Rollercoaster ride

The last week has been a real rollercoaster ride with regard to our dog’s health. Last Tuesday, Thor started dragging a bit. By Wednesday, he would not come out of his crate for food or water or to relief himself. On Thursday, I took him to the vet. He had a fever of 105 degrees and laid on the floor without moving for most of the time as the vet performed a battery of tests and administered fluid subcutaneously. The fluids perked him up a bit, but the tests revealed no answers. We were advised that the most likely answer was an aggressive form of cancer and it was unlikely that he would live much longer.

By Saturday, he hit rock bottom. He could not keep down the little food that he would eat. Melinda took him back to the vet and they had to take him in on a stretcher. He started bleeding through the nose as they were taking him in. It literally looked like he would die any minute. Being “optimistic,” the vet gave Melinda a week’s worth of pain medication.

By Sunday afternoon, the unexpected happened. Thor started eating again, and stopped barfing after eating. He also started drinking more and more water and moving around the house. By Sunday evening, he looked like he was out of the woods. That night we had Melinda’s sister and brother-in-law -- both vets who are in town for a vet convention -- over to visit and they guessed that maybe he had a bowel obstruction that was starting to resolve itself.

Melinda’s sister and brother-in-law returned for dinner last night for dinner to find an even perkier dog, but they immediately pointed out that his skin was turning yellow. Thor had developed jaundice for which treatment needed to start immediately. At 9:00 last night, Melinda took Thor to the University of Minnesota vet hospital. She came home at 2:00 a.m. with plethora of medications and this prognosis – by Sunday, Thor will either be dead from the jaundice or he will have beaten the jaundice. It is 50-50. Until then, he needs constant attention.

So the deathwatch has started again. By Sunday, we should have our answer.