So, Tessa fans… A lot has happened since we last updated.
First, Tessa discovered The Boat. The Boat is something she thoroughly ignored the first couple days at The Cabin. We couldn’t take her out because it was really choppy and we didn’t want her to be uncomfortable, or further injure her leg with all the bouncing. Finally, on the Fourth of July, we had a nice calm evening. She got in like a champ – no fear -- and took a long ride with her nose twitching in the air and her ears flapping! It was great! Then, when she came down to the lake the next day, we couldn’t keep her out – she kept trying to sneak her way in for another ride! So, she can add that to her list of good things! She did reasonably well with all the fireworks, too. She didn’t want to be outside, but was comfortable enough in her crate to go to sleep despite all the booms.
On the fifth, Foster Dad drove her down to Bloomington to wait for surgery with her new friend Cindy, and Cindy’s two RAGOM girls. Together they celebrated her birthday with another first for Tessa, Frosty Paws! Yum! After a few days of great snuggling, Cindy got her dropped off with Dr. R in Inver Grove Heights. Big, sloppy, thank you kisses to Cindy and the girls for helping us out!
Tessa had surgery Wednesday morning. After a thorough assessment, Dr. R determined that she would try and repair Tessa’s leg rather than amputate. When she got in, she found that some healing had taken place in the bone (good news) and that the alignment was acceptable. In order to give her the best chance at recovery, she inserted a plate and screws at the end of the break that was not healing in order to hold it tightly to the bone. She removed the tension band used in the original surgery, but left the pin in place as she felt it was helping to stabilize the fracture. The pin may need to be removed in the future if it loosens as the bone heals, but otherwise will stay in place.
With that done, a quick assessment of her right foot indicated it was healing as well as could be expected with the amount of weight she is bearing. Dr. R. also did x-rays of her hips to check for possible hip dysplasia. The films indicated that there is some looseness in the hips, though the joint is intact. This has resulted in mild arthritis on both sides.
After a long car ride back to Iowa, and a restless and uncomfortable night, Tessa and her pretty green bandage arrived at Iowa State to begin PT Thursday morning. They are updating us frequently on her progress. When they called last night, they had begun to work with her on passive range of motion activities and she was doing well. By the end of this week, or early next week, they will begin more active rehab. As always, she is a little scared in new environments, but she seems to be settling into the groove.
More to come as her therapy progresses and her prognosis becomes more clear, and a big thank you to Dr. R and her team for taking great care of Tessa!