Okey so I have a Chocolate Labrador (Basil) 14 years old in Jan and weighs roughly 40Kg's. He's a big old boi. Sorry for the long post TL/DR at the bottom.
Medical History:
Joint in left back leg/Knee tore when he was 6 - Required a metal bolt through to keep the integrity(Treated with painkillers like gabapentin & metacalm)
Allergies - Specifically hay fever like itchy skin(Treated with Antihistamines)
Inflamed Ears(Treated with ear ointment(Cant remember name))
Seizures/Strokes which started roughly a year ago - Due to an underactive thyroid or so thought(Treated with medicine can't remember name again)
Basil has always been a tough dog, his leg has been his biggest hinderance in life but it has never stopped him from living good one. We were told he won't make it past 8, he destroyed that by living an extra 6 years after through the effort each of us in the family have put into him and his sheer will to keep going - primarily for his next meal. Just a year ago Basil experienced his first seizure/Stroke, this was very scary for us as we didn't fully understand why or what was going on in that moment. Our vet said it could have been a one off due to his age, old dogs can have them. Sadly Basil had another a month later which we decided to act on and take him to the vet. After a blood count they found his Thyroid to be underactive and gave us pills to fix this. It didn't stop the seizures/Strokes but it sure did space them apart. He'd always recover incredibly quickly from his seizures/Strokes, the longest we timed was 3 Minutes and it usually took him 30 minutes to get his vision back and walking steadily again with no signs of discomfort.
Sadly Basil last Thursday experienced 6 Seizures/Strokes in the space of 28 Hours which has since rendered him floor bound, it was unheard of for Basil to have more than one seizure/Strokes in 2 weeks so this was a big surprise. We took him to the Vet on the Friday. The Vet of course offered us the choice of saying goodbye or giving him one more chance, we took the chance prepared for what might happen, they offered us some Epiphen pills which help stop seizures/Strokes in dogs which are caused by neurological problems I believe? Why we weren't offered these much earlier I'm not too sure but hind sight is a sod eh?
Basil couldn't walk, couldn't hear, couldn't see. All he could do was bark, eat, drink and relieve himself on mats we put down beneath him. I'm writing this 5 days after the incident, he can now see again, and hear you and is very animated with the world around him. But still floor bound. As we are all working from home he always has someone by his side offering him water and tickles and ready to change his mats and clean him up at a moments notice. We are trying to keep his dignity intact and offering him that chance. By the way his appetite or thirst has not diminished in the slightest, he wolfs down everything we put in front of him.
We feel like he may be plateauing, although he has gained a little more movement in his legs whenever we attempted to help him walk, his legs can barely hold him, his front ones are the strongest but still not enough they can fall beneath his weight easily and requires someone to hold him up, while his back legs are the worst most of the time they're crossed over one another and his bad left leg constantly extended out. At night he barks and whines, we know why, he's always been a good boy and never done his business in the house, always waited to go outside. His pride gets too much for him and he holds it all in and becomes stressed. Due to him not being able to walk, we can't let him out, neither can we help him do it as he can be too limp to be in a position for him to go (Trust me we have tried a lot). So we have to wait till he does his business on the mats then we clean him up then he falls asleep, then sometimes waking up later in the night, barking for some water, waking one of us up, we give it to him and he falls right back to bed.
Let me make myself clear, we wouldn't keep Basil around if we truly thought he was in pain, in large discomfort or there wasn't a chance for him. And its certainly something we may have to decide on soon as his Quality of Life is becoming questionable which is very important to us.Our Vet has been amazing, she has looked after our dog incredibly well and looks after our extended families pets as well.We have time, money and resources especially for Basil. I'm sorry for this incredibly long post, I think this has been some sort of therapy for me writing it out. Its left me in distraught.
(TL/DR - My dog started to experience seizures/strokes, had 6 in 28 hours, lost hearing, eyesight and movement in his legs. Recovered his sight, hearing and some integrity in his legs in 5 days but not enough to walk even with help. Relieves himself on mats beneath him which we change and clean him after. Has constant attention, with water and tickles. Still has a superb appetite. See questions below)
My question is to all of you that is able or willing to give me an answer - From your experience or knowledge, how long has it taken for a dog to recover from something this severe? Was there a full, partial or no recovery? Are their stages in which the recovery comes? (e.g Gets worse before he gets better) Any other information, stories or opinions are greatly appreciated. And lastly do YOU think we are doing the right thing?
Thank you.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/k0j00m/my_14yo_chocolate_lab_had_6_seizurestroke_in_28/
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