One of the scariest weeks of my life...
Before I begin this I just want you all to know that it is terrifying being a single parent when something goes wrong with your baby. In my case it was just a dog but if I'm acting like this now, heaven help me when I have children.
5:30, last Tuesday morning I woke up to Roxie crying to go outside. I live on the third floor of my apartment building with an elevator, so taking her out is not a small task. I usually get up around 6:30 on the weekdays and figured she could wait a little while longer. I put a pillow over my head an ignored her. Like she sometimes does she accepted the fact that she wasn't going out yet and got back under the covers with a huge SIGH. (Like her mama, she is a Diva.) I thought that was the end of it and happily curled under my warm covers. 10 minutes later she was at it again. This time really crying. I hate listening to her when she's upset and can't concentrate on anything else if I think there's the slightest chance she might be miserable (even in my sleep) so I sucked up the fact that I would be geeting up before 6 and went to put on my robe. As I was putting on my shoes, Rox threw up. This was totally abnormal and unlike her, so we rushed outside so she could go. She did and I dragged myself back up the stairs preparing myself for the mess that I had to clean. I hadn't even gotten the cleaning supplies out before she did it again.
Now I know that she is only a dog, but leaving her home alone and sick broke my heart. And I didn't want to have to come home to a big mess, so I called work and told them I would be in late, hoping she would be better once everything was out of her system.
She layed at the end of my bed, clearly not feeling well but seemed to be doing fine. By 9:30am I decided she would be okay and I could start thinking about getting ready for work. But I was wrong. The second I got out of bed she threw up again, and this time it was bloody. Really bloody. Freaked out, I called the vet. They told me that it sounded llike an organ rupture and I needed to get her in as soon as possible. This is when the water works came. I thought it was the end. I quickly put on the clothes I could find off hand, which turned out to be whatever was on the floor. Pink sweatpants a green sweatshirt and ugg boots. Mind you I still had a nighty on underneath. I didn't think to take it off! By now blood was coming out both ends. Poor little Roxie's eyes were starting to look glassy and scared. I swaddled her in a bath towel and rushed her to the vet. They must have thought I was psychotic the way I barged in the office with a weiner dog in a bloody towel and me in my ensemble and bed head with puffy pink teary eyes. They ran some tests on her and took some x-rays while I sat in a small cold little room and waited. The worst part was the walls were really thin so I could hear her wimpering the whole time. It was very dramatic and made me cry harder.
It was at this time that I started thinking about the what-ifs. What if this was it? What if I had to put her to sleep? What if I couldn't afford the vet bills and would still have to put her to sleep? What if this was caused because of something I did? What if I would have taken her out the first time she woke me up? She was playing with toys last night, what if she swallowed something? Why did I buy her new toys I knew she would destroy easily? Seriously. That cold little room was torturous!
About 45 minutes later the doctor came in with an alive and much better looking roxie in her arms. She told me she was going to be just fine. PHEW! I have never been so relieved. So what was the problem?
An inflamed pancreas. If not caught early her pancreas could have actually ruptured, causing internal bleeding and death. Horrible. But it wasn't that serious. They didn't tell me what caused the problem but in order to fix it she had to be connected to an IV to stay hydrated. And she was'nt allowed to eat or drink anything for 48-72 hours. They wanted to keep her at the hospital but doing that would have been a minimum of $300.00 a day. Unfortunately, I learned a long time ago that money does not grow on trees and there would be no possible way I could afford a $900.00 on top of what I had to pay for the visit already. I asked if there was an alternative and praise Jesus there was. They put fluids in her back, (making her look like the hunch back from Notredam) and told me I could take her home as long as she did not eat or drink anything. Then I would have to bring her back in in the morning to refill fer with fluids.
I was finally able to take her home. I put some blankets in the dryer so they'd be nice and warm for her to lay in and started cleaning up the giant mess that we had left. Thank goodness my roommate was at work because our apartmet literally looked like something out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre but with puppy prints.
For the rest of the day she layed in blankets and slept.
The next morning I got ready for work and brought her back to the vet to fill her with fluids again. Not wanting to leave her scared and alone I brought her into work with me. She was a perfectly good girl, sitting on my lap the whole time. And of course everyone at the office loved her. Duh!
I had afternoon meetings so I brought her home and later made her rice and cottage cheese, per the doctor's orders. Being not as flavorful as her regular kibbles she was not a fan and didnt eat much. I decided the next day I would make her some boiled chicken.
Last Thursday:
Everything was normal. Rox was doing better and I left her alone for the whole day. When I got home from work I started making her arroz con pollo and was relieved that we could start getting into a regular rouine. UNTIL I noticed a very scary red splotch on her neck. In panic mode I rushed to her and gave her yet another bath hoping whatever it was would wash off. No such luck. I held her and had my roommate take a picture so I could send ot to my Dad who happens to be an EMT Firefighter and Nurse Bestie, hoping they could help. I also frantically called my vet's emergency hotline. All 3 said that it sounded/looked like a case of hematoma, or basically a bad blood draw. This doesnt surprise me because the way she was hollering at the clinic, I'm sure she was squirming like a wiggle worm.
I decided not to go to the emergency vet that night- mostly because my wallet couldn't handle it, and she seemed fine otherwise. I woke up early and called the regular vet who also told me it is probably a bruise.
Today:
Roxie seems to be doing much better. The doctor put her on medication so she's finally eating normal food and was able to chew on a bone this evening. I'm still keeping a close eye on her, but for now I think everything is going to be just fine! And thank goodness! I can't handle all this stress. I'm exhausted, broken out and ready for my puppy to come back to normal!
