So far, So good...

Just a quick note to update the Bentman's progress. He had that big 'ole spleen removed last Tuesday and the surgeon said results from biopsy will be back this week sometime but all in all it looked pretty decent without any obvious masses. They kept him till Thursday and was he ever happy to see me when I went to pick him up after school. Of course it was quite a shocker to see him with that giant cone on his head but the incision freaked me out a bit more. I was instructed to take the bandage off within two to three days so I took it off on Saturday and finally got a good look at the incision. No unusual redness or swelling thank goodness. And here it is, too much information of course but he pooped on Friday- 2 days before they said he might. WooHoo. Never thought I'd be so happy to pick up poop but it meant that certain things were working well.

The hardest part with five 4-legged's is keeping them calm and separated from each other. As of yesterday we let them have supervised time together with no play just checking each other out and it went well. We have to continue on this supervised schedule for a few weeks though. Feeding time is a real b%$&* around here because of special diets to coat tummies, control sodium, etc. but I have it down to a science or at least I think I do.

1st day home

 
The other thing to report is Bentley had been having some pain that I was unaware of from the TBD poly-arthritis flaring up again and being really grumpy towards Roux. The specialist did put him back on 800 mgs of doxy per day and bumped the pred back to a whole tab a day (20 mg). Can we say 'Roid rage? Hate steriods but they are a necessary evil in this case.

This will probably be a constant battle for awhile but at least we know that his spleen will not rupture and can control the arthritis pain with tramadol as needed. And- he is tolerating the two different e-collars as well as he can. Without sounding mean, it is quite amusing to see him maneuver around in the giant cone that he has to wear during the night while we are sleeping or if we are gone from the house.

Night time cone of shame

Other than some extra stress we are hanging in there. I sincerely hope all of our friends on the east coast were not impacted horribly by Hurricane Irene. Down here on the Gulf coast we deal with tropical storms and hurricanes often and know just how devastating and frightening they can be. Sending prayers and Aire'Zen to all of you in Irene's path. Take care and hug the ones you love!

Till next time,
Karen Raye