Mikey Health Pupdates 10/13 - Mikey has had a little set back. He had blood in his stool this morning (3 am). I took him to the vet. He is on a third medication. They did a fecal analysis and there is no indication of any kind of worms or anything. They think it is a large intestine infection. He is still having mucus problems. We decided to postpone his leg appointment until Thursday, 9:20 am. They are going to have to give him some anesthesia to x-ray his leg. He needs to get better first. 10/16 - As it turns out, his leg is not the worst of the issues. The vet found a condition called "Mega esophagus" which is a condition of the esophagus where the food and water that Mikey eats can embolize into his lungs. The prognosis is not very good; he could have a life of constant pneumonia. I did a little research on the internet about it and again, the prognosis is not a real good quality of life.   We will be getting second opinions/other information from places like HUA, Iowa State Vets and/or K. State Vets to see what their opinions might be and what their experience might be with this condition. 10/21 - Mikey's foster mom is taking him to Manhattan, Kansas to the K-State Vet Hospital. Please keep Mikey in your thoughts and prayers. This is a very serious condition. 10/21 update - Great News!! Mikey went to K-State today. Wonderful hospital. The "soft tissue" specialist, Dr. Towle, took a look at him. He does NOT have mega-esophagus!! He has pneumonia really bad. They almost hospitalized him. He is on Clavamox for 3 more weeks. Follow-up in two weeks. AND she thinks she can fix his arm. She is also their orthopedics specialist. The pneumonia has to be dealt with first, but when he is older, maybe 40 weeks old, we will talk about options for his arm. Yeah!!!! I would like to add..."Always, ALWAYS get s second opinion on a serious diagnosis given to your pet." There are many families who may have chosen to have Mikey euthanized when hearing of his initial diagnosis and the potential lifetime problems that the incorrect condition could have posed. 10/29 update - He is still fighting the pneumonia. It seems like every other day is a good puppy day, then he has to rest. His 2 week check-up is on November 4th at K-State. 11/04 update - Nyla and Kelly (his foster mom) took Mikey in today for his 2 week pneumonia check. He still has pneumonia, but he is doing SO much better. Two more weeks of Clavimax. AND he has almost doubled his weight!! He went from 3 pounds to 5 1/2 pounds!! He is playing and hopping around SO much now. He chases Perry down to play and Perry has to share his toys now. We took him to MidWest vet. They are in Omaha and a branch of K State. They will share the chest x-rays with K State so that Dr. Towle can keep abreast of his condition. I am amazed at the affect Mikey has on all of the people he meets. He's cute and he has a sweet personality. Kind of like Little Thing and Telly.
Little Thing	Telly
11/16/08 - Mikey is doing good. He has had some blood in stool off and on for the last few days. I got some Kaolin-Pectin from the vet for him. He was tested for worms and parasites in Oct. when he had the bad bleed. The vet thought this might help. If he is still bleeding in a few days, I will take him back in. He got to running around so much the other day that he started wheezing pretty bad. The fact that he has been running so much shows that he is feeling better. The wheezing shows that his lungs are still messed up with pneumonia. I used to remind Perry to "be gentle with the baby" when they played. Now I have to tell Mikey to be gentle with Perry. Those little puppy teeth are SHARP! We are working on paper training him. I don't want him outside in this weather with pneumonia and I figure when he has the leg surgery, paper training will be best. It should be easy to transition him outside once the weather and his leg are better. He has certainly changed a lot since Oct. 11. He is growing so much. He has already out grown his first collar. He has so much more energy and he is SO full of mischief. Just like a puppy should be. 12/02/08 - Mikey is still doing good. Kelly took Mikey to MidWest today for a pneumonia check. She expected him to get a clean bill of health. His right lung looks great, but the left lung still shows some signs of pneumonia. He is on clavamox (1.5 ml) for another 3 weeks. If his lung isn't clear on the next check-up, then it is probably scaring from the pneumonia. His leg surgery is now pushed to the end of January or early February. He weighs 6 pounds 8 oz. Up a pound and a half since 5 Nov. Up 3 pounds 8 oz since 11 Oct. He is doing GREAT and appreciates everyone's support!! 12/31/08 - I took Mikey to MidWest today for a pneumonia check. His chest is clear. NO MORE Pneumonia and no scars. Now we have to wait 2-3 weeks to make sure he does not have a relapse of pneumonia. Then he will be ready for his surgery. He weighs 9.2 pounds!! Mikey has discovered his own tail to chase. His reflection in the window/mirrors to bark at. And a new way to get up on the couch. He goes from the elevated landing, through the banister, onto the end table, over the end of couch. He is doing great. Kelly and Mikey

 

Back Home