Saturday (10/4) marked eighteen months since Bailey's diagnosis of degenerative myelopathy. I am amazed that he is still with me so long after his diagnosis. As I have said before, I had a premonition that he would only be with me for 9 months, and it has now been twice that long! I definitely praise God for that. Unfortunately, the disease is definitely taking its toll.
Bailey can still get around the house on his own, but he mostly drags his back left leg and pushes off with his back right leg. It is amazing to see how quickly he can move that way when he wants something! I use a
special leash or sling whenever he goes outside and sometimes when he has to go a long way in the house. He lets me know when he wants my help! The sling goes around his back legs and holds up his rear while he walks on his front legs. It has been an absolute lifesaver! At night, I use the sling to get him back to my bedroom and he knows there is a treat waiting on the pillow for him (to encourage him to get on the bed while he is in his sling and I can help him), so he takes off running for my room each night in search of his treat.
Bailey also has a cart, which he is slowly using more and more. We had some problems with it at first, but after emailing the company who made it, I made some adjustments and it works much better for him now. I can get him to walk over to the bench to get a treat, but he will not walk in it on his own much yet. A couple of weeks ago, I had him in his cart and he had walked in it several times for treats but then refused to go anymore. I assumed he was tired and took him out of the cart, and he immediately took off, in his sling with me running behind, to explore the yard. If I can just get him to explore IN his cart, it will be wonderful. I hate that his time walking outside is limited by how long I can hold his back end up, so I really want him to learn that his cart means independence. I have also put him in his cart while we were inside a couple of times, and he moves around pretty well in the house. He learned very quickly how to turn and manages to avoid objects most of the time.
He went to the vet last week and got a good report. She was impressed with how well he is doing, all things considered, and said she really could not take a fatalistic approach with him because he is adapting so well. I was very relieved when she said that because I was so afraid I was going to get the, "I think it's time..." speech that I dread whenever we go to the vet now. His ALKP (liver enzyme) was still high, but not as high as it has been. She and her staff were all excited to see him walking around in his sling.
So that's where we are. It is definitely not easy, but it is worth it because I still have my baby.
