My iggy is paralyzed from a spinal tumor...

[iggymom]

My italian greyhound has been paralyzed for about three weeks now. I took her to the vet immediately when she showed signs of not being able to walk. The vet did a physical exam but no x-rays. We were sent home with prednisone and muscle relaxers and told to 'keep in touch'. Three weeks into it, my poor dog developed a bladder infection so we took her back to the vet. A different vet in the clinic examined her and took x-rays. Last Friday, after a few minutes of reviewing the x-rays, he informed us that she has a tumor on her spine that is inoperable and that we should just take her home and enjoy the little time left with her. He also recommended against any type of therapy or a wheelchair for her. I left his office devastated and frustrated. We have an appointment next week with a neurologist to at least get a second opinion and possibly some guidance on how to care for her in our new situation. We don't even really know for sure that it is a tumor as it only seemed to take him a minute or two to decide she was a lost cause. I really just want to know how to give her a good life, whether we get the use of her legs back or not. Help!

[Bobbie]

Essentially the same thing happened to one of my corgis, but we did get the X-ray first time round. It didn't matter- she didn't live long. However, if pain killers work to keep your IG comfy you might get more time. Spinal tumors are nasty things, though, they tend to spread quickly after they reach the point of causing spinal cord damage. I wish I could offer more hope but the best I can say is keep her comfortable and let her go when you see signs of continued illness or pain.

[CarolC]

I hope you can get a definite diagnosis. Bladder infections can occur in paralyzed pets when they do not empty their bladder completely, like normal pets. The stale urine remaining in the bladder too long creates an environment for infection. You can prevent this by expressing the bladder, which is a technique of manually squeezing her tummy so she pees. The vet should teach you how to do it. Here is an article about it, with lots of videos at the end.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16027

Here is an archived article about a dog (think it is an IG) with a wheelchair. (Scroll down below the calendar.) Not sure why your vet said don't bother with a wheelchair. If the wheelchair is adjusted/fitted so the dog is comfortable, she might enjoy it like Gideon in the article.

http://www.flyballdogs.com/raiders/Gideons%20Rehab.htm

[slshepherds]

Hi

Sorry for the late response ... I'm Joanne and one of my paraplegics is "Crazy Carl", a Lab I adopted as a paraplegic in 2010. Carl became ataxic when he was 8 months old. Radiographs showed a spinal tumor, as did a CT scan (photos of the scan below). Carl was paralyzed before he was a year old and came to me when he was two. We took radiographs every 6 months for two years and there was a slight but not great change. His cord is now completely compressed (the black circle is his cord, the grey shades to the side and top the tumor) and his vertebra moth eaten but Carl is still very much alive and with me 5+ YEARS after diagnosis. Clearly, this far out from diagnosis Carl does not have a malignant spinal tumor, but does have "something" (potentially a benign tumor) which caused the compression.

Carl has an amazing neurologist who is always reminding me that neurology is more shades of grey and less black and white, something I remind myself of frequently






Wishing you and your pup the best.

Joanne