Crummy last couple of weeks

The last few weeks at the Caughran household have been less than stellar. Two weeks ago Lisa and I were both sick with some sort of stomach virus. I got to practice being a single dad all weekend taking care of BC by myself. We thought is was a bad weekend, but I would gladly go back to being sick compared to this past weekend.

This past weekend, Tyson jumped off the bed and hurt his leg and back. He was dragging his leg and wasn't putting any weight on it. We took him to the vet and they said he partially tore his ACL and he had IVDD (disk disorder). At the vet he seemed to be using his leg, but he was still favoring it. They gave us some meds and said he needed to be on crate rest. We took him with us to East Texas for Kiley's 6th birthday party. Tyson got lots of love from Hank, Jackie and the kids. He seemed to be doing well...

On Sunday morning, Tyson tried to get the chihuahuas behind our house and must have aggravated his back again. This time he didn't appear to be using either of his back legs. We went to the vet again and they said that he was paralyzed but still had deep pain sensation. They said we could either go with surgery or continue with the medical treatment. This was one of the more difficult days and decisions for Lisa and I. We finally decided to go with rest/medical treatment. We still don't know if we made the right decision, but we are hoping and praying that he regains feeling in his legs.

The last couple of days have been very difficult for me and especially Lisa. Lisa has had to single-handedly take care of Tyson and help empty his bladder every 2-3 hours. It is frighteningly similar to the period after BC's surgery when she had to cath BC. Lisa has been very strong and I am very grateful to have her as my wife.

We are still waiting to see if Tyson's back heels. There is a support website for dogs with this problem that is filled with hopeful stories of dogs getting better (www.dodgerslist.com), so there is hope. I will try to post updates when we see any changes in Tyson's status.