Sweet Ella

MONDAY – We brought Ella back to the hospital today so they could remove her bandages and take a look at her fluid filled tummy. She really wasn’t feeling herself yesterday and I was getting a bit worried about my baby girl- She has been doing so well since her amputation that it seemed to good to be true.

The surgeon said that the fluid in her tummy is nothing to worry about and is just normal fluid from the surgery. Apparently the bandages pushed the fluid down and kept it away from her incision sight which is a good thing. The surgeon said that dogs are less likely to get a seroma if they are bandaged because the fluid can’t build up around the incision, I was relieved to hear that!  Ella just needs lots of belly massages to help the fluid loosen up and we can put her cold pack on that Bella’s Pain Relief donated to her.

I think Ella is a lot more comfortable today without the bandages, I think being wrapped up like a mummy was keeping her from getting in comfortable positions. She has been sound a sleep since we came home and finally looks relaxed. Her incision and staples look so great, there is no redness at all and the bruising is very minimal- I think the surgeon really did a great job and was very gentle with her.

Hopefully she will continue to rest and I will be able to relax. Deep breath…..ahhh….

SUNDAY – Today has definitely been the worst day for Ella so far. No milestones today just lots of rest, panting and swelling. I think something is definitely going on with the swelling, hopefully it’s all normal but I have to admit my concern is rising. I can tell she is just not feeling well, she even had a visit from her Grandpa and didn’t act as excited as with her other visitors on the days before- and Ella loves her Grandpa!

The swelling in her tummy is getting a lot worse and she has what appears to be a rash or something on it. Ella has been panting pretty hard this evening which is a new development. She hasn’t been able to sleep at all but has remained very still on the couch with just a few potty breaks. I even had to hand feed her tonight, she didn’t even want the chicken!!

We are headed to the vet in the morning to get her bandages off so we will see what they say, hopefully they will say this is normal and will go away soon. Praying that Ella is able to sleep tonight and rest comfortably. Fingers and paws crossed!!

SATURDAY – Ella didn’t sleep again last night, she was  whimpering and whining again all night, poor baby! She is getting around so well that we decided this afternoon to take her upstairs to the bedroom for a nap. She did great and was happy to be on the bed that she went to right to sleep. I thought it was going to be weeks before she was able to make it upstairs but she did wonderful and we are going to bring her up tonight so hopefully we will ALL get some sleep tonight!

Ella spent the day in her favorite chair next to the window where she was able to watch the birds and squirrels all day, one of her favorite past times! She is acting a lot more like herself and today the whining seems to have stopped.

We did have a bit of a scare today and ended up bringing her back to the hospital. Ella’s tummy started getting a bloated look and I could feel fluid in it. She isn’t a fat dog but she looks like she has a big belly! The vet said that it was just normal fluid that was getting pushed down due to her bandages and that it was nothing to worry about. So hopefully they are right and her body will just re-absorb the fluid.

So far I am thrilled with Ella’s progress, I never expected her to do this good, this fast! She is such an amazing girl!

So happy, Ella went to the bathroom tonight (2 days after surgery)! We didn’t think she would go potty until at least the pain patch came off and the vet said it could be at least 5 days. Must be the probiotics!!

FRIDAY – Ella woke up  bright eyed and ready to take on the world, not sure how, she slept just the same 3 hours as me and I’m ragged and blurry eyed! The whining has stopped today for the most part, she is eating well and going out to potty with a good deal of ease, going down the stairs still a little tricky but getting the hang of it. I have noticed when she does whine it’s usually for a reason either she needs to go out, is thirsty or wants a treat/toy. I don’t think today’s whining is because of pain.

Ella had her first visitors today; her grandma came over and our neighbor Mary came to visit, this definitely cheered Ella up! She was so excited to have company and even better they brought toy’s and treats. Ella even received a couple get well cards in the mail today, what a dog!

When Ella’s visitors came over she was so excited that she sat herself up on the couch which I thought was quite amazing! I had not seen her move herself yet and thought that was a big feat; and now she is ‘adjusting’ herself in comfortable positions on the couch. She is moving around so much sooner than I ever expected, she was even able to get her front half up on the couch, she stands there waiting for me to lift her butt; a trick she learned with the hip and knee surgeries 🙂

Ella is doing really well and I am so proud of her, I just wish she would get some sleep!

The first night was a little tough but definitely could have gone a lot worse from stories I have heard. Ella slept on the couch and I pulled up fort next to her for the night. After sleeping all day she was wide awake most of the night with lots of whimpering and whining. I spent the majority of the night rubbing her head, massaging her and singing her ‘our song’. A late night pee seemed to help her and she came in and slept for almost 2 hours which was nice.

She is doing the stairs wonderfully and even got her self up on the couch with little help from me, impressive but shocked me a bit! Overall I think she is doing great with just a few little hick-ups which I am sure are unavoidable; after all she just lost a leg!

Looking forward to a nap this afternoon, hopefully Ella feels the same way!

We were able to bring Ella home  only 24 hours after surgery, we were so excited to see her!!  It was a tough night without her last night and all I wanted was to bring my baby girl home and take care of her.

We got to the hospital at 10am and had to do all the discharge paperwork etc and I was getting so antsy, I just wanted to see Ella. Finally she came ‘hopping’ through the exam room door and we were just so incredibly happy to see her. I did get a little chocked up when she was ‘hopping’ out to the car, I don’t think it was because I was sad but more because I was so proud of her. She is so strong and has been through so much in her 7 years, it’s amazing she just takes it as it comes and always stands tall.

So far the hardest challenges were getting her in and out of the car and the stairs to go inside. She is very awkward and the drugs  don’t help, but we are very awkward too and probably aren’t doing the best job in helping her- guess we will all learn together. Also it is hard to figure out where to grab with all the bandages so I can help her up, we have a cloth  harness which does help to maneuver her.  Even with her awkwardness I was amazed at how well she walked up the driveway and went up the stairs- truly amazing! She even peed before she went inside which I thought was a great sign!

Getting out of the car was a little tricky!

The couch seems to be the most comfortable spot for her, it is easy to kind of slide her off of it and slide her on.It seemed to be more challenging to get her up from her bed on the floor so she will stay on the couch for as long as she wants.

I am going to set up a spot on the floor next to her for the night, hopefully she will sleep through the night? Although everything I read say’s we won’t get much sleep!

So far since Ella has come home all she has done is sleep and snore. I am so glad she is resting and so glad she is home with us!

Ella slept most of the day away.