History repeating itself

[Strawberygiraffe]

Hi everyon, even though I’ve not posted much over the last few years this forum has been a godsend. after Loosing Boris we vowed never again but here we are again.
we have two beautiful furbabies litter siblings; Doris(F) has a long stop with excellent breathing and (touch wood) no medical issues sadly her brother Ron was born very small with all the BOAS issues. The breeder is excellent but even the best cannot foresee a tiny pup. We took Ron on so he would have a chance and 7 years later he has had (I hope) a joyful life.
he had palette and nares done around a year old and thrived however two weeks ago was diagnosed with a base heart tumour and underwent emergency heart surgery. He recovered well from the surgery but then developed airway complications which led to being on a ventilator and currently has a temporary tracheostomy.
he is not tolerating the removal of the trach and struggles to breathe for himself so today the surgeons and emergency team are going to discuss next steps.
we were allowed a visit with him last Friday and aside from the trach and weight loss, he was really good.

we are £20,000 + in debt as the insurance won’t cover as they class it as existing condition. we Are far from wealthy and have taken out loans and credit cards to cover any costs as we were told he would do well and have another two years. we both work for the NHS and work 12 hour shifts so we are trying to keep going
I am lost and heartbroken I literally dont know what to do. my only aim has been to give him quality of life and time but it’s slipping away from me and is it time to let go?
sorry for the long sad post I just wanted to let it out to likeminded people and maybe get some comfort/advice.
thank you all for reading.

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

Hi everyon, even though I’ve not posted much over the last few years this forum has been a godsend. after Loosing Boris we vowed never again but here we are again.
we have two beautiful furbabies litter siblings; Doris(F) has a long stop with excellent breathing and (touch wood) no medical issues sadly her brother Ron was born very small with all the BOAS issues. The breeder is excellent but even the best cannot foresee a tiny pup. We took Ron on so he would have a chance and 7 years later he has had (I hope) a joyful life.
he had palette and nares done around a year old and thrived however two weeks ago was diagnosed with a base heart tumour and underwent emergency heart surgery. He recovered well from the surgery but then developed airway complications which led to being on a ventilator and currently has a temporary tracheostomy.
he is not tolerating the removal of the trach and struggles to breathe for himself so today the surgeons and emergency team are going to discuss next steps.
we were allowed a visit with him last Friday and aside from the trach and weight loss, he was really good.

we are £20,000 + in debt as the insurance won’t cover as they class it as existing condition. we Are far from wealthy and have taken out loans and credit cards to cover any costs as we were told he would do well and have another two years. we both work for the NHS and work 12 hour shifts so we are trying to keep going
I am lost and heartbroken I literally dont know what to do. my only aim has been to give him quality of life and time but it’s slipping away from me and is it time to let go?
sorry for the long sad post I just wanted to let it out to likeminded people and maybe get some comfort/advice.
thank you all for reading.

No news yet. Please keep us in your prayers x

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

So sorry you are going thru this, I hope the surgeons can make him comfortable in the meantime, my thoughts and prayers are with you, hope he improves.

Please keep us updated.

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

No news yet. Please keep us in your prayers x

So now it’s a waiting game. They are waiting for the steroids to go to work to see if it helps.

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

So now it’s a waiting game. They are waiting for the steroids to go to work to see if it helps.

Keep us updated on how he is doing!

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

Ron doing ok. Still relying on the temp trachi. Swelling needs to go down in the next 2 days to avoid next steps xx

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

Ron doing ok. Still relying on the temp trachi. Swelling needs to go down in the next 2 days to avoid next steps xx

Ok so the latest is it’s surgery day tomorrow (all being well) and it’s highly likely to be the permanent tracheostomy.
So we are just praying all will go well and we get him home x

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

Ok so the latest is it’s surgery day tomorrow (all being well) and it’s highly likely to be the permanent tracheostomy.
So we are just praying all will go well and we get him home x

Hopefully surgery goes well tomorrow, keep us updated

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

So today’s update is that Ron is in recovery post tracheostomy. Just praying he pulls through this next stage and we get him home x

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

So today’s update is that Ron is in recovery post tracheostomy. Just praying he pulls through this next stage and we get him home x

Praying all goes well and he gets to go home.

Keep us updated on how he is doing.

 

[Jeffc]

Hope all is well and keep us posted.

 

[2bullymama]

So today’s update is that Ron is in recovery post tracheostomy. Just praying he pulls through this next stage and we get him home x

So incredibly heartbreaking for you all. Sending healing prayers for a good recovery to your baby

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

How is he doing??

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

He’s home but it’s a long road ahead. We are feeling very overwhelmed by the care situation and our new normal but just want to have as much quality time with him as we can.
He has the permanent trach and he manages well.
He has awful diarrhoea but hopefully that will resolve now the pain meds etc are working out of his system.
It’s hard as there is very little online in regards to dogs with permanent trachs so we are following the vets guidelines and doing our best.

If anyone has any knowledge/advice it’ll be greatly appreciated

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

My other concern is his sibling is now hostile towards him and whilst I do understand he looks/sounds/smells very different I hoped she would nurturing towards him. Any tips/advice would be brilliant

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

He’s home but it’s a long road ahead. We are feeling very overwhelmed by the care situation and our new normal but just want to have as much quality time with him as we can.
He has the permanent trach and he manages well.
He has awful diarrhoea but hopefully that will resolve now the pain meds etc are working out of his system.
It’s hard as there is very little online in regards to dogs with permanent trachs so we are following the vets guidelines and doing our best.

If anyone has any knowledge/advice it’ll be greatly appreciated

Glad he is back home, I’m sure that will be helpful to his recovery since he would be more comfortable at home.

I have not been thru this so I don’t have tips for care of what you are dealing with.

For the digestion issues, I recommend getting a probiotic supplement for him(not the ones from the vet as they are all fillers and aren’t effective), some good brands are: Adored Beast brand(Gut soothe is the probiotic best for your situation), or Four Leaf Rover brand also makes good probiotics.


I also recommend keeping him on soft food as that will be easiest to digest on his system and also to swallow.
Can he eat and drink on his own or does he need to be tube fed??


If you need pain supplement for him after the meds are done, CBD oil you can get for dogs, and I find it way more effective than the anti inflammatory meds from the vet and less side effects(my dog had digestive issues as side effects of those meds, CBD oil didn’t cause any issue and helps the pain and inflammation).

Sending healing prayers and my thoughts are with you. We are here to help with any questions you may have.

Keep us updated

 

[Strawberygiraffe]

Hi well it’s been five days post tracheotomy and we are following the instructions to the letter. He has a lot of secretions which he mostly coughs up and we wipe. He has nebuliser 3 x a day and seems to cope well with it.
His appetite is back with a vengeance and so we are feeding him little and often. We bought a recovery wet food with probiotics and it seems to helping as his diarrhoea has almost gone. He is painfully thin and has very little hair due to the surgery shaving.
The stoma seems ok but he doesn’t like it if we use the base plate so for now we are allowing him just to get used to the stoma.
He is still very tired and even the short trots into the garden wear him out. He sleeps a lot and seems to be comfortable.
His secretion’s are more at night so it’s tough going but so worth it.
He is very clingy and gets very anxious when our dog’s approach him and starts to shiver.
We are loving and spoiling him.

 

[Jeffc]

Hi well it’s been five days post tracheotomy and we are following the instructions to the letter. He has a lot of secretions which he mostly coughs up and we wipe. He has nebuliser 3 x a day and seems to cope well with it.
His appetite is back with a vengeance and so we are feeding him little and often. We bought a recovery wet food with probiotics and it seems to helping as his diarrhoea has almost gone. He is painfully thin and has very little hair due to the surgery shaving.
The stoma seems ok but he doesn’t like it if we use the base plate so for now we are allowing him just to get used to the stoma.
He is still very tired and even the short trots into the garden wear him out. He sleeps a lot and seems to be comfortable.
His secretion’s are more at night so it’s tough going but so worth it.
He is very clingy and gets very anxious when our dog’s approach him and starts to shiver.
We are loving and spoiling him.

I’m glad to hear that Ron is home again. Best wishes and keep us posted.

 

[Rusty’s Owner]

That’s great he is home again.

 

[2bullymama]

Hi well it’s been five days post tracheotomy and we are following the instructions to the letter. He has a lot of secretions which he mostly coughs up and we wipe. He has nebuliser 3 x a day and seems to cope well with it.
His appetite is back with a vengeance and so we are feeding him little and often. We bought a recovery wet food with probiotics and it seems to helping as his diarrhoea has almost gone. He is painfully thin and has very little hair due to the surgery shaving.
The stoma seems ok but he doesn’t like it if we use the base plate so for now we are allowing him just to get used to the stoma.
He is still very tired and even the short trots into the garden wear him out. He sleeps a lot and seems to be comfortable.
His secretion’s are more at night so it’s tough going but so worth it.
He is very clingy and gets very anxious when our dog’s approach him and starts to shiver.
We are loving and spoiling him.

Slow progress, but an appetite and sleeping is a great sign of healing!