Vet Tails Excerpt – Fubu Runs Again
Adventure and fun might sometimes not turn out as one expects, which was found by friendly and exuberant Fubu, a gorgeous young American Bulldog I had the pleasure of looking after during her time of need. Fubu loved everyone but especially loved chasing possums, running at high speed to pursue them with great endurance and agility. One day after a chase, having just caught her possum, Fubu impacted at high speed into a sandbank which left her unconscious and paralysed. The severe trauma of impact had damaged Fubu’s brain and spinal cord and it took her two days to regain full consciousness. She lay on her side, in critical condition and unresponsive aside from her occasional wide-eyed and helpless wonderment as to what was happening around her. Fubu’s devoted owner Amy had taken her to two vets who took x-rays and did what they could to help her but she wasn’t making much progress and the prognosis looked grim. Amy was determined to do absolutely everything possible for her beloved Fubu and brought her to me for a third opinion. Since x-rays had shown no fractures to her spine and knowing the tremendous benefit that complementary therapies could provide, I was cautiously optimistic that Fubu would live to run again. As part of an overall treatment plan, Fubu underwent several sessions of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on consecutive days. The high concentration of oxygen available to her body had profound anti-inflammatory effects on her spinal cord allowing for accelerated healing. In addition to this, HBOT helped to instil a generalised feeling of well-being. After her first session Fubu delighted us by lifting her head, then went home and was interested in eating for the first time since her accident! Three sessions later she wagged her tail for the first time and after a week she could again stand with the help of her extremely dedicated owner who created her a trolley with wheels to support her so that she could move around! The activity helped to strengthen her muscles and after a few weeks she was able to stand and walk a bit on her own. Three months later, Fubu was able to run around with only a minor loss of movement on one of her front legs. She continued to make steady progress and continued to live a wonderful life, running around with no sign of remaining problems and never again had an accident chasing possums!
To read more about my adventures, read Vet Tails available as a book or e-book from https://www.drliza.co.nz/shop/