SUNDAY UPDATE: Again, Miss Phoebe Gets Well

I knew I named this blog properly! If there's one thing our Miss Phoebe does consistently throughout her life, it's survive, get well and thrive. It's been a busy 4 days but I wanted to update everyone who reads the blog.



That's a photo of Phoebe, begging for more food, just an hour ago. Clearly, feeling herself, again!

Phoebe came home last Wednesday night and she was super unstable. Essentially, dogs with Idiopathic Vestibular Disease (IVD) have to completely re-learn their senses of balance and proprioception without the use of their inner ear. This takes quite a bit of time. Dr. Mlekoday told us to expect this to really show improvement in 72 hours with a more complete resolution over the next 2 to 3 weeks, and that's exactly what's happening.

As I said, on the night we brought Phoebe home (the night this happened) she was very unstable. Sitting propped up on her front two legs was really challenging for her. If she ever tried to shake or twist herself to scratch or lick herself, over she would fall. But the next morning, her balance had already really improved. Michael stayed home with her that day and he even noted by midday how much better she was doing. By the time I came home from work, she was walking around and appeared to be much more steady. However, that evening (day 2) she became very tired and as she tired, her balance gave way to more falling. She was still having crazy nystagmus.

But with day 3 and 4, she tired less and less and her nystagmus calmed down. Her appetite has been very strong throughout this whole episode. Last night she actually tried to chase Charlie around the living room and this morning, she jumped up onto the couch! Getting down is still pretty dangerous for her, so we're helping her with stairs and up/down jumping. Still, knowing her, she'll be back to normal jumps/landings and stairs in the next week. She's just amazing.

I'm posting a link to a short video in 3 parts: Phoebe's Recovery from IVD The first part is her the night she came home from the hospital. She had just finished eating her dinner and was trying to shake and lick herself. In the middle part of the video, you can see her on day 2; the nystagmus was still very active. But the last part, on day 4, was taken today, just a few hours ago. She can pee and poop without assistance for balance. She can run around the yard and do what she wants. It's been a hard 4 1/2 days for her-- for us all-- but she's surviving and getting better each minute.

Again, to everyone who has asked after her, emailed, called, text-messaged, it's been an amazing display of support and we appreciate each and every one of you!

xo