Dr Colin Driver is the neuro-surgeon who operated on him the previous day. Anna Tauro was the duty vet and spent a long time explaining the X-Rays to me – both the before and after; she even emailed them to me so I could explain to others what had happened to Mack.
I had a long conversation with Colin the following day . He explained that the next two weeks were crucial in determining if Mack's back legs would ever work again. The hope was that the spinal cord was not sending signals because of bruising which would heal during this time. Euthanasia was even mentioned but this was never a remote possibility for me to consider. Providing he wasn't in pain, I would stand by Mack to the end.
I had a long conversation with Colin the following day . He explained that the next two weeks were crucial in determining if Mack's back legs would ever work again. The hope was that the spinal cord was not sending signals because of bruising which would heal during this time. Euthanasia was even mentioned but this was never a remote possibility for me to consider. Providing he wasn't in pain, I would stand by Mack to the end.
The X-Rays above show the "before and after".
I've visited him virtually every day. On the positive side, there is remarkably no damage to his internal organs and he is eating normally. He has no control over his digestive system, but fortunately this just performs automatically. For the first two weeks he had a catheter which worked well. This was removed last week (on about the 7th January). He is carried outside several times a day and the vets explained that if they gently squeeze his bladder the muscles take over and empty it, which is a relief.
Tuesday 6th January. Sarah Girling, one of the practice's senior orthopaedic surgeons, operated on Mack's chest to first, lever the two displaced plates of his sternum back into alignment, and then hold them in place with a stainless steel plate, fixed with six screws (£270 just for the screws!) and with sutures round his ribs to help hold the plate in place. This operation took 90 minutes rather than the 45 minutes originally suggested. I'd told Sarah "Cost is irrelevant. We need the best job you can possibly do", and that's what she did. Here are the 'Before-and-After' X-Rays:
The overlapping of these two segments of Mack's sternum were the worst Sarah had ever seen.
Stainless steel plate in position.
Wednesday 7th January, the day after Mack's chest operation.
Saturday 10th January. Mack was much improved. For the first time since the accident he started to lick himself. That was a very significant change. Also, he responded with alacrity if I called out "Cat!" to him, or "Woof!" He alertly looked around, with ears pricked and head up. That's a first time too. His plaster had been removed from his chest because the skin was beginning to show a reaction to it. The wound (about four inches long) was healing extremely well. The many pain killers and muscle relaxants he's been having are being steadily reduced.