I can't believe it's been almost a month since Maiki woke up one morning with a mysterious limp. Visits to the vet confirmed that it was some kind of knee injury - quite possibly a cruciate ligament tear that could only be fixed by invasive and expensive surgery. In the meantime, my formerly happy and healthy puppy had to be forced to "rest" and prevented from doing all the normal things that puppies are supposed to do in order to grow strong and well-adjusted: things like running around, jumping and playing with other dogs.
My heart has been saddened by these weeks of having to restrict her, and watching the joyful spark go out of her. There's been a strange sense of grief and loss. In a very real sense, I lost my puppy overnight, and am having to manage the care of a seriously injured and fragile dog. No more walks, no more games, no more learning tricks to make fun videos for YouTube...
Last week I had the opportunity to take her to a veterinary hospital in Malaga to be evaluated by a specialist in canine injuries. The doctor confirmed that the injury was in the knee, but was able to diagnose that it was actually an avulsion of the tibial crest and not a cruciate ligament tear as we'd suspected. An avulsion injury (where the bone splits in two along the still open growth plates) is more common in puppies, but has basically the same symptoms and the same need for rest as a ligament injury.
Usually the avulsion needs to be repaired by surgery - to put a pin in the knee to hold the bone together again. Occasionally, laser treatment can help the bone to regenerate on its own. We decided to do a few sessions of laser treatment before making a decision about whether surgery is needed. My neighbour wanted to pay for the first three sessions, which are happening this week.
I so long and pray for a miracle.... for the laser treatment to be even more effective than it would normally be. It's hard to keep being "horrible" to this little dog and correcting her for trying to be a normal energetic puppy.
Meanwhile, I've also had my own health challenges over the past week. A cardiovascular specialist has prescribed a heavy compression stocking for a huge varicose vein that has suddenly appeared on my left leg.... and said that I should have my lungs x-rayed because the vein's sudden appearance could also be a symptom of deteriorating lung capacity. As if to underline the weakness in my lungs, two days later I had to go to the emergency department of our local clinic, where they (after doing a covid test) diagnosed a bad bout of bronchitis and prescribed antibiotics.
I don't actually have a health card at the moment (thanks to Brexit) so it was a relief that I was able to see the doctors on those two occasions. But it was a disappointment to come down with bronchitis again, after having had a stretch of about sixteen months with no lung infections.
So I'm kind of on bed rest this week (though still doing computer work) and trying to keep a 5 month old puppy resting at the same time. My hopes and my prayers are for healing for both of us.
