The Story of BB the Great Dane

Check out the power point of Mom’s visit:

bb-in-hospital-19-wks

Jessica, BB’s buddy in the hospital, put this power point together for us. Hope the link works: never tried uploading a power point before.

It’s pics of our boy’s visit with Mom yesterday. He’s just a miracle pup, our Beebster. His fixator is off now, rods out! X-rays show there was no infection in the bones, and the screws are tight. His infection is gone, no drainage from the incision, and his temp is normal.

But most wonderful of all, BB now has a condyle on his femur where there was none before. A femur has 2 condyles, which is where muscles attach. He only had one before the surgery, and now there are two. Dr. Fox didn’t add one… ask me, it is all the prayers and thoughts of people who care. THANK YOU! And keep up the good work…

To strengthen the muscles of his leg, BB is getting electrical stimulation of the muscles, much like a human TENS unit. This uses a mild current to contract a muscle, making it stronger. It doesn’t hurt: I’ve used one myself. Kinda tickles though, which might explain the Beeb’s big grin!

If his last suture line is healed Monday, BB will begin using an underwater treadmill to help him use that leg again. I wonder if I can stick around and watch how they actually get a Great Dane in a tub of water! That could be exciting, since most Danes despise getting wet.

I am just over the moon about BB’s recovery: I was expecting the worst and hoping for the best. The College isn’t charging us for practically anything except his board, and I’m immensly grateful. All the high-end care he’s getting is practically free. We’d be in big financial trouble if we had to pay for all of it.

His case is a groundbreaker, just about the worst angular limb deformity they’ve seen, so everything they’re doing for him is rather new territory. No one knew how it would go for the little guy. BB’s likely to become one of the best learning experiences around for the vet students. He’s also the best puppy in my opinion!

His spirits are still good, being his bright and playful puppy self. He’s growing and being BB. What a lover, that boy. We couldn’t be happier to see him grinning, and enjoying the sunshine. I’m going up to see him again Monday morning. Maybe he’ll get a smooch or two, what ya think?