Fenway's Gold Bead Journal
I've decided to keep track of the progress Fenway is making (or not making) with his gold bead implants here in a journal. The most recent entries will be on top, so if you want to read the entire story please read from the bottom up.
July 4, 2007
I've been keeping an eye on Fenway to see if I notice anything different about him yet. While he does still have muscle spasms when he is laying down and relaxed, I don't think they are as violent. I also don't think he's shaking quite as much when he is standing. If his gold bead implants do end up helping, we are going to have to work on building up the muscles in his hind end. They are very weak
July 3, 2007
Fenway is still sleeping a bit more than normal, but that is fine with me. His gas has been horrible, and his stool is a bit softer than it should be. But, I'm blaming it on the anesthesia. The good thing is that Fenway is not having any problems standing up like he did after the first trip to PA. I think it may be because I sat in the back with him on this trip and made him lay down most of the time.
July 2, 2007 - 8:00 PM
Everything went really well today...I'm actually a bit amazed. They only used the induction agent, Propofol (deprivan), and the gas anesthesia, Sevoflurane for his anesthesia. Which, happens to be what the GDCA recommends in their Surgery Guidelines for Great Danes. They started on his implants at about 1:30, and told us that he was waking up at about 2:30. Shortly afterward, they had us come and sit with him. At that point he was already standing, with some help. We sat with him until about 3:30. At that point he was ready to walk on his own. It was amazing.
Fenway slept most of the trip home, and most of the evening. We did feed him dinner when we got home, and he was more than happy to eat it. He didn't seem to feel drugged at all, like he usually does with anesthesia, and was able to keep his food down.
Now we start watching and waiting to see if this helps. I have 2 goals in mind. The first is for Fenway to be in less, or hopefully no, pain. The second is for him to stop walking on the tops of his back feet. They are constantly covered in scrapes right now.
July 2, 2007 - 8:00 AM
Today is the big day. I'm not nervous about the implants, but I am nervous about Fenway being sedated. He has a history of waking up extremely slow any time he is sedated. I know they won't let him go home until he is able to walk on his own.
June 24, 2007
I'm happy to say that Fenway is getting up on his own today. It was really depressing to watch him struggle yesterday.
June 23, 2007
I sure hope the gold bead implants help Fenway. After the stress of the car ride yesterday, he was so sore and weak that he could not get up on his own. Once standing, he was fine. It's really sad to see him struggle to get up...and then give up because he can't.
June 22, 2007
Fenway's appointment today was at 10:00 AM, so we left bright and early. Mapquest said it was a 2 1/2 hour drive, but we gave ourselves an extra 1 1/2 hours to be sure. Since we had to drive though Baltimore, Wilmington, and Philadelphia we were a bit concerned about rush hour traffic. Luckily, we didn't run into any traffic at all and did make it up there in 2 1/2 hours. So, we found a Dunkin Donuts and enjoyed a bit of a late breakfast before Fenway's appointment.
I brought with me Fenway's entire medical history. Dr. Braz and her staff were a bit surprised at the amount of history he has...as the paperwork makes a pile at least an inch thick. She spent quite a bit of time examining Fenway, and agreed that he would be a good candidate for the gold bead implants. I was very happy to hear that. We have an appointment on July 2 at 1:00 PM to have them done.
June 18, 2007
Fenway's blood counts are finally stable enough that I felt comfortable calling to check into gold bead implants for his spondylosis. Most people I know have had them done for Wobbler's in their Dane's, or a combination of Wobbler's and spondylosis, but not for just spondylosis. Fenway's spondylosis has gotten so bad that he is constantly walking on the tops of his back feet and has difficulty getting up on his feet some days. I had spoken to his holistic vet about the procedure, and she encouraged me to check into it.
I called the Animal Healing Center in Yardley, PA where Dr. Braz performs gold bead implants. She was trained by the vet who has perfected the technique, Dr. Terry Durkes. Because of Fenway's Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Dr. Braz would not agree to do the gold bead implants without meeting him in person first. Luckily we were able to get an appointment at the end of the week, on June 22.
