June 18, 2010

The new hip

Poor Shawna! Very uncomfortable today, after a complete hip replacement yesterday.


We had lived here only a couple of months when Shawna decided to chase the horses that had escaped the arena, and got kicked by one of them. Her instincts just took over and she had to go after them, and paid for it with a dislocated hip.

A couple of trips to Tucson to the emergency vet later, because the leg would not stay in place, I was referred to Dr Boulay who was able to set things right again. It took quite awhile to recover from this injury and as the years have passed, the joint has deteriorated and scar tissue has kept it from moving normally. This is the reason Shawna never goes with us on our hikes.

Time had come to fix the hip for once and all, so Dr Boulay, who has since started the Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson, operated on Shawna and the new titanium joint looks like a great improvement, on X-ray at least.

Tonight will be the roughest night, but we have drugs, and by Monday she will be feeling better than she has in years. It will then be up to us to keep her quiet for a couple of weeks until the sutures are removed.

4 comments:

DJ said...

Oh, I have tears in my eyes seeing her so miserable. Please give her a hug and kiss for me.

Anneke said...

She has improved today, Denise, but I gave her your love and kiss. She loved it :-)

webb said...

A hard time for everyone. Hope all goes well. It will be wonderful for her to have mobility back soon, tho.

Shannon said...

I hope the poor girl starts feeling better soon! May her new hip give her many more years of exploring the world comfortably. :-)