Post by Brooke on Apr 29, 2010 14:07:00 GMT -5
At 1 a.m. I woke up to the noise of Kuma having a seizure. It was the first that I am aware of her ever having. Eric bent down an rubbed her as she seized. She foamed at the mouth... a lot. It was everywhere.
Once she settled she slowly lifted her head to look him in the eye.... It was the scariest look I've ever seen her give someone she knew. He backed away and she lowered her head as she laid and breathed heavily. She raised her head the same a couple of times. Her legs were stiff. I couldn't tell if she could see him or she was intending to do something.
Once it subsided a bit, she seemed to not be able to see anything for about 5-10 minutes. I wasn't clear if she could hear anything during that time either. She seemed to look right through me. She got up and walked around but fell over a few times. She kept walking towards a wall just standing there looking at it.
I took her to the animal hospital right away. Within 10 minutes of being there she began to seize again. They took her back to give her some valium and phenobarbital.
When she came back she explained that she was having clustered seizures and they were worsening. That with her history of blindness off and on and the cell mast tumor, she felt it was probably (for a dog her age) a tumor within her brain that was causing the seizures and blindness since she had previously tested negative for diabetes, ect.
Overall, she said that she would need to hospitalize her for a few days to see if she could alleviate the seizures. I would have to take her to Purdue again (4 hours away) to have CT's or MRI's done. (This didn't seem safe due to the quantity of seizures she was having). And if she did have a brain tumor I came to the realization that I do not have the resources to fight that battle.
I explained the look she gave Eric and told her that I have a son. She said that it was common with seizures and didn't mean she was turning into a bad dog but she could not say that things would be safe. She explained there is too much brain activity and it could be a fear or stimulated reaction.
I asked if this was something that could be cured or if the medications would just prolong/masking the inevitable, what kind of quality of life, ect. She said that if it were her dog, she would put her down because of the stress the seizures of that magnitude have on her body. It's not a healthy quality of life for her to live through.
I weighed everything over the last year. Knowing all the things we've battled with her. How hard the last surgery was on her and chose to put her to sleep last night.
I am still in shock. 7 hours prior she had been playing in the yard with Dylan.
Once she settled she slowly lifted her head to look him in the eye.... It was the scariest look I've ever seen her give someone she knew. He backed away and she lowered her head as she laid and breathed heavily. She raised her head the same a couple of times. Her legs were stiff. I couldn't tell if she could see him or she was intending to do something.
Once it subsided a bit, she seemed to not be able to see anything for about 5-10 minutes. I wasn't clear if she could hear anything during that time either. She seemed to look right through me. She got up and walked around but fell over a few times. She kept walking towards a wall just standing there looking at it.
I took her to the animal hospital right away. Within 10 minutes of being there she began to seize again. They took her back to give her some valium and phenobarbital.
When she came back she explained that she was having clustered seizures and they were worsening. That with her history of blindness off and on and the cell mast tumor, she felt it was probably (for a dog her age) a tumor within her brain that was causing the seizures and blindness since she had previously tested negative for diabetes, ect.
Overall, she said that she would need to hospitalize her for a few days to see if she could alleviate the seizures. I would have to take her to Purdue again (4 hours away) to have CT's or MRI's done. (This didn't seem safe due to the quantity of seizures she was having). And if she did have a brain tumor I came to the realization that I do not have the resources to fight that battle.
I explained the look she gave Eric and told her that I have a son. She said that it was common with seizures and didn't mean she was turning into a bad dog but she could not say that things would be safe. She explained there is too much brain activity and it could be a fear or stimulated reaction.
I asked if this was something that could be cured or if the medications would just prolong/masking the inevitable, what kind of quality of life, ect. She said that if it were her dog, she would put her down because of the stress the seizures of that magnitude have on her body. It's not a healthy quality of life for her to live through.
I weighed everything over the last year. Knowing all the things we've battled with her. How hard the last surgery was on her and chose to put her to sleep last night.
I am still in shock. 7 hours prior she had been playing in the yard with Dylan.