The surgery & the wait for the call from Dr. Cheri...

Dr. Jim was very adamant that he wanted their surgeon, Dr. Cheri Nielsen, to perform the Myelogram and the surgery (if indicated) and they were attempting to reach her to no avail.  At first they were saying we might have to take her to either San Francisco or Rohnert Park if they couldn't contact Dr. Cheri.  Then they told us they had arranged for backup surgeon to come in from another pet emergency hospital in Berkeley. Eventually, Dr. Cheri answered her page and agreed to come in and help Miss Cassi. We were happy that she had called in before we left the hospital.

After we said our "we love yous" and "see you laters" with hugs and kisses to Cassi, we headed home.  We were still unsure what, exactly, was the problem. When you take on the responsibility of pet ownership, you take on a responsibility to love, feed, care for and protect that little life with everything you have and, in return, you receive their unconditional love and devotion.  At this point, we were feeling kind of helpless...she was in the hands of the surgeon and doctors.  All we could do was pray she pulls through.  Being the nervous "parents" (we are not the owners, the dogs OWN US), we had lots of questions...important ones that we forgot to ask before we left...and they (PESCM staff) are very gracious and understanding of us calling 20 times a day (granted, I can't see if they are rolling their eyes or putting us on hold and saying "oh God, it's HIM again)...even their recording says something about "we understand...we are pet owners ourselves...".  Anyway, the all important question we forgot was...the timeline.  When was the surgeon scheduled to start...how long would the procedures take...you know, little stuff.

Still on Sunday the 15th...Dr. Cheri Nielsen was scheduled in at 8:00pm to begin the Myelogram, which would take about 45 minutes.  We were told that, if the Myelogram showed anything absolute, she would immediately begin the surgery (Hemilaminectomy) without a call to update us.  If the test wasn't conclusive, we would hear from her shortly after the test.  We actually heard from Dr. Jim Clark at around 8:45pm to let us know that Cassi indeed DID have a "ruptured disc" and that Dr. Cheri was starting the surgery.  This was, actually, great news...considering the alternative...a "stroke" type incident that presents MORE unknowns.  At least this was something tangible causing the problem...the ruptured disc had spread to the two surrounding discs.  In one respect, we were happy to hear the news...but now the (seemingly) long wait...

We were told, erroneously, that the surgery would take "about an hour"...and when 10:00pm rolled around, we were starting to get tense.  Again, I called PESCM and the desk person said she "would find out what's happening"...could I hold?  Sure...I can listen to their on-hold, self-promoting, fear-allaying message one more time...or two...or three.  When she returned to the phone, she said "the doctor said no updates until she's done..." and then added "but is looks like it's going well...we haven't heard anything to the contrary..." (paraphrased).  I then was told that I was misinformed as to a expected finish time...she corrected earlier info and said "it could take up to 2-1/2 hours...", which made more sense.  "Ok, thank you...and sorry to bother so much..." I said...and we waited.  Orion was walking around the house "barking" for Cassi to join him...he knew something was not right...more on him in later posts...

11:00pm rolls around and neither Diane nor I are even thinking of sleeping.  Diane is occupying herself at her desk, working to take her mind off things and make the time pass faster...I am sitting on the bed with Ori, holding the telephone saying "ring, damn it, ring..." every 5 minutes and, about 10 after, it rings...it is Dr. Cheri with the news...

"Cassi is coming out of the anesthesia right now and came through the surgery fine..." she says.  She tells us that she is still paralyzed in the hind end, but it is not unusual after the surgery.  She said she was hoping for a small amount of "pain response" after the surgery relieved the pressure on the spinal cord, but, again, it was not unusual for there to be nothing at this point.  "Cassi is on pain meds and will probably sleep through the night...you can visit her tomorrow morning..." Dr. Cheri said.  "Thank you, Doctor and thank you for coming to Cassi's rescue...we both appreciate all you've done tonight..." I said before hanging up.  Again we cried...and were glad Cassi was going to make it...

Next: The first visit...