Today, Cookie seemed slightly better. It is so hard not to be optimistic. I don't want to be too optimistic because I don't want to have to have my heart broken if we have to put her down. Of course, that will break my heart anyway, but it would be worse if I really thought she was getting better.
I tried to encourage her to walk today. She is not extremely heavy (so although it sounds bad, it really isn't) so I gently held her back end up by the tail. When I hold her tail, she tries to scamper around just like she used to. I don't always have to hold her tail. Sometimes, like when she stops to eat fresh clover, she can balance on her back legs. I think she could not do that before. If she tries to run, she falls over. If she walks slowly, she manages to go about 10 feet before she falls over. I hope this is a good sign, because she could not even do that before. She actually ran for about 20 feet while I was holding her tail. She certainly has a strong will to live and is not in any way lethargic. I let her rest in one spot for a while and went off to do something else. About 20 minutes later when I came back, she had moved herself about 10 feet. I am not sure if she dragged herself or walked.
She has 2 more days on panacur (dewormer) and 1 more day of steroid, and then day 7 is just another dewormer (ivomec). After that, we have to hope the inflammation goes away and the parasite is kaput. Of course, we also hope that she does not have permanent neurological damage. She is so sweet. It doesn't matter if she always has a limp or a funny walk. We will love her anyway.
Be strong, dear Cookie. We're all pulling for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment