I was not able to sleep much the night before. All I could think about was Indy being at UGA. What was she thinking??
I went into work and waited to hear how she was doing. Early that morning, the student assigned to Indy called and said Indy is doing well. She also said they had several emergency cases come in and Indy's surgery would not be done until much later in the day. I continued on at work and waited to hear back.
It was getting late and I was getting anxious. I finally heard around 4:30 that Indy's surgery was not going to get done. They were trying to work her in a already booked surgery schedule and with the emergencies, it just was not happening.
I went over and spoke with the Dr. and we decided it best..rather than Indy sit there and wait and hope she would be worked in, just to reschedule for Monday October 4th. She will be on the schedule and the surgery would for sure be done. I was to have her back on this day at 7:00 am to get ready for the surgery.
So off we went home with Indy. She seemed to be SO happy to be home.
This is not the best photo, but is one of my favorites. This was taken right after we got back home. She looks so happy.
September the 28th finally arrived. Indy's appointment time was at 9:00 am.
When we first arrived, we were scheduled with the internal medicine service. After the review of her case, Indy's case was turned over to the orthopedic department.
We met with Dr. Torres. He laid out a game plan for the day. Indy would get evaluated and have more xrays to see what things looked like. Dr. Torres said he would call me just as soon as they were done. I went on to work for a bit and anxiously awaited the call.
Several hours pasted and the call came. I went back over to discuss Indy with Dr. Torres.
Dr. Torres showed me Indy's xrays. The xrays showed the internal pin that had been placed by the other vet was also backing out and was for sure causing Indy some discomfort. The pin was also not working. The bone had become badly misaligned and you could see the infection all around the bone. Indy would require another surgery.
At this time, the plan was to plate her femur, clean out all the infection, and place antibiotic beads all around the plate. More cultures would be done at this time also. Indy was to stay the night and have the surgery the next day. A quote of 3000.00 - 4000.00 was given for the surgery. We were also told she could still end up lame or even loose her leg. Dr. Torres said she did have a really good chance at a full recovery, so the surgery was scheduled for the next day. They also wanted Indy to stay the night at UGA to prepare her for the surgery.
We left very sad knowing Indy was really back at square one, but also felt she was in good hands. My main concern was the MRSA and her life.
Over the next few days, Indy continued to eat well eating the satin balls. I could tell she was starting to put on a little weight. She still was having problems holding her urine. I was so afraid the MRSA had spread.
Carla and I talked about it and it was decided it was time to go to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. MRSA is something that takes aggression and a little extra knowledge to deal with. So a referral was called in to UGA. Indy was set to go there on September 28 .
On the Wednesday before she was to go to UGA, I came home to what seemed like a different dog. She had held her urine while I was at work and seemed to feel SO much better. She even grabbed a bone and was chewing on it. This was big! It seemed the antibiotics had finally kicked in. The MRSA was the cause of her kidney/bladder problems. It was SO good to see her feeling better. Although feeling better, a trip to UGA was still very necessary.
While waiting to go to UGA, we all made the best of Indy feeling better. Here are some shots of her enjoying her time outside.
Something needed to be done quick to find out what caused her femur to refracture. On September the 14th, Indy returned to the veterinary clinic. Another internal pin was put in and cultures were done.
Indy was not eating and really needed to gain back the weight she had lost. We started feeding her satin balls when she returned home from the clinic. She liked these and was again eating.
She continued to have problems holding her urine. Even for a short period of time. I would be amazed at the amount she would urinate. It was hoped this would get better in a few days.
On September the 18st, the results from the cultures came back positive for MRSA. This was what I so dreaded to hear, but was expecting. This is the only answer I could think of that would cause her femur to refracture. Indy needed antibiotics for this right away. She needed Chloramphenicol. This is not a antibiotic found at your local pharmacy. It had to come from a compounding pharmacy. It was a Sat. and Carla and I called all over trying to find this medication.
Finally, Carla found it. It was found at a pharmacy in Forest Park GA.
My friend Joanne drove me to pick it up. Indy was started on this right away. 1000 mg every eight hours.
A few days went by and Indy continued to have problems holding her urine. We took her urine in for a check, but it came back normal except a low specific gravity. I was so very worried about her.
Indy continued to eat well, but also continued to slowly loose weight. I contributed it to the inch and a half of the internal pin that was poking out. The area continued to look more and more angry.
On September the l3rd, Indy returned to the vet. It was time to remove the internal pin. June and I were so excited. We both had worried about the pin working its way out and how it continued to seem to be causing her pain.
Indy was also in need of a spay. I remember early in her recovery, she had went into heat. Just something else the poor girl had to deal with on top of everything else. Carla and I talked about it and the decision was made to go ahead and spay her. The hope was this would be it. No more anesthesia and things could only improve from this day.
The pin was removed and Indy was spayed. While still at the veterinary clinic, Indy slipped and fell on her leg. When she was checked, it was found she had broken it AGAIN! What had caused this?? Why did it break? Our hearts just broke for her.
Once home on the 13th, Indy would not eat. She felt horrible. She could not hold her urine and was going so much and ALOT! We were thinking it was due to the spay. Her body maybe in shock due to lack of estrogen. What to do now was the question..
Over the past couple of months, I had spent a great deal of time with Indy. Indy and I had formed a real close bond. I ask Carla, now that the external fixator was gone, if I could foster Indy. She agreed and Indy moved to my home.
It was so good to have her home with me. She fit right in right away. All the other dogs loved her and seemed to respect her for her injury. They would bring their toys and sit them on Indy's bed with her.
At first Indy would not eat. I am sure she was missing Carla, but I noticed one day, the internal pin was beginning to back out. It was really poking her skin.
Carla came in a couple of days and paid Indy a visit and the pin came out and was no longing poking her skin. The vet said this was normal, but it made me hurt just to look at it. After this, she began to eat again. The pin was out about a inch and a half and it only seemed to get worse. The area around the pin started to really ooze. She was doing OK at this point..who knew that something was eating her inside.
