A rough recovery…

The vet called last night and said the surgery went well and that she would call tomorrow to let us know when we can come get her. She called this morning, as promised, and said Maggie didn’t want to walk last night but she was up walking this morning in the yard. We could come get her at 10:30. 

Well we arrived a few minutes early and were brought into a room. The tech went over our discharge instructions: 

1. Exercise restriction: No jumping or stairs. Stay on a leash while going the bathroom. 
2. Don’t remove the bandage but make sure it remains clean and dry. 
3. Put a warm pack on the wound area three times a day.
4. 150mg carprofen twice daily (pain med)
5. 300mg Gabapentin (pain med)
6. 200mg cefpodoxime (antibiotic)
7. Come back in two weeks for suture removal

Maggie came hobbling into the room with the tech after that and was eager to get the hell out of there. We had to stop after about 30 feet. Then we continued to the car. She fell getting into the car. Then she cried and whined quite a bit until she was able to get as comfortable as possible and then fell asleep. We got home about 90 minutes later. She got out of the car okay and then had to pee. She started peeing but then fell and continued peeing while laying down. After that she got up and we were able to get her into the house and onto her bed. At some point she peed again in her bed. She’s been whining with every breath on and off since we’ve been home. Her pain meds aren’t due for another 5 hours. The good thing is she wants to hang out with us. We got her up for a bit to lay next to the couch. She’s back in bed now and is feeling pretty crummy. 

As far as how I feel? Like the worst dog mom in the entire world. Seeing her go through this is quite possibly one of the roughest things I’ve ever had to witnessed. I can only communicate with her through the tone of my voice and my touch. She doesn’t understand when I tell her it’s going to be okay. I find myself playing the decision over and over in my head. Did we make the right choice? But what other choice did we have? Wait for the tumor to get worse and more painful. While the amputation is a rough recovery it was the best choice for her overall comfort and quality of life. I’ve got this overwhelming weight of guilt right now. I feel actually pretty fucking terrible right now. 

The surgeon said it was going to be a rough two weeks but after that things would get a lot easier. Good news is we’ll be moving on Wednesday to a place that will be much easier for her to get into and out of. She’ll have her own yard. Right now I’m sipping on a Negroni and hanging out with Cory. For now, the house is calm and she is sleeping. I’ll post with more updates as she progresses.