If you're religious, I'm asking for prayers. If you're not religious or of some different religion/faith, I'm asking for good vibes, VERY positive thoughts, chants, or whatever you can do to help my Lou survive this surgery.
Dr. Ellis called me a little before 1:00 p.m. to tell me that there had been a complication during Lexie's enucleation procedure, and I could tell by the tone of her voice that it was serious. She said that Lou has
Von Willebrand's disease, which is a blood clotting disorder found commonly in Dobermans. Apparently, this blood disorder can develop at any time and is not always detectable on blood tests. According to www.petmd.com, "Typically the platelet count will be normal (unless your dog has experienced recent, massive bleeding), and coagulation tests will show normal results."
Dr. Ellis said that they were having a hard time getting Lexie's bleeding to stop, but they had called in another local veterinarian, Dr. Ayers, to start working on her. However, Dr. Ellis did not sound hopeful and even added, "I just wanted you to be aware of what's going on because it's critical. Lexie has lost a LOT of blood, to the point that she's becoming weak...." She told me that they were prepared to give her a transfusion if necessary, and told me to keep my phone close by.
I was covering the front office when I received this devastating phone call, and it was all I could do to try to hold myself together because there were patients in our waiting room. Thank goodness my boss just happened to walk up front at that time, because as soon as I saw her I said, "I'm sorry, but I need to go." I told her what was happening, and she said it was okay for me to take off the rest of the day.
I drove straight home, still trying to hold it together, because I felt like I was going to explode, and I didn't want to do that in the tiny waiting room at Animal Care Clinic. Besides, they were still working on Lexie, so it's not like I could go back and see her anyway. Luckily, Justin was home on his lunch break, and as soon as I walked through the door I cried, "She's dying!" then basically just crumbled to the floor sobbing. Justin rushed over to me and helped me sit at the bottom of our stairs, then asked what was going on.
As I was explaining the situation to him, Dr. Ellis called back. She said that they had begun a blood transfusion and would keep me posted.
Justin, unfortunately, had to get back to work, but he managed to work it out with his employer so that he could come home and make up his hours tomorrow morning. So, we sat on the couch for what seemed like an eternity waiting for the phone to ring again. I was in a complete zombie state at that point, just trying to block out all thoughts until I heard back from the vet.
Finally, Dr. Ellis called around 3:30 p.m. to say that they had given Lexie about a pint of blood, but the only way they could get the bleeding to stop was to pack the wounds. Dr. Ellis said that she was getting ready to call the local hospitals to see if she could get this stuff (she never told me the name of it or what it is exactly) that will hopefully help Lexie's blood clot. They are hoping that it will prevent her from bleeding again when they unpack her wounds tomorrow.
So, that's where it all stands at this point. Dr. Ellis said that Lexie was resting comfortably, but didn't want me to come see her because she didn't want Lou to get all worked up. She also said that she'd try to call me with an update later tonight, probably around 10:00 p.m.
Again, I'm asking for LOTS of prayers, good vibes, magic spells, good energy, etc. to help my Lou pull through this. She's been with me through SO much, and I simply cannot imagine my life without her in it. At least, not yet, and not like this.
