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Bela's Barkings

I'm back home!

Hey all! I'm finally back home, after 4 days in the hospital. The doctor was adamant to send me home, but he said I wasn't recovering well, and there was little more they could do for me at the hospital. So they decided to send me home and to hope for the best.

I won't kid you folks; things are pretty ugly with me. I feel really weak and can't stand up on my own, I have a tube going into my paw and another one into my intestines (the jejunum if you're into that sort of thing). I also need to have medicine shots put into my IV line twice or thrice a day, mom & dad had to buy half the pharmacy for me and they're not too thrilled about giving me shots but they're willing to do it. Yes, this is no life for a dog, especially not one as active as myself.

I'm an old dog and I've had a long and active life, and however difficult things might look for me right now, I'm where I need to be, where I've always been happy: with my family.

I'm off to sleep some more now, but rest assured I'll be back here soon.

See ya'll!

At the hospital

Hey all, I'm not doing so well. Here's what happened.

Turns out my gastritis wasn't so easy to solve after all. Even with intravenous fluid therapy, I wasn't feeling too well, and I started throwing up. Mom & dad had to take me to the hospital where the doctor did an ultrasound and found my stomach full of liquid, because I had an obstruction.

He painted a bleak picture: without any treatment I'd certainly die, but the only effective treatment, surgery, was too risky given my weakness and heart condition.

Mom & dad discussed it and made a hard decision: they'd go ahead with surgery, understanding I might not wake up from anesthesia. I understood, too, and I vowed to give it my best and keep fighting.

Surgery was scheduled for the next day. However, when we went back home for me to rest and get ready for surgery, my tummy started hurting a lot. Mom said I looked like a balloon. She called dad and we rushed to the hospital, where tests showed my stomach was filling with gas. Luckily it wasn't the dreaded bloat, just a nasty build-up of gas and liquid. I had to go under anesthesia to get my stomach pumped, and then remained overnight at the hospital. I hate staying at the hospital! but after being in so much pain, I actually had a good night's rest.

The next day mom & dad arrived and spent a while with me, while I got ready for surgery. They put me to sleep and I woke up feeling quite nasty, but mom was with me when I woke up.

It turns out my pancreas was swollen and was constricting my intestines, which caused the obstruction. The doctor placed a tube in my intestine, which comes out of my side, and I'll be fed through the tube, for several days while my pancreas recovers. After that, mom says, my stomach and pancreas will start working again and I'll be able to eat, although it'll have to be a special diet.

However I had to remain at the hospital. I'm now really sad because I hate the hospital. But hey, I owe it to everyone to give it a try and get better: to the doctors who helped me and did great work against terrible odds due to my condition, and mainly, to my family, especially mom, who didn't give up on me, realized I still want to be with them for a while longer, and chose to give me one more chance.

I'll keep you posted, right now I have to go because the doctor's coming and they'll get mad if they find out I snook out to use their computer ;)

My humans!

Hey! My humans haven't had the easiest time lately. First Aullido started with his cancer and chemotherapy, then he had emergency surgery for a bladder stone. He's out of the woods, but right after his last stitches came out, I got really sick. Turns out what was hurting my tummy was a nasty gastritis, probably caused by the heart medication I'm taking. However since I refused to eat or drink, the gastritis medication (lots of it) hasn't been acting effectively enough. As a result I got dehydrated and felt dizzy and weak, I had no energy, but I couldn't sleep, I was thirsty but didn't feel like drinking water, and I threw up anything I ate or drank.

This morning I went to the vet and he sent me home with an intravenous drip. I will have to go to the hospital constantly these next few days, but at least I'm feeling a bit better, because when dehydrated, my kidneys started malfunctioning and I was feeling terrible from the waste building up in my blood.

Mom & dad have been really worried lately because it looked like I was just going downhill without any way to make me get better. We're all hoping hydration will keep me well for a while longer, at least until the rest of the medication kicks in and I'm able to eat and drink by myself. Yes, I'm still willing to give it a try, with mom & dad's help!

I'm off to sleep for now, I'll let you know how I'm faring in a couple of days. Not easy to type with dog's paws AND the intravenous tubes in my arm!