Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 5 (3 week post op)

Wow, 3 weeks post Total Hip Replacement. Where did those 3 weeks go? I wanted to do a different post this week to celebrate being a third of the way there. A third of the way to getting life back to normal, long beach walks and not clinging onto Huckleberry's lead as he tries to run after a bird or cat. 

Things I’ve learnt over the last 3 weeks:

1. Trust your own thoughts, process and dog. It’s easy to read other people’s experiences on Facebook and various places on the internet. You know your dog best, you know whether it will be happy not sedated, or where it will wee and poo, and whether it will need a short walk to poo. I had to trust myself, and Huckleberry when it came to advocating for what I thought was the best thing to get him to go to the toilet, and that was a short walk. Equally SO MANY people told me I should be sedating him to keep him quiet - even my local vets. I know my dog, and I knew he didn’t need this.


2. It’s not easy. There are some days I’ve questioned my decision to go ahead with this, and wondered why I put Huckleberry through it. I’ve had to remember that at the end of these long 12 weeks, his quality of life will vastly improve. He’ll be pain free and back to how he was 9 months ago.


3. I’ve had to learn to adapt. Whether that’s how he’s walked, how he’s fed, how we keep him occupied. No two days are the same.


4. Finding a GOOD surgeon is key. I’m so glad I didn’t go with the well known famous vet, who couldn’t give me 10 minutes of his time to answer my anaesthetic questions and told me I worried too much. I picked a surgeon that has literally been on the end of the phone and emails day and night, and that’s important. A good support network is key, and he’s taught me it’s fine to worry, fine to ask questions and bloody normal to want to ask questions, because it shows you care.


5. You can’t count on everybody. Some people have been amazingly supportive in this whole process, and others haven’t. Friends have shown up at my door with food because I can’t get out and offered to watch Huckleberry for an hour so I can have some “normal”. Or come to keep me company for the afternoon
Mum and Mike are the ONLY family to have offered to have him for any lengthy periods so I can at least go and ride.


6. People only post the bad. I read various posts on various groups and all I read was horror stories. Yes this has been hard, but it’s not been harder than I imagined, or too hard. It’s been rough, but only because I want what’s best for Huckleberry.


7. Not everyone agrees with your decisions. I’ve had people question why I chose surgery and not conservative treatment. Smile at these people, tell them you want what’s best for your dog and you made a decision based on a surgeons recommendations and their experience in THEIR chosen job field, and to give your dog the best possible chance at a pain free life.


8. Taking 30 minutes for yourself isn’t bad. I’ve cried in the bath, cried in the car, cried into Huckleberry’s head - all because I feel stuck in 4 walls and the anxiety over my head about this going right has been EXTREME.


9. Do your OWN research, speak with your OWN surgeon and base your decisions on YOUR dog. No two dogs are the same, no dog is textbook. Some have a low pain threshold, some have a high, some like Huckleberry want to be walking normally within a few days, others don’t. No dog will act the same as the next one.


10. A hip dysplasia diagnosis isn’t the end of the world. Initially when I got the news Huckleberry had slight hip dysplasia and needed a hip replacement, I thought my world was ending. A hip replacement to me was a devastating diagnosis. I’ve since learnt and come to realise it’s not.


I’ve also realised he seems to much more playful than he’s been in the last 9 months. Pre operation he would grumble when I scratched the left side of his bum / hip and it’s another reason I wanted his hips checking. In the last week he’s not grumbled once and enjoys a good bum scratch on both sides now! Happy progress!


Overall, has it been hard? Yes! Has it been easier than I thought though? YES! We’re a third of the way into his “lockdown” now and I’m feeling positive we can do this!! We’ve got a 3 week post op check Wednesday and I’m keeping fingers and toes crossed the surgeons happy! Fingers
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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 4 (2 week post op)

This feels unreal to be saying, but we are TWO weeks post Total Hip Replacement and it stitch removal day. I can't believe we're here already. Two weeks ago it felt like today would never come, and it felt like stitch removal day was so far into the future, that I couldn't think about it. 


This last week has been a lot mentally. It felt harder than week 1 because each day that passed, Huckleberry was feeling more and more good, and wanted to do more. Which of course is great, but equally, he's tried to chase Bumble Bee's, Cats and jump up when he sees Mum or me come home from being out for an hour. He sits down as normal, spins in his bed scratching it up and is acting like he's never had surgery. 


Again, all such a positive step in the right direction but my nerves have completely been tested. All weekend I didn't take my eyes off him making sure he didn't chew his stitches, and by Monday I thought we had this down to a tee. He hadn't tried to touch them, and I felt safe I could sit on the sofa and do some work without needing to sit in his pen. How wrong was I... 


I'd been for a shower, and just sat down to do some work emails, when I heard a rather loud chomp, and looked over at Huckleberry's leg to see it bleeding. Not a lot, and by no means bad, but his operation site was red at the bottom and he had definitely pulled a stitch. Which resulted in a call to the referral vets, who then said I needed to take him to my local vets for a quick check up to ensure one stitch didn't need redoing, or he hadn't caused any damage. 


Which resulted in the most stressful couple of hours ever. Huckleberry was a nervous wreck at the vets, worse than ever. Usually he jumps up at me and sits on my knee in the waiting room, which of course we couldn't allow. He was trembling, tail between his legs and pulling me in all directions - something he's obviously not allowed to also do because of the slippy floor. 


The vet nurse was absolutely lovely and I cannot fault her in anyway, she tended to Huckleberry calmly, sweetly and was in no rush to look at him. She fussed him, made him feel at ease and did all the necessary checks, which was nice. I had a little cry whilst in there and said this all just felt A LOT, like I'm responsible for this dogs hip failing or being a success and it felt like I had a heck of pressure sat on my shoulders. She spent a while talking to me and just basically giving me a break, which I was so grateful for and I will make sure I get her name when I'm back. 


Anyway, we were given the all clear, I purchased a medical suit and off we went home. By this point my head was throbbing, I needed nothing other than a good cry and Huckleberry was fast asleep after stressing him out so much. 


It may seem dramatic but the weight on my shoulders felt heavy. Rightly or wrongly, I felt and do feel responsible for Huckleberrys hip being a success or failure. I am doing everything in my power to keep him safe, prevent him from doing everything he normally does and trying to make sure we are a success story. But, he's a dog, and dogs want to chase Bee's and Cat's, and jump up when they see their owners.... 


As he can't be left at all, we are tag teaming to look after him. It's recommended that Total Hip Replacement patients aren't left alone at all, so when I'm not there, then Mum or Mike is but obviously and naturally it falls to me to do the majority. By Tuesday the pressure was intense, I had pulled something in my neck and was in insane pain from what felt like a trapped nerve. My panic at having to leave him the follow day with Mum whilst I went to London with work was looming, and I spent quite a bit of Tuesday crying and things weighing heavy. Lack of sleep, anxiety and it all was really beginning to build.


*

Wednesday came and although I was angry that I had to go into London with work and spend the day away from him, I was so grateful. I managed to catch some sleep on the train both ways, and had a thoroughly enjoyable day with my colleagues, whom all couldn't have been anymore understanding. I had a lovely chat with my boss, who made some slight changes to my schedule over the next 4 weeks, and a weight was instantly lifted. I know many wont have understanding jobs, but I feel lucky to be in this position and be surrounded by encouraging and supportive people. 


Thursday and Friday were better days and soon enough it was the weekend. Although we're only 2 weeks in, Huckleberry's fur is growing back at a fast rate and his wound has healed nicely. I feel like we're passing Hurdle 2 in this whole scenario and the next hurdle is to get to our 3 week post op check with our surgeon. Although I've sent him videos of Huckleberry walking all week, I don't think my anxiety will truly go away until I get in that room with him and get to speak to him face to face and hear the words "He's doing good". But for now, I don't want to get too excited and our appointment isn't until a week Wednesday so we've got 8 days yet to go! As we all know, a lot can change in 9 days, so as I have throughout all of this, I'm just taking a day at a time. 


The weekend came and went in a flash and Huckleberry and I spent the majority of it at home watching rubbish Netflix TV and keeping this blog. Mike and I managed to get an evening out on Saturday for a meal whilst Mum came over and looked after Huckleberry which was lovely. It was nice to get a bit of a break and have some normal conversation whilst out the house! 


I was excited for stitch removal day on Monday and although there was almost a little mess up with the appointment, we got in and had them removed. The area looks fantastic and I will forever be grateful to the surgeon for how neat of a job he's done. There seems to be a little crusting and bumps but the vet nurse was sure that was from the dissolvable stitches underneath the skin. He sat like such a good boy whilst having them removed and didn't flinch at all. 


Although Monday was a day of positives with the stitches, I also feel it was a day of two halves as I noticed that Huckleberry was bunny hopping a lot. Immediately I contacted the surgeon and asked him if this meant we would definitely need the Luxating Patella surgery. He said he couldn't comment until week 6-12 and I needed to let everything heal as it was doing until then. He always made it clear if Huckleberry needed it, we would have the next surgery around month 6 of recovery. I guess Monday just felt a little crap because I was finally starting to see the light, and then it almost felt like it was confirmed we would need the next surgery. 


BUT, alas, I need to put a halt on that and focus on recovery for this now... 


So... onto week 3! 


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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 3 (1 week post op)

Getting the phone call that Huckleberry was awake was genuinely a great sense of relief and I felt for the first time in weeks like I could breathe, this was going to all be okay and I would have my dog back to normal in no time at all. 

Following the call that he was awake, I was able to keep in touch with the night nurse team who said (and more than likely regretted) I could call at any time throughout the night. We had a little panic at 9pm when they said he was still in recovery due to him taking a while to regulate his temperature. I went into a mild (rather large) meltdown but I will be forever grateful that a friend from university, Ally, who is also a vet nurse called my vets and found out exactly what was going on;  then called me and relayed it all in blonde terms. Apparently it happens to a lot of dogs post surgery and Huckleberry's was nothing to worry about. 


I still didn't get much sleep, and was happy for 10:30 the next morning to arrive when it was time to leave to go and fetch him. 


We had gotten the living room ready that morning so he could come home and go straight into his pen. Dogs that have had Hip Replacements aren't allowed to jump up, run, or use any kind of stairs for approximately 12 weeks post surgery, so it's important to ensure the home set up is correct. 


I had decided I would put our spare bedroom mattress downstairs next to what would be Huckleberry's pen for the next few weeks. It's important to limit moving about for the first couple of weeks and although I didn't want him in a crate, I still wanted him secure and limited to where he could walk. 


For anyone going through this, I highly recommend the investment into human baby equipment! It comes without the hefty pet tag and I think I paid roughly £100 for a baby pen that is great. Because we have laminate flooring I also purchased some baby foam tiles that go on the floor to create a none slip surface, which I think were only £13. For when he's allowed more room, I've ordered 4 stair gates to go on all doors downstairs so I can then give him the whole (it's tiny!) living room to walk around. The photo below at the moment shows our set up, and once he's allowed more room, we'll take the mattress back upstairs, I'll sleep on the sofa and the pen will go around the sofa so he can't jump up. 


Seeing him was something I was nervous about. I don't know why, but I had these ideas in my head that he would look different, or at least his leg would. I also genuinely worried he would hate me for having dropped him off and put him through this. But as he came trying to bound through the waiting room to me whilst the surgeons clinging onto the end of his lead, all of my apprehensions and worries disappeared instantly and I knew I had my boy back. 


We were invited into the room with the surgeon to have a quick chat and once again he answered my million questions (sorry if you're reading this - I promise I'll stop with the questions soon!). He went through all the do's and don'ts again of no jumping, no running, no going up and down stairs and only 6 x 5 minute wee breaks daily! Additionally we were sent home with a bottle of Metacam for pain, and a weeks worth of antibiotics. 


I had read on quite a few Hip Dysplasia and Replacement groups that many dogs are sent home on various amounts of painkillers, sedatives, with hobbles, slings and all sorts. I had expressed my concern to our surgeon that I didn't want Huckleberry sedating, especially not for 6-12 weeks. Thankfully he agreed with me and said he didn't encourage it neither which was refreshing! It felt a relief to have a surgeon on the same page as my thinking, and once again put my mind at ease that I'd picked the right person to do this. 


After that, we were sent on our way which felt fantastic but at the same time scary! The other half had said he would drive so I could put Huckleberry in the boot and then I could sit in the back and keep an eye on him. What I hadn't envisaged was how much of a nervous passenger I would be on that journey and how much I would panic. About 90 minutes into the journey I screamed "he's dead, pull in!" at one stage, because Huckleberry won't move. Turns out he was fast asleep.....and in a rather deep sleep! 


Once home it felt like this huge responsibility was on me to get everything right, and not let anything go wrong. I realised that as much as you would like to follow the rules to a tee, there are times when you just know your own dog and you have to adapt to suit their needs. 

Post Hip Replacement they aren't really allowed to walk, but immediately it became evident I wasn't going to rewire Huckleberry and he wasn't going to start miraculously poo'ing in the garden after 4 years. By day 2 or 3 I had to improvise and carry him to a spot nearby I knew he would poo, and ta-da after holding it in for days, he poo'd and once home settled immediately. It was the same with wee'ing. It just wasn't happening in the front or back garden and it was stressing both me and him out, but as soon as I carried him to a nearby grass patch, he did tonnes and had clearly been holding it in! 


I was getting increasingly stressed reading the Facebook groups and reading I was wrong, or potentially jeopardising Huckleberry's surgery for letting him walk to wee, but genuinely there was nothing else I could do. It was either risk a UTI infection by him not going to the toilet, or take him a short walk and let him wee. It felt like I was and am stuck between a rock and hard place. 


Other than that, I haven't found it all so bad. I've had to sleep on the floor in his pen because otherwise he won't settle, so that's been hard. Lack of sleep combined with the stress and anxiety is ALOT! I've found myself snapping at people, and having very little patience. 


He takes his Metacam daily with ease, and I allow him to eat a bit of his afternoon dinner, then just squirt it into his mouth and he's a good boy. He takes his antibiotic with cheese or stuffed in some sausage - whatever's available really, which is a bonus! 


Personally I think the hardest part for me has been the anxiety and worry. Everything else hasn't felt too hard aside from trying to prevent him from jumping up. Once I realised each dog is different and it's important to remember WE know our dogs, not anyone on Facebook, then we know what to do for the best. I know everyone means well in trying to help, but honestly - it was sending my anxiety through the roof reading it all. 


Keeping a diary has been my saviour and watching progress videos from day 1 to day 7, and then when we hit the day 7 mark I felt a sense of relief that we had made it this far. The problem now is that Huckleberry thinks he's well, and wants to jump up and attempted to chase a pigeon this morning! Not ideal.... 


Anyway, so onto Week 2 feeling a mix of positive, anxiety and like I can't remember what sleep even is.... 





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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 2 (The operation)

Part 1 of Huckleberry's Hip Replacement can be found here, which explains how I noticed something was wrong with his leg and how I sought veterinary help. 


You'll be glad to know that Part 2 finally gets into the Hip Replacement rather than me banging on about the long drawn out process that lead up to us getting here!


Once I'd gotten our D-Day date, I could feel my anxiety heighten and as the week progressed it got worse. Although I would say that this time around I felt a sense of calm as well in the sense that I had finally come to terms that Huckleberry needed this hip replacement. 


I had watched him spend the last few months struggle after long walks, and it was becoming increasingly hard to watch him limp in the evening and clearly struggle. My heart told me I didn't want him to go through this potentially life changing surgery, but my head told me I had to. 


And although I knew it could be potentially life changing in a good way, I couldn't shake the feeling that it could also be bad; and I knew that before long I would need to sign on a dotted line that basically gave the vets permission to take him away from me and anaesthetise him - which I had no idea if he would have a reaction to or not. 


I asked the surgeon repeatedly what the chances were of him not waking up from the surgery and what were the chances of complications surrounding the hip.


The anxiety of him not waking up played on my mind daily, and although the surgeon tried to put my mind at ease by saying he had only had it happen to one dog (who also had other issues) in all his 12 years of doing Orthopaedic surgery, and I needed to understand Huckleberry had one of the leading Anaesthetic team in the country looking after him - I couldn't relax. 


The problem is, no matter how many times I was told that, or no matter how many times I googled these questions, I still felt like I had a cloud over my head. 


In the week leading up to his surgery I couldn't stop myself from thinking "What if this the last ever time he comes to the beach?" or "What if this is the last time I ever get to take a photo with him?" and I went into overdrive of taking photos of him and soaking up the moments. My mind repeatedly flashed to how many times he'd gotten me up in the mornings when I didn't want to, or the time I was having a particularly hard day and he jumped on me in bed whilst I was crying and shoved his toy in my face to get me to laugh. 


The last few years we'd been through together all resurfaced and I felt like kicking myself all over again, with things that seemed a distant memory popping up and reminding me just how much this dog really was my everything. 


I was angry that I had always done everything right by Huckleberry; he was always fed the most expensive food, visited the vets more often than he needed, signed up to every pet health club going, given the most expensive coats, harnesses, toys, treats - and yet here we were, being punished that he needed such invasive surgery. 

Usually when a dog has a Total Hip Replacement they are admitted the day before to be starved and for pre-op tests and sterilisation. However our surgeon understood my anxiety and after a discussion he said he felt it was best for me and Huckleberry that I arrived very early with him on the morning of surgery. More tests than needed had already been done, and I was happy to starve him at home. The agreement was that I just needed to arrive at the vets for 7am to allow them plenty of time to do anything they needed to before the op. 


The night before felt like a climax of the last 12 months of worry, apprehension, appointments, anxiety and everything we had been through. The sense of relief that the day was finally here and "this time tomorrow, it will all be over and we'll be on the road to recovery" was all that was going through my head. I'd cried many tears over the weeks leading up to this stage, questioning if I was doing the right thing, was I improving Huckleberry's quality of life, what if it went wrong, where do we go from there... my mind was just a whirlwind of emotion. It was hard for me to comprehend that I was making this decision for a dog to remove his bone and replace it with something else.. 


I was fed up with people asking me if I was okay and how I felt that the day was tomorrow.. I just wanted to be in the car and get it out the way. 


*

On the day of surgery, I left home about 2:45am and picked my Aunty up on the way who had offered to come with me. Inwardly I was a mess; all I wanted to do was cry, but outwardly I didn't want Huckleberry to see me crying as it always panics him. 


One thing I love about this vets is that it doesn't "look" or "smell" like a vets when you go in. In fact we joke it's like visiting a very posh private hospital for humans. The waiting room doesn't give off a vets vibe, and the staff couldn't be any nicer. Huckleberry is a nervous dog at the vets and usually insists on sitting on my knee in vets waiting rooms, but never at this one - he happily sits on the floor. 


Finally it's our time to go in and the surgeon talks me through everything he is going to do and once again asks if I have any questions. We discussed that the surgeon has what he calls one of the easier jobs, and that's replacing the hip. The real test is the recovery at home and the complications that can arise such as dislocation, infection and a Hip Replacement failure where it needs to be done again. He spends time assuring me he will do his very best in surgery and at home providing we follow the rules, we should have an easy recovery and everything will go to plan. 


Before long its time to sign on the dreaded dotted line, and hand Huckleberry over whilst being determined not to cry in front of him. 


Initially I'd planned on sitting in the waiting room whilst they did surgery but our surgeon told me to drive the 3.5 hours home, get some rest and promised he would call when they finished later in the evening. 


Walking away from him was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but the sense of relief that today was finally here hit me and I knew I had to do this to give Huckleberry his quality of life he had always known, back. He was a dog that spent most of his days outdoor with me, loved running on the beach and chasing cats - all of which he'd struggled to do lately. 


*

I will always be eternally grateful for my friends that showed up for me on this day. I turned my phone on to texts, well wishes and love from so many people. Later in the afternoon my friend and lovely riding instructor asked me what I was doing whilst Huckleberry was in surgery and said she was coming over to give me a lesson. My partner spent the afternoon with me and everyone around me that knew I would be a nervous wreck rallied round to make sure I knew I wasn't alone. 

I'm not going to sugar coat it, the whole day was a blur and I spent the day clock watching wondering what was going on now, all whilst questioning whether he would hate me for putting him through this, would he be in agony, and most importantly would it work. 


At 4pm I got the call I'd been waiting for all day. Huckleberry was slowly waking up and surgery had been a success. The surgeon was happy with the Hip Replacement, and although it had been a little tricky in the moment, everything had gone as hoped and providing he had a comfortable night I could pick him up the following day. 


The relief that washed over me was so intense, I couldn't do anything but cry. The day was here and we were now on the road to recovery. A long recovery nonetheless, but all those tears, questions, days of watching Huckleberry struggle - it all didn't matter now, because my boy had done it. He'd done the most important thing, and that was wake up and come back to me...and the rest, we could deal with. 



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Huckleberry-Finn's Total Hip Replacement (THR) - Part 1 (Why did I do a Hip Replacement?)

I've just realised after coming back on this blog to document my journey with 4 year old Cockapoo, Huckleberry-Finn's hip replacement, that I've officially never introduced him on here. There's enough time to play catch up with that sort of stuff, but for now lets focus on the matter in hand - a Total Left Hip Replacement in a dog. 


I've decided to document my journey from realising something was wrong with Huckleberry, right through to him needing a hip replacement and beyond recovery. There are so many vital bits in the middle like selecting the right Orthopaedic surgeon, deciding to go ahead with such evasive surgery and more. When I started to do my own research I really struggled to find true success stories, or someone that had documented the whole journey rather than a few bits on Instagram. I spent so many late nights and early mornings scrolling on Google willing to find someone that had been through what we were going through so I could read their journey and follow the weekly progress - BUT I couldn't. 


So here I am; hoping that in keeping this diary of what I've experienced, the emotions, the vital decisions and beyond the hip replacement, in a hope that perhaps one day I can put someone else's mind at ease and help them make one of the most important decisions for their dog. 


I've been asked many of times over the last few months how I noticed that something was wrong with Huckleberry's leg. In 2022 I was away in Dorset with him for work when he got attacked by a dog walking back to the car of our hotel. After rushing him to the emergency vets, it was picked up that he potentially had whats called Luxating Patella on the left hind leg. This is a condition where the knee effectively pops out of place and moves from where it should be and "Luxates". The vet told me it wasn't at a grade she thought should be a concern, but I should keep an eye on it. 


Fast forward to March of 2023, and although Huckleberry's leg had never given me any reason for concern, I was also consciously aware of keeping an eye on it. 


I was getting ready for a horse show early in the morning and he did something he does often - jump up at the sweeping brush as I was sweeping the stables. He did this daily and had done since he was a puppy, and had never had any issues. However on this particular day he jumped up and as he landed, he landed lame and was unable to weight-bear. For the rest of the day I kept him rested and presumed he had just pulled himself as we do, but he still wasn't really 100% the next day. 


For a couple of days I kept an eye on him and the leg seemed to right itself to a point where I wasn't concerned, however it was from this day that following long walks he started to struggle afterwards and appeared to walk with his leg stuck in an outwards position. 


This developed into happening every evening and so after a week I took him to the vets to get him checked out. I raised my concern with the luxating patella and expressed concerns that I thought his knee was locking as this is what appeared to be happening. 


The vet agreed the left knee luxated but didn't think it was any higher than a Grade 1 (which is deemed not a lot to worry about), and suggested we rest Huckleberry more than usual and to see how he got on after 6 weeks of less strenuous exercise. 


The weeks passed, and Huckleberry's evening limp developed intermittently. One day it would be severe and I'd need to rest him more than others, and other days he would be totally fine. 


Around July time I was concerned that the evening limp was getting worse. After strenuous walks like a play on the beach Huckleberry would then get out the car at home and appear to walk a few "lame steps", before him righting it and then walking as normal. Another thing I had noticed was in an evening when we were at home watching TV, he would get up to move positions and do a lame step - something he had never done before. 


To try and help I started taking him to Hydrotherapy but after each session he would be severely stiff and it was hard to see him in so much discomfort after doing something he enjoyed. 

I took him back to the vets who agreed that something wasn't right and suggested he see the same vet he saw back in March, and I guess this is where our journey into Orthopaedic surgery began. 


The vet we had seen in March was an Orthopaedic vet who performed a variety of Orthopaedic surgeries at our local vets and upon seeing him for the second time, he deemed Huckleberry a candidate for Luxating Patella surgery and booked him in. 


However, I'm an avid over thinker, Googler and all round worry head. At this point I was concerned surgery on his knee was booked for the following week, but we hadn't done any X-rays, CT or anything to determine whether this truly was the issue or not. I did some Googling and although this vet had performed thousands of Orthopaedic surgeries, he wasn't on the specialists register and therefore I decided to be referred to a specialist Orthopaedic vets. I just want to make it more than clear that this is nothing against this particular vet, and he has performed many successful surgeries, but I just felt I wanted to attend a specialist referral centre, and with insurance up to £10,000 this was not an issue to at least get another opinion. 


It was at this point we found ourselves at the Referral Centre that have a fantastic Orthopaedic team behind them and many accolades to their name. Of course I had done my due diligence and requested the surgeon that I felt was an expert in the field of Luxating Patellas and came highly recommended. On the day I drove 3.5 hours to see them and had requested X-rays and a CT scan to determine what was wrong.

 

Unfortunately our experience on the day wasn't what I expected and the surgeon I had requested was off poorly. The person I did see felt Huckleberry didn't have Luxating Patella and instead had a Cruciate Injury and suggested 6 weeks of rest, along with continuing the Hydrotherapy. No X-rays nor CT scans were performed on this day and after leaving home at 4am to ensure I got to our 8am appointment on time, I left feeling very disappointed. 



The following day I called the centre back and expressed my concerns around the appointment and they agreed with me that some diagnostic testing should've been done. We were offered another appointment with a different surgeon and the promise that Huckleberry would receive some form of diagnostics at that appointment, so I should be prepared to leave him there for the day. 


I guess you could say it was the day of this appointment that the world shattered around me, and I learnt that although Huckleberry did have some Luxating Patella, that wasn't the primary concern for the surgeon. He took time to listen to my concerns, watched videos I had taken of Huckleberry walking like the one above and agreed something wasn't right so asked that I leave him so he could have a CT Scan.

 

Sitting in a local garden centre eating breakfast whilst knowing my poor boy was being sedated and undergoing tests was awful. I'll go into it further into the blogs, but I have serious anxiety over Huckleberry being anaesthetised. 


At approximately 1:30pm, my phone rang and the vet asked me to go to the practice to meet with him as he thought he had found the problem. 


Never in a million years did I expect him to suggest that Huckleberry had a bad hip. I thought he might need a knee operation to secure his Luxating Patella and we would be fine. BUT actually that was far from reality, and a new reality was about to begin. 


The surgeon explained that Huckleberry had slight Hip Dysplasia on the left side, and although not horrific, it was enough to (he thought) be causing significant pain and making his knee Luxate. Interestingly both knees Luxated to a degree but the left was significantly worse and he felt this was because of the Left Hip having the Dysplasia. 


We were sent home with the advice that Huckleberry should undergo a Hip Replacement as that was the best possible way to treat the issue, and would hopefully stop the knee from Luxating. Additionally, whilst sedated, he was given a steroid into the knee to see if it helped with the pain and our D-Date was booked for the following week. 


The week that followed saw my anxiety heighten and I spent more time on Google looking up Hip Replacements in dogs than I should've. In hindsight now (and isn't hindsight a wonderful thing), I should've trusted the process and trusted that we were doing the right thing. But I didn't... 


A week later we were back at the vets for surgery, and the entire journey there I had worked myself up that I was going to ask the surgeon to fix the Luxating Patella first, and see if that worked. I wasn't keen on such invasive surgery to replace a hip immediately and couldn't understand why we were doing the hip first. 


Upon walking into the vets, he remarked that Huckleberry was walking so much better following the steroid injection and he recommended waiting for a Hip Replacement and give alternative treatment a chance first. Blimey what a whirlwind of a day! He recommended further physio, water treadmill sessions and laser therapy for 6 weeks and then to see where we were at. 


After 4 weeks of the above, Huckleberrys physio and I were concerned that the muscle mass around his leg wasn't improving and he was still very stiff following his sessions. It was at this point, I sought advice from a further Orthopaedic specialist that's relatively well known.  I don't know why I wanted a further opinion, but I think its because in my head I couldn't come to terms nor accept that he needed a Hip Replacement. I kept thinking that this couldn't be our reality, and surely someone had gotten it wrong. 


I don't want to go too much into detail here, but I didn't have the best experience and felt like I couldn't ask questions, nor feel worried about Huckleberry and surgery. However my mind was put at ease as the appointment here with further testing such as more X-rays, confirmed that Huckleberry DID need a Hip Replacement. It was at this point though that the decision was made I would return to the original referral vet as I felt nothing but comfort with him, and he was prepared to answer any questions I had, spend as much time as I needed discussing the operation and did everything in his power to put my mind at ease - which is all I needed. 


Following a lengthy phone call with the surgeon, as well as many tears shed; Huckleberrys surgery was booked for 10 days time and the countdown began....

Come back for Part 2 - the Hip Replacement. 

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The Perplexed Aunty's comeback...

 Oh, I haven’t done one of these in a while! 

The other day I was asked if the “perplexed Aunty” series would ever make a comeback. It ended right with having to endure a child’s play area and a fart mid play tunnel. There was no escaping that one, and it seemed a pretty apt moment to just stop. No one needs to imagine what a one year olds fart in a play tunnel smells like. 

Alas, I’m back. The perplexed Aunty that’s aged 20 odd years in just 4. For someone that used to not really like kids that much, I’ve been snotted on and used as a walking tissue more time than you can say tissue in a minute. 


So where are we now. Well the little delight is 4. FOUR. I know. Time really does go so quickly when you’re having fun. Incase you’re wondering what the little sweet one year old grew up to be like, I’ll give you an idea. 


Last month when I babysat, I politely asked her to stop picking her nose. You know, I even said please and bribed her with something much tastier than a little pinky that had just been half way to almost poking her brains out. I offered ice cream - Anything! I thought I was onto a winner actually when instantly she shot her finger out her nose and turned around to look at me. Until I saw it. The sass! 


With a tut she said “ugh I just knew you’d say that” - dumbfounded, shocked, and with part of me dancing inside thinking “yeah this kids 100% related to me” (the sass part, not the poking at my brains) - I think I was frozen in my tracks and could do nothing other than laugh. Where on earth did that sass come from? Oh yeah she’s related to me and my sister. Not to mention her dad… 


Anyway, so when she’s not poking at her brains to check they’re there, she is actually the sweetest. She adores animals (yessss cheap vets bills for me when she becomes a vet), makes me laugh more than any other human could, and says the cutest things. She's even got her own hashtag on Instagram now - look up #PerplexedAunty 


After a real shitty time over the last 12 months, when all I’ve wanted is a cuddle, she’s been the only one to recognise it, and has climbed onto my knee and in her cutest little voice said: “I love you Aunty Siân”. I’m not completely dumb to the fact she absolutely knows these simple five words said in a voice that imitates Oliver Twist gets her EXACTLY whatever toy she wants, but still...its cute. 


In fact she’ll do anything for a toy. When my sister was trying to get her to use the toilet to go for a poo (bear with the grossness….), we’d had a long drawn out process for weeks about her being scared to poo on the toilet. Weeks! Until..


One night I FaceTimed her and said if she poo’d on the toilet, I’d buy her a present, thinking I had weeks ahead before I needed to scroll Amazons selection and off I went to sleep, blissfully completely unaware Annie was plotting her next Peppa Pig collection. 


The next day I woke up to a video that said something along the lines of “I did a poo on the toilet. Buy my a present aunt Siân?” 

Eh, was I dreaming? According to my sister I was absolutely not. Annie had taken my offer and taken advantage by doing her first poo on the toilet that very morning - in return for a present. How naive could I be?!


So other-than becoming Amazons best prime customer, what have we been doing over the last 4 years?


Well I can safely promise I know ALL the words to Baby Shark, all the actions to Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, and I can reel off all the Johnny songs from Cocomelon like you reel off Busted's, The Year 3000 on a night out. 


We've all got more "Art" in our houses than Van Gogh had. All accompanied with a little "Annie" signature at the bottom. We've cried as she started her first day of Nursery and complained "She looks too small to be there!!" as she ran off not even glancing back. 


We've been coughed on, caught various bugs the little delight has bought home from her friends, and heard the words "I need a poo" far too many times in the most inconvenient places. 


This year for her birthday, because she was going to be FOUR after all, we decided it would be good to invite another 14 unruly children, all equally as needy as ours, to soft play. 


I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to see if she had any friends with single dads, but that idea was soon shot out the window when it was announced "Aunty Sian is playing too and will take anyone down the slide that is scared." Of course ALL her friends wanted a go didn't they...


Take it from me, trying to explain to a 3-year-old that your body just WONT fit through a roller thing in the play area, but theirs will and they can safely go through, is like trying to explain to your best friend that she will not be heartbroken for ever - there's a way forward. The wails are quite similar really....


"I cannnttttttttt do ittttt....wah wah wah...."


I've lost count over the last four years of how many times I've seen stomped feet, with the cries "I cannttttttttt" . In fact, on her birthday, whilst trying to do my best impression of the hot single Aunty totally rocking this, I was bought back down to earth with a bump whilst in the park and Annie point blank refused to ride her brand new bike and demanded "Aunty Sian have a go..."


Unable to refuse, I hopped on whilst all the yummy mummies looked on, shaking their perfect little hair do's whilst blinking through their fake eyelashes looking in disgust at me. 


Annie found it hilarious and for the next 20 minutes I pretended I just LOVE her bike, and she REALLY should have a go instead of me! 


I guess truthfully, there is absolutely no one else I would be silly for, or allow to stick stickers all over my face just for a giggle. Or wipe their nose on my sleeve. Only her. 

The last four years have been far better than I ever imagined. She's been the bestest little niece I could've asked for, the one person to keep on telling me she's loved me when I've felt like the least loveable person on the planet, and kept me smiling even on one of my darkest days. Equally, she's the only person that I can argue with and swear blind I'm right, but by 10 minutes in be made to question if I was ever right and If I ever know what I'm talking about...










Let's hope the next four years are equally as crazy and she continues to be the only person on the planet that thinks her Aunt Sian is cool....long may it last!!  

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