Thursday, December 8, 2011

On the Move...Sort of

I think Luna is really making some great progress.  It's making things a little more complicated for us, but I'm all for healing.

Last night I again slept on the couch (I'm definitely trying the air mattress tonight.  Why didn't I think of that before?).  I woke up at 1:30 because somebody was whining.  Now, she has a tendency to whine for attention so I tried ignoring her.  Then I told her to be quiet.  Finally, I had to open my eyes to see what the problem was.  To my surprise, Luna was not on her pillow!  I panicked.  How can a paralyzed dog not be where I put her?  It turns out she managed to push herself off her pillow and onto the floor.  When I saw her she looked up at me as if to say, "um...sorry to bother you, but I seem to have fallen and I can't get up."

To prevent this situation from happening again we have pushed her pillows into a corner so she has two walls to keep her in place.  We also moved an arm chair on one side and the old air conditioner (covered by blankets) on the other.  It's worked pretty well today, except if she is agitated enough she is able to spin herself around on the pillow and could possibly make it onto the floor.
Luna on two pillows surrounded by a crib mattress, blankets and towels.

Another big surprise happened this afternoon.  My friend, Ashley, came over to dog sit while I went to a work meeting.  When I returned we were sitting on the couch chatting and out of the corner of my eye I saw two sets of paws go up in the air.  Luna was roaching!  She had rolled herself onto her back.  At first I was concerned that she was going to hurt herself, but she brought herself back down with plenty of control and repeated the action several more times.  Maybe she'll be able to flip herself over soon.

The final piece of good news I have is in regards to her left rear leg.  I have been working hard to flex and stretch each of her legs, but I spend a few minutes on this leg helping to remind her how to put weight on it.  The first time we took her out to potty she knuckled it over and it was pretty much a dead leg.  I couldn't even get it to straighten out so I could plant it flat on the ground.  Tonight, she had it flat on the ground so I added a little weight.  I'm very hopefully that she will regain some use of this leg and be able to hold herself.

I'm feeling so much better about our situation after the last two days and I hope to see more improvement as the week continues.  Thank you for all the comments.  I read each of them to Luna so she knows what people are saying about her and we discuss your suggestions.

9 comments:

houndstooth said...

What awesome news! I love a good story of triumph over adversity. It sounds like Luna is going to make a wonderful recovery!

Just don't overdo it, silly girl!

What Remains Now said...

I'm so hopeful for Luna! Such good progress and praying for more, more, more. Keep going, Luna! You're a superstar and all your fans are cheering you on.

genji said...

So glad to hear she is improving with each post. We're all rooting for a quick and full recovery. Looking forward to Luna running pics soon.

Declan said...

That's very good news. Small, but important steps. Deccy x

Sue said...

This really is wonderful news. Time is a marvellous healer. I hope Luna is improving every day.

Song and I send her hugs (((Luna)))

Two Greyhound Town said...

Luna, we are pulling for you. You are determined and that's very important. Gentle hugs are sent to you.

Patty, Joey & Scout

HoundDogMom said...

Luna, this is such great news. We continue to send drool and power of the paw for your recovery. Just remember to take baby steps and don't over do it. Go ahead and soak up all this attention. Sniffs, The HoundDogs

LA and BD said...

Hi, I'm here from Bunny's. Just wanted to stop in and say we're sending our best wishes to Luna for a full recovery!

Our Kip (Shepherd/Walker hound mix) has had 2 knee replacements in the last 2 years, so we're familiar with the recovery process.

I hope Luna continues to make progress each day!

CouplaHounds said...

Great news!! The roaching must have brought a big smile to your face!!