Answes and Questions
Words you do not want to hear around medical staff: interesting, curious, unusual.
We loaded up Z and took her to Chaparral Animal Hospital in Cave Creek. We made really good time, I didn't think we'd make the 10am appointment time, but we rolled in with a couple minutes to spare.
After signing in we took Z to the exam room and met with the vet. Zetahra did awesome walking into that dark, gaping cave of an exam room. It spiked her heart rate to 80+, but she stood well as the tech took her pulse, checked gut aounds and temperature. She was 102, but she did just have an hour and a half trailer ridein the heat. Her pulse dropped around 70 after a couple minutes and settled down around 60 a little while later.
The rectal exam didn't show up anything other than her colon has a lot of fluid in it. She was pretty liquid this morning, though she did have a couple pee spots, she had been a little dry the last couple days so seeing her urine output up was encouraging.
They tried to ultrasound her heart, but she is a lot denser than most so they had a hard time of it. They checked her belly and colon on both sides. Nothing obvious, but a couple things strange. They pulled blood and she came back perfectly normal (dang it Z), so her anemia has resolved at least. Small victories.
They did a belly tap, which she was pretty awesome for. She was pawing one of her front legs and Chris ended up holding it up. They used alcohol to help with the ultrasound and standing still plus things drippling down her legs made her slightly impatient. She responded by cocking a hind leg and holding herself up with two. Show-off.
The abdominal fluid was red and spun out with some red cells, white blood cells, but also perfectly average looking amber abdominal fluid. They ran an EKG and it came out well and surprisingly normal. The vet said she stood really well compared to most of their patients, they usually don't get that nice of a read-out. They have to use little clips that pinch the skin on the neck, shoulder, and I don't know where else as I was standing on the other side. A second vet came in to try for better ultrasounds of her heart. I have never clipped anything other than her bridlepath, but she didn't even blink when they trimmed up for the belly tap and behind her arm to see if they could get a better view. The alcohol usually does a prettt good job of depressing the coat so they can see through without clipping, but hers is especially thick aoparently. We got some good views after the trim and there is some concern about a possible leak between the two sides of her heart.
They recorded some video for a cardiologist to look at and we're going to do an abdominal X-ray to see if there isn't a hole in her diaphram causing a mild strangulation, unlikely since she isn't painful, but it could show other things as well.
We should hopefully have some answers this evening. I don't think they are going to be good ones, but I need answers.
We put her in a stall and she started eating the shavings. They brought her a flake of Bermuda that she started chewing on rather happily.
And we go from there.
Thank you for the comments last night and this morning. I will get around to replying.
We loaded up Z and took her to Chaparral Animal Hospital in Cave Creek. We made really good time, I didn't think we'd make the 10am appointment time, but we rolled in with a couple minutes to spare.
After signing in we took Z to the exam room and met with the vet. Zetahra did awesome walking into that dark, gaping cave of an exam room. It spiked her heart rate to 80+, but she stood well as the tech took her pulse, checked gut aounds and temperature. She was 102, but she did just have an hour and a half trailer ridein the heat. Her pulse dropped around 70 after a couple minutes and settled down around 60 a little while later.
The rectal exam didn't show up anything other than her colon has a lot of fluid in it. She was pretty liquid this morning, though she did have a couple pee spots, she had been a little dry the last couple days so seeing her urine output up was encouraging.
They tried to ultrasound her heart, but she is a lot denser than most so they had a hard time of it. They checked her belly and colon on both sides. Nothing obvious, but a couple things strange. They pulled blood and she came back perfectly normal (dang it Z), so her anemia has resolved at least. Small victories.
They did a belly tap, which she was pretty awesome for. She was pawing one of her front legs and Chris ended up holding it up. They used alcohol to help with the ultrasound and standing still plus things drippling down her legs made her slightly impatient. She responded by cocking a hind leg and holding herself up with two. Show-off.
The abdominal fluid was red and spun out with some red cells, white blood cells, but also perfectly average looking amber abdominal fluid. They ran an EKG and it came out well and surprisingly normal. The vet said she stood really well compared to most of their patients, they usually don't get that nice of a read-out. They have to use little clips that pinch the skin on the neck, shoulder, and I don't know where else as I was standing on the other side. A second vet came in to try for better ultrasounds of her heart. I have never clipped anything other than her bridlepath, but she didn't even blink when they trimmed up for the belly tap and behind her arm to see if they could get a better view. The alcohol usually does a prettt good job of depressing the coat so they can see through without clipping, but hers is especially thick aoparently. We got some good views after the trim and there is some concern about a possible leak between the two sides of her heart.
They recorded some video for a cardiologist to look at and we're going to do an abdominal X-ray to see if there isn't a hole in her diaphram causing a mild strangulation, unlikely since she isn't painful, but it could show other things as well.
We should hopefully have some answers this evening. I don't think they are going to be good ones, but I need answers.
We put her in a stall and she started eating the shavings. They brought her a flake of Bermuda that she started chewing on rather happily.
And we go from there.
Thank you for the comments last night and this morning. I will get around to replying.