Liesl Update

Well, here is Miss Liesl, chillin' in her queendom of toys, chewing on a new chewie.  She is happy to be home after a very long day.  By the way, she does wear a collar, but takes it off in the evenings so she can run around in the altogether.  She is in a very happy state right now, glad to be home.  She is exhausted though.  We both had a terrible night last night.  I cried myself to sleep, and woke up multiple times from nightmares.  I am sure she was picking up my anxiety.

Praise and thanks be to God the Father Almighty.  The internal specialist we saw today was so kind and so amazing.  (He works with the cardiologist.)  He sat on the floor the whole time so that Liesl would be comfortable.  He said that he could see how scared I was and said that he remembers how special his first dog was too.  Both he and his nurse said that they could see that Liesl is very well taken care of.  The whole staff kept saying how sweet she is.  I was super impressed because he had already read her medical history and knew about all of her recent issues before he walked into the room.

First of all, the protein in the urine-He showed me the ultrasound and there were two little bladder stones.  He said that it will be possible for her to pass one, if not both stones.  If not, she will have to have them removed.  So we are doing a lot of water.  He wants her only on wet food, which is A-okay with her.  He said to add water to it to increase her water intake.  He said that bladder and kidney stones are common with schnauzers.  I am to watch her to make sure that she is going potty okay.  He is also running a check to see if she has an infection, in which case we will take antibiotics.  

He did not see any masses in the liver or anything thus far to indicate cancer.  He also said that the adrenal glands were not expanded so he did not suspect Cushing's.  He is waiting for the results of the blood test for triglycerides today, but he strongly suspects that she has what is called a fatty liver, due to only one test out of several having elevated levels.  He said that it is sometimes its cause is glandular, but generally, particularly in schnauzers, it has no cause and is usually benign.  He said that we could do a biopsy to confirm there is no cancer and the fatty liver.  At this point, though he feels that it is the fatty liver.  He said that it is very common in schnauzers and that schnauzers are used for the case studies for the condition.  He said that Liesl's liver is so enlarged that he can feel it from outside her body, but that he thinks that she is okay.

So we are waiting for test results and he will call me tomorrow.  He said that she can continue with all of her happy activities but just to keep an eye on her.  He said that he was going to be right back with a copy of his notes after he finished them up and left us in the exam room.  Poor Liesl had to fast for her tests today.  She had not eaten since 8pm last night and was starting to beg for the cookies they kept in a jar on the counter (this is not like her at all).  I did not want to assume to give her one in case they still needed to do any more tests.  So I checked with the attendant to see if it was okay to give one to Liesl.  I mentioned that she had not eaten in 20 hours and was really hungry.  Her little tummy was rumbling.  I had never heard that sound from her before.  The attendant went and checked with the doctor and said that she would give Liesl a nice bowl of chicken breast instead.  (Liesl's all time favorite!)  

So I feel somewhat optimistic now.  I think the doctor saw that Liesl was not the only patient in the room and asked me if I felt more peaceful with the news.  He said that he does want to follow up on the stones next month to see if they are gone or if they are bigger.  Then he had his nurse go back over the notes with me that he had written.  At the end, the nurse, who was a very nice young gentleman said, "I do not know if you had a chance to read all the way to the end, but I want to make sure that you hear this part."  He went on to read, " Thank you for bringing Liesl into our office today.  She is a lovely sweet dog.  We are glad that her problems seem minor thusfar, and she is a happy dog with lots of living to do!"  (I am weepy now as I read it.)

I know it is a long post tonight.  However, I know many of you were praying and sending good thoughts.  I so appreciate the kind, loving, and supportive comments you sent me today.  I wanted to make sure that I passed along the news to those of you who were waiting.  I am so grateful for your kindness.  I am truly grateful for God's grace and mercy with my furgirl.  We are still waiting for test results, but I feel much better and may actually sleep tonight.