Post Surgery Update
Willie's been home since Saturday afternoon but let me begin from last Friday.
After spending Wednesday afternoon through Thursday back at my own home, I drove to my parents' house on Friday morning to get Willie's carrier which I had left behind. I had promised the vet that I'd be there around 2 p.m. and thought I'd left in plenty of time. I hit some traffic snags along the way, though, and had to stop for a bite to eat and use the restroom.
I got to the vet's just after 2. Not too late. One of the technicians took the carrier and returned with Willie while I paid the balance of the bill.
When she returned with him I was a little taken aback by how Willie looked. They had shaved most of his head -- from the top of his "eyebrows" to the back of his neck down to his "shoulders." He looks like a fur-hooded monk with a bald head. I don't know how else to describe how odd he looks. LOL
We spent the night at my parents' house again. Willie wanted to walk around every where, but he was still a little unsteady on his feet. I'd brought a small litter box with me this time and he used it right away. The technician told me it was around time for him to do that so I needed to be prepared once he was home. He was on time. He was also hungry so I fed him a little bit of canned food, less than normal as instructed. The at-home care instructions also said to give him his meds as usual. That I did before giving him his food.
That night, as previously, Willie slept on the bed with me. I kept him on the inside so that he wouldn't fall off or walk off without me knowing. He did give me some scratches from flailing around as he fell asleep. Muscle spasms while falling asleep or asleep were something he had before he had the cyst, but now it seemed more pronounced. Not only was he having tics on his face, his paws jerked violently. That's how I got scratched. That concerned me a little. In the back of my mind, though, considering that he had neurosurgery the spasms may not be unusual. I made a mental note to mention this to Dr. K. the next time I talked to him.
The next day we left my parents' house early for home. The ride was pretty uneventful. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm winter day, warm enough to warrant using the air conditioning. Willie was in the carrier in the front seat with a beach towel draped on top of the carrier so that he wouldn't feel any draft. He slept the whole time and meowed only when I told him we were almost home. Man, it was a wonderful day! The anxiety I was feeling and kept internalized from the time he went to his vet's in November was lifted. He was going to be better!
Since returning home he's improved so much. His spasms are still there but less pronounced. His appetite and thirst are increased, so much so I may have to watch his diet. We can't have him at 18 lbs. again. He's walking around all over the house and jumping where he shouldn't be jumping yet. This is only a week after having the surgery.
This morning we went to his vet's here for suture removal rather than driving all the way up to the neurologist's. Our vet has a very busy practice and today was no exception. His appointment was supposed to be at 10:30 but with an emergency taking up the doctors' time, all of his appointments were backed up. So we didn't see him, Dr. B., until nearly a quarter of 12 noon. Normally, suture removal can be done by a technician, but Dr. B. wanted to see Willie personally. I wanted him to see Willie, too, to see the improvement.
Well, Willie didn't get all of the sutures removed as he had been scratching his head when I couldn't catch him and stop him from doing that. That left some bleeding. Until he was fully healed could the rest of the sutures be removed. We'll have to go again next week. Hopefully, Willie will stop scratching his head. I'm sure it itched. I'd already shortened a couple of suture ends that were poking his ear. Those were removed today so those won't be bothering him.
I did talk to Dr. K. this morning as we were leaving for the vet's. I asked him about the spasms and I was told to monitor and log them. In a week if the spasms continue without improvement, then he'll prescribe some meds for it. Maybe Willie won't need new meds. I hope. Everything is going well every day.
I took some post-surgery photos of him as I did of him pre-surgery. When I get around to plugging in the media card reader to the computer, I can download the photos to my computer. Then I'll fix them up for online presentation and post a them on his page or here. Sound cool?
Till next time.
Willie's been home since Saturday afternoon but let me begin from last Friday.
After spending Wednesday afternoon through Thursday back at my own home, I drove to my parents' house on Friday morning to get Willie's carrier which I had left behind. I had promised the vet that I'd be there around 2 p.m. and thought I'd left in plenty of time. I hit some traffic snags along the way, though, and had to stop for a bite to eat and use the restroom.
I got to the vet's just after 2. Not too late. One of the technicians took the carrier and returned with Willie while I paid the balance of the bill.
When she returned with him I was a little taken aback by how Willie looked. They had shaved most of his head -- from the top of his "eyebrows" to the back of his neck down to his "shoulders." He looks like a fur-hooded monk with a bald head. I don't know how else to describe how odd he looks. LOL
We spent the night at my parents' house again. Willie wanted to walk around every where, but he was still a little unsteady on his feet. I'd brought a small litter box with me this time and he used it right away. The technician told me it was around time for him to do that so I needed to be prepared once he was home. He was on time. He was also hungry so I fed him a little bit of canned food, less than normal as instructed. The at-home care instructions also said to give him his meds as usual. That I did before giving him his food.
That night, as previously, Willie slept on the bed with me. I kept him on the inside so that he wouldn't fall off or walk off without me knowing. He did give me some scratches from flailing around as he fell asleep. Muscle spasms while falling asleep or asleep were something he had before he had the cyst, but now it seemed more pronounced. Not only was he having tics on his face, his paws jerked violently. That's how I got scratched. That concerned me a little. In the back of my mind, though, considering that he had neurosurgery the spasms may not be unusual. I made a mental note to mention this to Dr. K. the next time I talked to him.
The next day we left my parents' house early for home. The ride was pretty uneventful. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm winter day, warm enough to warrant using the air conditioning. Willie was in the carrier in the front seat with a beach towel draped on top of the carrier so that he wouldn't feel any draft. He slept the whole time and meowed only when I told him we were almost home. Man, it was a wonderful day! The anxiety I was feeling and kept internalized from the time he went to his vet's in November was lifted. He was going to be better!
Since returning home he's improved so much. His spasms are still there but less pronounced. His appetite and thirst are increased, so much so I may have to watch his diet. We can't have him at 18 lbs. again. He's walking around all over the house and jumping where he shouldn't be jumping yet. This is only a week after having the surgery.
This morning we went to his vet's here for suture removal rather than driving all the way up to the neurologist's. Our vet has a very busy practice and today was no exception. His appointment was supposed to be at 10:30 but with an emergency taking up the doctors' time, all of his appointments were backed up. So we didn't see him, Dr. B., until nearly a quarter of 12 noon. Normally, suture removal can be done by a technician, but Dr. B. wanted to see Willie personally. I wanted him to see Willie, too, to see the improvement.
Well, Willie didn't get all of the sutures removed as he had been scratching his head when I couldn't catch him and stop him from doing that. That left some bleeding. Until he was fully healed could the rest of the sutures be removed. We'll have to go again next week. Hopefully, Willie will stop scratching his head. I'm sure it itched. I'd already shortened a couple of suture ends that were poking his ear. Those were removed today so those won't be bothering him.
I did talk to Dr. K. this morning as we were leaving for the vet's. I asked him about the spasms and I was told to monitor and log them. In a week if the spasms continue without improvement, then he'll prescribe some meds for it. Maybe Willie won't need new meds. I hope. Everything is going well every day.
I took some post-surgery photos of him as I did of him pre-surgery. When I get around to plugging in the media card reader to the computer, I can download the photos to my computer. Then I'll fix them up for online presentation and post a them on his page or here. Sound cool?
Till next time.
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