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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Just a quick post! Max has control over 3 of his 4 legs now and can push himself around if he tries hard enough. He has managed to wiggle himself off of his bed a couple of times! He's working really hard and every few hours I'll look over and he's trying to get more strength and control over his limbs. His left side is the strongest. May have something to do with him spending more time on his right side because his feeding tube is on his left side (he has been rotating between sternal and on his right side) But now that the port has healed significantly He's being rotated on all sides. He can change his position when he's sternal, and when he's on his right side. He's a little stuck at the moment when he's on his left side.
He's also been grunting when he "works out" and today I finally put him up against a wall so he had something to push off of. I think the satisfaction of him knowing he has some control over his body's actions again is really motivating him.
Remember nothing is impossible! Years ago at a pet industry tradeshow I met an amazing dog named Faith! Maybe you've seen her on TV or YouTube Videos or emails. She's an amazing 2 legged dog who had to learn to do things differently from other dogs. She has managed to live a perfectly normal life, except she's become somewhat of a celebrity in the world of dog lovers! Give any dog a chance and you'll learn they can do amazing things!
I came home from walking #2 this morning and found Max wiggling his butt and trying very hard to get up! Poor little guy, but he's working hard and he'll get it one of these days! If there are a few things that Max has always been, they are persistent, a perfectionist, and a very hard worker! After all he is SUPER MAX!
So.... in my last post I mentioned it's the little things that we're grateful for and give us hope! Well... today Max made a big old stride and gave us something big to be happy about! For the last couple of days, when I put max in a sternal position on his chest, he's been using his hind legs to re-adjust himself. The first time I thought it was a fluke, the second time, I thought maybe there's something to it.. The 3rd time, I knew he was doing it on purpose!
Over the last few days, Max has been sleeping a ridiculous amount. At first I thought it was a sign that he was getting ready to say goodbye.. then it dawned on me, he's lost some weight but he's still on mega doses of prednisone and his very low dose of 100mg of keppra. That could be knocking him out. He's back on his chinese herbs - the ones that break through the blood brain barrier and carry other drugs right to the brain and kind of magnify them... so I decided to cut back his prednisone slightly from 2.5ml 2x /day to 2ml 2x day and move his 100mg of keppra from morning to night time.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that the pharmaceuticals can be dulling the mind and make it harder to recover.. you just have to be very careful how to change it up to try and make them sharper.. and see if it works..
Max also has had 3 rounds of acupuncture so far. Tomorrow will be his 4th round.
I'm not sure if it was one thing in particular or a combination or just timing but today he made some big strides!
When Max had his head rubbed today he tried to lift his head! His eyes were wide open and moving around and he was watching everyone.. Then he started to move his back leg, then both and then he tried to push his rear end up! I managed to get a little of this on film, but not the big push when he got his whole rear end airborn for a few seconds! He's been able to move his left arm for about a week now, and that arm is getting stronger and stronger. He still struggles to control the movement but he can focus and make it move. He did manage to slide it out from under a towel this afternoon too!
Anyway - here's the video of Max moving his back legs and trying to stand up!
He's definitely a super dog!!! He's working hard!!! GO MAX!
It's definitely the little things that make a big difference. Max's recovery has been extremely slow but each day there's a little more to be happy about. I'm finally able to get a little of it on video.
Max is definitely more alert than he has been. His eyes sometimes follow what's going on and his ears are definitely in tune to sound and he'll wake up out of a dead sleep if he hears something. Last night when the dogs were running around the house, Buster #2 jumped over Max and Max's eyes got really big and he huffed and started breathing heavier and trying to push with his left arm... He's working on it!!!
He can now move the tip of his tail about an inch in both directions. He will wiggle his nose, and pull his head away - although he can't lift his head totally. He has held his head up for a few seconds when I've been moving him or putting him on top of a high pillow so he can be in a standing position. He can straighten and pull his left arm back and bend at the elbow - all be- it a very slow process. He also can bend his left front paw. He has trouble when he has towels on it.. but he still will try and regain his strength. He's starting to push a little with his other legs too but not as strong and determined at this point as the left front paw. He's working on it though. He has control over his ears and can actually flop them up and down now.
Anyway - here are a couple of videos.. again this is a slow process but it's improvement!
Below - Max trying to move his left arm (it's covered in towels so it's harder than if it was on it's own but you can see his muscles pushing
Messing With Max until he decides he's finished with me messing with him and he won't react any more!
Naki'o is the world's first dog to be fitted with a complete set of bionic paws. They work naturally to allow him to run, jump and play like any other dog. Naki'o lost his paws to frostbite as a puppy after he was abandoned in the Nebraska winter by his owners. He was adopted by vet technician Christie Tomlinson. As he grew, Naki'o had difficulty getting around on his stubs, resorting to crawling on his stomach. So last year Tomlinson decided to get him prosthetics. Denver's Orthopets created two for the dog, and after seeing how well he did with them, made another two for free. It's really amazing to see how he jumps and moves around with his new feet! visit http://www.dogheirs.com/elleng/posts/892-dog-gets-around-with-four-bionic-paws for more info
It's Monday night and Max has been home since Thurs night (4 days). Home care is not for the faint of heart, but we are managing on getting a better schedule together. Max is being very patient with me, and has put up with me squirting food all over him, me, the walls, the ceiling, through the screens on the windows.. (definitely not something I recommend!). We've mastered expressing his bladder, which I wish I had known about with previous animals! And he's making some progress!
FEEDINGS:
So.. when Max first came home he was getting fed every 4 hours. His diet is supposed to be Purina EN (gastro-inestinal) which is ok.. not my preferred brand my any stretch of the imagination... but given the situation, I was following doctors orders. HOWEVER.... EN contains rice... rice does not fit through a feeding tube syringe.. even after going through the blender AND the food processor and having water and pumpkin added to it! This has made the whole feeding tube experience INCREDIBLY frustrating. Since Max has never eaten Purina in his life (we have only done home cooked raw and organic, or The Honest Kitchen or other organic, grain free, whole food brands) I talked with our holistic vets today and switched him over to WURUVA, grain free Steak Frites. It also has a higher water content and it's been tough to keep him as hydrated as he needs.. so I popped it in the blender with some water and additional pumpkin today and voila! It slid right through the feeding tube! No issues! No safety pin required to fish out rice particles! I also can more easily add his chinese herbs. He's back on his Stasis of the Mansion of the Mind, and the Wei Chi Booster. He's still taking 1 yunnan baiyao capsule / day to help clear up the bleed in his brain and keep any other bleeds from happening. I've also added milk thistle and astragalus back to his diet too and just mix the powders from the capsules into his food. In addition I also have added colostrum to help boost his immune system and maybe help rebuild some damaged stuff. ... and I've also added a little polyMVA to see if that helps, but not too much. Don't need his fur to fall out again! The Vit B complex in it should help though!
THE PROGRESS:
Progress has been very slow. We've had some good days and some flat days but I was told to expect that. Each day he seems to do something new though. He's still in a coma technically, but he is definitely aware of what's going on around him. I mentioned that when he was in the hospital he'd do a lot of sighing when the techs when to coupage him or do range of motion exercises or give him meds.. he's still doing that, but he's also doing it when the other dogs get all excited and bark around him (nobody touching him or near him). We know he can hear. Here's what he's done so far:
Still stretching all 4 legs and occassionally his neck
Slid his head about an inch to the side to readjust (hasn't lifted head yet)
Gets really agitated when he has to urinate (once he urinates he's ok and calms down)
He has moved his left front paw twice when he's been agitated and needed to urinate - just the paw up and down
He also moved his left front paw up and down twice in a row when Buttercup and I sat down with him
He is showing resistance when he's doing range of motion exercises and will push back
He has slid his left front leg twice to reposition it - just a couple of inches
He just stretched and flexed his right front paw (which he is laying on)
While his position was being adjusted the other day, he kicked out his left leg to try and push and stop being rotated, definitely purposeful
He has flicked the tip of his tail a number of times
He licks his nose if you put something on it and can put his tongue right back in his mouth where it belongs.. his tongue is getting much stronger and movements are much more purposeful
He can open and close his lower jaw without any issues now. He yawns, stretches his jaw, opens and closes his mouth sometimes just to do it, will open his mouth to try and lift up his head when he's in a sternal position
He's grunted a few times but not sure why (could be a reflex or just testing his body)
Tonight he barked or growled at me - or some kind of combination
Today he pooped for the first time and was pushing hard to poop
EXPRESSING BLADDERS:
Who ever came up with this is GENIUS!! Not only is it a good thing for a dog who won't urinate on their own - which Max WILL do if left to his own devices - I just love the fact that I can help him express his bladder and not worry about accidents! I received a hand out on how to do it, but there's a video I found of a paralyzed dog having his bladder expressed which was REALLY HELPFUL!
If only Max was a little smaller, and I could hold him over the toilet! I actually just slide him to the edge of his bed, put a pee pad under him so that his urine goes down hill on the pad and it's an easy clean up!
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT:
Our house is a single story which makes life a lot easier to move Max around the house. (I've lived in a 4 story house with a golden retriever who couldn't walk and we all ended up moving to the main floor so she wasn't alone!)
A boogie board (to put under the dog bed to help keep his body in line, also helpful to carry him without having him slide off his bed, you can pick him up and put him on your bed, or put him on the floor, and can put the head end of the board on a pillow to raise his head while feeding (head needs to be higher than stomach with the feeding tube)
Gauze - to help keep feeding tube ring from digging into his tummy after it's first put in
Neosporin - for feeding tube port until it's totally healed
Small kids 100% cotton T-shirts or tank tops (wash before you put them on) They should be tight - and are good to cover the body and the port to help keep it clean. You may need to cut the arm pits and neck to make sure it doesn't cut off circulation to your dog's arms or legs
A waggon (gardener's wagon, or red wagon) You can lift the whole boogie board with the dog bed on it and put it in/on the wagon and wheel your dog easily from one side of the house to another
towels - always have a few extra handy just in case. They are good for proping up the body when you put them sternal, or propping up the head
Extra big feeding tube syringes.. It didn't take me long to completely KILL one of the ones I was given!
Roll of papertowls
Sanitary wipes (women's or baby's will work to clean up accidents - we haven't used these much at all!)
One thing that is HIGHLY .. did I say HIGHLY?!!! HIGHLY recommended!
If you have a veterinary tech who you can pay as a dog sitter for a day.. take some time off. It helps to re-energize you, put a new perspective on things, and let's you step back a bit. Today I had to go to personal appointments I had made a couple of months ago and if I canceled the appointments it would take a couple more months to make them again. Our amazing friend Amanda who is a surgical vet tech came over to feed, rotate, coupage, give Max his meds and check on him did an amazing job! and gave me the piece of mind I needed to be able to run up to my appointments! (YES I was a total mess.. but the good news is that my blood pressure was actually normal! I still find that hard to believe!)
I'm sure there's more that I can write but sleep deprivation is setting in... I'm about to give Max his 11pm feeding and then we're off to bed for the next 6-7 hours and then we'll wake up and feed again!!!
