Welcome to The Adventures of My Dog Max. This blog chronicles his his journey through inoperable brain tumor diagnosis,Cyber Knife radiation,conventional & alternative treatments, HBOT and Life Beyond. Max is my 18 year old, high-energy super-dog, who was diagnosed with 2 inoperable brain tumors 4/11. Cyberknife = non-invasive robot driven hi accuracy radiation treatment. HBOT = hyberbaric oxygen therapy.
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Check out Mr. Max!!! Just a few months ago he couldn't swallow, or move any part of his body... His feeding tube came out this past Monday and he's been working out at home. We're stopping formal PT and we're working with some other folks who know him well and know his limits, his drive and his personality. In speaking with other stroke patients (humans) who have gone through what Max has gone through, they've said it's really important to keep him in a positive, encouraging and motivating environment.
Max Practicing his standing and keeping his head up
It's hard to keep your head up when you're so darn smart and have so much info in there!!!
Working on pushing up... and he almost gets it on his own!
Max standing on his own and then trying to catch himself as he leans back
Nothing to say.... just a photo that speaks 10000 words... !
He was standing up straight for a while before leaning back, Mighty Max held that pose for a good minute for his friend Amanda and I and then did it again this afternoon!
Yesterday was a big day! Max got his feeding tube removed! He hadn't used it at all over the last 2 weeks so it was time to bite the bullet and give it a go! He's doing well.. Although yesterday must have been a REALLY stressful day. He's never had an upset tummy through any of this and yesterday and last night he sure did- vomiting and puking all night long. He's doing ok now... Just wondering if they gave him something at the hospital that didn't agree with him. The Internist mentioned that his tube was clogged when I asked if they had drained his tummy... (probably b/c he was eating whole foods again and veggies... which don't fit well through the tube! Wonder if they tried to flush it with something.. anyway - he seems to be doing ok so far today... He wanted to sleep in his cart last night.. thank goodness for the cart...
He's definitely feeling better physically without the tube and can scoot around more in his cart. His tummy was so upset last night that he scooted himself up and over the 2 inch ledge into the back door on his own - he also managed to turn the corner and roll down the ramp on his own... he still needs to master breaks though... He starts PT back up again tomorrow.
Today's objective - keep him eating and drinking and happy... I did manage to get him in a sternal position today too and he tried to get up - not quite there yet.. but we're still working on..
Here's Max up to his latest tricks today! (October 9, 2012). Isn't he handsome?!!! Not sure if you can notice.. his eyes moved towards me when I asked if he wanted to go for a walk later in the video!
Max's latest trick is pushing on his front leg stirrups so that he can stand up in his cart and lift his head and then turn it to the side and then sit down again and get his head stuck in the side... his head rest may need to come off soon...
Another morning of Max eating his whole breakfast by spoon! A whole cup of the Honest Kitchen!
After a little hiatus Max went back to Physical Therapy on Wednesday and he's been doing great! They changed up his routine from range of motion exercises to more massage and between that and the cold laser I'm seeing more of a difference. His back legs actually are doing more of a walking motion when he decides he's going to walk, his front arms are still behind with the program but he has some movement down to his wrists (yep... he has limp wrists still).. however he now can push using both arms when they are up in the stirrups of his cart and when he's positioned right he's cruising through the house crashing into things and rolling over Buttercup - not sure how long that will last before she loses patience...
He's been doing pretty well with eating by mouth. Sometimes it's a little slow and can take up to an hour to get a full can in there. Tonight I was able to get him to eat his regular food finally - so he's back to eating the honest kitchen. He ate a whole bowl, no problem.. however he's still not eating it on his own, I do need to pry his mouth open to spoon the food in there - except usually the first but he'll open his mouth up wide for that one... and the more full he gets, the more he clenches his teeth shut!
He's grunting and sighing sometimes when he wants something and smacks his lips when he wants attention. His eyes are starting to follow a little more... and.... he's starting to lift his head up in his cart! Below is a video - all be it not a great one... of him lifting his head up a little bit. (In Physical Therapy they've also been having him practice standing up on his own and leaning against them. It's helping to build up strength in his upper arms and his neck. )
The other thing that Super Max has started to do is push himself up to a standing position if he's propped up on pillows the right way and his legs are bent under him... Will get a video of that one of these days - but he requires spotting..
