Blame it on the steroids and other medications required to treat Lilly’s eningoencephalomyelitis / meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and lining of the brain and spinal cord). Two weeks ago today, Lilly ate 1/2 of a canvass totebag while I was away at a work meeting.
I know I’ve been griping a lot about the struggles of dealing with Lilly’s recovery, but I have one odd-but-good behavioral change we’ve seen.
If we get through Lilly’s recovery without me or Tom stepping on and breaking one of Lilly’s feet or without one of us taking a nasty fall ourselves (after tripping over Lilly), it’ll be a miracle. Truly.
Since Lilly doesn’t need another neurology exam for a couple of months, we thought it was a good time to recap of how much all this has cost us so far.
Nearly 2 months into this adverse vaccine reaction with Lilly, I’m still a wreck. At least once a day, Lilly and I have a conversation — brain to brain, heart to heart — that goes something like this.
Oh, the fun with adverse vaccine reactions and treatment side-effects continues. Poor Lilly. Always the dainty thing, while still being a rough-and-tumble mountain girl, Lilly now drools like you would NOT believe.
Once upon a time, Lilly was a delicate, agile, sure-footed border collie with amazing balance and strength. She could jump greats heights, seemingly without trying. She could land with grace and nary a sound. These days, she moves more like a little, black-and-white Frankenstein.
GOOD news, fans and friends. Our veterinary neurologist is quite pleased with Lilly’s progress — totebag eating and dog conflict aside. We’ll know blood test results later in the week, but we don’t have to go back for a recheck for 2-3 months. Can I have a whoohoo?
If your dog has never required medications that cause dramatic behavioral side-effects, count yourself lucky. Friday (3/9/12), we had another MAJOR scare with Lilly.
I’m doing my best to share the whole picture of what exactly went wrong in Lilly’s body and brain following her adverse reaction to a rabies vaccine nearly 2 months ago. My dog training / dog behavior friends will find this VERY interesting.
