Saturday 18 July 2015

Nikki.....




...is back at Davies, in the ICU :'-(

She had been doing really well after her recent leg operation and was getting back to her normal silly self, rolling on her back and waving her legs at us!  Then earlier this week we noticed that she was breathing really heavily, from her abdomen rather than her chest.  On Thursday she wouldn't eat anything at all and had diarrhoea.  She was still not right yesterday, so my friend took Nikki and I to our vet.  Rory at Berry House was obviously concerned as he couldn't hear what was going on in her chest properly, so she stayed in for x-rays.  Rory phoned me after lunch to say that her chest and abdomen were filled with fluid, the dreaded word "tumours" was mentioned, and he felt that the best thing was to send her straight over to Davies as they had the equipment to see exactly what was going on.

So, after a fraught half hour or so trying to find someone who would be able to drive us over to Higham Gobion, I eventually contacted a lovely chap called Gary from Pet Pals in Shillington who was able to come and pick us up and take us to Davies.  

By the time we got there, poor Nikki's breathing was even worse, she was hot and her gums were really pale.  She was taken straight to the ICU and I then spent an extremely fraught afternoon worrying and waiting to see what was wrong ~ and having a quiet little sob in the corner of the waiting area.

The upshot of all this is that Nikki has been bleeding into her pericardium.  A cardiologist drained the fluid from her chest and abdomen, and from around her heart.  She had to have an anaesthetic in order for her to be completely still whilst having an ECG, so I had to leave her at Davies for the weekend at least :-(  

Patricia (who has been looking after Nikki at Davies) phoned early yesterday evening to let me know that the ultrasound scan was done but that tumours were not immediately apparent.  However, there is still some residual fluid around the heart, so Nikki will be looked at again on Monday to check whether or not there is a tumour in her heart.

It all seems so unfair!  My poor baby has been through so much and still life throws yet more awful stuff her way ~ but despite everything, Nikki is such a happy, loving dog.  I will update you again when I have more news, but in the meantime your prayers would be very much appreciated.....  

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