Ripley is very ill.
When I came home on Thursday he did not come to greet me.
He was very lethargic and in obvious pain. He kept trying to go to the bathroom, and had some diarrhea.
I nursed him for a large portion of the night, but after a few hours of him having a racing heart, and a tough time breathing - I took him to a state of the art ER.
They rolled him in on a gurney and a doctor quickly came out to tell me that he was in serious trouble... she asked. "Are you here for end of life care, or do you want us to try and save him"?
I then realized... this is not just something he ate.
They took X-rays and explained to me that he was having heart problems... and had something going on in his abdomen. He would need a cardiologist, and an internal medicine doctor.
The cardiologist was able to stabilize him after a few hours, and he explained to me that his heart is enlarged, but it is enlarged as it would be for an athlete (we all know Ripley is an athlete). He said he does have some leakage... but that he compensates well for it, that his heart looked good for an 8 year old pointer. He thought that whatever was going on with his abdomen was causing his arrhythmia.
So... we waited.
After an extensive ultrasound they discovered that his prostate was grossly enlarged, and he had a serious infection in it that had spread throughout his abdomen. He was in trouble.
He would need a few days of critical care before he was "out of the woods".
It's Sunday afternoon, and I am happy to report that I've just returned home with him. He is still quite sick, and will need around the clock care - but he is home.
He will need to have immediate surgery when his heart is stable (maybe Friday), and then another week or two of recovery.
He will need to be neutered immediately, and then it will take a few months for his prostate to shrink.
They say he has probably been in pain for weeks, and uncomfortable for months. Dogs just don't know how to tell you... they just go until they can't go anymore.
The cost? Thousands... and we aren't done yet.
Round the clock critical care is expensive. While if someone would have said "You are looking at 6K to fix this" ... I'm not sure of my response. But when you are not sure what you are dealing with - it's hard to say. What I will say is that I believe he got state of the art care, and that I got what I paid for.
Here is where he was.
2 comments:
Angie! I'm so sorry to hear about Ripley and wish him and you the best! I am crossing my fingers and thinking of you both! I'm not surprised by the vet bills. My Mom's Great Dane bloated one evening and that was a very expensive surgery. Also $6K, and my sister's 9 yr old laborador just had a large cancerous growth removed from her bladder. It is too late for chemo for her, but they wanted to do it for her comfort level and to keep her around as long as they can pain free. Im sure that was quite pricey too. We love our pets. They are family too. I would do it for Smokie in a heartbeat! Good Luck! I wish Ripley a speedy recovery and Good Health!
Thank you Rebecca.
...and thanks to everyone for their kind words.
It was such a surprise, and when they asked "who else can we contact"? I explained my husband just left for Iraq, and my son is in Europe... he only has me.
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