“When your pet suffers, the whole family suffers. We had no idea Skipper had a herniated disk, until it ruptured.”
Skipper first came into 1st Pet Veterinary Mesa on February 11, 2016. His parents noticed at first, loss of control to the hind limbs after coming home from work.
”Walking thru the doors of 1st Pet Vet he went from an exhibition of pain to paralysis.”
Skipper was hospitalized for the night and then transferred the next morning to Chandler location for a surgical consult with Dr. Daniel Guastella. The CT and x-rays did show mineral material protruding into the disk space of T11-T12-T13. Surgery options were presented to Skippers family and they choose to proceed with surgery. Hemi laminectomy was performed and then Rehab was started 2 days post op.
”We went from no sensation following the surgery until early on the third morning we received a call from the doctor in charge that he had some sensation. Upon release, we were directed immediately to Dr. Lindgren and Tat for assessment and physical therapy program.”
Making sure he was comfortable and his pain was managed, we performed Passive Range of Motion, Laser and Massage. Therapeutic exercises were added after only a few visits because of his excellent progress to help increase his core strength and hind limb balance. Within a couple weeks, we were able to put Skipper in the underwater treadmill. He has been improving weekly and has progressed to more advanced at home exercises daily.
”The cherry on top was Skipper’s photo/video journal by 1st Pet so our family and Friends could follow his progress. Skipper is coming back to us. He can “walk”, dog paddle, balance on a peanut and loves his water treadmill treatments.
This was achieved from start to finish by the warm, inviting and healing environment from all of the staff from the front door thru the back rooms. We are so grateful for your compassion helping us thru this adventure.”
Skipper’s graduating from Rehabilitation after only 8 weeks, and we have loved seeing Skipper progress to almost a normal gait, along with getting to know his wonderful family.
WRITTEN BY:
Tatjuana McMahon, CVT, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Assistant
Barbara (Skipper’s mom)
