Welcome back to Ollie’s recovery/rehab journal. We’re a little more than a week after surgery, and Ollie is doing very well so far. The first few days were very painful for him, even with the Fentanyl and Tramadol. He sort of spent most of the day softly crying, which was heartbreaking for us. We probably reminded each other about a thousand times that the pain was expected and is a part of the healing process. The surgery is extremely invasive, and his bones are growing around the implants, so there is just going to be a lot of pain. We felt it was important to always have one of us sitting with Oliver so he would at least know his Mom and Dad were with him. Oliver didn’t try to move around much during those first few days, really just to shift positions on his pallet. He was extremely drowsy, which sort of served to help keep him stationary. We took him outside every few hours just in case he wanted to go potty, but he seemed to be trying to hold it as long as possible. He peed some for the first few days, but didn’t poop until Monday, which was the fourth day after surgery. He was also a bit reluctant to eat for that first weekend. We ended up boiling some chicken and rice for him. We also mixed in some pumpkin to help with his bowel movements. After a few days, we were able to slowly work him back to his normal food and his appetite returned. He’s still not eating quite as much as he usually does, but he’s expending far less energy, so we aren’t concerned. For those first few nights, we made Ollie sleep in the crate we got for him, and he was not happy about it. We tried to make it a little better by taking turns sleeping on a little pallet which we placed next to his crate. We may be a little crazy, but we love our boy and we’ll do anything to help him feel a little more comfortable.
About five days into his recovery, Ollie seemed to turn a corner. He started to feel a little bit stronger and began to try to move around some on his own. We still don’t want him putting much weight on it, so we have to watch him a lot closer now to make sure he doesn’t try to do anything which could hurt him. He’s pretty mad about not being able to get on the couch, but he’s just gonna have to deal. The pain gradually lessened, and by about day five or six he wasn’t crying at all. He finished all of his antibiotics, and yesterday was the last day of his pain medicine. He’s going to be on the anti-inflammatory for a while, though. Day one off of the pain meds seems to be going well. It’s a rainy day in Chicago, so he has only been outside twice today. We set up a spare couch cushion in the living room which he seems to love, and have cordoned off a small hallway (about 3 feet by 6 feet) for him. We started putting him in the hallway to sleep and whenever we need to do normal human stuff for a few minutes and not be watching Oliver like a pair of hawks.
Ollie’s incision looks great, as you can tell. No signs of infection, and it looks like he won’t have much of a scar once it has healed. His hair is starting to come back nicely. He did develop a couple of sores on either side of his tongue. We think it probably happened in the first few days after surgery. He wasn’t really drinking much water and his mouth was extremely dry. There’s some pretty interesting breath happening right now. We’re very much looking forward to brushing his teeth once those sores heal. We’ve got an appointment on Friday to have the sutures removed. We’re also going to start shopping around for rehabilitation centers soon, as he should start physical therapy within the next week or so. We did have a consultation with one therapist, but the chemistry was not good, so the search continues. We’re hoping to find someone who Ollie loves and who we trust with his rehabilitation.
Thank you for continuing to follow Ollie’s story. We have been touched by the support we’ve received for him! We’ll keep updating this blog with all the details of his recovery.
Yay for Ollie! I know those first days are really hard (we are on Day 11 post-op) but we just keep the faith that every day is progress! As Sally says, they get their “sparkle” back eventually 🙂 Looking forward to hearing how your rehab/PT search goes, as we will be doing some physical therapy with Molly (she has a partial cruciate tear in her remaining hind leg). Hugs to your whole family and lots of encouragement for your next steps!
Kirby & Molly
Thanks for the support, Kirby! Ollie is already starting to act more like his old self. Maybe going through amputation and his knee surgery before this helped get him used to this whole surgery and recovery process recovery, because his attitude has been wonderful. We think we caught a lucky break with the rehab search, more on that in our next post. Lots of love and encouragement to Molly on her road to recovery!
Ollie! You are an amazing pup with some amazing humans!!
I’ve been following your journey and am in awe at your tenacity and determination. The commitment and devotion of your humans is also awe inspiring.
We are all cheering for you like crazy! The road to recovery is long and probably loaded with uls and downs. May it soon be full of nothing but UP times!! You’ll be owning that couch again in no time!!
Thank you for taking time to update us. I know caring for Ollie is pretty much a full time job! And I know Ollie is enjoying all the loving and spoiling! And I’m sure Louise can’t wait to romp with Ollie again!
Your Fan Club is cheering madly for you Ollie!
More pictures…we love pictures of Ollie snd Louise too!
Hugs and non-stop applause for all!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
Thanks, Sally! Your posts have been so incredibly encouraging to all of us. We’re touched by the support for Oliver and we promise to have more pics of him (& Lou!) soon. Hugs right back for you, Hannah, and Myrtle!!!
Wow, Ollie’s incision is amazing! I can barely see it. I hope you find the right rehab therapist to work with Ollie. Obviously you are doing a thorough job finding what’s best for him. Cheers for all of you.
Kerren and Tripawd Mona
Thanks, Kerren! We hope Ollie won’t have much of a scar at all. We may have some good news on the search for a therapist. All the best to you and Mona!!!
Go Ollie Go! You’re gonna blast right through this recovery in no time at all. I’m so glad the procedure and first few days went well.
I’m really curious how your people are helping you get around as far as going out to pee and stuff. Any chance you might be willing to share photos of that? I know you have your hands full so that’s OK if not.
Keep on healing my friend. We love you!
Thanks, Jerry! We can’t tell you how much it means to get such support for Ollie! We’ve been using the Help ‘Em Up harness, and it has been invaluable. We’ll have a pic of Ollie in the harness with our next post.
We have been traveling and just now got to see Ollie’s story.
Our Murphy was a similar story, but his THR was due to chronic hip dislocation resulting from the accident that left him a Tripawd.
I didn’t see where you are located, but I sure hope you can find a good rehab vet nearby. We drove from our home on the Oregon border to Boise (about an hour’s drive) twice a week for eight weeks. The rehab did absolute wonders for him. We also did periodic touchups every few months, just to make sure he was still heading in the right direction.
If you are interested, we did a YouTube channel for Murphy. It started as a way to let his orthopedic surgeon see his progress (we live four hours from his clinic), but it grew into a way to let other people see just what a three legged dog with a hip replacement could do. The channel is Murphy the Three Legged Dog. If you search for it, be sure to click on the blue icon next to the channel name or you will come up with a lot of other videos from people named Murphy, etc.
Please continue to keep us updated. We will be interested to see how he comes along.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel
PS. His incision site looks just like Murphy’s did. The vet used a great technique that didn’t have external stitches showing.
Thanks, Kathi! We will definitely check out Murphy’s YouTube channel. It’s so great to connect with someone else who has gone through a similar experience! We may have some good news on the rehab front, more on that in our next post. We think we’ll end up driving about an hour or so to get to the rehab center, too. All the best to you and the Turbotail!