It's been a long couple of weeks!

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

Well, last time I wrote we were still awaiting the results from the MRI on Dan's knee. We got them back and they showed that Dan more than likely had a ruptured Baker's cyst in his knee. The surgeons did however, want to got in a do some exploratory surgery just to make sure nothing else was wrong and while they were in there they planned on removing the screws in his knee.

We went in for surgery at 6:00 am on Thursday morning of last week. The surgery was suppose to last for 30-45 minutes... after an hour I was getting a little worried because it was taking longer than expected. Soon a nurse came out and said that the doctor needed to speak with me. I walked back to the OR with her and the doctor was standing outside Dan's room with blood all over his gloves and mask. He proceeds to tell me that he cannot get the screws out and wanted to know if Dan would want him to be more aggressive to get those out. Because the screws and other handware had been in his knee for so long the bones had infused to the screws causing them to be unable to move. The doctor said he had tried every trick in the book and could not move them. If we were to be more aggressive he was going to have to drill holes through Dan's knee in order to pull them out and he would then not be able to even stand on it for 2 months at the least! I was told it was my decision on what to do. This tore me to pieces because Dan and I had not discussed what to do in this situation because the surgery was suppose to be pretty simple. I made the decision to leave the screws in there and not do anything aggressive with his knee.

After I left the OR I called Dan's mom and told her what was going on. I stayed strong on the phone with her, but once I got ahold of my mom I broke down crying. It just broke my heart to have to make that decision when I didn't know exactly what Dan would want to do knowing that he had pain so often with his knee.

Once Dan got out of surgery I told him what had happened, and I could tell he was not impressed with the decision I had made. But the doctor came in to explain things better than I could and he then agreed with me that we shouldn't have done anything more aggressive because it could have messed up his knee even more than it already was. The doctor proceeded to tell us that Dan's knee looked perfect and he saw nothing wrong at all with it. He believes it was the Baker's cyst all along that had been causing the discomfort. However, Baker's cyst are full of clear liquid when they rupture, not blood... so I asked what all the blood was from since his knee was full of it. The doctor did not have a clear answer for us. So we still pretty much don't know for sure what is going on.

It has been six days since the surgery and Dan is recovering well. We have a follow up appointment with the doctor on Friday to talk to him more in depth about the surgery and stuff... hopefully it goes well.

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On a much happier note... Remington Bear had his second vet check and did fantastic! I have never had so many compliments on what a beautiful boy I have. Everyone is so surprised at how laid back he is and I reply... "If you only saw him at home!" He's a joy though! He now weighs 17.6 lbs... up 5 lbs from his last visit. The vet told us to increase his food intake by a cup because he is still on the skinny side. One more set of vaccinations and then it will soon be time to get him fixed. He is growing up sooo fast! I'll try to post some pictures soon :)

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Wow what an ordeal! Hope he is on the mend and all is well with you all.

[Debbie and Thomas]

I think I told you before about my husbands leg with the sixteen rivets(screws) into the two bones in his shin-right up from the ankle to just below his knee> His doctor (orthopedic surgeon) is one of the best in North America. In fact he travels all over the world teaching, and giving seminars on his surgical methods. Not bragging, just trying to assure you that you made the RIGHT decision. Leave the screws in!!! After time these screws fuse to the bone. Twenty years ago they would have probably gone in and removed the screws, but today they leave them alone. Removing them would be a horrible surgery and we were told that it would take up to two years for the bones to grow back together after the screws were removed. Plus, because the bones would be so fragile, no weight could be put on the leg for up to six months. So Kendra, I think you made the right decision. On a happier note-happy that the dog is doing so well and yes they grow so fast that you would think we could see it happening.