EPTGigi prancing
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/prance.jpg)
Gigi showing off her hind leg strength
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/hindlegs.jpg)
Gigi just looking happy to be home
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/lyingdown.jpg)
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The vet thinks my dog might have pyometra (infection of the uterus). It's a pretty grim disease and if she really has it, her chances of survival are low.
Though the symptoms point to pyometra, her X-ray seems clean. That could mean that it's something else entirely, or it could mean that we caught it early enough for antibiotics to do the job. Or it could mean that it's still too late and she just has slightly longer to live.
There are more details but I'm not in the mood to go into them.
Tomorrow we'll get an ultrasound done to find out more details about what's going on. In the meantime, I'm lighting candles and placing them on the altar and hoping God overlooks my wife and I parking for free in church when we want to eat at a nearby coffeeshop.
If you are even mildy religious, I would appreciate it if you prayed for my dog. She's very dear to me and she's been a very faithful companion.
Here's what she looked like when CJ was still GO:
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![[image loading]](http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4256/wcghousezx3.jpg)
And here's what she looked like last month:
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/TheGigi.jpg)
EDIT: It's 8 am here in Singapore and the ultrasound will be done in another 8 hours. After the ultrasound, we'll have the results within the hour.
Her condition has worsened. She's stopped eating and she doesn't want to walk. Some time in the night, she vomitted in the corner of the box where she sleeps (she hates to dirty her box). I thought the antibiotics the vet gave her yesterday would help, but I guess not. She's licking herself a lot and it seems more and more likely to be pyometra.
The vet mentioned there is a possibility of her collapsing, in which case she should be rushed to hospital, so I've decided to stay home and monitor her instead of going to the gym.
Thank you for the well wishes. I'll update.
EDIT: 1123, singapore time. using my phone to blog this at the vet. at 930 we got very worried about her deteriorating condition and brought her in again. the vet was able to confirm her pyometra without an ultrasound and she will undergo surgery at 1. vet estimates her chances at 60 percent. she is 10, she may not survive the aenesthesia even. we keep hoping and praying for gigi.
EDIT: 1406 in Singapore. We're back from the vet. The operation should have finished by now. Since we haven't heard anything, I hope everything's gone smoothly.
According to the vet, if she makes it through the operation, the next two days will be critical. She's an old dog with a heart problem and it's going to be tough for her, but we did catch the problem early and her heart condition was stabilised some time ago, so she has that going for her.
I'm quite a wreck right now, I must say. I couldn't stop crying in the morning, and I haven't been able to eat anythinig. I had a mug of water for breakfast and a mug of milk for lunch and that's it.
My wife has been telling everyone who was fond of the dog about her condition and the support just goes to show how popular she is. This dog is possibly the most prayed for dog in Singapore right now, with prayers going up to God (Catholic), God (Protestant), Kuan Yin the Goddess of Mercy and even, we suspect, Allah (yes, she is THAT popular). That doesn't even include the well wishes from TL.net. Even my father-in-law went round to visit her before she went for her operation, which was very nice of him considering he views vets as "a waste of money".
If all goes well, the vet will call us at about half past 3 when the aenesthetic wears off and we can go visit her. Then it'll be another 2 days under observation till she gets discharged.
Once again, thank you for the well wishes. They mean a lot to me. Here's what Gigi looked like at about 11. She had already been warded and put on a drip.
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/Gigidrip1.jpg)
EDIT: I wish I had never started playing poker. The vet estimates her chances of survival at 60%. That's even lower than the chances of aces beating a lower pocket pair all in preflop. And yet aces get cracked so often that nobody really bats an eye when it happens. Pre poker, I would never have understood what a "60% chance" really meant. Now I do, and that frightens me.
EDIT: 1505. Vet just called. The dog has survived the operation. They've removed her uterus and flushed out the toxins. She should wake up in an hour's time. I'm so relieved... that's one less thing to worry about. Now if she can just get through the next 2 days she should be okay.
EDIT: 1735. Went to see her post surgery. She's conscious and, to the vet's surprise, sitting up. That is a very good sign. It means she's strong willed and ready to pull through. Still, the next three days will be critical. It was also nice that one fo my wife's students and her mother turned up to see the dog as well. This is after they prayed to the Jade Emperor and the ancestors of the Tan family (their family). One of the many great things about living in Singapore is that when you need spritiual aid, you get it from all corners.
Here's the uterus that they removed. It's swollen to about twice its normal size. Thankfully, that's not too severe.
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/Uterus.jpg)
And here she is with an Elizabethan collar so she doesn't lick her stitches.
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/Gigiafter3.jpg)
EDIT: 1450, the day after the surgery. Gigi must be the most visited dog in the ward. She had 7 visitors from 930 to 12. She seems very popular with the staff there too - they covered her with a blanket and gave her a hot water bottle. She can recognise people and she's eating well when I feed her (she's a bit wary fo the staff). Everyone is very hopeful. Hopefully she'll be out of there by tomorrow or Thursday... will update!
EDIT: 1154, 2 days after operation. blogging from phone at vet's. dog not out of danger yet. white blood cell count even higher than just after surgery. very worried again. going to see her w wife soon. hoping she can pull through.
EDIT: 1238 just got out of the vet. vet was in surgery so couldn't tell us how worried we should be about elevated white blood cell count and lower body temperature. her age is starting to show. but she is able to stand and is eating. good signs. will go back again tonight. in the meantime, all we can do is hope and pray.
EDIT: Does anyone here have medical or veterinary knowledge? 2 days after surgery, my dog's white blood cell count is even higher than just after surgery and her body temperature is low (36.5 I think). How concerned should I be? Why is her white blood cell count high even though the infected organ has been removed?
EDIT: 1014, three days after surgery. Spoke to the vet yesterday night. She reckons the white blood cell count is disappointing but not a cause for concern yet, seeing as how Gigi has been getting generally better. They'll do another test tomorrow before they start to panic. Here's Gigi looking like some superhero Yoda:
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/Gigicape.jpg)
And here's a close up
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![[image loading]](http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu255/karen668/GigicapeCU.jpg)
She does look very much better. She's able to wag her tail and walk now. Hopefully her blood test on Friday will be good and then we can bring her home.
EDIT: 1124. Just saw her again. She's able to stand comfortably and she's eating so the vet has removed the drip for a while to give her veins a rest. We have high hopes that she'll make it back tomorrow.
EDIT: 1419, four days after surgery. Thanks for all the well wishes guys. If everything goes well, this will be the second last update.
My wife went round to see the dog this morning and the vet thinks she can be discharged. We'll have to give her some injections over the next few days, but it looks like she's on the road to making a full recovery.
I'll update one last time when she gets back, and then I geuss this terrible incident will be over.
Thanks again for the well wishes guys. Really appreciate it.
