From:
lchez1965@yahoo.com
Date: 2001-04-04 08:04:00 UTC
Subject: Partial paralysis -- incontinence
Good morning ~
This is a follow-up to a posting I wrote last night. Callie, our 5
year old who just had her spleen removed and was discovered to have
some type of cancer throughout her body (awaiting biopsy results),
has not been able to walk since the operation Monday night. She was
able to initially, but within a few hours she progressively got worse
and, by Tuesday morning, she could only drag her back end (though her
back legs do move ~ it is as if she doesn't have the ability to lift
her rear area). She is on pred to see if that helps.
Now, a new problem has arisen. Though Callie has been eating and
drinking, she had not had a bowel movement since Monday morning
before the surgery. Then, last evening, she finally did. However,
she urinates and now poops on her bed linens or wherever she may be
at that moment. Does this sound like she is incontinent? Why all of
a sudden is she like this after the surgery? The vet said he fears
the cancer went to her bladder, etc. However, doesn't it seem
strange that this happened after the operation? She was fine
regarding bathroom habits prior to the operation.
Is there ANYTHING we can do to help Callie? She is awake and alert.
It breaks our hearts to see her this way. It is bad enough that she
has to have cancer throughout her body. Now, she can't really move,
and she is laying in her excretions until we can clean her. How do
we know when it is time to put her down? I don't know how we could
even consider putting her down when she is so alert and eating,
drinking, etc., even though we know she is sick. She doesn't act
like she is in pain. We have to get the biopsy results to see if
Callie would be a chemo candidate. Until then, are we hurting her?
Please help with any thoughts/info you may have.
Thank you ~
Lisa