When I went to get Earl last night, the doc on duty said he could go home and come back in the morning to see his regular doc....only thing was that he needed two medications at 2 and 4 am and she was not willing to give me the oral medication for him until he regular doc saw him. She said if I could get him to the clinic by 7, they could give me the shots but that would be up to five hours after the time they should be given. I said, I didn't want to go backwards so I opted to have him spend one more night at the night hospital. He has eaten baby food and that has stayed down.
I picked him up this morning and he is home for a few hours before we have the appt with his regular vet. I set up an x-pen with bed and drip water bottle for him. He is sleeping right now. He is very crabby towards his brothers, growlling at them and not being a happy camper towards Sarge & Duggie. They have not been together -- Earl is in the x-pen and his brothers are on the "outside". But, if they get close to the pen, he is growling at them. They are ignoring Earl at this point. Although, Duggie, the lover he is just can't understand why Earl is growling at him. I will keep them separated and Sarge and Duggie will go out potty separately from Earl.
We have a long road ahead of us......and we are still very guarded about his condition especially with the Megaesophagus. I know the doc will be discussing with me today, further testing on Earl. They keep telling me his condition is guarded to poor with this condition. We now have to look at the whole picture and what the future may bring. I must admit that emotionally, I am drained from worry and being scared.
Hang in there, Dee and Dave. :comfort: :pray: :heart: I know every one of us here on the Board wishes we could do more than offer rays and prayers to ease your worry, but you are doing the very best that you can and one of the hardest parts is to keep your spirits up. Earl is a fighter, and so are you. :comfort: :pray: :heart:
Sending mega HHHHHHH's & PPPPPP's for you all.
We will never give up on him so take some strength from us.
I know he won't give up either.
Merion & the ZZ's
Awww, :comfort:
hang in there. Try to get some rest. We all know what a nail biter this is. Doggie jail ain't no fun for nobuddy.
Welcome home Earl, just listen to your mom and things will get better. Dee take a long nap and try to relax.
OMG, of course you are emotionally drained...... and ditto to Munchfam - we all wish we could do more...... Earl is such a lucky boy to have you and Dave and his fur brothers, even though he is growling.
Keeping good thoughts and sending buckets of rays.....
:comfort:
Right now we are going to continue to treat the here and now and let Earl rest from all the stress he has entailed. We're doing care support for now....I think at this point, any further testing will stress him even more than he already is. He is eating Baby food .... five to six times a day until we can get him back to feeling good. He will be taking four medicines....two antibiotics for the pneumonia, one for the esophagus twice a day and pepcid once a day. The medication will be 12 hours a part starting at 4 pm and then 4 am, with the pepcid once a day two hours after the pm dosage. He will have to eat upright so sitting on his haunches with us holding him upright and then holding him upright for 10-15 minutes after he eats to allow the gravity to move the food down and out of the esophagus. So far, he has kept everything down and had no problems. Got a little puffy at the doc's office, but I held him and got him calmed down and he was fine. He has his x-pen set up in a area of the dining room and right now is sleeping on his side/back like a baby. Still does his little high pitch growl when Sarge or Duggie get too close to the bedroom of Earl. As I'm typing this, Duggie just barked at his "girlfriend" next door from the dining room window......Earl woke up with a start and he actually barked! Now he is licking his legs after wiping his eyes. Must clean to get that clinic smell off!
BABY FOOD!!! wow. actually I just happen to watch a guy feed his infant with one of those squirty things--think that will help?
We hope the little one has turned a corner now with his illness Dee, heaps of healing rays from Ivy and Tris are winging their way to both you and Earl!!!
Keeping movin' forward, Earl. You can do it. Dee, you guys have been through the wringer. Sure hope that the immediate future is bright and sunny for our Earl.
Did your vet do the Barium swallow test it will show the Mega Esophagus I know when Jake had it we lucked out he was able to eat regular dog food from a stand we did not have to hold him up thank goodness 110# boy.
Cannot remember where I saw it most likely on google that is where I find out allot of stuff someone made a high chair to be able to hold their dog up right was very ingenious it was padded.I know with Jake right a first I tried to get him to stand on his hind legs he wanted no part of it so tried the stand also his water was from a stand. You do not want to tube feed by mouth not unless you know exactly what you are doing or you can get the liquid in the lungs easy.The you have Aspiration Pneumonia the lady in Calif that took her Lab to UC Davis had a feeding tube placed directly into his stomach it had a flip top to it but Duncan received all food & water though the tube while he chewed on his Kong.This lady was super dedicated to this dog for about 10 years when Duncan passed away from old age. I do know she took dog food put it in a food processor and added water to get the right constancy to tube feed Duncan this was a worst case scenario. If I remember right they do have a support group on the Internet for people with dogs with Mega I would google Support Group for Dogs with Mega esophagus. You are not alone sending Rays.Hugs to you and Earl.Papbouv
Well done Earl and well done Mum and Dad! No wonder you´re worn out, maybe you can sleep a little easier now he´s back amongst you, he´s such a little fighter and young too so that´s on his side. I know these feel like very small steps at a time but they´re going in the right direction. With so many dachsie rays heading your way he has to get better. He´s maybe growling now because he feels vulnerable which should also wear off as he starts to feel better.
Wow! What an escapade! I am glad he is back home, at least for little bits - dogs are so in the now, that I am glad you have him at home so he doesn't forget his roots. Continuing rays are on the way north.
So glad to hear Earl is home and feeling better. We are still thinking of you and sending prayers for you. Hang in there.`
Fantastic news!!! I hope he's still feeling better today.
Good for you Earl! Barking is most definately a step in the right direction. Dee...hang in there and write or call if you want to talk. I'll email my number in case you no longer have it. A sick furkid is the absolute worst!!!! We are ALL pulling for your little man. Hugs to you and Dave an many Belly rubs for your boys.
So good to hear he is doing better. Keeping all fingers and paws crossed here in Tennessee for you and the Earl-man. :xfinger: :xfinger:
Darcel
SO GLAD TO HEAR EARL IS HOME!!! YEA!!! MEGA HEALING PRAYERS AND COMFORTING HUGS ON THEIR WAY TO EARL AND THE FAMILY....