Thursday, November 3, 2016

Car Repair and Dog Repair

Continuing the car saga, I didn't hear back from the mechanic on Friday, which was odd, so I called on Saturday morning.  He told me that the car would not repeat the problem, meaning, it started up every time they tried it.  He said his technician had been going out and starting it every half hour.  Since the car kept starting, they couldn't diagnose the problem so there was nothing to fix.  I guess that was a good thing.  I now carry a hammer in my car just in case my starter ever needs "motivation" again.  My nephew and I drove over to pick it up and then we stopped by the cat shelter again.  I asked if they had more chores to do because the point of volunteering, besides helping out, is for my nephew to be able to add skills to his resume.  We ended up scrubbing litter boxes in the back so now he is qualified to be a dish washer.  Haha. 

All this week, I have been reluctantly counting down the days until Jimmy-dog's surgery next Tuesday.  Then, yesterday, my vet calls and says that she wants me to get a another opinion from a second surgeon.  She had called him for advice for this case thinking I had already had a consultation with that surgeon but I only consulted with the one surgeon because after that we were going to try non-surgical options, which we did.  Anyway, the surgeon at Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson, VSCOT for short, mentioned that some dogs can have these adrenal tumors with no symptoms at all so we should be sure that his symptoms are actually being cause by the tumor.  We shouldn't try risky surgery if the outcome is not going to improvement his health.  I completely agree.  I was under the impression, and my vet was too, that removing the tumor would fix everything, except his back pain.  So, Jimmy-dog has a consultation on Nov. 15th and I hope that this surgeon has some answers.  Jimmy-dog has been doing better with walking lately.  I give him half of a pain pill twice a day.  He still isn't able to jump on the bed or chair like he used to but he hasn't been holding up one leg and trying to hobble around on three legs like he was doing.  And even though the eye drops for his excessive thirst cost $80 a month, maybe there is a cheaper medicine out there some where or maybe I can give the drops every other day with the same effect.  So, the Jimmy-dog story is to be continued...

11 comments:

Dave said...

Your story about the hammer reminds me of that old song, "If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the mornnnnning. I'd hammer in the evening, all over this land......" LOL

Anonymous said...

Hoping Jimmy dog's tumor is not leading to Cushings or anything else but if it is the sooner removed the better. Good luck with the second consultation. Tony

Daizy said...

Yes, me too. It just seems appropriate.

Daizy said...

The vet thought he had Cushing's initially but then changed the diagnosis to pheochromocytoma, a rare adrenal tumor, after the adrenal stimulus test came back negative.Research on pheo tumors is sparse and from what I have heard and read, they don't know exactly what symptoms they cause. Hopefully the third opinion will shed more light on the subject. It is all very confusing. I wish Jimmy-dog could tell us how he feels.

Daizy said...

I mean, they list symptoms but some dogs with the pheo tumor don't show any symptoms so we need to rule out his symptoms being caused by something else. Here is the study that I read. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9348493

Anonymous said...

Wow, 6 of 17 dogs operated on died during surgery or shortly after. I hope his symptoms subside so that Jimmy dog does not have to go in for the operation.

Yes, if there was a canine thought reader the inventor would be a billionaire.

Wishing you and Jimmy dog the best.

Daizy said...

I know, right? After reading that I wasn't so sure anymore. He's doing really well this week, even with his walking. Almost his old self again. I don't know how long it will last but I really don't want him to die in surgery any time soon.

Daizy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pat Gaudreau said...

LOL,I had a Gremlin,remember them?
Had to whack the starter with a broomstick!
I will never forget leaving someplace with my kids who were toddlers,and the guy in the car parked next to me,just watched with his jaw hanging...

Daizy said...

I remember the Gremlin with its funny hatchback. I don't envy you with an unreliable car and kids. It's stressful enough with just me.

Unknown said...

Thanks