Week-8: Let there be Callus (and Rainbows)!

We have made it to the big landmark of 8-WEEKS post-surgery! Woohoo! We are now (hopefully) half-way through the fixator process - I think I've earned an honorary veterinary technician degree! ;)  

Taj is definitely feeling more active. I have to be much more careful with him now out on a lead. He will attempt to get up on furniture if I am not watching him like a hawk. Furniture is not allowed (unless I pick him up and put him on it, sit with him, and then lift him off). He cannot do anything that would incur the leg to impact the ground (aka like jumping off a couch or bed). He has also started to dig in place now (usually digging into his blankets). The vet said that this digging is not allowed outside in the dirt - although a little blanket digging won't hurt.

Waiting for the Vet, Taj is doing recon for escape routes!

Other than that a few of the pins were slightly more pink/red this week. This was due to a comfy-cone fail! Taj has figured out how to beat the comfy cone completely (with licking), so now I have to put on 3 collars in addition to the comfy cone at night (otherwise he'll slide it down his neck and work around it). It looks ridiculous - like he's some ornate giraffe, but we do what we have to do. This new collar methodology has worked and the pins are back to normal.


Dr. Rider said that the leg is looking absolutely great and that everything is going very smoothly! (I believe that's the equivalent to an A+ gold star for his home care). He said to just do the same exact thing we're doing - one more month. The olive wires and rings are all still very secure and the pins have very little drainage. It looks like it is healing well! 

Dr. Rider took new radiographs (you can see them here: radiographs). The gist is that the ulna is repairing nicely and that the radius, while slower to heal, is showing significantly more callus formation than at 4-weeks. This confirms my behavioral observations of Taj using the leg more (walking on it longer outside, attempting to jump up on things, new digging behavior, etc). You can see the new leg comparison photo here.

Looking at the new callus formation on the radiographs!

The radius is looking better, but still has a lot of healing to do!

We are still only allowed bathroom walks (10-15 minutes of ambling around down to one end of the block and back). Therefore, the daily wagon rides will continue through the next month until the 12-week appointment. I figure that I've now pulled Taj over 80 miles in his wagon (and am starting to gain the biceps to show it)!

This afternoon after our re-check visit, we had a brief thunderstorm and I ran outside with my camera to capture htis photo of a rainbow over our house. Hopefully this is a good omen for Mr. Taj!