Well, where did we leave off? Oh, yes, Zane was having some "issues" with his knee....
From the beginning of Zane's issues with his left knee, I was concerned that he could be having some additional neuro issues. We always kept tabs on that but let the blame fall on his knee for everything. In the beginning of June, I was again seeing more neuro issues. He was often knuckling on his front right leg and would actually support himself on his wrist when bending down to sniff something on the ground. Occasionally he would trip or stumble when walking. Again, the vets said it was probably the unsteadiness of his back leg and to have patience. In the middle of June, I made an emergency trip in to our rehab vet office for another set of knee xrays. We could see swelling around his knee. A quick email of the xrays to our knee vet and we had a diagnosis..patella tendonitis. More pain meds and rest for Zane. Oh, and a new offer for a treatment to help Zane's slowly healing knee.
One of the vets at the office where we do rehab has started doing stem cell treatments. They harvest stem cells from the dog to put back into an area of poor healing. It has a really great success rate and they offer to do this for Zane at a much reduced rate of $1700. Greg and I talk it over for a couple of days and decide that this is a really good opportunity for Zane. All the doctors on Team Zane think this is a really good option for him. We schedule the surgery for 2 weeks out and allow his knee some more quiet time.
The neuro issues continue to increase and I keep a checklist to discuss with the vet. In my head, I can't sort out which problems are due to the knee and which are due to neck issues. I go over the list with Zane's knee surgeon and he recommends that I go over the same list with the neurologist and get another check up. If all is clear in the neck, then come out with Zane to see him for a check up. Ahh...if only I could get these 2 wonderful surgeons in the same city!
Neurologist says to bring him in the following day, no appointment necessary. Zane is now barely walking and trips outside to potty take 15 minutes at a time because he has to rest before walking back in. Meanwhile I have my mom staying with us for the week. So on a Thursday, I drop her off at the airport and then make a beeline to the vets with Zane.
