russian accent that one could barely understand. He was very tall and almost intimidating, but yet very gentle and concerned regarding Maggie's condition. He asked a lot of questions and said that he thought it may be just an infection of some sort. He suggested that I leave Maggie there to have some tests and cultures taken to find out what was going on with Maggie's bladder. I decided to leave Maggie, once again, to take whatever actions we need to do. He would give me a call tomorrow, once he gets the results of her tests.

In my mind I was thinking that just some more antibiotics would probably do the trick ... little did I know ...

Back Down South :-(

I visit Dr. B here in Bakersfield to see what's going on with Maggie's bladder. He immediately inserted a catheter in her to offer her some relief, drew some blood and took x-rays. The x-ray he took revealed that Maggie's bladder was either malformed from birth, or had suffered from some kind of terrible infection.

In short, he did not know what to offer her, surgery or medication ... he stated the best thing I could do is to take Maggie back down to All Care for further evaluation.

This is crazy, Maggie's only been home for 5 days from spending 16 days down there ... But I need to do what's best for her ... after all, I love my Maggie Mo ...

Maggie's sad eyes ...

I have two big crates for Maggie, one in the living room, the other in the bedroom. I hate to see her confined in these crates and I know she's not liking it at all. It is also a lot of work to take Maggie in and out of the crate. I have to put her on the leash, place the towel around her middle to help her walk, keep her from jumping up and getting too excited ... all this for a mere few minutes outside, then it's a battle to get her back in the crate. I spend a lot of my time on the floor next to her crate to give her some company. She looks so sad looking at me through the "bars", and I'm thinking to myself "this is gonna be a long month."

Since Maggie has to be confined, and I work about 20 miles from home, my daughter-in-law offered to come by during the day to take Maggie out for a pee break and just a short walk. I have noticed that Maggie seems to have to go a lot, but yet when she does, it's just a piddle here and there. I even noticed now that she's peeing in the crate ... I think something may be wrong, so I made an appointment to see my vet tomorrow to see what was going on.

I pray that it's nothing ...

Maggie's Home!

So today is January 20, 2008, and I finally get to pick up Maggie Mo from her hip surgery. I am so excited to see her and bring her home. The waiting room was full of pets, some very sick, some coming back for check-ups. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that would fork out so much money for my pet. After waiting what seemed for hours, I paid my bill in full (which was five pages long) and then waited to see Mags. I have so many instructions to contend with ... Maggie has to be confined in an enclosed crate at all times for the next two weeks. She needs to be on a leash at all times outside of the crate, no running, no jumping, no playing ... Maggie can go for 5 to 10 minute walks twice a day with a leash and a towel around her stomach so I can support her ... x-rays to be taken at each recheck visit ... wow, too much to comprehend at this time ...

Finally they brought her out ... she looks a little skinny and has support with this "towel" around her but she recognizes me and is glad to see me ...

She pees on the floor, a good long one, and we say our good-byes ... Maggie's going home and it feels great!