@polebird: Watson's weekend at the ER - A scary medical emergency

Hi Steemit friends - I had quite the rough week, but everything is good now (the photo below is of Watty in recovery mode, but there is another photo down below that you may not want to see if you are eating, just a warning)! My beloved dog Watson gave us quite a scare this past weekend.

My parents were watching him while we were out of town and they called with the news that Watson was having an upset stomach and also refusing to eat. For Watson, food is like his favorite thing in the world that he looks forward to everyday. They took him to the nearest vet ER since it was Sunday, and I was quite shocked and pretty distraught when I heard that he was in critical condition. He had white gums - **FYI pet owners, this is a very bad sign. At the first ER, they ran bloodwork and had to give him a blood transfusion.

We ended up going to 3 different ERs. The first ER, although they were able to save him while he was in critical condition and brought him back to a more "stable" state diagnosed him with cancer or Evan's disease (a terrible autoimmune condition where the body attacks its own blood cells and platelets). One of the vets there told us for sure he had Evan's disease. This was terrible news for us to hear and I basically could not stop the tears for almost 24 hours. She told us that there was no treatment and that all the dogs diagnosed previously with Evans had to be put down. Upon doing my research, I did find that Evan's although the prognosis is usually bad, can sometimes be maintained with medication. Also, it seemed that they based their diagnosis solely on the bloodwork and a small negative fluctuation (which can be statistically insignificant and due to testing variation). Watty's CBC showed high neutrophils, elevated liver enzymes, low albumin, and very very low platelets. Upon research, there are other conditions that can cause such values including: diseases transmitted by ticks, GI bleed or internal bleed.

We decided that the other possible diagnoses had not been ruled out properly and so we took Watson with us to get a second opinion. The second ER we went was highly recommended by our family vet. They are well known for being skilled at diagnostic procedures and having specialists available at the facility. The vet there ran a few more tests, and came back with better news - Watson's labs were still stable. AND, there was something weird about his X-ray. It's hard to see in the photo, but there are lines kind of in a U shape in his stomach. We were now making progress - his symptoms could definitely be a sign of a bowel obstruction. I had my guess at what his stomach contained - hair bands or perhaps long blades of grass. I one time saw him with a hair band in his mouth and had to take it back, and Watson is always grazing on long weeds in the yard. The good doctor there ran a few more tests and came to the conclusion that he possibly had a perforation in his stomach which could cause a condition called septic stomach. She decided to refer us to another specialist with lots of experience in this type of more complicated bowel surgery.

So, off we rushed to the next vet ER. The vet there was so kind and upon examination gave us a lot of confidence that Watson could pull through this ordeal. We had to leave him during the surgery there because visiting hours were almost over by the time we brought him in. We had basically spent over 20 hours in Vet ERs by this time with 2 hours of sleep. So, when we got the call that he had gone through the surgery with no issues and that his bowel did not have the assumed perforation - we were finally so relieved to hear the news. And guess what? His entire stomach was full of hair bands. The next day when we went to visit him, he was doing even better and recovering well from the surgery. When the nurse showed us what was in his stomach, we were SHOCKED. See below.... I don't even know how many hair bands that was or that I had THAT many. He must have sneaked a whole pack or two. HOLY COW.

Anyways, it is day 7 and he's back to his old self - just slightly restricted on activities and wearing a cone at times. I'm glad to report that his recovery is going well and that he's almost finishing up his course of 3 different medications. I've also hair tie proof the house - but I am paranoid that he will sneaky find some hidden ones. I am so grateful to the doctors that saved my Watson - he is my heart! I did want to write his story on Steemit - as a caution to pet owners on what their pets may be ingesting and also to do your research and ask for second opinions when your gut is telling you something is off.

Thanks for reading friends and hope you guys are doing well,

Love,
Jess