Tuesday, March 18, 2008

"I just didn't want to live without my balls!"

*UPDATE*

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and concern you've been sending our way, and please keep it coming. Things do not look good...not good at all.

We've just spoken to the vet again and Gordon is still breathing and his heart is still pumping. The positives pretty much end there. He is in a comatose state, and she fully expects for him to remain that way for at least the next 24-48 hours, if not longer (possibly even MUCH longer or permanently).

There is a very real chance of him suffering a seizure right now, and the chances of a puppy of his age and size making a full, 100% recovery from a trauma such as this are extremely slim. But, she's "seen it happen." She would also not be surprised if he did not make it through tonight.

She said that she is not ready to give up on him yet if we're not, which did not make me feel good at all. How long is long enough to wait for our puppy to regain consciousness? If the odds are that even if he does wake up, he will not be loveable, happy little Gordon but a dog with no quality of life, what does that mean? I hope and pray that this does not come down to a decision on my part and that whatever is going to happen does so naturally...

She encouraged us to come up to visit with him, which sounds both like a good idea (I want to see him one more time if this is it), and a really, really bad one. I don't know how I'm supposed to function normally not knowing what the outcome of this is going to be.

Sorry for the Debbie Downer post...I was really hoping to be able to say he's fine and they're just keeping him overnight as a precaution, but who knows. Something could still change and Gordon is quite a special little dog...he may just be able to pull this off :)

Keep us in your thoughts if you could...thanks.
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It may be too early to joke about this, but it's the only thing making me not fall apart entirely...

Matt called me at work around 3:30 to see if I could come home, because there had been a complication with Gordon's surgery. Needless to say, I freaked, made an ass of myself in front of relatively new co-workers (not that I care one bit), and tried to rush home, although the excessive rain made for a particularly agonizing drive.

Apparently, the little guy had been fine during the surgical procedure itself, but stopped breathing just as they started to transport him to recovery. Luckily, they caught it right away and put him immediately on full life support. They were warning us at that point that even if he did pull out of this alive, he could very likely be blind, or have suffered brain damage...

For a gut-wrenching hour and a half, we waited helplessly until we got the call 30 minutes or so ago that Gordon had started breathing on his own. While he was still unconscious, at least he was not in need of assistance of any kind, which was a check in the positive column. We are expecting another update soon, but the game plan for now is to get him to ICU, keep him intubated and closely monitored in the event that he should have more problems.

They will definitely keep him overnight, but I don't know yet whether we'll be able to go visit, or they'll keep him sedated, or what. So we're not out of the woods just yet, but this is so much better than the initial prognosis.

One thing the last 2 hours have taught me? I'm not ready to be a "real" parent in any way, shape, or form for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time, if ever.

Excuse me while I go start breathing again...

12 comments:

Meghan said...

i'm SO glad he's getting better. i was pretty shaken after we talked and he's not even my dog! i hope you and matt are both feeling a little better now too. anyway, we're sending strong, healthy vibes gordon's way!! love you!!

Anonymous said...

You know I'm thinking of the little guy! Be sure to keep us updated.

Teresa said...

Oh wow! I will definately keep little Gordon in my thoughts. I kept trying to check the forum for an update, but it was down so I was a little on edge. How scary!

BTW, I lol'ed at the title. It's good to have a sense of humor in tough times. :)

LC said...

Oh no! I am so glad to hear that he is doing better. Keep us posted!

Julia Goolia said...

Holy crap! What is it with you and Jen and your dogs these days. Give your readers a heart attack why don't you:)

Poor little Gordon. I'll be thinking of him. I'm sure he'll pull out just fine and never even remember this event.

And as a side note Henry had his neuter surgery combined with a hernia surgery, too. Great dogs think alike:)

Anonymous said...

Oh Meghan, I'm so sorry. :( Hopefully, he'll be a little miracle case, and he'll pull through just fine. I'll be watching for more updates and keeping you and little Gordie in my thoughts.

Teresa said...

Oh no, I was really thinking you would have a good update. This is just soooo sad. I really hope he pulls out of this.

I will be thinking of you guys.

Meghan said...

just saw your update... hang in there. i can't even imagine what you're going through right now, but i know you're doing all you can and you're being a great mommy. i really hope you and matt have a good visit with him tonight.

Sherry said...

I am so sorry to hear about this, I will say an extra prayer for Gordon tonight. I'll make Toby say one too!

Jen said...

Meghan, I'm not sure if there's any update since the last one, but just know that Mr. P and I are thinking of Gordon and hoping he pulls through soon. Gordon's got a lot of people pulling for him, and great parents (even big brother Louie) who would do anything for him.

"T-Bone" Lee said...

Oh megs!! I'm so sorry to hear about your baby!! I can only IMAGINE how awful you feel. We'll be sending good thoughts your way (and by we i mean indy and I).

Jennifer said...

Meghan - I am so sorry. I really hope that your visit last night was a good one. Please update us as soon as you can. Gordon has so many people pulling for him - I'm sure he will be jsut fine!!!