Hi Everyone:
Our Ms. Lucy had an appt with the vet on 7/10 for a thyroid check (she has hyperthyroid). For 4 days I had lowered her dose b/c she was losing weight (not the right thing to do, I've been told), and wanted to have a level drawn. The vet suggested I get her back up to her regular dose of Tapazole, (which is 7.5 mg), and come back in a week for a blood test. I had asked him if they would clip her nails as well. Now, I used to ask them to shave her backside a bit because of BM issues, but this time, I know I did not.
She was acting quite odd for a few days and at 4am on Wednesday morning (I have insomnia & was up) our girl came out to me and laid down. I laid down right next to her and was able to see this horrible looking ? cyst with bloody & purulent
drainage. There was a 1" x 1.5" area of dead looking skin with a hole in it. I was panicked!
We took our girl to a 24 hour emergency care and she had sedation & flushing out of the abscess (large amount of purulent material & "backside" gland material), as well as removal of a large flap of dead skin.
When we picked up Ms. Lucy she had an Elizabethan collar on (we're not familiar with this at all). Her wound (pretty large) had to be left open to heal as it will most likely abscess again if closed. So.........she needs to wear this collar until she is healed.
Today is Saturday, and she looks and is acting SOOOOOOOO much better ! (Thank you Dear God and St. Francis). The only way (initially) she could be fed is putting wet food in a shot glass and hand feeding her. But today as I was trying to take a nap (with earplugs in), I could hear some unusual sounds.......
Ms. Lucy was in the kitchen with a bowl of food on the floor with the tinfoil taken off . (the bowl had been up on the counter).
She is on antibiotics, pain medications, not to mention her Tapazole and a tiny amount of insulin. She really is being such a trooper and so is our little guy, Mr. Yoster . He doesn't know what to make about Ms. Lucy , that's for sure.
For those of you who are familiar with this collar, we really could use some advice. The vet technician was saying how easy it was to take off to wash, but you have to watch her every single minute so that she doesn't lick the wound - and then put it back on again ! I don't know, it seems very difficult to do. I clean it as best I can when she's resting after her pain medication. I thought that they only used these collars if sutures were involved?
Thank you all for reading this. I didn't know if I'd ever get this written because I feel incredibly exhausted. I will say that, having Ms. Lucy and Mr. Yoster really is the most rewarding thing for the both of us. As I was taking a nap yesterday & today, Ms. Lucy laid down on me so that her little collar was around my face/chin. I could feel her beautiful face & hear her very loud purrs . Because of things like that, my heart feels full and everything seems okay with the world.
My mother is back in the hospital after having her 3rd fall in 6 weeks . We saw her late Thursday night and some of her memory was there, but it just looked as if she was looking through me. (all of her brain scans, etc.., have come out negative). I've talked with her on the phone a few times and we're going by to see her today. We'll bring her some of her favorite foods because they told me she doesn't have an appetite, which is worrisome. On July 13th she was at home and her regular self. I hope that today we will see some improvement.
Wishing all of you much peace, love, good health & happiness.
Denise xo