My three year old French Bulldog, Albus, was just diagnosed with Grade 5 IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease) and had emergency surgery. This is our IVDD surgery recovery story.
I’m sorry I have been away from the blog and posting recipes. Unfortunately, it’s been a trying time for us.
My friends and I went away to Park City, Utah to go on a little snowboarding vacation and unfortunately when I came home, it was to find that Albus, my three year old French Bulldog, no longer had the use of his back legs.
We were (and are) heartbroken.
Grade 5 IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease)
We immediately rushed him to the ER vet where he was diagnosed with IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease). Unfortunately, he had gone down hill very fast and had grade 5 IVDD (the worst you can possibly be) and had already lost the use of his back legs, bladder and bowel control and deep pain which is the last thing to go.
So we were (are) looking at a very uphill battle.
The ER vet that we originally went to did not have an available surgeon so we drove 30 minutes away to Orange County where one was available. We got very lucky that an excellent neurosurgeon, Dr. Berry at Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital, was able to perform the surgery on Albus. He has a lot of experience with IVDD surgery.
After they did a quick exam on Albus there, they told us there was a 5-10% chance of Albus ever walking again with the surgery. Without the surgery, there was no chance of him walking again and he would be incontinent for life.
IVDD Surgery
We decided to have them do the IVDD surgery. Even with such small odds and a very hefty price tag ($8700 to be exact — PSA please get pet insurance!), that little bit of hope was enough for us to go ahead with it. I just couldn’t not do it and ever have to live with any type of regret.
Albus has two discs that ruptured which put pressure on his spinal cord, causing paralysis. The disc material also cut a blood vessel so there was internal bleeding as well. Fortunately, he came out of the surgery well and although we are still so unsure about where we will go from here, we are so thankful to have had the option to get him the surgery and also that we had such a great neurosurgeon.
He will be in the hospital for a few days but we can’t wait to see him again and start fighting this battle with him.
UPDATE: Since writing this first post, we have continued to write about Albus’ journey with IVDD. You can read more about his recovery here:
- IVDD Recovery Week One
- IVDD Surgery Recovery: One Month In
- Two Months Into IVDD Surgery Recovery
- IVDD Surgery Recovery: Three Months In
- Four Months After IVDD Surgery
- IVDD Recovery: Five Months In
- Six Months Into IVDD Surgery Recovery
For a list of the supplies we used and recommend during IVDD surgery recovery, you can check that out here: IVDD Recovery: Recommend Supplies.
Stay In Touch
If you want to follow along with Albus (and his brother, Weasley), you can find us on Instagram sharing updates @albusandweasley.
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