Right Knee - Day 1

Surgery Day -

August 18th:
We dropped off Murphy at 7:00 am Friday morning. Things were a little hectic at the front desk since Friday is surgery day.

We received a phone call from our nurse Shawna around 1:00 pm to give us our estimated price range and she stating that Murphy was next in line for surgery.

At approximately 6:30 pm Dr. Brehm called and stated that Murphy had been out of surgery for a couple of hours, that he was waking up, and that all went well. We then scheduled a 9:30 am Saturday pick-up.

Day 1 - Right Knee

August 19th:
The nurse, Shawna, informed us that Murphy's condition had changed a little as of this morning. When they removed his bandage the wound sites were still oozing, therefore Murphy would be going home w/ a large bandage from his hip to his toes. We were told to watch for signs of swelling in his toes from the bandage, and to cover the foot when taking him outside so that the bandage would not get wet. They provided an IV bag to be used as a booty, along w/ some tape... we thought the use of an IV bag was pretty inventive.

Shawna went over our discharge instructions, as well as showed us how to do his Physical Therapy stretches at home. The staff at SouthPaws certainly pays attention to detail. They knew when Murphy went to the bathroom last and if it was by accident or voluntary, they knew if he ate, and they knew how well he had spent the night.

Rob and I weren't sure how he would handle the pain and/or drugs, so we were surprised to hear that Murphy was already up and walking around, well hobbling because of his bandage. Sure enough...when Shawna brought him in, he hobbled to us sporting his brand new blue bandage.

Our biggest concern about the discharge was loading him into Rob’s truck and keeping him still. We were smart enough to do a test run before surgery so that Murphy would feel comfortable. We raised the seats in the back of Rob’s truck so that Murphy could lie directly on the floor. Shawna helped Rob load Murphy into the back of the truck and Rob rode with him in the back all the way home.

Prior to surgery we also moved Murphy's kennel to the ground level (he was kennel trained as a pup) so that he would know where it was when he got home, and we had him practice walking up and down his new ramp to go outside (there is one concrete step). Once Murphy was unloaded, he hobbled up his ramp and headed for his kennel. We tried to take him outside to do his business, but he wasn't ready yet, so we took him back in and let him get settled into his kennel. We weren't sure if Murphy would need our help maneuvering around in his kennel so we had asked the nurse during discharge, she stated that he was able to turn around etc. Murphy did exactly that, he crawled right in, got situated in a comfortable position, and went right to sleep.

We have to bring Murphy back Monday or Tuesday to have his bandage taken off by the vet. He is in some pain, and has been whimpering a little. The biggest task for us today is to figure out when he has to go to the bathroom so that he doesn't have an accident. We don't mind the mess, but if he gets his bandage wet it will mean a trip back to the vet to have the wet one taken off and a new on put on.