2 New tricks in a day!

I don't normally post so much but Mr. Max has been on a roll today!  Not only did he start turning his head to the right this morning... but tonight, while he was working out and doing his left sided push ups.. (we really need to get that right side in shape)  He started to use his tail as leverage, or maybe it's balance???  to try and move himself around.

Now I'm really really excited about this!  His head and his tail both starting to move on the same day.. but I quickly found out that this could be a problem, as Max scooched himself back and further back and actually backed over his feeding tube, got it stuck under him and kept trying to scooch back further and started to pull it out!!!  I'm going to need to figure out how to tape it to his back! I'm still wondering if all the activity of this weekend is helping to get him moving again. He went on a road trip and has been bounced all over the place and flipped and twisted and flopped... Anyway - he's something else... that Maxy Boy!!!  I do have to say here that there are days where he just looks like he's done.  Yesterday was one of those days.. Dr. Lord asked me the other day if I was noticing any patterns which I'm grateful she did. I have started to notice he's more aware and active every other day.. One day he's "on" and working hard, and the next day he looks like he's going to cash in his chips .. and the very next day he's stronger than he was 2 days ago.. Every so often it'll take 2 off days and then a good on day.  He seems to learn a new trick - be it a small trick every week and a half to two weeks.. hopefully we'll start seeing more and more.  It's SLOW... being at home and taking care of him, it's definitely SLOW... but it's still progress and when he's working I see him working SO hard, I just have to give him a chance. He's definitely a super dog and aside from my impatience with the speed he's progressing, this has been a lot easier than I even thought it was going to be as far as Max going to the bathroom, feeding, medicine, etc..   The first few days were really tough - but once I got the whole feeding tube thing down and stopped spray painting the walls, windows, ceiling, myself, and anyone else around with pureed Wuruvu   it became a whole lot easier!  Max now spends a good hour or so sitting on my lap every day while I watch TV.. his rear end is on my leg with his legs hanging down and he props up on his elbos on my other leg (my leg by his back legs has to be lower so he doesn't aspirate anything from his tummy) and then he rests his head in the crux of my arm, and he gets coupaged, pet and snuggled with.  The other dogs have started to come around him more and more too. He doesnt' have his facecloth in his mouth any more either.. I had to give him a face cloth to grit in his teeth last week becasue he had pierced his tongue with his teeth in 4 places. He had the face cloth in his mouth for about 4-5 days. The holes have actually healed up!  He has a few nibs out of the side of his tongue but all in all.. not too bad, and he has more control over his jaw and his head so he's more gentle when he's opening and closing his mouth. He's yawning too and cleaning his face when his nose runs. Today was also the first day that his nose has been cold and wet and not dry and crusty!!!  I know the prednisone will dry him out too, so I was chalking it up to that.. and was kind of surprised at the cold wet nose! Anyway - had to share!

We have some head movement!!!

Today is Monday, July 9, 2012... Almost 1 month since Max came on on June 14th.  Today I  am happy to report that we finally have some more head movement! I was beginning to give up hope.  Perhaps Max is just good and tired of all the manhandling, and flipping and flopping around he's had over the last few days.. (He went on a road trip this weekend)

This morning after I got him up, fed him, he went to the bathroom, etc.. I left him in bed on his stomach in a straight line, and his head propped up on his travel pillow (which I originally bought so I could lay him on the side that his feeding tube port is on.. but as it turns out that is an EXCELLENT head and neck support for someone who has no neck control!). I took #2 out for his run and when I came back, Max's body was still in the straight position, although his head (and the pillow) were completely turn to the right towards the door. (Have no idea if he meant to look at the door or not but that was where he was facing.)

I thought he must have accidentally moved his head, until I had moved him into the living room and was getting him situated and I kept putting his head in a straight line with his body and then he'd push his head to the right.  I would put it back in a straight line and he'd push it back to the right again. Then I held his head in my head, with his head resting on top of my hand and I could feel the muscles in his neck moving and his head turned to the right. He repeated this a bunch of times before he got tired of it and closed his eyes.

And now that I think about it, twice yesterday, while I was hanging out with him, he actually lifted the top of his head up to yawn, not just his lower jaw.

I've spent the last few days, making him do things that make him move his neck - like tickling his nose until he sneeze, and a few times he'd move his head away before I'd even touch his nose, and giving him wet willies so he'd shake his head. These are all reflex actions but they still use the muscles and I thought maybe that might help remind the muscles what they are supposed to do.

It's a start... everything is a start!  But he keeps getting a tiny bit stronger with each thing and I realize we have to practice a lot! It does take a lot of time out of the day to work with him as much as he needs, and I don't always get the chance to do it as much as he needs but sure do try. I wish there was a good doggie rehab center close by where they could work with him all day long to get those muscles going again.. 

Hard Workout today!

Again Max woke me up with a good swift kick to the side!  He wanted to keep kicking .. and in fact he did for about 4 hours this morning!!!

I'm still waiting to hear back from the guy who makes the body slings.. but realized I had something that could help in the house already.. When I took Max up to NY for Cyber knife treatments, I bought these long thin yellow pillows to use as bumpers in the car so he wouldn't bang around.. They just happen to be perfect for him to lie on top of with his arms and legs down at the side so he's almost in a standing position.  As soon as I put him on top of it, he relaxed and went to sleep though!  Must finally be comfortable for him!  I woke him up to work a little more and he used his left side to push himself over on his right side.. Left side is twice as strong as the right since he's been laying on the right more because of the feeding tube.. Hopefully this pillow will help change that and he'll be able to start pushing with both legs.. It'll make acupuncture easier I bet! and he's definitely more comfortable right now!!!

3 out of 4 legs are working!

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!

To learn more about Faith the Dog visit http://faiththedog.info/ 

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!

Max is trying to stand up!

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 the Little Things

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!