Update on Ember, the good news
Oct. 3rd, 2011 11:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silereFirst of all, a huuuuuge thank you to all of the people who helped out with raising money to take Ember to the specialist. We couldn't have done it without you. So, you've helped save our corgi's life, and i will always be grateful.
So things have been better for Ember the last few days. He's on an antibiotic for the pneumonia, which is helping. And, now that we know he has megaesophagus, we can start feeding him in a different way. My husband built a Bailey chair him the day we got back from the vet, and he's been eating all of his meals in that.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sidA3-7XezU He doesn't mind eating in the chair, but he hates the 15-20 minute wait after. Also, he won't yet drink his water that way, which is the bigger concern due to higher risk of aspiration. So i put a good bit of water in his food and mash it up.
The change in him has been dramatic. He's only thrown up 3 times since he's been back, as opposed to 15+ times per day. He is no longer coughing, wheezing, or sounding like he's going to drown. He almost sounds like normal... even his bark has improved. Best of all, he no longer lays on his blanket 95% of the time. Now, he gets up to greet us, he gets up to go outside, he moves from room to room, he plays a little, he barks at the squirrels, he chews on toys. He comes up and asks for pets, and he's right there waiting in the kitchen with the others when it's mealtime. Going down the stairs is no longer a problem. Occasionally he even makes it up the stairs without prompting or encouragement. Not all the time, but that's ok. It's been a huge difference.
We haven't yet received the blood test results to see if he has the myasthenia gravis or addisons, so we don't know the full picture yet. But just treating the megaesophagus is very helpful and making us more hopeful for his future. It's a bit of a chore to feed him in the chair several times a day, and to have to keep the water bowl up off the floor, but that's ok. He's worth it. I just hope we can afford whatever other treatment he will need.
Thanks again. Here's to hoping he continues to improve and we have many more years with him.
Other things are going on too, but i'll have to make another post sometime soon for that.
So things have been better for Ember the last few days. He's on an antibiotic for the pneumonia, which is helping. And, now that we know he has megaesophagus, we can start feeding him in a different way. My husband built a Bailey chair him the day we got back from the vet, and he's been eating all of his meals in that.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sidA3-7XezU He doesn't mind eating in the chair, but he hates the 15-20 minute wait after. Also, he won't yet drink his water that way, which is the bigger concern due to higher risk of aspiration. So i put a good bit of water in his food and mash it up.
The change in him has been dramatic. He's only thrown up 3 times since he's been back, as opposed to 15+ times per day. He is no longer coughing, wheezing, or sounding like he's going to drown. He almost sounds like normal... even his bark has improved. Best of all, he no longer lays on his blanket 95% of the time. Now, he gets up to greet us, he gets up to go outside, he moves from room to room, he plays a little, he barks at the squirrels, he chews on toys. He comes up and asks for pets, and he's right there waiting in the kitchen with the others when it's mealtime. Going down the stairs is no longer a problem. Occasionally he even makes it up the stairs without prompting or encouragement. Not all the time, but that's ok. It's been a huge difference.
We haven't yet received the blood test results to see if he has the myasthenia gravis or addisons, so we don't know the full picture yet. But just treating the megaesophagus is very helpful and making us more hopeful for his future. It's a bit of a chore to feed him in the chair several times a day, and to have to keep the water bowl up off the floor, but that's ok. He's worth it. I just hope we can afford whatever other treatment he will need.
Thanks again. Here's to hoping he continues to improve and we have many more years with him.
Other things are going on too, but i'll have to make another post sometime soon for that.