Stitches Are Out!

This has been a very good week in Ollie’s recovery/rehab.  As you probably guessed, his sutures were removed on Friday.  On the plus side of things, his incision continues to look great, and he hasn’t been trying to lick or pick at his scar.  Also, the doctor said the implant is, so far as he can tell without x-rays, in the right place and Ollie’s range of motion is very good.  Ollie did, however, bite his tongue again when they were taking the stitches out.  This time he bit the front.  Luckily, all three spots on his tongue are healing.  As soon as they are healed, we’re brushing his teeth.  It’s getting a little better, but since he also hasn’t felt like chewing his nylabone, his teeth are in serious need of cleaning.  He is still eating well, and his bowel movements have become much more regular.  He’s going at least once a day, which is pretty much normal for him, especially because it’s been rainy in the Chicago area this week, and he hates going out in the rain.

Ollie is still spending most of his time resting, which is fine with us.  When he does get up, it seems like he wants to take a little more weight everyday.  We may have caught a very lucky break in our rehab center search.  Before we decided on the hip replacement surgery, we made an appointment to see a physical therapist who met Ollie at the surgical center and had a great rapport with him.  We were very excited to work with him on Ollie’s physical therapy, which we knew was going to be part of any option we chose for treating Ollie’s hip.  Unfortunately, when we had our consultation, we discovered the doctor we met was leaving the practice soon.  The therapist who was going to replace him was there and conducted the consultation.  It did not go well, so we decided to search other nearby options.  We were lucky enough to find the rehab center to which the original therapist moved, it’s only an hour away, and the therapist knows Ollie’s surgeon!  They are conferring to decide on a plan for rehab, but we think we aren’t going to let Ollie have much weight until about week six or eight.  We may start laser treatments on the next week or so, but hydrotherapy probably won’t be for a little while.

We were asked in the comments section of our last post to talk a little about the harness we’re using to help Ollie get around.  We got a harness made by a company called Help ‘Em Up after Ollie’s knee surgery, and we’re using it again.  We were a little worried about it irritating his incision or putting too much strain on the hip joint, but our surgeon said it was perfect.  He was right, it has been an incredible and necessary part of Ollie’s recovery and rehab.  It is a harness made for four legged dogs, but it was the best option we could find.  Occasionally, the rear strap will slip over his stump, but we’ve learned to watch for that.  Ollie…well, he tolerates the harness.  It’s heavy and bulky, but he bears it like a champ! We highly recommend it.

We continue to be overwhelmed by the support we’ve received for Oliver!  The well wishes, encouragement, and love you have shown us were completely unexpected.  Knowing that people are cheering for Ollie really does help make this process much more positive, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.