Abby is not old. Abby is not sick. Abby did not suffer from a traumatic accident. My son, Johnny, has raised Abby since she was six weeks old. They have been inseparable ever since. She grew up fast, along with Johnny , who was an LSU undergraduate at the time. Abby moved several times, had many dog friends, survived frat like parties and game days, and was picked up safely more than once from streets far from home. In spite of this, when Johnny's dad , Timmy, and I first met Abby, she was an extremely well trained, obedient lab. She wiggled her way into our hearts in no time. So we learned that Abby, now five years old, is the quintessential yellow lab. She loves to fetch tennis balls, play frisbee, get in the water whether it be a lake or swimming pool, chew bones, go on car rides ,play with children, hang out in the kitchen at dinner.time , enjoy a tummy rub, or just lie close to Johnny and chill.
SO HOW DID ABBY SUFFER FROM A SPINAL STROKE?
It was not because she was old. It was not because she was sick. It was not because she had a traumatic accident. I can only share our story of what happened on that day. We were all actually gone most of that Saturday celebrating St. Patrick's day. When Johnny returned home with several friends, Abby greeted him and wagged her tail excitedly as usual. He did notice her whimpering somewhat but thought at the time it was just part of the frenzy . A few minutes later when Johnny went back outside, he heard Abby really whimpering and lying in the front yard kind of in a ball. He discovered that she could not stand up so he picked her up and brought her in the house. She was unable to move her hindlegs or back end in any way. She only moved from side to side while sitting with the use of her front legs, or could lie down. Abby was not in any apparent pain having suffered paralysis from what we were later told was a spinal stroke .I know it sounds like we are leaving something out. But she really was okay one minute and not the next.
SO WHAT DID WE DO?
Johnny realized something was very wrong. He put Abby in his car and took her to the emergency after hour vetinerary clinic here in Monroe, La. After examination, the vet on-call thought that perhaps Abby had a disc issue that might require surgery. At the very least we would need an MRI To determine what the problem was exactly. The closest place to do that was at the veterinary hospital in Baton Rouge, 3 1/2 hours away. Within the hour Johnny and his dad were on the way to Baton Rouge. Hours later after the MRI, it was determined that Abby had indeed suffered from a fibrocartilaginous embolism or FCE. No surgery would fix this. She has paralysis of her back legs and flank. The million dollar question is how permanent will this be. Since the strokes occur in the spine and not in the brain, Abby is still completely herself mentally and spiritually.
SO WHAT CAUSED THE SPINAL SROKE ?
Oh how I wish we knew! The cause is really not known. The best information can be found on Google under fibrocartilaginous embolism, aka. FCE. It is also referred to as a spinal stroke
SO WHAT TREATMENT IS ABBY GETTING?
We feel so blessed that Abby is in the fine care of the vetinerary team at LSU's vet hospital. The
hellish part is that Johnny cannot be there with her, knowing she must be so frightened by her unfamiliar surroundings and her illness. She is given therapy every day which may include getting in
the pool, exercising her limbs, etc. We all felt that it was critical that Abby see a "family" member each day of her first week while she was getting acclimated to the facility and to the health care team. Johnny's girlfriend Anna Lee went on Monday, I went down on Tuesday and Wednesday, Johnny returned on Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday. She does seem to be adjusting to her situation. Johnny was actually able to play ball with her on Saturday when they had her fit to a chariot type cart that allows her to move about on her own. Please watch the video. She's expected to be in therapy from 2 to 6 weeks, and wevare praying for a recovery that will allow her to come back home . It is such a relief just to be with Abby and love on her. But at the same time it makes our hearts heavy to see her struggling with this Illness and not able to do the things a happy, active lab is used to doing. It just ain't right!
SO WHAT 'S YOUR STORY?
If you have a dog who has had a spinal stroke please share your experience with us.
hellish part is that Johnny cannot be there with her, knowing she must be so frightened by her unfamiliar surroundings and her illness. She is given therapy every day which may include getting in
the pool, exercising her limbs, etc. We all felt that it was critical that Abby see a "family" member each day of her first week while she was getting acclimated to the facility and to the health care team. Johnny's girlfriend Anna Lee went on Monday, I went down on Tuesday and Wednesday, Johnny returned on Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday. She does seem to be adjusting to her situation. Johnny was actually able to play ball with her on Saturday when they had her fit to a chariot type cart that allows her to move about on her own. Please watch the video. She's expected to be in therapy from 2 to 6 weeks, and wevare praying for a recovery that will allow her to come back home . It is such a relief just to be with Abby and love on her. But at the same time it makes our hearts heavy to see her struggling with this Illness and not able to do the things a happy, active lab is used to doing. It just ain't right!
SO WHAT 'S YOUR STORY?
If you have a dog who has had a spinal stroke please share your experience with us.
