~Ripley Update~

For those who aren't aware, my little fella, Ripley had his 1st surgery on Feb. 1, 2008. This surgery was to place a pin in his left elbow because of a growth defect where one of his bones did not grow. His activities were to be restricted to basically nothing for 8 weeks. Well, we had a MAJOR mishap about 5-6 weeks after surgery and surgery had to be redone. So.....after the second surgery I didn't want any more MISHAPS(ha!). The elbow had to stay wrapped for several weeks and the wrap had to be changed weekly. The first night after the very first wrap change the wrap was not secure and Ripley was able to maneuver out of it. So, the next morning we had to go back in to get the elbow wrapped again. We were less than 2 miles from home when an elderly woman ran a red light and hit us. I think we lucked out and Ripley's elbow was not injured.

So...we advance to Thursday, May 22, 8 weeks later FINALLY.

I took Ripley in for his 8 week check up and x-ray yesterday. I was rather uptight about this because of all the problems. This little fella has been through quite a bit since February 1, but I have to give it to him, he's tolerated everything very well. He has spent almost all of his time day and night over the last eight weeks in a wire crate. Very seldom did he bark or whine because he didn't want to be in the crate. And, I work at home, so I'm here a lot during the day.

We got GREAT results. His elbow is healing nicely. The pin is starting to work it's way out. It is not quite ready to come out. The surgeon wanted to look at another x-ray in 2 weeks, but I would rather want a bit longer, so we are going back in 3 1/2 weeks to have another x-ray and possible pin removal.

I can see Ripley is really starting to move and use his left leg and his mobility is good. He still limps when he walks, but this could be because of the pin. He can run with no problem at all. He has not JUMPED ON OR OFF OF ANYTHING, NOT EVEN AS MUCH AS STEPPED OFF A CURB OR STEP.

My personal plan is to continue to restrict his activity for quite some time as to continue with the healing process and hopefully we won't have any more problems. We've spent a good amount of money on this fella and I don't want to put him through anything else that could be prevented.