Chastity's Miracle
Renaissance Silken Windhounds
Renaissance Silken Windhounds
The Beginning
prior to treatment
after the cast came off
when the cast came off - the original break was in the area circled in red, the blue circle is around the points of broken bone sticking out the back of her leg
I called my vet immediately and he said to bring her in right away. Thank goodness it had happened in the afternoon, rather than in the middle of the night, which would have engendered a trip to the only local "Emergency" Clinic, about which I have nothing good to say. :-(
The doc took several x-rays, and the news was bad. Both bones in her left front leg were broken cleanly across horizontally. Jagged breaks are actually easier to repair because they afford some stability in at least a few directions, with this sort of break the bones could slide in any direction, including up or down.
The vet explained to me that he could refer me to an orthopedic surgeon in Omaha, or attempt a repair himself. He said that it would be difficult for him to set the leg because of the type of break. The cost of the repair would be hard to raise but with a bit of help from family, could be done. But the cost for orthopedic surgery? Being unemployed myself with a husband on Social Security, the cost was far above what I had any hope of handling. I chose to let him set the leg.
Seven weeks later, after needing to replace the cast twice because of Chastity's creative solutions for comfort modification, the cast came off. What I saw was a real nightmare, as the bottom set of radiographs shows.
While the cast was in place, the lower portions of bone slid behind the upper portions. One upper bone was starting to "heal" by attaching itself to the top of the corresponding bottom section. (see the slight "bridge" at the point where the bottom touches the top) It looked nearly as bad after treatment as it did before. Chastity was unable to use her pastern, it dangled limply, and she had completely lost forward flex.
The only options that were offered were to perform orthopedic surgery, more expensive than before, to rebreak and reset the leg, or to amputate. The third option was encouraged. I was stunned, miserable. Although I had personally known a couple of three legged dogs, and they didn't seem to mind and got along fine, it just felt devastating to think about taking Chastity's leg. I didn't want to let her live with this leg as it was - it was uncomfortable and barely worked to get her around. But what could I do?
After a night of thinking and some self-lectures about the cost of pride, I composed what I hoped was a matter-of-fact message as best I could, to post to the windhounds list asking for help.
The doc took several x-rays, and the news was bad. Both bones in her left front leg were broken cleanly across horizontally. Jagged breaks are actually easier to repair because they afford some stability in at least a few directions, with this sort of break the bones could slide in any direction, including up or down.
The vet explained to me that he could refer me to an orthopedic surgeon in Omaha, or attempt a repair himself. He said that it would be difficult for him to set the leg because of the type of break. The cost of the repair would be hard to raise but with a bit of help from family, could be done. But the cost for orthopedic surgery? Being unemployed myself with a husband on Social Security, the cost was far above what I had any hope of handling. I chose to let him set the leg.
Seven weeks later, after needing to replace the cast twice because of Chastity's creative solutions for comfort modification, the cast came off. What I saw was a real nightmare, as the bottom set of radiographs shows.
While the cast was in place, the lower portions of bone slid behind the upper portions. One upper bone was starting to "heal" by attaching itself to the top of the corresponding bottom section. (see the slight "bridge" at the point where the bottom touches the top) It looked nearly as bad after treatment as it did before. Chastity was unable to use her pastern, it dangled limply, and she had completely lost forward flex.
The only options that were offered were to perform orthopedic surgery, more expensive than before, to rebreak and reset the leg, or to amputate. The third option was encouraged. I was stunned, miserable. Although I had personally known a couple of three legged dogs, and they didn't seem to mind and got along fine, it just felt devastating to think about taking Chastity's leg. I didn't want to let her live with this leg as it was - it was uncomfortable and barely worked to get her around. But what could I do?
After a night of thinking and some self-lectures about the cost of pride, I composed what I hoped was a matter-of-fact message as best I could, to post to the windhounds list asking for help.
