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Post by lolasf on Mar 18, 2013 22:20:57 GMT -7
Hi everyone. This is my first post to the new forum, so forgive me if I've done this wrong!
My dog, Lola is a chi mix. She's 1 1/2 years old. She had surgery on February 7th, and the recovery was very slow. She was pretty much unable to stand or walk and did not have DPS until the one month mark. Since then, her progress has moved very fast. She spends a few hours out of her crate now to go outside and practice walking, and to play on the floor, as the vet said she didn't need to be under strict 24/7 crate rest right now. I am still trying to keep her mellow, but it doesn't seem to be too much for her at this point. If anything, I think she has more energy to be out of her crate more, but I haven't let her. At the one month appointment, the surgeon had originally said I should hold off on getting her a wheelie cart, and recommended I take her to PT. I went to the first PT appointment last week, and the physical therapist recommended I get a cart for her right away. Since the PT appointment, she has continued to make a lot of progress, and can now wobbly walk for short spurts.
So, my question to everyone is whether she needs a wheelie cart to help her get to a full recovery, or should I stick to PT every other week and exercises at home?
Thanks,
Brooke
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Mar 19, 2013 9:56:45 GMT -7
Brooke, so glad to see your arrival here! Gosh now she can wobbly walk, she is really making strides in nerve healing!!! I don't see a wheelchair at all in the cards for Lola. Concentrate on PT, even stuff you can do at your house with water therapy and a child's wadding pool and sling walking on different textures (beach sand, grass, taller grass) walking across a slope, up and down a slope. Use the sling until you are sure she is not going to fall and hurt herself...sling loosely as it is just kind of a back up should her rear start to tip. The goal of PT is slow deliberate footsteps to practice learning the art of walking again.... just like stroke victims and babies learn to walk. A leash, harness and sling give you that control over Lola. Graduation day is March 21 so plan your gradual reintroduction to physical activity and make your home back friendly. These "what to do after crate" articles will give you lots of very good ideas: dodgerslist.com/literature.htm#aftercrate |
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