Day 11: Sundays are for snoozing

Yesterday evening I trawled the internet further and found some hope in electro acupuncture being a good way of restimulating the nerves in the legs. I have found a holistic vet about a 30min drive away so have made contact to get Lloris booked in next week. I have no idea of the cost yet!

Also have had his hydrotherapy session confirmed for Tuesday at 3.30pm. I have so much hope invested in this treatment. Fingers crossed it achieves some success.

His towelling robe arrived today ready for his hydro session. It’s by Ruff & Tumble and was £41.95. Size: Medium, fits him perfectly and I opted for the Sandringham Blue.

Modelling his new Ruff & Tumble robe ready for Hydrotherapy

I went to bed feeling positive last night after his efforts to stand. Whilst our final physio session of the day didn’t quite achieve the same results of earlier in the afternoon, I’ve decided to just hang onto only the positives of yesterday.

So this mornings find…

It’s Sunday, a day of rest, but not for us. We have our morning routine to get through and from 7.45am he’s squealing at me. Our day has begun. I call out to him to give me just 10 minutes more but he’s not programmed with a snooze button and is having none of it.

He’s bright and alert this morning, nappy is still dry and in place. No mess. He’s desperate to go out in the garden so off we go.

Great result, as soon as we get out there he poops. So he must have known he needed to go hence all the squealing. No pees in the garden though and it’s a bit chilly so with his back still shaved and bare from the operation he’s eager to come back inside.

Breakfast is served. He has mince meat, mash potatoes, green beans, sweet peas, broccoli all mixed together with lactose free yogurt. He’s wolfing it down along with his medicine. It’s the last day today for many of these tablets so let’s hope that’s a good thing!

Lloris’s medication has been:

Metcam Oral - once per day

Gabapentin 150mg - twice per day

Paracetamol 200mg - twice per day

Turmeric Curcumin 10,000mg supplement which I have added in for joints and mobility

I just turned my back on him to get the water and sponge ready for his sponge bath with Johnsons Baby Wash and the little bugger has kicked off his nappy and scooted into the lounge - you guessed it! Peeing all the way! GREAT!

I’ve wiped up the worst of it and sprayed down the odour destroyer (great product by the way - highly recommend). The full clean up will have to wait until I’ve sorted out Lloris. We are sticking to our routine!

Highly recommended, smells lovely not toxic at all, although I can’t vouch for the discourages repeat offending !

We shall have to do physio with a nappy on this morning. I have trust issues with him and all this peeing!

Physio did not go so well this morning. He’s bored, he doesn’t want to do it. During the leg stretching he’s fidgeting and making zero effort with the standing and is twisting all over the place. He just won’t look forward and straight. I keep having flash backs to this good little dog in his physio video with the vet and I am wondering if I am more of a hindrance than a help with his rehabilitation. He looks far better in the video 5 days ago than he’s looking now.

I know they say children always play up for their parents. I really need a second person to be luring him with treats whilst I tackle positioning his legs. I’ll have to see who I can invite over. Maybe I’ll bribe them here with the promise of a roast dinner! If there is one thing I can do right that’s cook a roast potato!

I found myself telling him he was a naughty boy today during physio then felt instantly terrible and fed him a treat. Not the best of parenting styles there I know! He was being naughty. It’s ok to tell him that whether his legs work or not!

I had an idea in the night about waking up his nerves. Currently you sort of just scratch his toes and legs quite fast with your nails. I thought- How about I use my old electric toothbrush to try and stimulate him? So I’ve given it a whirl this morning. He could definitely feel it on his toes! He let me just do it after a while and even gave up fidgeting. Not sure if that’s a good or a bad sign but I guess it can’t hurt so I shall add this as an extra to our routine.

I’m feeling a little dismayed this morning. Zero sign of improvement, we’ve taken two steps backwards from yesterday. Far less effort on his part. It is Sunday morning I suppose and that is most definitely a time for snoozing.

I’ve got to say, having all hard floors in my house makes his accidents not too stressful and I can’t tell you enough how the Bissell CrossWave floor cleaner makes light work of it all. It’s a must have right now! (£276 from Amazon) spare rollers and filters are only £15 for two of each. No I’m not on commission- I promised to give out my tips with this blog and that’s certainly one of them!

The use of nappies has slowed down as well today. He’s only had two changes but I have noticed he seems to have calmed down with the excessive drinking and has returned to normal on that front. He definitely still can’t completely control his peeing though. It randomly splurts out so nappies are still a must for most of the time.

He has pretty much slept away an entire Sunday in front of the fire. Waking only to eat and to attempt some physio when forced. We have completed 4 sessions today and I felt he gave in on the last session and just did it. Still no major attempts to stand today though, his legs just buckle underneath him so a little disappointed. I suppose I have been working him quite hard and rest is just as important at this early stage, so I shall let him enjoy his Sunday evening in peace.

As for me… I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus and it’s reversed back over me. My back and neck are killing me from manoeuvring my little 17kg piglet and I know I’m not back to full strength from my own op as yet myself.

Doing this alone I must admit is quite isolating. I keep catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror and wondering when I last smiled or spoke about something other than the pup.

I’m generally always smiling!

It’s not just the caring for the pup it’s making sure everything stays clean, such as jet washing the area of the paved garden where I now take him to pee, washing his bedding and towels everday, cleaning out his pig pen, forever wet wiping him to avoid any urine scalding … and of course the endless hours of internet research to see if I have missed anything that I should be doing. Then of course there is the physio 3-4 times a day. This really all could be a full time job, but it is early days and we will find our balance I’m sure.

It’s the weekend yet I feel guilty if I pop out and leave him in his pen. He prefers to sleep flat out on his fluffy rug in the lounge so I find myself sat on the sofa watching over him whilst he sleeps. I can’t trust to leave him there alone …. One of these days he’s going to remember just how comfy this sofa is and just like he used to he will sneak up onto it when I’m not looking. Another fall for this pup would be the end, a risk we just cannot take.

The week ahead lies some challenges with the logistics of his care but nothing I will not overcome. The beauty of being self-employed is that if I want to bring my paraplegic pup to the office and build him a pen in there then I absolutely shall!! Employing your mum, sister and a best friend also helps tremendously in this regard! They are not going to start ‘calling me out’ on the unprofessionalism of it all. (I hope!)

We just need to find our workable routine and the balance in life between his care and rehab needs, my need to work and of course time for me to slot in just a little bit of living!

It’s going to be a productive week for him. I just know it 💪🏻

UPDATE: Its 10.30pm and just took him outside for a final pee before bed… he stood, wobbling around but a definite 5 second sort of balance stand. That’s 1 second longer than yesterday! Is he just balancing though with all his weight at the front ?? … I need to better observe this tomorrow but it would seem that outside is going to be the best place for physio. Will it just please stop raining!