Bully is paralyzed from FCE

[karkorny]

My 100-pound bullmastiff mix was downed Sunday nite with what i thought was a foot or leg injury, which rapidly revealed it was a lot more. He spent Sunday nite in a local emergency hospital and I transported him yesterday morning to Upstate Vets, an hour from my home in Asheville, NC. Diagnosis, FCE. It apparently was in the cervical area, which means his paralysis is front and back, mostly on the right side. My local vet, trying to be upfront with me, gives me little hope. He says he's never seen a big dog like Bully recover from this and I'm looking at putting him down. I've cried myself out till I found this website. It gives me some hope. I'll do whatever I have to to help him, just don't know what yet. I'm going to see him today to see better what his status is. Any support, encouragement - even painful honesty - is appreciated. Karen

[Cindidoxiemom]

Welcome, and I'm very sorry to hear about your dog. Can you tell me how they diagnosised FCE in your baby? Also, MANY dogs recover from FCE, and trust me, just because your vet hasn't seen one doesn't mean a darn thing. My surgeon hadn't seen a dog recover deep pain 9 months after IVDD surgery, but my Oscar did.
http://www.petplace.com/articles/artPri ... onID=22091
This article is pretty good. It explains the treatment and prognosis. According to this, you need to wait AT LEAST 3-4 weeks to see if improvement is occuring.
Keep us updated,
Cindi

[karkorny]

FCE was a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms are all there, along with no disc problems or tumors showing on the myelogram. Everything fits. Just got off the phone with the doctor tending to Bully and she said he was much more alert and bright this morning. Poor guy has had so much anesthesia for testing to arrive at the diagnosis, he's been in a drug haze. Anyway, he's still paralyzed, although they saw a little movement in one leg which gave them hope. If this only concerned the back legs, I'd be coping a lot better. He's such a big dog and I'm trying to envision dealing with him at home, not even able to sit or stand. It's an overwhelming thought, but I'll do what I have to do. Thanks for the encouragement. Karen

[Cindidoxiemom]

Just got off the phone with the doctor tending to Bully and she said he was much more alert and bright this morning. Poor guy has had so much anesthesia for testing to arrive at the diagnosis, he's been in a drug haze. Anyway, he's still paralyzed, although they saw a little movement in one leg which gave them hope.

This is very encouraging. Chances are good that you will only have to provide heavy duty care for a few weeks. Hang tough!
Cindi

[CarolC]

Hi Karen,

I would be more optimistic than your doctor. My dog's physical therapist says that 85% of dogs with FCE recover. There is an 85% chance he will recover enough to get around by himself and still be a happy dog. Of the 15% that do not, either the owner gave up or the dog gave up. The owner may give up due to being unwilling or unable to provide care during recovery. The dog may give up due to too much stress from vet visits, an upset atmosphere at home, etc. One thing they recommend is to keep a very upbeat attitude around your dog, and don't let him know you are worried.

The only place painful honesty comes in is not the diagnosis, but the physical lifting that is going to be required. You may begin to see function improve pretty quickly, but it sounds like he will need assistance to walk at first. With a really big dog, you're either going to need a 4-wheel cart or a front-and-back harness to help him get around.

Also being realistic, if you can get him into canine physical therapy, that would help (not necessary cheap), but it will mean effort from your family in terms of loading him in the car a couple of times a week and taking him to PT. Yes, you probably do have some physical labor ahead of you, but it may not last long. They can bounce back fairly quickly, I would definitely give it time if possible and see.

Here are the links for 4-wheel carts. I would not spend a lot of time looking at them right now if I were you. It will take time for you to get one delivered, so a harness is a much better bet for the short term. With luck, he will not need a cart.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/ ... read=21043

Here are links for harnesses. The first one is sold through HandicappedPets and is a combination harness. I think they can overnight them to you if the size is in stock.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/Mobility ... arness.htm

The next one is what I have for my golden retriever. I got excellent service from the lady and I love it. You can leave it on the dog all day.

http://www.hartmanharness.com

I have one important question for you. Does your dog have bladder control?

Please update, and ask if you have any questions. Don't give up! Every little sign of improvement is reason for hope!

[karkorny]

thanks, carol. this forum has been amazing. incredible what a little hope will do for your spirits. i just got back from the 3-hour roundtrip drive to visit bully at Upstate Vet hospital. he was so happy to see me. he's still immobile, but his neck was trembling, so happy for me to be there and unable to jump up or wag his tail. i spent about an hour with him. if they'd let me sleep in his crate with him i think i would. i'm looking into two possible places to take him, probably friday. one is a couple of hours away at UT in Knoxville, the other is Aiken, SC, rehab place. this is killing me financially, but that's what credit cards are for, i guess. i probably can't afford to have him in rehab for much more than a week, but hopefully he'll have some mobility back by then and i can start dealing with him at home. i'm just hoping and praying that in the next day or two we start seeing some response. that's what i understand is critical, the first week. appreciate the encouragement and also the links. i'm checking everything out.

[CarolC]

Hi Karen,

I was thinking more about your situation. If you are over an hour away from the hospital, then you might want to call them and ask them to take the measurements for the front and rear harnesses. I guess ask first if they have front and rear harnesses you can use, but if not you are going to have to buy or make something. You are going to have to be able to help him up and get him moving, and I think it's going to take a double harness. I would recommend going to the webpage of whichever harness you decide on and seeing what measurements are needed (chest, waist, etc) and ask them to measure him and give you the numbers. Or else you could do it yourself on your next visit. I am a little concerned you will have him home soon and no harness. There is one more harness I did not give the link for, and it is also a double harness. They used to sell it through this website (don't see it now) but you could order it direct--the Pet Lift Harness.

I suppose you could consider just buying a rear harness for him and using a standard (cheaper) walking harness to hold onto his front half, but it might not be as comfortable.

I was looking back at a recent case of a large dog with FCE. It was a 115-lb dog who was owned by a single lady in New York named Wanda, and she could not lift him. Couldn't get him into the car to take to the vet, had to have help. His case was different in that only his hind legs were affected but he had no bladder control. I was reading her messages and she said he stood up after about 2 weeks. I don't think there is any kind of a set time frame on this sort of thing, but that was encouraging.

Karen, does your dog have bladder control?

Right now it sounds like he is unable to turn himself. You are going to need to have a very soft bed. It is going to be important to turn him every few hours to prevent skin breakdown just as you do with human patients. You don't want to have to deal with pressure sores, they're easier to prevent than cure. Here is a website that shows how to turn a dog. (You can close the popup that says ActiveX).

http://www.mzjf.com/turn-dog.htm

Are they getting him up and exercising him at the upstate hospital you took him to? Aggressive physical therapy is recommended for FCE. Here are some messages by people with dogs with FCE.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/ ... read=33059

http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/ ... read=28342

http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/ ... read=26410

http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/ ... read=26394 (this dog went down 2/17)

http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/ ... read=25277

http://www.handicappedpets.com/cgi-bin/ ... read=13471

Hope this helps a little.

[maddiesmom]

Hi - I'm so sorry to hear about your sweet doggie. My 10-year-old black lab, Maddie, had a spinal stroke (FCE) 2 weeks ago also - I never thought I could cry so much. She can't use her back legs at all but I have been doing physical therapy on her (having her stand on her rear legs for 5 minutes, 4 times a day and doing bicycles with her back legs) and yesterday she moved her legs and her tail a little bit. I was so excited. I also have been trying to stay positive with her and keep her life as normal as possible. Any tips or info anyone has on this would be great. I want to see about doing water therapy with her but I'm not sure they will let me do that until she improves more.

[karkorny]

My heart goes out to you. But this forum has helped me know there's hope! I live in Asheville, NC, and yesterday I picked up my dog from the hospital in Greenville, SC, and drove another 3 hours to Aiken, SC, right near Augusta, GA, where there's a wonderful animal rehab center. I had apprehensions about taking Bully there and leaving him because it's so far from me. But by the time I left, I had no reservations at all. They're doing acupuncture, water therapy, massage, elecro-stimulation. They're putting him on a therapy ball, doing whirlpool. It's terrific. I've already called twice since I left him there yesterday and they're not the least bit irritated by my calls. They're so excited to be working with him and he's making some progress. Mind you, Bully is paralyzed in all fours right now! But I saw a little movement yesterday, and his tail wagged, which are wonderful signs. Today they told me they had him in a quadraplegic cart and that he was "helping" with his back leg when they were rolling him. I find the best thing I can do is keep my spirits up and stay positive. When I let anyone sound negative, then I get down. A really good friend of mine and fellow-animal-lover just said to me essentially that if he doesn't ever make any progress I'll have to put him down. I told her she was out of her mind. He's my dog and I'm not going to kill him just because he's handicapped. Hang in there. Karen

[maddiesmom]

wow! it sounds like you found a great facility. it sounds great - and your dog is so lucky to have you - it sounds like you are giving him the best care possible. i am going to call my neurologist and see if i can find a rehab facility. they only gave me 2 physical therapy exercises to do at home. thanks for getting back to me.

here are my 2 physical therapy exercises i was given:
1 - stand on hind legs with bottoms up carrier for 5-10 minutes 3-4 times a day
2- do "bicycle kicks" on each leg for 5-10 minutes 3-4 times a day.

anyone have any other ideas for PT?

[FYI]

anyone have any other ideas for PT?

https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Physical_therapy_for_paralysis

[maddiesmom]

this is great! thank you so much. it is so nice to know there are a lot of great resources here. i also started calling around and found a water therapy place 12 blocks from my house - now they just have to get this therapy approved from my neurologist (who is an hour away). we could have our first water therapy session on saturday.

[karkorny]

Just wondering where you live. Unfortunately, even though I found this great place in Aiken where Bully is now, I don't think there's anything near my home for when I bring him home. He's making progress, but still paralyzed in all fours. I'm going to start trying to find maybe a vet tech in my area who could come to my house and work with him daily, or something like that. What a challenge, but he's my motivater and I'll do whatever I have to to help him. Karen

[karkorny]

Carol, I realized I never answered a question you posed, whether Bully has bladder control or not. The first two days he didn't; it just dribbled out, and they catheterized him. But now he does. At the rehab center they take him out and lay him in the grass, and the smell of the grass, etc, prompts his bowels to move, and they said he urinates there. So obviously he's holding it for the appropriate place. What a good boy! They're putting him in the pool twice a day and say he's doing well, has started holding his own head up. Also, he doesn't like being in the quad cart - he probably feels too out of control - and he squirms in it, seems real restless. But he did try to help with his back leg to move the cart. I'm so hopeful! And I miss him so much. Karen

[maddiesmom]

hi - we live in a part of LA, California - manhattan beach. I just started looking at the rehab part of this site and started calling - one of the local places referred me to the woman who specializes in spinal strokes and she happened to be in manhattan beach.

we are having a tough time right now because maddie's medicine she is taking (previcox) is giving her the runs - so we are having to clean her and everthing else around her about every 3 hours.

i am still waiting to hear back from my neurologist on whether we can start with the water physical therapy or not...

i think your idea of finding a local person to work with her sounds good - hopefully the techs where your dog is now can give you some at home physical therapy you can do.

by the way, what is your dogs name?