Recovery

{warning - this is long and has some not so pretty pictures of Bella's surgery}

On Monday we had to take our little girl in to get her knee fixed.  We met with a specialist, and he strongly encouraged us to move forward with surgery.  She was diagnosed with a torn left cranial cruciate ligament or CCL.  He gave us our two options, and of course, there wasn't just one right answer.  I'm going to rant for a moment...

It is so frustrating to go to a doctor, spend a ton of money, and not get specific answers.  I know they have to be that way to cover their asses, but come on.  All I want is to hear the best way to move forward.  I have no idea what I'm doing here, that's why I came to you! 

Okay, I think I'm done.  Don't get me wrong, I really like the doctor we have and the place we went, but I just need some guidance. 

We had two options to fix her knee, and of course, we went with the more expensive one.  Thanks, Bella.  No, we both agreed that we would feel more comfortable knowing that she had a plate and screws holding it all together and not just scar tissue.  The procedure is called a Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy or TPLO. 


I had to drop her off that morning, and it was SO sad.  Steel and I had to say goodbye to a fluffy friend the day before, and they make you sign all those 'worst case scenario' lines where 'death may be possible'.  I was strong and made it out of the office before getting teary eyed.  The kicker was when they make you take off everything, even her collar and take it with you.  She just had this look on her face when I left, and of course, pulled away from the nurse when I was leaving.  Tear.  But I took a deep breath and had to remind myself that they do this all the time and she really needed this to get better.


Later that afternoon I got a call from our doctor that she made it through like a champ.  She actually had about 80% of her ligament torn, so they went ahead and clipped it entirely.  Apparently, if left in fragments, it can cause problems or pain in the future.  She spent the night at the hospital and then D took yesterday off to get her.  I didn't get to see her until the afternoon, but I was glad he got to spend some time with her. 


Her leg looks pretty beat up.  I thought yesterday was bad, but today is even worse.  She is on pain medication, but still seems to be in some pain.  She just can't get comfortable and changes positions a lot. 

Her recovery plan involves 8 weeks of keeping her quite and confined.  No jumping, running, playing, etc for 8 weeks.  We have to ice her leg for these first 3-4 days, because of the bruising.  Then in about two weeks, she gets to go get the staples removed.  

It's going to be a long 8 weeks...

Bella didn't get to say bye to our fluffy friend Fez, but Steel had the BEST time.  It was a rainy day, but the dogs were loving it.

We will miss all your hyper, growling, playful self! Love, B, Steel and Bbears.