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Onyx's Story Continued7/23/00, Onyx went for her chest X-Ray. The x-ray showed 2 spots on her lungs that appear to be calcium deposits and they do not have the starburst pattern that would be consistent with new cancerous growths.7/25/00, Onyx is not doing well. she has gone into GI Stasis and no longer wants to eat or drink anything and is not pooping. She seems to be giving up. All the gains she had made in the use of her back legs is now gone. She is dragging herself around again and can't seem to get her legs under her body. These next 2 pictures show the way her lower body just hangs off to the side.
7/26/00 I take her back to Dr. Dennis for the day while I go to work. Dr. Dennis gives her sub-q fluids and syringe feeds her every hour with Nutrical. She takes a chest x-ray which shows arthritis in Onyx's spine. Gives her propulsid to try to get her stomach moving and feeds her fresh grass which Onyx is interested in. After work, I picked her up and took her home and continued to syringe feed her.7/27/00 and 7/28/00, Onyx spends the day at the vets office to be syringe fed every hour while I am at work. Dr. Dennis starts her back on Rimadyl to see if that will help her back and legs at all. Its getting worse. Dr. Dennis alternated feeding her Oxbow Critical Care and Nutrical.7/29/00, Onyx is out of stasis and eating her salad and alfalfa hay. She no longer wants pellets or things she considered treats before but has begun eating some oats. Now that she is pooping and peeing, she is becoming really really messy. She goes to the bathroom and then drags herself through it and gets it all in her fur and then hay gets in there and so does anything else that she has eaten. Where are doing baths 2x a day. A butt bath isn't enough because its all over the side of her body.This next picture shows me bathing Onyx in the sink. You can click on it to see a larger image.
7/30/00 I am feeling pretty low and desperate and don't know what's best for Onyx. I sent a note to Petbunny and Etherbun looking for some help or advice. I got a lot of feedback with great suggestions of things to try. The people on these lists are very knowledegable and supportive.7/31/00 I am feeling much more optimistic. I have found a vet in my area that does acupuncture on rabbits and I am waiting for him to call me back to setup an appointment. I have contacted Dr. Harvey from the HRS and discussed Onyx's situation to see if there is anything else I can do or try. She is also going to contact Dr. Dennis to talk to her. My husband is trying to rig up some type of contraction that will help Onyx to get around. These next pictures show his first attempt. It looked good but it failed. Needs bigger wheels and she tips over and then drags herself out. You can click on any picture to see a larger image.
Marvin is off to the hardware store to try again! My daughter Caitlin has also decided to take Onyx under her wing. Caitlin is a twin and she is 6 years old. She has been spending lots of time in the bathroom with Onyx just petting her. Today, I showed her how to help rotate Onyx's legs to get them under her body and take the weight of her hip and leg. Caitlin has been helping Onyx stay in this position and feeding her at the same time. These next few pictures show Caitlin doing this. You can click on any picture to see a full size image.
August 1st - 10th. Onyx is hanging in there. Her appetite is good and she is eating a lot but still has no use of her body from the waist down. Her fur is starting to come off in her butt area and on the sides of her hip. She doesn't seem to have as much control of her bladder as she did before and seems to always be wet no matter how much I bathe and dry her. I have spoken to the vet for options and on the 10th, I took her in for her first shot of adequan which is a drug used for arthritis. She will get a shot every 3 days for the first 21-28 days and then will need it every 14 days. On Saturday, I will take her back in and they will try to show me how to give her the shot. She is also going to take glucosamine daily for the arthritis. New x-rays show much the same. The vets office had to show me how to express Onyx's bladder so she won't leak all over herself and hopefully we can keep her drier. She goes for her first acupuncture session on Monday. Onyx is very alert and loves to be pet. Anytime I walk into the bathroom, she drags herself right over to me and stares at me until I pet her.Here are some updated pictures: (click on any picture to see a full size image)
I went out and got diapers for Onyx to help keep her bottom dry. I have started to express her bladder 3x a day and am getting better at it. She is so tolerant of everything I do, she is such a good girl. She actually looks kind of cute in her diaper and between that and expressing her bladder, it has really helped to keep her drier already
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