| Rainbow's Fibrocartilaginous Embolism :: | |||||
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Rainbow was an outgoing bitch. Known as the WILD CHILD, she was full of life and always playing. At 14 months of age she was in outstanding condition and had great confirmation. Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Ch. Whispering Pine Sacajawea ,aka "Rainbow" is from Int'l/Am Ch. Beowulf Whispering Pine Elka & BISS Rise and Shine's Blazing Riot. She had a promising heritage. She would get excited when we walked to the road and saw my friend, Janine Holden, running down the street. Rainbow would jump up, grab my hand and just wiggle her butt so fast that her tail couldn't keep up with her butt. Janine and Rainbow were jogging partners who ran a mile and a half every day. There was not an ounce of fat on Rainbow or Jeannine. Receiving her AKC Championship at only 38 weeks of age, and finishing with a 5 point major all in Bred By Exhibitor class, Rainbow was slated to compete in the 2005 Invitational Eukanuba dog show in Florida. She had a wonderful personality. I was delighted with her excellent qualities and had huge expectations for her future show career. Rainbow's mother, Elka, had a second litter of pups in July. Rainbow was excited and wanted to stay with the pups at all times. She would clean up after them and lay with them too. Elka didn't mind. I always tell my dogs that there is enough love for all of them and no need to have any family disputes. I hoped that next year Rainbow might have her own pups. In August, Rainbow had her first heat cycle . For the next three weeks she stayed in, away from the male dogs in the next kennel. I kept her next to the puppies. She was very happy about that. On Aug. 28th, at 6:30 pm, all seven dogs were sitting there watching me fix their meal. Everyone was sitting like performers in a circus act, with me tossing green beans. to them. The rule is if you don't sit, no green bean.. They all learned this trick quickly. After feeding, all of them were returned to their condos and I went up to the house to have dinner myself. Sometime during the next couple of hours tragedy struck Rainbow. At about 9:15 p.m. I went out to feed the five week-old puppies their final meal for the day. Rainbow would always see me starting down the hill and was always the first to tell everyone that cookies were coming. She would normally bark, jump and turn in circles like she was chasing her tail. On this day I was extremely tired, and didn't really notice that she hadn't followed her usual ritual. All I wanted was to feed the pups and go to bed myself. When I made the gruel for the pups and started out from the dog room , I noticed that Rainbow was just laying there looking at me. Again, I really didn't pay much attention. I fed the pups and then got ready to give all of the big dogs a cookie and to say our prayers. I looked over at Rainbow and I said "come over here and get your cookie". Rainbow just looked at me, not getting up. So I said, "What is the matter with you?...come over here". Suddenly a shock of realization hit me. Something was terribly wrong. She tried to move and all she could do is drag herself. I bolted into the kennel so fast, because I didn't want her to move too much. I was thinking that maybe she had broken her neck or been bitten by a snake or spider . She seemed paralyzed, was starting to cry and seemed to be in a lot of pain. She was struggling to get up and kept falling backward, and dragging her hindquarters. Rainbow was incontinent and unable to control her bowels. I dashed to phone my friend, Glennis, and told her to get here fast. It took both of us to pick Rainbow up and get her 90 lb. of dead weight into the truck. She tried to help us, but could only flail and throw her head around. It took us about a hour to get to the Emergency Room. It was midnight, but they took her right in and started working on her. Diagnostic radiographs and medical therapy. Butorphaneol 12 mg & Acepromazine 1 mg IV, and Solu-Delta Cortef 500 Mg IV were started. Rainbow did not improve much over the next several hours. I was devastated and just could not believe this was happening. By 11:00 am the following morning, Rainbow and I were on our way to Sacramento to the Neurosurgeon Specialist for additional diagnostics. Rainbow was agitated whining, and confused. She had such a wild look in her eyes, and didn't want to be touched at all, as if to say ,"just leave me alone". The specialist, Dr. Kortz met us at the door and took Rainbow right in. He explained that he would do a Spinal Tap and a Myeogram, to see how much damage has occurred. Dr Kortz diagnosed Rainbow of having FCE..of S 1,2,3 a FIBROCARTILAGINOUS EMBOLISM. In other words a stroke resulting in extensive paralysis. At this point there was no way of knowing how much damage had been done, or how much function she might recover, or if she would recover at all. Dr Kortz explained that she would need intensive nursing care and physical therapy to maintain muscle tone would allow spinal cord tissue to heal. Her care would require confinement for 2 -3 weeks with almost constant attention. Clean bedding, and daily bathing would be needed to keep her skin dry and free of urine and feces. A sling was provided so that I could pull her up every two hours and turn her over. Her bladder would need to be manually expelled every two hours to prevent urinary tract infection, When we got home I made beds for both of us, in the middle of the floor of my guest house. For Rainbow, I put down a egg crate mattress with a plastic tarp and lots of blankets for padding. I also used large disposable pads made for incontinent patients. The bedding and pad around her helped to facilitate clean up. I used clean rags and a spray bottle of Listerine mixed with water to keep her clean, washing her every time she voided. She never had any skin soreness or breakdown from soiling and pressure At night I set the alarm for every two hours to keep the schedule Dr. Kortz had set for us. I also changed her position and because of constant urine leakage, changed the bedding twelve times a day around the clock. I would try to stand her up with her sling and expel the rest of the urine. During this time, supportive friends often came over and spent the night helping me with my chores. To keep her from getting depressed, I put pictures of all the dogs around the room. I even had her mother (Elka) come in and sleep with us. I felt it was important for her to be stimulated by other dogs. Range of motion exercises were done four times a day to help prevent muscle atrophy. I also started using Magnet (nikken) on her legs and spine to increase the blood flow. Since respiratory problems can develop from not getting up, my friends and I would put the sling in front of her rear legs and I would hold up her front and we would stand there for about one minute so that her feet would just touch the ground. This was done every 4 hours. She did not want to drink or eat. I offered vanilla ice cream. She liked this for one day and then she was bored with it. She ate hamburger and rice and Champion canned dog food.. A hopeful turning point came on Thursday Sept. 2, five days after the onset of the trouble. Rainbow appeared to be in very good spirits and was able to stand up with assists for more than 30 seconds Feet were on the ground , but her back feet were pointing to the left. The tail still seemed dead but she seemed to have feeling in the back feet when pinched . When I did the range of motion exercises, I could feel resistance to flexing and stretching. Every day was a bit better than the day before , but I didn't want to get my hopes up too much. I was still getting Rainbow up every two hours to expel her urine and make her stand (non weight bearing) for a minute or until she became weak. Rainbow only liked lying on her left side. She did not like to lie sternally.. In two weeks we were back see Dr. Kortz for reevaluation. He was very pleased with the progress, but didn't like the fact that Rainbow was still unable to control her urine. He told me to continue my nursing care and to increase her physical therapy and magnets. Rainbow seemed to want to go outside. My friends and I would walk her out with the slings in place .She seemed to be smiling when she went outside so I made her a bed in her kennel.. she appeared much happier being with the other dogs, so I put clean bedding in there for myself and that is where we would spend our afternoons. It really lifted Rainbow's spirits and that was very important to me. The other dogs would come in and visit. Starting week three of her therapy, we were up walking with weight bearing on her legs, but the sling still in place for support. She walked crooked and was still unable to control her urine and her stools. The tail was still dead. Soon she began trying to get up by herself, pulling with her front legs and kicking both legs out while laying down. Therapy and magnet continued. By the fourth week she was standing up on all fours without help. She was very wobbly, but doing it by herself. I was still expelling her urine every 2 -3 hours. Rainbow began going out daily to see the other dogs. I did not let her play with them yet, but she could see them from her kennel, and Elka (mother) stayed with her sometimes. Rainbow would try to run and then fall. I would fall too, to make it a game where we would laugh and roll over and play. She was getting stronger. After five weeks, Rainbow can run with both rear legs together, without falling. She is bunny hopping. She now sleeps out in her kennel next to the puppies and really enjoys it. I don't have to keep the gate closed. She just stays in there with all of the stuffed toys people have sent her. I still have all of her get well cards up too. There are small improvements everyday, but Rainbow will never be completely healed. I won't let her know that she can't do the things that the other dogs can and that she will never be in a dog show again. Rainbow never was shown as a AKC Champion. I want to thank the Veterinary Emergency Service, Inc., Dr Dobbins
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