Sorry for the delay, but last night took a long time and by the time I’d had dinner, I was wiped out! Anyway onto the good stuff. Dexter got settled in at Alpenglow for the night (and the waiting I had to do was just to talk to the doctor and fill out papers and such, he was already being taken care of). As of this morning, Dr. Swetz has updated me – the doctor working overnight at Alpenglow. Dexter’s epidural wore off and he is walking around with full function, so it doesn’t seem like there is any issue with his sciatic nerve – yay!! The only issue at the moment is that his bladder function is not yet returned to normal. He’s basically “dribbling” urine instead of going at once. Because they moved his bladder inside his body and tacked it down, they can’t “express” it by pushing on it, and so if it becomes very large they would have to use a urinary catheter to provide relief. The epidural and other surgery medicines are expected to be contributing to this problem, and so it is hopefully going to be improved by the end of the day, but it’s not 100% certain. I’m really glad I got the hospitalization done so that he is being monitored by professionals.

Of course, the total cost for his after-care isn’t really final yet, as a result of these possible complications. If I could afford it, I would have him maybe stay another night at Alpenglow just to be sure he is okay. Dr. Swetz used their ultrasound machine to keep checking on his bladder, and at least that part was free of charge. But until his function is more normal, I am still worried. She told me that if there was no previous history of bladder function issues, then there’s “no reason to think he won’t recover fully,” but the timeline is not so certain. And, Dexter hasn’t wanted to eat while in the hospital, which I’m not surprised at all to hear. He’s so picky! But he seems comfortable and as happy as one would expect at this point.

I’m still not out of the woods yet and I’m honestly a little concerned about the unknowns still ahead… I paid only a partial amount to Louisville Family Animal Hospital mostly because the Paypal debit card has a daily limit, so I still owe them money, but the plan is to work it out on Saturday at Dexter’s first follow-up appointment with Dr. Collins. If you have any change to spare, please consider sending it through my Paypal donate button. Thank you!

I did get a pic of Dexter with his “do not express my bladder!” label.. that they stuck on his forehead. LOL.