FCE NEWBIE- suggestions and help requested

[CLAMBRIGHT]

Hi, our 5 year old sheltie Karma suffered an FCE stroke early this morning that has left her back right leg
Limp, and some weakness in her back left side as well. Karma went to a neurologist this morning after seeing her regular vet.
She has had a MRI to confirm the diagnosis and is expected to be discharged and return home tomorrow.
We plan on jumping in as a family to rehab Karma. Our 9 year old, who adores her dog has already
Created a schedule of care for her pup!! We adopted our daughter two years ago,and Karma was so wonderful in helping her feel comfortable in her new home and with her new family. Other than being our family "therapist" Karma is also a certified therapy dog who visits nursing homes and works with abused children. We are hoping that Karma will soon be up and about and able to get back to doing what she loves..helping everyone else!
Hoping for some advise for how we can help Karma when she comes home tomorrow and thru out her first few weeks in dealing with her new (and hopefully) temporary reality!

[poohbearsmom]

Great info on FCE's on this site.
Lots of people will be with you on Karma's road to recovery.
If you have questions along the way - this is the place for answers.

[CLAMBRIGHT]

Karma has already made great progress in her recovery. She is no longer rolling her back foot, she is walking flat footed. She is still fairly weak in her back end, but seems stronger each day. I was able to work from home last week and did some exercises with her and took her for short walks each day. This all seems to have helped her. Tomorrow she starts rehab which will likely include treadmill and aquatic treadmill work and possibly some laser therapy.
Looking forward to watching her continued progress!!!

[Shaz]

Woohooo, great News, so happy for you, onwards and upwards. I hope today is the start of more good things for you and Karma:)

[nesikay1]

what type of pt do you do?

[CLAMBRIGHT]

Karma is currently going for rehab twice a week where she is doing stairs, some laser therapy, and also the aqua treadmill.
In addition to her twice a week rehab, we are taking her on at least two short walks a day along with massage and leg exercises (bicycle motions and leg lifts). She has made WONDERFUL progress! She gets tired quickly, but she's getting stronger everyday!

[poohbearsmom]

Happy to hear of Karma's progress.
I realy think the aqua treadmill made all the difference in my Poohbear's recovery.
Keep up the good work.

[CLAMBRIGHT]

I totally agree about the aqua treadmill!! It's done wonders for Karma!