I know, 2 posts in 1 day. Are pigs flying? No. I actually wrote most of this a while ago and forgot to publish it so it got stuck in the drafts (whoops!).
I never quite know what to say when I am asked "how is Toad?". I love that people ask and care about him, I just don't know how to describe how Toad is. Good/Bad never seem to describe it right nor does either one seem true. He has good times/days and bad times/days. He's both good and bad all at once and it can change in seconds depending on one tiny itch.
Toad will never be healthy. Ever. That flew out the window a couple years ago when someone decided to cut his ears off. The best we can possibly hope for for Toad is for him to be "Toad healthy".
Toad will always need meds, both oral antibiotics and ear ointments for the rest of his life. He will always have ear issues. He may always have skin issues at times too. The hope is we can get that to a liveable, relatively itch free level and keep it there with medications. That is "Toad healthy" and that's what we are aiming for. Much like a dog with arthritis who needs meds to control the pain, Toad will always need meds to control the infection. If it improves so far beyond that he can live without medications he will have far surpassed the expectations of the best possible prognosis for him.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Update...finally!
Long awaited updated, I know. I was hoping for a lot of happy news and a lot of successes and unfortunately with every step forward for Toad there seems to be ten back.
So where did we leave off?
The surgery and the skin sore relapse. Wow, I really let this get quite overdue didn't I?
His skin has improved a million times over thanks to some magic skin repair topical gel and so far he has not had a relapse of his skin! That is a huge improvement. Cross your fingers for that to continue.
The 2nd surgery healed as well as can be expected, there was a canal opening so we could get medication in, the antibiotics seemed to be helping to at least keep it from getting worse, and Toad wasn't nearly as itchy as he was before. All in all things were going well.
Unfortunately with Toad there are ten steps back for every step ahead. He went back in a few weeks ago and the ear canal that had been opened previously with surgery had grown the warty scar tissue inside the canal meaning it was once again blocked. His scar tissue grows back faster than anything we have ever seen and the infection, even with the strongest of meds, is simply not going away.
We considered a few options...pulse therapy with meds which means we try to do antibiotics on and off forever to try to control the infection. Another surgery. And of course when things are this bad the inevitable option of euthanasia comes up. With that comes the questions...how much is fair to put one little dog through? Is this really going to help and be worth putting him through?
I do not think Toad is on the point of being euthanized yet. We opted for another surgery and more meds. But this is kind of a last resort, last chance. I am very afraid that there will not be a happy ending for Toad. And I am very afraid of having to make that decision. I get to see the best and the worst of Toad. I get to see the crazy dog who loves to wrestle with the big dogs, carry around a rope toy, jump 3x his height when he wants his food bowl, and attack the laundry everytime I try to fold it. I also have to see him yelp and frantically scratch at his ears when he gets an itch, run around on 3 legs sometimes trying to itch his ear, and go crazy shaking his head until he's almost exhausted. I get to see Toad as his happiest and Toad at his most miserable. I wish I could say that the happy outweighs the miserable. Somedays it does but most of the time it does not. Toad needs for something to finally work for him.
He had his surgery last week. So far things look good. The amazing vet spent hours lasering the scar tissue off tacking the canal open, and then cleaning out the infection gunk. So far after a week its still open though there is new scar tissue on the tops of his ears which isn't a great sign. But currently we can still get ear meds down there and it looks (and smells) a million times less disgusting.
That's where we are at. Please cross your fingers, say a prayer, send good wishes, anything to Toad that this round of surgery/meds works for him. Currently he's having a really good day...right now he's snorting up a storm wrestling and going crazy with his best pal.
So where did we leave off?
The surgery and the skin sore relapse. Wow, I really let this get quite overdue didn't I?
His skin has improved a million times over thanks to some magic skin repair topical gel and so far he has not had a relapse of his skin! That is a huge improvement. Cross your fingers for that to continue.
The 2nd surgery healed as well as can be expected, there was a canal opening so we could get medication in, the antibiotics seemed to be helping to at least keep it from getting worse, and Toad wasn't nearly as itchy as he was before. All in all things were going well.
Unfortunately with Toad there are ten steps back for every step ahead. He went back in a few weeks ago and the ear canal that had been opened previously with surgery had grown the warty scar tissue inside the canal meaning it was once again blocked. His scar tissue grows back faster than anything we have ever seen and the infection, even with the strongest of meds, is simply not going away.
We considered a few options...pulse therapy with meds which means we try to do antibiotics on and off forever to try to control the infection. Another surgery. And of course when things are this bad the inevitable option of euthanasia comes up. With that comes the questions...how much is fair to put one little dog through? Is this really going to help and be worth putting him through?
I do not think Toad is on the point of being euthanized yet. We opted for another surgery and more meds. But this is kind of a last resort, last chance. I am very afraid that there will not be a happy ending for Toad. And I am very afraid of having to make that decision. I get to see the best and the worst of Toad. I get to see the crazy dog who loves to wrestle with the big dogs, carry around a rope toy, jump 3x his height when he wants his food bowl, and attack the laundry everytime I try to fold it. I also have to see him yelp and frantically scratch at his ears when he gets an itch, run around on 3 legs sometimes trying to itch his ear, and go crazy shaking his head until he's almost exhausted. I get to see Toad as his happiest and Toad at his most miserable. I wish I could say that the happy outweighs the miserable. Somedays it does but most of the time it does not. Toad needs for something to finally work for him.
He had his surgery last week. So far things look good. The amazing vet spent hours lasering the scar tissue off tacking the canal open, and then cleaning out the infection gunk. So far after a week its still open though there is new scar tissue on the tops of his ears which isn't a great sign. But currently we can still get ear meds down there and it looks (and smells) a million times less disgusting.
That's where we are at. Please cross your fingers, say a prayer, send good wishes, anything to Toad that this round of surgery/meds works for him. Currently he's having a really good day...right now he's snorting up a storm wrestling and going crazy with his best pal.
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