I got home from work on monday to find my poor little Zachary total paralized in the back legs, no longer screaming in pain but totally unable to move.  I bundled him up and rushed him to the vets.  She examed him and then cath’d him for urine as he was unable to pee.  She said that she was in severe neurological distress…duh!  No doubt, like what have we been trying to fookin tell her.  She made arrangements for us to fly him to Oahu because of course there is nothing that can be done for him in Kauai, no CT scan, no surgeon nada.

We fly him to Oahu where a Dr. Leadbeater met us.  Finally we felt like something was getting done.  He felt either a tumor or a ruptured disc compressing the spinal cord.  Either very serious.  Our poor baby.  Both DH and I crying like babies.  They start him on IV high dose steriods and of course catheter and bowel care, he is responding only to very deep pain, ie hard pinching.  He is alert and actually took some food and water.  Both DH and I are feeling very comfortable with Dr. Leadbeater and his entire crew.  He feel surgery is imminent and also scheduled a CT scan for Tuesday at Queen’s hospital.  Tuesday morning, Zachary is showing improvement, withdrawing from tickling and able to move his bowels on his own.  Still no bladder sensation needing to be cath’d, still unable to stand or walk but has some feeling.  Dr. Leadbeater is happy that he is responding so well to the steriods.  He is sedated and transferred to Queens  with Dr. Leadbeater and the CT scan is done.   It shows a ruptured disc and it is compressing the spinal cord, just what Dr. Leadbeater was thinking. He said they have good results with this and it is much more common than we think and can be caused from something simple like jumping off of a bed!!!   He will do surgery Weds.

Weds we arrived and Dr. Leadbeater has decided to not do surgery, the reason why????  Zachary is standing on his own :)  He can take a few steps as well, wobbly and unsure but he can take a few steps.  Whew.  He can also pee, his bladder is functioning….yippee!   He does not have a lot of control of the bowel yet because he cannot squat, so he kinds of lays down to poo but he can poo.  So they are going to keep him for a couple more days, continue the steriods and watch him.  If he takes a turn they will do surgery, otherwise they will let him come home to recover.  I had to come home to work, but DH will stay in Oahu with him.  We will have to really watch him and his recovery will be long, but Dr. Leadbeater thinks he will be okay.  He has a lot of heart and he is young and strong.

We were so scared, we thought we were watching him die in front of us and no one was doing anything.  Some people will think we are stupid spending so much on a dog, but he is not just a dog to us, he is Zachary and he deserves for us to be able to do anything we can to be able to help him.  Putting him to sleep was not an option unless we could not have saved him, then we would not have let him suffer, but we could and we did.  And we will be forever grateful to Dr. Leadbeater and his crew in Oahu.

And we have been told by him if this happen again, to just call and get on a plane and he will be there, we do not have to waste time here in Kauai.

I have never been so scared and so sad in my life.  I have never cried so much.  My poor little guy.