The last four days have been excruciating.

I have had the most awful pain in the back of my thigh, which moves up and down. Sitting down is intolerable, and going from sitting to standing has had me doubled over in pain. This morning it got too much, but my doctor's surgery can't see me after I finish work because they all need to go home and have their supper, and I can't justify taking time off work because there is so much to do, so little time, and with people on holiday and business trips, not enough people to do it all. In floods of tears, I dropped in at the NHS walk in centre on my way to work, where I was seen immediately, diagnosed with bad sciatica and prescribed these and these. Although the walk-in centre cannot refer me anywhere the doctor was fantastic and advised me to by-pass my GP and go straight to Accident & Emergency tomorrow, should the drugs not work. The drugs are working. Just now I was able to stand up, without bursting in to tears, for the first time in 4 days. Apparently, the likelihood is a herniated disc, pressing on the sciatic nerve. Which would mean that I have the same problem as my pooch, although not even remotely as bad. Anyhow, the drugs I've been given (which are apparently amongst those given to cancer patients) are most certainly doing the trick.

I spoke to the vet again yesterday. Apparently, HRH is now eating and drinking a little more by herself, and she seems to be displaying a little more sensation in her left leg. Although progress is small and slow, she is definitely showing some positive signs. I get to go and see her again this weekend. Yay!

So, I drove to Newmarket on Saturday

as the vet said it was OK to visit HRH. We went to the neurological 'ward', where she has the biggest cage, equipped with a heat lamp for colder nights and and a fan for when she's too warm. She lies atop a vast amount of blankets, a mattress and has pillows all around her. In a vein in her front right leg, wrapped in a bright red bandage, is her IV which is administering the sedative, saline and Ketamine, and she also has a catheter and a pee bag, as she still cannot go herself. She was very sedated when we got there, but as soon as we opened the door to her cage, and she realised who we were, her eyes brightened, her ears pricked up and she started crying, trying to drag herself closer to us. I climbed in to her cage to try and calm her, and sat with her for about an hour. The nurse asked if I would like to feed her, as she has been quite fussy, refusing to eat when they offer her food, so I was passed a bowl with some canned food and some cooked chicken and I fed her the chicken by hand and then she finished what was in her bowl. She has a huge shaved patch and wound with loads of stitches running about half the length of her back. By the time it heals, she'll probably look like a Rhodesian Ridgeback. We left at about 4, (visiting hours were only 2-4pm) and made the 2.5 hour journey home. It was terrible leaving her - but at least we know she's in the most ideal place. The staff are so kind and they are specialists in animal neurology so there really is nothing more that we can do.


On Sunday I drove to see my mum and brother to see my youngest brother at school, because it was his 18th birthday. We took him out for some lunch and left him with a huge cake and some beers for him to have with his friends on Sunday evening. I cannot believe that my little brother (who's actually nearly a head taller than me and built like a brick sh*t house from playing rugby) is already 18. He makes me feel so old.

HRH Fund

Yesterday, we received a very generous donation. Thank you!
As you can see, there is still a way to go. I have started a facebook group here, and would be grateful if you would show your support by joining and inviting your friends.

If you do want to donate, you can do so via Paypal at [gerbil at blueyonder dot co dot uk].

No news from the vet as yet, but will update as soon as I hear.



***UPDATE***

I have just heard from the vet. HRH has been brought round from her sedation a few times, and has had the breathing tubes removed. She has been sleeping on her own without the sedation, and even ate a little bit of chicken! (This is big news, seeing as she hadn't eaten anything solid since Monday night, and since Wednesday has only been on a drip). The vet has not been able to do a full neurological assessment due to the sedation, but from minor tests she has seen that there is most certainly a good level of sensation. This is great, because one of the worries of surgery was that it could make her a lot worse). I was told that I can go to visit her between 2-4pm tomorrow, but if she gets too excited or distressed then we will have to stay away until she's ready to come home. This positive news has made my day :)

Blogmeet in London

Today I had lunch with the beautiful La Cubana Gringa who is over in England for a week or so. We spoke of many things, including the health services and immigration in both the US and the UK. As well as work, fascinators, how very English English people are and how the water at San Fransisco is not for swimming unless you want to freeze your nuts off. I do not, and so when I do manage to visit SF will not for fear of frostbite. She is very lucky that the weather has been so good during her visit. So, no need for the galoshes, raincoat, umbrella and frizz-free hair products. Although I think she has found that her life savings were paramount for her trip. I had a lovely time, so please come back soon!

I have no idea

how HRH managed to damage herself to such an extent. She's not hugely agile - in fact, she's clumsy enough that she tries not to compete agility-wise with other creatures because SHE KNOWS SHE WILL LOSE. Either that or CAUSE DAMAGE. But, somehow, she managed to herniate a disc. That's what the MRI showed at 8pm last night. But, you think she was happy causing HERSELF MAJOR AGGRAVATION and tormenting her humans? Noooo. As well on this she had a MASSIVE BLEED. Like, hello, IS COMPROMISING YOUR SPINAL CHORD NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU? They completed the MRI at about 9pm last night, and decided to take her straight in to surgery for 5 hours. She was out at about 2.30am. The vet explained how the bleed was a lot worse than anyone could have imagined, and that she had been forced to remove a lot more of the bone in HRH's spine than anticipated. However, the surgery was a success, and now she will be kept under heavy sedation for about 3 days so she can't move and cause more trouble. There is no telling right now if she'll be able to walk again, but things are looking slightly brighter. She won't be home for about 2 weeks.

Our insurance covers up to £5000 of treatment, and last night the bill was very close to £7000. I somehow have to find over £2000, and I don't think my bank manager is going to understand. If anyone knows of any wealthy animal lovers, please point them in this direction! Also, if you're on facebook, please take a minute to join my group.

Bad, bad day

So, I managed to get home at a relatively decent time last night, what with the tube strikes. Only to find that HRH was at the front door waiting for someone to get home, paralysed from the hips downwards. Totally unable to move. I managed to get her to the vet at 10pm, putting a towel under her back legs and lifting them so she could walk with her front legs. She was given a huge Cortisone cocktail and an anti inflammatory, and this morning was no better. We went back to the vet, who managed to get us an emergency appointment at the Animal Health Trust (a fantastic place specialising in neurological disorders/problems in animals, with amazing MRI and hi-tech CT scanners, better than in most human hospitals) for 11.30. The drive was over 2 hours and we made it there only 25 minutes late after being stuck in Traffic on the M25. We have no diagnosis yet - the vet said it could be a ruptured/broken disc causing herniation and pressure on the spinal chord, a Fibrocartilaginous Embolism or a tumour also causing pressure, or that she had a stroke of some sort in her spine (dogs can have them in their spine as well as the brain). Anyhow, her MRI was scheduled for about 4.30pm (about an hour ago) and I am waiting for a call from the vet. I'm just praying it's something that surgery will fix. She won't be home for a while, that's for sure.

It's been a while

Well, it's been a really long while. Things at work have been crazy, and I was in Amsterdam for meetings a few days last week. Before I went away, I acquired a new dog.


His name is Sam, he's 9 years old and his owners suddenly decided they didn't want him. I drove a 6 hour round trip to pick him up, praying all the way home that he wasn't going to either poop or puke in the back of the car. But he was as good as gold. As was HRH who managed to behave herself the whole way from London to Coventry and back again.

I have a lunch date with La Cubana Gringa on Thursday, so I have to figure out where the best place to go is going to be.

In other news, employees of Metronet, who make the London Underground (***click on this link for how Londoners feel from 6pm last night til 6pm Friday, but if you're at work turn the sound down a bit**) actually, you know, WORK have decided to strike. They started to wind down services at about 2pm, and all tube travel ground to a BIG, FAT, SCREAMING HALT. There are no tubes. Everyone then has to travel across the city by bus. But, there aren't enough buses for all the London commuters, so you could easily end up waiting 40 DAMN MINUTES for buses that don't stop because they are so full. So, people are LATE FOR WORK and UNABLE TO GET HOME BEFORE 9PM. Thank heavens there's a dog door otherwise I would have had to clean up dog pee as well.