Maiya Update

Thank you all so very much for the prayers and good thoughts for Maiya and her family.
Her mom doesn't know what to think, and just continues to feel Maiya is a miracle.

Maiya has been off the feeding tube for nine days now, and has surprised us all. She is doing wonderful with all of her mouth feedings. She is being fed four small meals a day, and held up in the upright position for 20-30 minutes after each meal to allow gravity to help the food pass through her esophagus and make it to her stomach. As of today she has not regurgitated any of her meals, that alone is not normal. Even with the tube feedings, she would still regurgitate some.

So, Maiya continues to surprise us all. She is happy, energetic, and enjoying being able to eat and act like a normal dog.

We still have no idea what tomorrow will bring, with Megaesophagus being such a serious disease, things can change quite drastically overnight, and the care for a Mega-E dog is very individualized. Her family is taking each day they have with Maiya as a blessing.

Maiya, and Megaesophagus

I wrote about Maiya a while back. You can read about her and Megaesophagus here.

Maiya will no longer keep her feeding tubes in. We think they are starting to bother her, as she is constantly pulling them out.

Maiya's family will manage her for as long as they can with mouth feedings; but they don't suspect that will last long. Then again, Maiya is always full of surprises so no telling what will happen. This is a very trying time for Maiya's family, they are now walking into the unknown.

In the end...Maiya will tell them what to do. They are listening. We don't know what tomorrow will bring.

If you believe in the power of prayer, please say a prayer for Maiya and her family.

A few photos taken recently of Maiya playing with her little brother.

Silly girl.

Rabies Vaccine Reaction

I have so much to catch up on, and some updates on all the happenings going on in my world. But something very frightening happened this weekend I need to write about.

We took Jeni to have her Rabies Vaccine Saturday morning. Five hours later she started vomiting. First, 3 piles, then 10 minutes later 2 more piles, about 15 minutes after that another 3 piles. Immediately I was concerned about an allergic reaction to the vaccine. I watched her for a few minutes, then I noticed her face swelling. At that point we grabbed her leash and headed back to the vet, with phone in hand calling them and letting them know we were on our way.

The facial swelling was all around her nose, and mouth and her throat. The vet gave her a steroid shot, and a Benadryl injection, plus a bottle of Benadryl to take for the next five days. He suggested keeping her over night, but left it up to us. We brought her home, as we felt we could manage her and get back to the clinic fast enough if we had to.

I was already well informed with all the reactions dogs can get from the rabies vaccine, and I know more severe reactions can occur as far as a couple months later. I was paranoid getting Jarie's Rabies Vaccine six weeks ago with all her health issues, I felt if any of my dogs were to ever react to the vaccine, it would be Jarie. Never did it occur to me that little Jeni would have a reaction.

Possible rabies Vaccine side effects
Immediately or up to 3 days after the shot:

Vomiting
Facial swelling
Fever or lethargy
Circulatory shock
Loss of consciousness
Death

Days, weeks or months after the shot:

Fibrosarcoma (cancer) at the injection site
Seizures and Epilepsy
Allergies
Autoimmune diseases, including organ disease, allergies and skin problems
Chronic digestive problems
Muscle weakness, especially lack of hind end coordination
Chronic digestive disorders
Skin diseases like Ischemic Dermatopathy / Cutaneous vasculitis
Behavior problems: aggression, destructive behaviors, separation anxiety and odd obsessive behaviors (like tail chasing and paw licking).

Jeni had a rough night last night, and she isn't out of the woods yet, but she is stable at the moment.

Our biggest fear now, is there is a huge possibility that she may still develop one of the more subtle side effects that may occur weeks or even months from now.

Below are a couple of links with valuable information.
Rabies Vaccine - Skin Reactions
Holistic Animal Health: Vaccinosis

Megaesophagus

This is Maiya, shown at 2 years old in these first two pictures, just 2 days after being rescued.

She has Megaesophagus.

Megaesophagus ~ A condition in which the esophagus loses all tone and dilates making swallowing extremely difficult which increases the risk of aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition.

Symptoms are regurgitation of food, weight loss, coughing, aspiration pneumonia.

Comes in three forms ~ Congenital, Secondary, and Idiopathic

Congenital ~ Dog is born with it. Can be caused by a PERSISTENT RIGHT AORTIC ARCH, but most times is just genetically inherited. The link to genetic inheritability is unknown.

Puppies with congenital megaesophagus have the best chance of survival and management. As the pup matures nerve function may increase either curing the disease or making it more manageable. Some puppies never improve.

Secondary MegaE ~ is megaesophagus caused by another disease. This can happen at any age. Thyroid diseases, neurological conditions, Addison's disease and Myasthenia Gravis are a few diseases but not inclusive of all the diseases that may cause megaE. It is reported that Myasthenia Gravis accounts for 25% of secondary Mega cases. Megaesophagus can be cured in this case if the underlying disease is corrected before the esophagus becomes too stretched out in which by that time it may not return to normal function.

Idiopathic ~ Common in dogs 6 years +. It appears for no reason and is the poorest prospect for treatment.

Surgery is usually not an option as not only is this primarily a neurological condition, but the esophagus itself is slow to heal when operated on.

There is no standard treatment for megaE which makes it one of the hardest diseases to manage. Elevated feeding in which the dog sits in a "high chair" or held in the begging position helps use gravity to draw the food down into the stomach. Consistency of food is everything with megaE. The unfortunate part is that you never know what consistency works best with your dog. It's all trial and error. While some dogs require a soupy consistency, others may require a thicker oatmeal like consistency. Some even do very well with canned food rolled into meatballs and then dropped down the throat. Many times dogs are in such poor condition that it does not leave much room for the error part of the trial. It may take a lot of changes before you find something that works, and even then, you may never find something that works.
.

Maiya showing her climbing abilities, letting her mom know she can do the same things dogs without MegaE do.

Medications are virtually useless in MegaE. Vets will often prescribe reglan or cisapride. Neither of which will give the esophagus tone or motility, but may help strengthen the esophageal sphincter if it is having trouble staying closed leading to reflux.

A Histamine-2 blocker such as Zantac, or Proton-Pump Inhibitor such as Prilosec are often standard medications. Again, like the latter, they don't do much for the esophagus itself but can neutralize or even eliminate the stomach acid that is regurgitated up into the throat causing esophagitis.

Carafate can be useful in preventing esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus). It soothes and creates a coating over the tissue to help prevent burning and irritation of regurgitated stomach acid.

Maiya getting dinner. Look how patient she is.

Gastrostomy tubes are a last resort. Some dogs do not fair well no matter how many different ways you mouth feed. Those dogs are good candidates for a G-tube. G-tubes don't require much more maintenance than the megaE dogs themselves, but can be a scary thought at first. A dog with a G-tube can function in every way as a normal dog except he/she will receive their nutrition directly into the stomach bypassing the useless esophagus.

Sweet and spoiled Maiya has the best spot in the house.

Prognosis is guarded to poor with MegaE dogs. In most cases it boils down to the time and dedication the owner has for the dog. Even then, with the most dedicated owners, and scrupulous treatment the dog still may not respond and need to be euthanized.

Aspiration Pneumonia is the number one cause of death in Mega dogs. Maiya has had it 6 times.

Maiya belongs to a very close friend of mine. She is almost 4 years old now. She was not expected to survive this long. Maiya is a very special girl with an outstanding dog mom that has gone far above and beyond to give Maiya the life she has so deserved.

Thank you my dear friend for being such an inspiration to us all, and doing all you do for Maiya.

Updated November 6, 2009 Maiya and Megaesophagus

Updated November 13, 2009 Maiya Update

Neurofibrosarcoma

Jake was nine years old when we discovered a mass on his right maxillary lip. October of 2007 we sent him in for surgery to have it removed and biopsied.

It was a Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor. Our worst fear, Cancer. Neurofibrosarcoma. We had an appointment with the Oncologist. His was a low grade, mitotic index was 3. This type of tumor is locally invasive and frequently occur, but rarely metastasize in low grades.

They often affect the limbs, and can cause neurological problems, lethargy, and lameness. These tumors often grow back within a year, most times sooner. Jake's prognosis was fair to possibly long term guarded. The complete removal of the tumor could not be guaranteed, as the margins were clean in some areas, however, the mass contacted the deep ink margin, and this may reflect some degree of deep tissue shrinkage/retraction.

First day home from surgery.

First week home from surgery.

His daily walk for exercise.

We had to check to see if the cancer had spread to other areas before deciding what our next step was. His Lymphnodes were biopsied, Lungs xrayed, and ultrasound of the liver and spleen performed. All clear of cancer. We were so relieved, as the Oncologist told us if this had spread, those would be the first places it would spread to.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been suggested for Jake to have a second surgery to make a wider margin, they would have to take part of the lip, and he would undergo radiation treatments. Due to the complications he went through during the recovery process after the first
surgery, the Oncologist, our vet, and us, decided not to go that route. We chose to give supportive care during whatever time we have left with him and make it quality time.

I spent hours every evening doing research on Neurofibrosarcoma and the cancer yahoo groups, to find supplements that may help fight cancer, or at least prolong it from returning. A list of supplements I found to aid him are IP6, CoQ10, Selenium, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E.

It has been eleven months since Jake was first diagnosed, and up until now he has been cancer free. He will be due for more xrays and ultrasounds soon to see if the cancer has returned. We are hopeful.

Enjoying ice cream on his 10th birthday this past June.

Where he can be found most days.

11 months later, a happy boy.

von Willebrands Disease

We had so many hopes for Jarie when she came to us at 10 weeks old. Since Jake was retired from competing in AKC Obedience trials, Jarie was to be my husbands next prodigy. Little did we know all the health problems she came with. We tried every type of good quality food for her, and none would help all her digestive issues. Sometimes she would go several days without eating. She had many loose stool and vomiting days. No matter what we tried, nothing helped. If you have ever gone through this for a long period with a dog, you know how discouraging it is.

With several vet visits, tests, antibiotics, prescription diets, it was finally determined she has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Eighteen months pass, and we still had no control over her IBD. We kept trying everything. Jarie also has a compromised immune system. Many food and environmental allergies. Finally at 20 months old we had decided to try her on Innova Evo RM dog food. Crazy as it sounds, it is very high protein and high fat, (normally not good for an IBD dog) yet she does excellent on this food, not perfect; but better then any other she has tried.

Fast forward to May of this year. We waited until we felt her immune system was strong enough before we decided to have her spayed. May 9th 2008, a normal day. My husband dropped her off to be spayed. She has already been through 2 heat cycles, both very light, and she never seemed to be bothered by them. So, being the worried mom that I am, I worry all day until the vet calls and says she is fine, it was a tough surgery for her, but all is fine, we can pick her up.

After being at the vets for 8 hours, my husband arrived at the vets to pick her up only to find out she can't come home. The vet noticed she was oozing blood from her incision. He quickly took her back to have an ultrasound done, she was bleeding internally. Jarie had to have an emergency surgery to find where she was bleeding from and to stop it. A very long night, 3 doctors in the surgery room with her. She has von Willebrands Disease. A bleeding disorder causing her blood not to clot. They had to give her blood transfusions, 3 liters of blood. The second surgery they used staples instead of sutures. She had to stay at the vets for 3 nights and 4 days. More information on this disease can be found at PetEducation.Com.

When we first found out about the vWD and what we put her through during surgery and almost losing her we felt so guilty. The guilt quickly faded when we realized this was a blessing in disguise. Having vWD, Jarie could and most likely would have hemorrhaged internally during one of her heat cycles. Boy, who would have thought?

Jarie is still a very normal happy 2 year old German Shepherd. She still leads a normal life. We are now aware of her health issues, and are more careful with her, knowing that with this type of bleeding disorder we need to be prepared and extra cautious.

Through all her health issues and all the times my husband and I worry about her, we have no regrets bringing that little puppy home.