not again…

We’re pretty worried about Oslo today.

Last night, Oslo started acting ‘funny’. Just stiff, aloof, not moving around much. He was sort of groaning and huffing in discomfort.  This set off all sorts of alarm bells in my mind. This was the exact same way that he was acting before he initially had all his spinal issues. Last time, within 48 hours he became paralyzed in the lower legs.

We immediately decreased the size of his pen to the smallest that it will go to immobilize him as much as possible. We also had a left over percocet, so I gave him that to help him through the night.

Today I called the Neurology Department at Canada West to get their opinion. Oslo is due for a ‘Follow Up’ from his first surgery anyway, so we scheduled that. The problem is– the soonest we could get in is next Thursday.  That’s a week from today. We simply cannot afford to rush Oslo there as an emergency patient.. We also can’t afford to do another MRI or Cat Scan (goodbye $1000-$2000) or admit him for survelence (goodbye another $1000+).  So we’re kind of at a stand-still here  & it’s a terrible feeling…

If he has ruptured again, at this point, all we can really AFFORD to do is keep him on very strict crate rest until his spine can sort of heal itself (usually about 8 weeks). He’d also be on a heavy anti-infalmatory & a pain killer. This is called the ‘Conservative Approach’ to treating a ruptured disc. It can be effective if done properly and implimented immediately after the first symptoms are exhibited (which it was).

Thanks to his doctor at Granville Island Vet Hospital, we have a perscription for the necessary medications, and he will start those tonight. Effective today we will be treating him as if he has a ruptured disc. No walks, potty breaks are extremely short… We’ll see what Dr. Sharpe says  next Thursday. Hopefully by just a physical exam he’ll be able to make a pretty accurate diagnosis.. because again, we cannot afford to be doing another MRI for a diagnosis.

Please keep Oslo in your thoughts. This is extremely scary for us all.