Ike's story continued.
Mar. 4th, 2008 12:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
outsdrIke was quiet on the ride to the animal hospital. We walked in the door, and they asked me to take him to the back room... across the linoleum floors. Ike, of course, would have nothing to do with that. He wouldn't even step on the vinyl stretcher they brought out, so I picked him up and carried him. I set him down in the kennel, and he fell over- the kennel floor was polished concrete, and he didn't want to put his feet on it. They gave me a blanket for the floor, and when I left him he was standing stiff-legged, braced against the wall. I filled out the paper work, and went back to work.
They called me about two hours later. Ike had a normal temperature, and was well hydrated. The next step was to run blood tests and take new x-rays. I hadn't heard anything else from them by the time I left work at 4 p.m., so I drove over to see how he was.
The vet showed me his blood work results. Everything was normal, except for a low platelet count, which was not surprising considering the amount of blood he had been passing. They had also given him a sedative, because he was so tense and scared by the floors, and the vet warned me that the sedative had affected him much more than she had expected, which worried her, as it meant he was much weaker than she had initially thought. And he had pancreatitis.
Pancreatitis is (roughly) when the pancreas starts making too much digestive enzymes and begins to digest itself and the areas and organs around it. It's treated by withholding food and water so that nothing is being passed through the digest track, and the so the pancreas has nothing to digest and it finally shuts off.
The new x-rays weren't very clear; the pancreatitis was causing inflammation that caused the tissues of his abdomen to show up fuzzy. They had given him barium to trace through his intestines, and an IV to keep him hydrated. The vet asked me if I wanted to see him, even though he had barium on his face. I aid yes, of course, and she led me back to the exam room he was in.
Ike was laying on the concrete floor with his eyes closed and his head in his paws, looking sad and depressed. His right front leg had an IV tube running to it and was wrapped in green bandages. I squatted down and gently stroked his head. He opened his eyes a little, but otherwise didn't react; I'm wasn't sure he even knew I was there. I noticed they had trimmed his toenails. I mentioned this, and how I was afraid to trim his nails because I'd had a bad experience with a dog I had years earlier who wouldn't let me trim his nails after I trimmed them far too closely and hurt him unintentionally. I was having a hard time speaking, and I didn't want to talk much because I was having a harder time maintaining my composure. The vet told me that they'd take more x-rays later, once the barium had worked through some more. If there was a blockage in his intestines, the barium would show this by not progressing any further. She told me she'd give me the animal hospital's emergency number, and that I could call that evening to find out the results.
I stood up to leave. I looked back at Ike as I walked away, and he was trying to lift up his head to look at me. I walked back and petted him some more, told him to be good, then went to the front where the vet was waiting for me.
They called me about two hours later. Ike had a normal temperature, and was well hydrated. The next step was to run blood tests and take new x-rays. I hadn't heard anything else from them by the time I left work at 4 p.m., so I drove over to see how he was.
The vet showed me his blood work results. Everything was normal, except for a low platelet count, which was not surprising considering the amount of blood he had been passing. They had also given him a sedative, because he was so tense and scared by the floors, and the vet warned me that the sedative had affected him much more than she had expected, which worried her, as it meant he was much weaker than she had initially thought. And he had pancreatitis.
Pancreatitis is (roughly) when the pancreas starts making too much digestive enzymes and begins to digest itself and the areas and organs around it. It's treated by withholding food and water so that nothing is being passed through the digest track, and the so the pancreas has nothing to digest and it finally shuts off.
The new x-rays weren't very clear; the pancreatitis was causing inflammation that caused the tissues of his abdomen to show up fuzzy. They had given him barium to trace through his intestines, and an IV to keep him hydrated. The vet asked me if I wanted to see him, even though he had barium on his face. I aid yes, of course, and she led me back to the exam room he was in.
Ike was laying on the concrete floor with his eyes closed and his head in his paws, looking sad and depressed. His right front leg had an IV tube running to it and was wrapped in green bandages. I squatted down and gently stroked his head. He opened his eyes a little, but otherwise didn't react; I'm wasn't sure he even knew I was there. I noticed they had trimmed his toenails. I mentioned this, and how I was afraid to trim his nails because I'd had a bad experience with a dog I had years earlier who wouldn't let me trim his nails after I trimmed them far too closely and hurt him unintentionally. I was having a hard time speaking, and I didn't want to talk much because I was having a harder time maintaining my composure. The vet told me that they'd take more x-rays later, once the barium had worked through some more. If there was a blockage in his intestines, the barium would show this by not progressing any further. She told me she'd give me the animal hospital's emergency number, and that I could call that evening to find out the results.
I stood up to leave. I looked back at Ike as I walked away, and he was trying to lift up his head to look at me. I walked back and petted him some more, told him to be good, then went to the front where the vet was waiting for me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-03-04 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-04 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-04 10:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 01:45 am (UTC)Them: how long are you thinking you're going to try and keep him going? I know you don't want to hear that but maybe it's getting to be that time? There's got to be a reason for the inflammation and I can't think of anything besides his medications
Me: When his quality of life can no longer be realistically maintained is when I'll make the decision.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 01:47 am (UTC)