Update:  Quick one - Sheldon went in for his bandage change and there appears to be healthy granulation tissue starting!  There was a little necrotic tissue, mainly the edges of the wound that were becoming "rounded" that the vet further debrided to promote further healing.  We had a different vet this time than the one that was taking care of him, but she was already assisting and very familiar with Sheldon's case.  He's got a great Team taking care of him!  

She added another loose suture to bring the edges closer together and also try to stabilize the wound further.  She also stopped the alginate dressing as the wound is now further closed and now added Manuka honey to the wound.  This is a really challenging location due to the movement in the elbow and the healing will still take time.

We discussed maybe applying a splint to immobilize the joint, but we'll see how this latest suture holds up.  He's still getting the padding arrangement.

Also his latest urine sample came back normal so we're good to finish the full 10 days of Amikacin, which is this Sunday.  It appears the infection is cleared.  They took another culture sample just to make sure.

He goes back Sunday morning for another check and change (yes they are open!) and then again on Tuesday.

Most importantly he is still handling all of this extremely well.

Overall slow and steady progress...

Cheers!

-Rob

OK so good news and bad news.  Good news is he finally peed.  Bad news is he peed while napping late this afternoon.  I guess he was just so full and so relaxed he just decided to pee in his sleep.  At least his bedding has waterproof lining and he just needed a little freshening up.  Lesson learned - put a pee pad underneath him if he's still not comfortable with the arrangement.

Hopefully this is just a one time event that I'll chalk up to the combination of the really long period (about 26 hours) of not wanting to pee and still getting used to the new splint.  He did just gobble up his dinner and drank more water like his normal self.  Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. 

You guys are so helpful in keeping my spirits up with the encouragement.  It's truly been a roller-coaster for sure, but in the end I'm still counting more better events than bad ones.

Yes if not for this wound he'd be rockin' and rollin' and also on his third round of chemo by now.  We are delaying his second round another 2 weeks just to give him more time to heal.  My attitude is as long as he is still acting his normal self I can deal with the setbacks.  If he can, I can.  I hope others learn from this and not give up.

I'll take a deep breath and repeat again - Slow and Steady.  One Day at a Time.

Cheers!

-Rob

Thanks for the info on the prosthetics .  I didn't get to speak about it with the vet as she had an emergency surgery to get to.  But looking more into it I agree it would probably be better to have Sheldon build up the strength in his remaining limbs.  The prosthetic or maybe a wheelchair could be addressed later if his physical condition declines - but we're not there yet.

The splint he was wearing prior to yesterday immobilized his carpal joint and elbow and he just did not like it.  It positioned his paw with the toes pointing down and while he could stand up on his own, walking was extremely difficult.  I compare it to like having one of your feet positioned like a ballerina and having to walk around like that.  This made him want to hold in his urine as long as possible as he had trouble maintaining balance.

Yesterday he got a better arrangement that immobilizes his elbow and is held up by a shoulder sling but frees up his carpal joint.  This one he tolerates much better and he can get up and lie down, walk, pee, and poo all on his own.  I think we've now found the right balance of keeping the elbow immobilized for healing while also giving him the mobility.   

We're still awaiting the latest culture results, but the wound is showing further signs of improvement.

We go back on Tuesday and the vet mentioned she may try to suture the wound again with the latest splint arrangement.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers!

-Rob

Update:  Today's bandage changed showed much better progress!  The vet showed me a photo of his elbow and there is a really good amount of healthy granulation tissue forming.  What was once a big gaping hole is now filling in with reddish pink tissue, with a small amount of bone still showing, but the vet indicated that will eventully fill in and close up.  The body is really amazing!  She was really happy with the progress and decided not to apply any further suturing and just let him heal up naturally.

The culture results came back showing the same bacteria as before, but since he's presenting healthy tissue, it shows he's got resistance to it and the new tissue also has anitmicrobial properties.  Therefore no further antibiotics are needed either.

We're keeping the same splint arrangement as it is giving him the right balance for keeping the elbow immobolized and he can still take care of business.  He continues to rock!

Next check up is Tuesday next week.  Still slow and steady, but we're getting there...

Have a great weekend!

Cheers!

-Rob