Storm...

1/2 cup cooked oatmeal with pure maple syrup
2 pieces of bread
grass in the backyard

113 lb dog won't eat.

I've learned how to IV a dog, change solutions, monitor heart rate, check vital signs what I can't seem to do is find something he will eat.

This beloved fur kid who less than 2 weeks ago was bounding around the yard, demanding to be loved and kissed, is a shell of who he was. I want to give him time to recover from all the surgery, kidney issues, but my question remains: will he.

He follows me around the house, crawled up onto my bed this morning and curled up, flicked a paw in my face to rub his chest... but he would not eat more. I'd give him more bread but with the bloat, I'm scared to give too much and have him bloat again.

No Sleep In 4 Months

Went to my own doc yesterday... the last few/several months having finally taken their toll on my body, mind, energy; I feel like $#it. Physician asked me how often I slept through the night, I could not remember the last time. Physician asked me about my test anxiety, I said it was controllable now and that I no longer blackout during the exam.

So, she said she was going to prescribe Ambien for me but gave this gentle warning:

Try it on the weekends first so you don't get med-head and are drowsy all day.

And this:

There are some reported cases of sleepwalking, people cooking while on it that the individuals don't remember the next day. People have been found outside, wandering, then brought home and do not remember that either.

NOTE TO SELF:

wear clothes to bed now.

I tend to like to sleep... without them. hee hee (TMI TMI TMI)

No need for the neighbors, or my son, to see ... what a doctor sees :D

And with that, I started to giggle... which spread to a full on chuckle... which then led me to completely laugh.

Felt great!

Chart Reading 101 - Edited

Below are the readings that were ABNORMAL from Storm's charts yesterday at the university. They are apparently normal for a dog with kidney disease...

It does not tell me he will live, or whether he will be put to sleep.

It just is. His readings are better this afternoon, 24 hours post last labs. They are not normal quite yet, and he is still not eating.

READING	RESULT				REF RANGE
BUN	87				9-31
Creatinine	3.8				.6 - 1.6
Osmolality	321				285 - 310
Alkaline Phosphatase	1469				8 - 139
GGT	35				0 - 6
Amylase	2535				275 - 1056

Storm's Saga ...

He was transferred today back to his regular vet. Reluctant to get into the truck with its small side doors but too weak to jump into the back like normal.

7 days and he's gone from jumping into truck to wobbling on his feet

The trip seemed to be too short... half an hour to the regular vet's office, another half hour to convince Storm to walk down the plank, catheter sticking out of his leg and all.

My vet's face said a lot... he does not hold out hope that the recovery can be complete enough for Storm to not need daily sub-dermal injections of IV fluids, 500 cc... every day.

I can do that short term, I have no problem with that but long term quality of life for a great dane that 7 days ago was happy, perking his ears, wagging his tail, and begging to crawl onto my bed with me.

Quality of life for my boy... am I trying to give him that? or am I just being really greedy?

Hard to decipher what I feel when mostly, it is just empty. He perked his ears in the back end of the truck at the vet office, I took that as a good sign... even raising his head to get a better look. I kind of think he'd rather just be home getting medicated, not in over-nighted in a kennel. I kind of think he'd rather he was with me, sleeping on the floor next to him for short periods of time, not merely smelling the scent of his family.

Storm ... Was Admitted

To the university vet hospital tonight. He would not eat, would not really get up to go outside, tongue dark pink, drinking lots of water.

I was worried about sepsis setting in; some of the clinical signs of it presenting.

Thankfully, that is not the issue. His lab tests show sepsis is not a concern.

Kidney failure is.

I can't catch a break right now with him... and its digging a Grand Canyon in my heart.

What test? Oh, the test on biochem and whatever else? Think I care? I don't.