Coffee Break

Earlier in this blog you’ll have seen a posting with a photo of Coffee’s pressure sore as it was in December.  Earlier, at the end of September that sore was about 3 inches in diameter.  At that time it was infected, but with the constant help of Dr Halbach we got it healing it up.  In January the sore had healed itself as much as it could on its own.  It was only about an inch in diameter at most, but the edges had healed over and weren’t joining to close it up.  Dr. Halbach decided at that time that we should begin cutting the edges back and putting stitches in to encourage the edges to knit together.

Thus begun months of stitches and keeping Coffee confined and sedated to prevent him from ripping the stitches out.  We’re currently on the 5th set of stitches and the sore opening is only half a centimeter in diameter now.  The problem is, no matter how many fat Kotex I stuff in his pants and how padded a perch I make him stay on (his pen, the sofa and my bed!) the skin around that area doesn’t have as good a blood supply yet and so the skin is ‘crumbly’ as Dr Halbach puts it.  But we’re getting there.  Slowly.  Real slowly.  See the picture of his sore as taken last night.  You actually may find it hard to see.  It’s the area on his right butt cheek and you should just be able to see a couple of small stitches……..

Sorry for not posting in a while – it’s been a busy time at Coffee’s House!  Not only did we have a new kitchen installed but we also had new flooring.  Poor Coffee has no carpet to get any grip on now though there are large rugs.  In the meantime he’s having a blast sliding himself around the new shiny floor.  At the weekend he, Oscar and Mia spent a sunny time outside on the grass sniffing and chewing.  Coffee got some good walking in there until he spotted a squirrel and tried chasing him – his back legs just don’t move fast enough yet for him run!

Now Christmas is over we’re back on the physical therapy schedule.  Coffee’s going once a week and his therapists say he’s getting stronger and stronger!  Last week he did a full 6min on the treadmill – before this he could only manage a few mins, have a rest then do a few minutes more.  They also give him electro-therapy to stimulate the muscles in his back thighs (see photos below) and work on getting him stand with his feet in the correct standing position (see other photos below) – usually he will almost always cross his feet or have them too far forward.  I have even more exercises to do with him at home.  Now I do cycles of helping him sit properly (with this legs bent beneath him rather than straight out in front of him) and stand up from that position, do side crunches (by tapping his rear thighs with a treat to make him turn round and get it) and I’m still continuing with the bicycle actions on each back leg.

Coffee had a great Christmas and received loads of new toys!  We spent Christmas Day at his friend Sam’s house (shih tzu) so played with him most of the day and was petted and admired almost constantly!  The day after Christmas my friend Karen and I took Sam, my two (Oscar and Mia) and Coffee up to Russian River where we stayed in a cottage with an acre back yard for 4 nights.  The dogs had a brilliant time exploring their huge back yard and the girls (that would be Karen and myself) spent the time watching movies, cooking, drinking champagne, playing with the dogs and napping.  We even squeezed in a massage.  A wonderful break for all of us!  Coffee’s trying more and more to stand on all four legs and has started to scratch his face with his back legs which nearly makes me cry.

Coffee’s pressure sore is getting smaller and smaller – see pic.

When he was first under the care of his new vet about a month ago that sore was 3 inches in diameter.  So close to being completely healed!

In the meantime he’s still going to physical therapy, spending time on the treadmill, and his therapist says he’s getting stronger!  Earlier this week, he did the most amazing thing, he’s now done it about 4 times so it’s not so amazing, except it is!  When I have Coffee standing, just supporting him a little, he puts his head between his front legs and lifts one of his back feet to scratch his face.  He’s consciously moving his back foot to scratch himself!!

I’m so proud of my boy!

Coffee had his first physical therapy session on Friday.  They gave him acupuncture between the  toes of his back feet, electric therapy on his hind thighs to stimulate walking movement and low-level therapy down his spine, but he spent most of his time on the treadmill.  They had to have his front feet off the front of the treadmill so that only his back feet where on it as he was flailing around a bit!  By the end of the session they were just supporting him under his crotch and he was walking on the treadmill.  It was beautiful to watch!  Once his pressure has healed up they try him in a hydrotherapy bath that also has a treadmill in it.  In the meantime I have some exercises that I do with him at home, doing bicycle wheels with his back legs, pushing his legs back into a normal dog-sitting position when he’s sitting and taking one of his back feet to scratch his face when he’s lying down – he ran across the lounge on all four legs the other day!

New vet, new treatment and the pressure sore is healing up nicely.  I’ll refrain from adding a picture for those who don’t like to look at open wounds!  However, it’s hardly an open wound now but more of a wide slit!  Coffee started his low-level laser therapy this week at Scout’s House in Menlo Park and I can see skin healing. He has three more sessions then we’ll see how the sore is doing again in a few weeks and whether he needs more.  In the meantime Coffee has his Initial Assessment at Scout’s House tomorrow where they’ll review his x-rays, medical history,  mobility etc. so we can determine what the best approach will be for rehabilitation for him – the hope is that he can regain more mobility.  More on this to come.  In the meantime here’s a cute shot of Coffee snuggling on Saturday evening.

Ok, I did it, I bought a sewing machine, but as expected me and sewing machines are not a match made in heaven.  My mum used to make our clothes all the time when we were kids, the sewing machine was always out on the dining room table.  I, however, have not picked up an ounce of sewing skill from my mother.  I did my research and figured that for what I needed and what I was willing to pay, the Janome 3128 would do the job.  Setup was easy, using it, well, not so easy.  I jammed the needle up a dozen times just trying to hem a couple of legs of pants for Coffee.  Thank goodness the hemming was not necessary.  I don’t think it helped that it was stretchy material so my stitches go from big to small all round!  Nah, no-one will notice but me.  I really wanted to use the machine to speed up making his suspenders to secure his pants to his harness so they’ll stay on.  I could not get the machine to stitch through elastic.  Must be a knack to that to which I’m not privvy…..I’ll keep persevering though, one day I’ll feel ok about making some curtains but for now anything I make is only fit for a horror show.

Coffee’s been at the vets for the past two weeks while his pressure sore was being treated before he’s allowed to go to home treatment.  This past weekend he was allowed home with the proviso that I bring him back Monday for his dressing to be changed and for his sore to be evaluated.  I took him back this morning and the sore and dressing were moist (probably due to some occassional pee leak) so the vet wants to keep him in for another few days.  Sigh……However, they did show me how they change his dressing for when he’s ready for home care.  It’s really a two person job as he needs to be held still, but I don’t have that luxury so I think I’ll have to have him on his cart, in the bath tub so he can’t move and change it that way.  I’ll also have to get some belly bands for him.  Such a shame as he rarely pees other than when he’s taken outside, but we just can’t have him dragging his dressing and sore through any.

Today I measured Coffee’s pressure sore and ordered the Hi-Tech foam so I can make his donuts, and over the weekend I bought a pair of kid’s leggings (size 24 months).  Poor Oscar had to model them for me so I could check they were the right size (which they were).  Bless him, he was very confused but suffered wearing girl’s leggings like a champ.

In the meantime, we have Coffee scheduled for some Low-Level Laser Therapy which is a non-invasive light treatment that can reduce pain and stimulate healing for problems such as pressure sores by accelerating blood flow and tissue repair.  He’ll be going to Scout’s House http://www.scoutshouse.com/ for this treatment.  We originally researched them to see if the Hydrotherapy and Acupuncture treatments that they offer would help Coffee and his condition.  We’re still working with them on that, but the priority right now is get the pressure sore healed.

Coffee can actually move his feet though it appears to be mostly reflexive.  When he’s on his cart it looks like he’s using his back feet to walk (little faker!).  Sometimes he can even stand on all four legs though he is a little wobbly.  I’ve even seen him take a few steps a few times.  So with that in mind we wondered if he might benefit from hydrotherapy or acupuncture treatment in the event that his ability to stand or even walk can be improved.  It’s definitely worth trying it out for a while and seeing what effect it has.

More on this in the coming weeks.