Wow! What a difference a few days makes!!! (Background for those who may be new ... Skittles is my foster that I picked up from her family on February 8. Less than a month later, I had to take Skittles to the emergency vet hospital in the middle of the night due to her vomiting blood.) She was released from the Emergency Vet hospital a week ago Saturday night. The vet had stabilized her condition, but she still wasn't eating well. For days I had to had feed her little bits of food by hand. I tried all kinds of foods. I was happy when she'd had a few bites. She's on lots of meds for her condition (Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia--where the immune system attacks platelets in the blood), which were tough to give to a girl who's very adept at spitting out pills. My first sign of encouragement was when she wanted a second bite of the chicken baby food where I'd hidden pills. More excitement a few days ago when she finally began eating out of her dish without prompting. She seemed to enjoy the boiled turkey and rice dinner I made (recommended bland diet). She reached another milestone the day before yesterday when she was eager enough to eat chicken pieces that I could hide her meds in that! YAY!!!
She had a vet recheck on Friday which had great news--her platelet count was normal! (Her platelet count was so low--almost non-existent--when she was admitted that the vet said she could have spontaneous bleeds.) He said he'd like me to start transitioning her to a dog food diet. We're working on that. The vet didn't have all good news for us though. He noticed a couple of lumps (one of which was much more noticeable than even a few days before), did a needle biopsy, and determined they were mast cell tumors and recommended that she get those off soon. He said that she was strong enough for the surgery though. Luckily, my regular vet can handle that.
So Skittles is recovering, thanks to the help of N EBTR! I have an especially big THANK YOU to Sheryl and Victoria who coached me through some of the tough days when Skittles was just out of the hospital. It was such a blessing to hear their encouraging words about taking baby steps to get her back on the right track. THANK YOU!!! So many others have been wonderfully supportive too. Can't say enough good about this group!
I should add ... that we're not "out of the woods." With all the meds she's on, they can sometimes cause a problem. I'm hoping and praying for the best and that she'll continue on a path to recovery. Still need your prayers!!!
Thank you!!!
All for now.
Shawna, Skittles, and Panda (my 10 year old Boston)
Shawna, great work with Skittles. Thank you for helping her through these tough days, and hopes for a full recovery.
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