Sammie's Surgery

[davet]

i still donlt understand the "money up front routine" i can;t think of a time that i ever refused treatment for a sick dog because the people didn;t have the money immediatly...i very rarely got ripped off..in fact one newly wed couple just plain told me they coudn';t pay but will do when they can....About one year later the saw me with Corinne in the grocery store and paid me the $7.50 that ehy owed me.. Cpourse my practice was a solo so i knew how much i could afford and only had one or tow people on my payrole...and often they were my own kids..one of my sons has done very very well financialy and he says he owes it to me having him clean kennels for a dollar a day...at the time he thought that was big money...he learn3ed fast.....My brother did things about the same way...we were sitting ina little eatery at a horse traing track in florida when a breeder came up and gave him 300 bucks for surgery he had done on his horse...he owed that for about 5 months and finally paid when he got the money..I guess this whole discertaion is foolish because i think the overhead of a nuniversity and the overhead of a small private practice makes a big monetery difference...just reread and this is a bunch of garbage but what the heck i type with out thinking---anfd not corrected for mistakes at all

[slvrwhispr]

I think it's great that you have nothing but good stories, Dave. But unfortunately, I think that in this day and age, morals and good sense are at a lower standard than they used to be. It's a sad situation, but I bet that for every good story out there, there're an equal number of bad stories. I'm sure that the vets with pay-up-front policies don't have them just to be stingy. There's probably a reason for it, unfortunate as that may be.

[Tambrey]

Sorry to be so long in replying back...we have been out all afternoon and evening and just getting in again...

Sammie got done with surgery around 1ish this afternoon...the surgeon who actually did the surgery called and said he did fine...she removed quite a bit of damage, but the prognosis is still good...the spinal cord had very little bruising and did not appear to have any kind of damage that will be permanent...they let him sleep on pain meds today and tomorrow will do some testing for deep tissue pain and if that is present, which it was when we took him down lastnight, then she expect a near full recovery...although a slow going one due to the amount of damage there was...

we got a call from the ICU careworker this evening to let us know that Sammie was doing good, resting comfortably and that was about it...they will call again in the morning with an update from the night, and then again as the day goes on after they nuerologist does her testing...

Thank you for all the words of encouragement and prayers...

As far as finances, they are going to let us make payment plans...not sure what kind, but anything will help for now...I am not too worried at this point, as so far, things have worked out...God provides and I trust that He will continue to help us take care of the situation...

I work all day tomorrow, but if I have a chance to hop on a computer, I will come and let you know how things are going...

[davet]

name hain't dave

[Tambrey]

got a call this morning...he slept fine, no seizures from the myelogram, still resting on drugs so he does not think he is invincible, and when the doctors come in later this morning they will do a pain test and see how he is responding...I hate pain, but I hope he feels it in this case...

that's all for now...

[Traci]

Thanks for the updates, Tambrey, it sounds like surgery went well.

Hang in there!

[Tambrey]

I am at work but my husband just called...the hospital called and said Sammie has good pain sensation in both hind legs and feet...when they put his feet under him, he supports his own weight...he ate a few bites of food this evening, when he was hand fed, but he was like that the day or two before we went down there...and he urinated, but they are not sure if he really did it on his own or it was just a reaction from being moved and stimulated...

Looks like everything is so far, so good!

Let's hope and pray it all continues to go as well...

[k9Karen]

I'm so glad to hear Sammie is doing well and is reacting to stimuli. Sounds like you made the right choice and things are going to only get better. Sending good thoughts and wishes to both Sammie and you. Hope he continues to improve and is home soon!

PS: slvrwhispr - "davet" is "da vet" ; not Dave T (He's a retired veterinarian, and a great guy!).

[Traci]

Sounds like a good recovery, Tambrey, I'm sure he's in great hands.

Keep us posted when you can....

[Tambrey]

thanks gals...they called tody...they call every day around 8am and 8pm to give updates...she said even though Sammie is eating well, and is getting very grouchy since they are weaning from the heavy meds a bit, he will probably not be home this weekend She said he will stand on his feet when they are placed under him, and he has good pain stimuli, but he is not moving his feet/legs at all yet, so they want to keep him longer...however, she said they are expecting a full recovery, it will just take a long time...

I am hoping that since ISU is a 4 hour one way drive, that they can show us the rehab there, then we can continue with our local vet at the hospital here, as well as at home...
I was looking at their (ISU) website that they do water therapy, get the dogs swimming in a harness to strengthen muscles, and they even have an underwater treadmill...and I was reading (at another site, cannot remember I have been to so many!) that for smaller dogs, after they are ready for that and the owner is comfortable with it...that the water walking can be done in the bathtub at home with a rubber mat to prevent slipping...So I will be asking ALOT of questions when we go to pick him up as far as rehab, as I am sure they have alot of long distance patients...