Update on Tilly

This is the latest as of this am from Tilly's mom. Please keep Tilly and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Also the doctors who are taking care of her so that they may find out what is wrong with that sweet girl.
We came home from Bristol a very miserable crew having had to leave Tilly there. The vet had tested all her reactions and was baffled. She said they do not match up with each other. I will not say what she said at that time as it is out of date, but what she told me when she rang that night with an update.
It was nothing to do with the fall that caused her to fall over. That was just coincidental. She was worse that evening, more floppy. It seems that her motor nerves are being affected, not her sensory nerves. They are worried it may affect her respiratory system and she would then die. The have put her on a drip as although she tried to lap water she didn’t swallow it. Today, if she lives they are going to put a tube into her stomach as she will not eat. She has some sort of toxin. If it is a homeopathic one 70 % get worse for ten days then recover. She still has some fight in her – she tried to bite them ! That’s my girl. (I’m crying)
Tomorrow she will have an MRI scan.
They asked if she’d eaten a dead animal. The only one I know of is when she had a (stinking) dead rat in her mouth to bring into the puppies near the end of May. I took this off her.
Apparently a blood test showed she had abnormally high levels of fat in her blood. I cannot understand this. She has Pedigree Complete and Butchers wet food, table scraps, smackos as treats and pigs ears. The vet said these would not have caused these levels.
Several vets have looked at her. Today the are going to knock her out and test her muscles.
She and Robbie have been together all the time. I am worried sick about him now.
LATEST UPDATE!

From: Tilly's Mom
To: Wirefoxterrier group
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 4:11 AM
Subject: [wirefoxterrier] Tilly Update
The vet rang last night and said that Tilly had had a good day.She was no worse and maybe even a little better.Her breathing was fine. They have done more blood tests which will take a week to come back.They have had her standing on a peanut. We think this is a peanut shaped frame that supports her belly so she can stand. This is to stop her getting bedsores and also pneumonia from lying down all the time. We are going to go and visit her this Sunday. She can still stand on her own for a short time.
Today they will knock her out and test the muscles and nerves in her legs. From this they can tell if she has any spinal damage - discs, spinal cord. If she has she will have an MRI scan.
I asked about the incubation period if she'd eaten something and she said that they had dismissed this idea now and this wasn't the cause. They still do not know what the cause is. I just hope that all of it is reversible.


Sat, 12 Aug 2006 19:14:50 +0100 (BST)
Subject:
[wirefoxterrier] Tilly Update


The last three days no change maybe be marginally better but hard to say. No worse anyway. Yesterday they tested her spinal fluid which is fine. When testing her muscles with needles (?) they were all abnormal - better near her spine and worse near her paws. Whilst she was out they put a tube in her stomach to feed her. She is on a drip. They turn her every four hours and in the afternoon she is taken out onto the physio ball (board?) where she can stand and is supported so she doesn't fall over. All tests so far have come back negative - ticks, etc. At first they thought it was botulism, but this has been ruled out.

Thye now say it is idiopathic disdordinvating (phonetic spelling !) or did she say disco-ordinating ? I asked her what her gut feeling was and she said hopeful. Her breathing is fine and she was very very grumpy today, biting - that's my girl ! They have had dogs before in with it and 60 - 70 % recover after 3 - 4 weeks like this.

We are going up tomorrow to see her. Apparently it was nothing to do with the jumping out, that was just coincidence. At least she is in the best place in the country.

Robbie is missing her terribly. Please pray for her everyone.

Brenda & Tilly & Robbie