Say Some Prayers for Jewel... - Page 5

Standing up once is progress, even if she wasn't able to remain so under her own steam.

One thing does have to be said: if Jewell isn't being given physical assistance so she can get up and move around, it WILL take a great deal longer for her to recover than it will with the household helping her out by using a towel as a sling for support, and getting her outside a bit and getting her walking...if this is more than the family can handle doing, however, then perhaps Jewell needs to recuperate at someone else's place.  Just allowing her to lie in her spot and wait for her to get moving on her own will prolong the process unnecessarily. I feel awful for you, Dawulf, because I know in many respects your ability to control or even just guide the situation is limited because Jewel is the family dog, not yours alone, and she doesn't live with you, either.

Whatever it takes to encourage the family to provide the utmost level of hand's-on nursing care, let's figure out a way to do it, so this old Golden Girl is able to enjoy being at the center of the household activity again as soon as possible!

I would get her up, if she wants to "right" herself with help.  She is with the one's she loves and trusts and will fight to do this.

When Eischa was brought in at her age, the vets said that they would not fault me for opting to euthanize her.  It was a tough call because I for one am unable to look into the future.  Eischa fully recovered from the onset and did not have another one.  She did really well until her time was called and I was also prepared to say farewell to my companion.

Please try and get her up, if the intention is to have some more time with her.

My thoughts are with you, your Mom and Jewel.
 

She's a 13.5yr old Golden who ate SD her whole life. She may very well have cancer. That's not our priority right now. She was FINE (fine enough) before this vestibular thing hit. No reason to borrow trouble. Heck, they think Slim had cancer the whole time I had him. We had 2 awesome years. Stay positive. 

Yeah, certain cancers will show up on xrays. I'm a little confused about when she was x-rayed since you mention the pyo.

I'm sitting up waiting for puppies so I'm tired; sorry if it's obvious and I'm just dense right now. 

Well, yeah, if I recall correctly, she DOES have cancer--she has mammary masses, which are most certainly cancer, but given that 50% of mammary cancers are benign and won't cause any additional neoplasia elsewhere in the body, that's not sufficient reason to write an old gal off as having run her race.

And while it's very likely quite true that at some point this vet is going to have to say, "there's nothing more we can do for her", that simply means that they've reached the limits of what can be done for the dog as far as a treatment administered by the veterinarian goes--but in ailments where the only real 'treatment' is time for the patient's body to heal itself, the main treatment is the passage of time, along with the supportive care from the dog's family at home...for the most part, anything the vet does is an *adjunct* treatment to the primary healing agent that is time. Please try to explain this concept to your Mom, so she hears the 'nothing more we can do' statement for what it is--an honest admission that in this situation, Mother Nature does the heavy lifting for the healing and she has her own timeframe in which she does that work.

Can't type much right now, I'm on my phone and at mom's. Poor Jewel. She's not eating, barely drinking.... I made a towel sling and she stood but went straight back down with whatever end I was not supporting. When I got here she lifted her head when she smelled me but never did her whiney thing that she always does. :(

Was complete bloodwork done? Any sign of infection? You stated her ears were bad again. Any chance this is an inner/middle ear infection, a really bad one, presenting vestibular symptoms? Maybe an antibiotic could be in order? Could she be dehydrated? How much water is she actually consuming? If she's lacking coordination and it's running out the sides of her mouth, how much is she really absorbing? You said she was in the same spot as where your mom left her and went to work. If she can't move, she may not be able to drink on her own. Dehydration will certainly not help her at this point- that could play a role in her diminished vigor. 

OH Dawulf;  that sounds more like a stroke to me.  So sorry, I know the aganozing feeling all too well.  Still sending well wishes your way though, know it's pure hell.  Nan

PS:  sorry about the spelling, as I don't even like the word...

IIRC, the vet put Jewel on antibiotics right away, didn't he?  Is she still on them, or was it just a short course? If the latter, when was her last dose?

Take her temp, please.

She can crawl to her water dish and has drank some while I've been here. .. Tony also cooked up some chicken and soaked some rice in broth and she ate a good bit of that. ... She is still on the antibiotics. She did have a full blood panel and everything was normal aside from one of the liver numbers.

Dawolf:  Re the Sling.  If you have a collar on her and the sling, you can help balance her out. 

Only good thoughts in your and Jewel's way.