Major – Titusville, FL
ESRA Special Needs Springer
ESRA #2009-1144KS
Age: 4 years
Gender: Male
Color: Black/White
Major entered ESRA's care needing to have surgery on each knee to have his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) repaired. Reports of his progress will be detailed here. Check back often to see how he's doing and to send good thoughts.
UPDATE 3/4/09 FROM MAJOR'S FOSTER HOME: Major had his first surgery and was not a happy puppy for three days. He finally got a happy face. Now he is pretty much back to himself. He is getting his cast off. He is actually putting weight on his leg and has been for several days but the cast does help support the leg.
When they went into his leg to do the repair there were NO ligament fibers remaining in his knee at all so the vet thinks that the injury happened a long time ago and the fibers were slowly reabsorbed by his body. Plus, he had totally torn his meniscus and it was entirely flapped over so that was very painful for him also. Now we have 8 to 10 weeks of recuperation and then go in to see about the left ACL. I am so glad that he was rescued so at least he is getting help now. He would have been in a lot of pain for the rest of his life. He is such a happy guy, he's great!
Will keep you up to date when he goes in for the next surgery.
UPDATE 4/5/09: Major is slowly recuperating from his first ACL repair surgery…very slowly. He is still not fully weight bearing on his right leg. So right now we are uncertain as to when he will be able to have his left ACL repair. He has to be fully weight bearing on the right leg before it can be done. He is going on long walks several times every day to get him to build up his muscles but he has a 2 cm discrepancy in his muscle mass on his right leg compared to his left. He is a trooper on his walks though, does not complain, but he knows when we make the turn for home and picks up the pace a little bit. It is unfortunate but he can only be leash walked presently. He does want to run and play outside so much with the other two Springers in his home but we can't take any chances on doing damage to the repair.
UPDATE 8/4/09 Unfortunately, Major has had a significant set back in his progress but I’ll let him tell you all about it. He can explain it better.
Several weeks ago my foster Mom noticed that I was really lame again on my right hind leg, the one that had been operated on back in February for ACL tear. She immediately took me back to the vet and he examined me and told her that my knee was very ‘loose’ again. So he went in surgically and sure enough, I had blown the repair. I don’t know how I did it! I was doing so well with my therapy, walking up to 12 minutes on the underwater treadmill and going on long walks at home. My vet took out the synthetic ACL and had hopes that I would somehow still build up the muscles in my right leg and that my mobility would improve on its own. No such luck! My foster Mom could tell that my leg still really hurts me since I really don’t put much weight on it and only do what they call “feather touching”. In the meantime my vet contacted one of his associates at a university up in Minnesota to ask about two newer procedures to repair ACLs and her advice was that the standard TPLO was still the gold standard.
So my foster mom took me back to the vets to discuss my options and have me reexamined. The doctor got out a model and showed her exactly what he was going to have to do so she could really understand what I am going to go through. My foster mom is worried about how much pain I am going to have but all I really want is to eventually be able to run outside with my best buddies in my foster home. I know it is going to be a long, long time before I can do that but hopefully some day…
I have gone in for my pre-op x-rays and my vet is marking my films and measuring the angle that he will need to reset my bones. I guess it is a very precise surgery. Thanks goodness for technology and computers! Years ago I probably would have had to be in pain and suffer for the rest of my life. The vet did tell my foster mom some bad news though — my left leg is showing signs of damage also so my mom is really afraid that if we don’t go ahead with the surgery I will become totally lame on both of my back legs.
I am scheduled for the surgery on August 3 and will stay at the vets for a couple of days post-op so they can monitor me and keep my leg iced down, watch for swelling, and really keep me quiet. My mom knows I will be scared while I am there because I still am very shy around strange people, especially men, but the vet tech that will be working with me is very nice and patient. My mom has a list of very explicit instructions as to what she is to allow me to do for the first eight weeks post-op and it isn’t a whole lot! She knows that when I start to feel better (and she’ll be able to tell when I get my ‘happy face’ back) that I am going to want to go where I want to and do what I want to (I absolutely love to hunt for squirrels in the back yard). She’s already figuring out how she is going to keep me quiet for those eight long weeks. I saw the cage come down the other day and I don’t like it one bit. She is making me get into it a couple times every day so I get more and more used to it and won’t object so much after surgery.
So wish me luck, keep me in your prayers, and I will let you all know how I am doing.
Thanks for all your help.
Major
UPDATE 11/01/09 Major has had his TPLO surgery! Here's what he has to say about the outcome:
After spending two nights at the vet hospital, I was so happy to go back to my foster home again and back to familiar surroundings. I have been taking my time to heal and my foster mom has kept me in a room all by myself where I can see my puppy friends at home but can't play with them. I am not happy about that and can put on a REALLY sad face for my foster mom and dad to try to get them to feel sorry for me. So far it hasn't worked too well, I'm still stuck in this room. Talk about being bored!
My foster mom has very specific rules as to how much walking I am allowed to do. Each week I am supposed to increase the amount of time I can spend going on walks and after the fourth week I am supposed to go to hydrotherapy for exercise and to build my muscle back up in that leg. My leg has evidently been sore for so long that I have been favoring it probably for years so my muscle is really weak and atrophied. I keep thinking about how I want to get outside and chase some squirrels so I plan on working really, really hard at my therapy. I may never be a marathon runner but I hope I can at least get out and just play wqith my friends again soon. Wish me luck!
UPDATE 11/15/09 Oh dear! Just a little setback!
Hello out there to all of you who have had me in your hearts and prayers. Major here, to let you all know what has been happening this past month.
I was on my fifth day of hydrotherapy and needless to say I was not loving it! It's not that I don't like the exercise, I'm just still very wary of new situations and people, so I did not like them taking me away from where I could see my foster mom. Anyway, during my fifth session, as they were going through my range of motion exercises with me, the vet tech saw that my surgical wound had opened up. Now, just remember this was five weeks post-op and everything had been going great up until this moment. My wound is on the inner aspect of my back right leg so my foster mon cannot really see much of that part of my leg because of my feathers and she had not realized there was a problem. The last time she had checked me out, everything was fine and dandy. I wasn't licking my leg any more than usual which would have been a clue that something had happened so she thought all was well and good. That was not the case.
This was not a good situation because of the potential for infection in my bone, so my foster mom and I ended up back down at my regular vet's hospital where they got a culture of the wound and placed me on large amounts of antibiotics. My vet told my foster mom that I was a really good boy when they took the culture because they had to dig a little to make sure they got some material to culture.
A week went by and the culture came back and the bacteria was resistant to the antibiotics they had put me on so we had to change my medication to another one. I have to be on antibiotics for a whole month and then get checked out again before I can get back to my therapy.
So, no more hydrotherapy for now. I'm not sure if I'm happy about this or not because I do want to get better so I can get out to chase the squirrels like the other dogs in my foster home. I just hope that the squirrels will wait for me. I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers and your donations.
Major
UPDATE 1/23/10 Here's a recent photo of handsome Major undergoing his "range of motion" exercises in therapy.
He has also returned to hydrotherapy. Want to see him "in action?" Check out this video at http://drop.io/nbv6exu/asset/pict0139-mov?ref=yahoo.
UPDATE 2/16/10 Hopefully you have all had a chance to see the video of me exercising on the water treadmill. My goal is to get as "buff" as possible so I can get outside and run and jump with the other Springers in our family. For now I am enjoying my daily walks and staying right by my foster Mom's side while she types dictation for my foster Dad. I have been going into the office to try to get used to being around more people. I'm getting used to a couple of the other women in the office but still stay pretty close to my foster Mom there too. I also feel a little more secure if one of the other dogs comes in with me.
I still am not a fan of the water treadmill but my Mom was so excited when they measured my leg this week. I had gained a whole centimeter in my muscle! Of course my left leg had gained two centimeters so I still need to make my right leg stronger but at least I am going in the right direction. My doctor still wants both of my legs to be as close to the same measurment before he even considers surgery on the torn ACL in my left leg. Now that I know the routine though I think I can handle it. I am also getting laser therapy to help with the pain so I can get off my medication for this. It makes my leg feel all warm and I like that.
I am so lucky that ESRA found me and has helped me. I don't even want to think about how much pain I would still be in if they hadn't. And thanks to all of you who have given donations for all my treatments also. I keep each of you in my prayers every night.
Slobby dog kisses to all of you,
Major
Contact: Diane Lagergren StDiBeRyWh@aol.com
CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR MAJOR
| MAJOR’S GENEROUS SPONSORS TO DATE: | |
|---|---|
 Anonymous |
In memory of our Special Needs Springers Gus and Lexi |
| Trudy Apple |
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| Edward Upson |
A gift for Edward Upson |
| Nancy Linnell-Roeglin |
In memory of our beloved Cassie |
| Andrea Fenton Abbs |
In memory of Lucy with thanks for all that ESRA does for Springers in need |
| Joan M Nero |
A gift in the names of George Purches and Sherry Jeary in memory of Jack and Bobby |
| Madelyn Delph |
In memory of Alfie and in honor of my new puppy Alfie II. I commend ESRA's devotion to the best breed on earth. |
| Erin Molina |
A gift in honor of Tracey Dexter's birthday |
| Scott Reed |
A happy birthday tribute to Tracey Dexter |
| Amy Klous |
In memory of all dogs not fortunate enough to have been rescued |
| Rebecca J. Thompson |
In memory of Pepper Puppy Pearson |
| Kristen Riha |
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| Lisa Asper |
In memory of Charlie, the best Springer Spaniel I ever owned |
| Betty Green |
Get well wishes to Major from Miller, who just had the same surgery on both knees! |
| Melanie Schuler |
In memory of Shiloh |
| Leslie Allen |
I have been following your story ever since you appeared on the ESRA website. Hurry up and get better. Your Forever Home is out there! |
| Phyllis Chan |
In memory of Hershey Kisses and Heather Young's Dusty |
| Lorrane Coli |
In memory of Blair |
| Heidi Johnson |
In memory of Molly and Lexi |
| Anonymous |
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| Anna Morin and her ESRA baby Buster, the absolute joy and love of her life |
In memory of Coco |
| Suzanne Knight |
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| Deborah Ruggles |
In honor of Belle who is still with us and THRIVING and in appreciation for ESRA for the work they do! |
| Anonymous |
A gift for Jason Torrie |
| Eric Christensen |
In memory of Tristar Tori's Lidiette CD RE |
| Laurie Sages |
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| Anonymous |
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| Debra Sidman |
In memory of Jake |
| Sara Beisbier |
A gift for Dr. Tani Ketter |
| Shelley and Kenny McNew |
In memory of Cooper, our greatest love |
| Colleen Carter |
A birthday gift for my mother, my best friend — in memory of our beloved Sport. From Basil and Paris. |
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