June 26th, 2010 - Mia was born by C-section and weighed 3 ounces. She was born with a cleft palate.
June 27th - began tube feeding. 2cc’s every two hours. Weight 3 ounces. Breathing seems a bit labored. Brought to vet and got antibiotics. Giving .2 twice a day. Antibiotic was a special order. Vet looking into inserting a permanent feeding tube. Waiting to hear.
June 28th - tube feeding is getting better. I hate it!! Weight 3 ounces still. Breathing still seems labored compared to the two other pups. Didn't’t think she’d make it through the night. Less energy and trouble breathing.
June 29th- seems to have less energy this morning. Still only 3 ounces.
June 30 - breathing very labored. Brought her to emergency and they admitted her. Kept her for the day/night
July 1st - Picked Mia up from emergency at noon. Keeping her separate from mom and other pups. Breathing a little better with oxygen but not much. Have a little area set up with regulated temperature. Will weigh her every four hours and continue tube feeding every two hours. Check every 15 minutes on her breathing.
July 2nd- morning feedings went very well. Still hasn’t gained any weight. 3.3 ounces at 6 days old.
July 3rd- new feeding tube today. It works so much better. Her weight is 3.4
July 4th- another day and she is still with me. weight 3.5
July 5th- Up to 3.6 ounces
July 6th- first time since birth that I feel there is hope for Mia. Her breathing is better and she is a little piggy and always hungry. She is up to 3.7 ounces and seems to be gaining .1 everyday.
July 7th- 3.9 ounces
July 8th- 4 ounces
July 9th - 4.2 ounces. Now that the pneumonia is gone she isn’t using all of her energy to just breath. One eye opened today.
July 10th - Two weeks old today. Still eating every two hours around the clock. Going to start stretching the night feedings to 3 or 4 hours.
July 11th- stretched feedings. She always seems hungry. Her soft spot is huge. I just noticed today. Biggest I have ever seen. Not good!
July - 12th- Mia is 5 ounces today. Very worried about her head. It seems way to big for her and the boys heads look different.
July 13th- 5.6 ounces. Walking very nice.
July 14th- 5.7 ounces
July 15th- Friends had a baby shower for Mia today. Anything for girls night out! She is up to 6.5 ounces and is doing very well. Today a little formula came back up during 8pm feeding. There was no choking, and it was just a little. This has never happened before.
July 16th- Starting 6 ml’s every three hours today. 6.6 ounces
July 17th- 3 WEEKS OLD TODAY! She is doing great. Almost 7 ounces! She is actually getting big :) I have started feeding every three hours now and that has been a nice break for me. Just looking at her still makes me smile. None of the vets have even called to check on her and I really need to figure out our next step. I will probably call Cornell next week.
July 18th - ended up at emergency today. She sneezed (not even during a feeding) and a bunch of boogers came out of her nose. She aspirated and could not breath. I suctioned her nose and mouth out for about 30 minutes. Went to emergency and she was better by the time I got there. Lungs sounded clear. They wouldn’t give us antibiotics. No more episodes the rest of the day. Scariest thing ever. I thought I would loose her today!
July 19th- cutting feedings back to every two hours again and feeding less more times a day. 7.3 ounces. No choking attacks today. She cried for the first time today... Well, more like a squeak. Very cute!
July 20th- Mia is staying up a little longer between feedings. She growled at her brothers during playtime.
July 21st- goes to the vet today to get an ultrasound of her head to check for hydrocephalus, get palate checked out and a new thing…small rings developed at the end of her tail. No hydrocephalus! Palate seems to have a membrane behind it. Putting Neosporin on tail. Going back in two weeks. Vet wants me to do 7 mls. Three times a day and add rice baby cereal to formula.
July 22nd- 8 ounces. Growled at my friend today. I think I am creating a monster J She is so much stronger and walking around now. I will hopefully start baby cereal tomorrow. I am a bit leery.
July 23rd- I think I will start baby food tomorrow. She will be 4 wks.
July 26 - 9.2 ounces. Tip of tail fell off!
July 28th - 1st tooth :)
July 30th - 10 ounces
August 2nd - 11 ounces
August 9th - Hilton for check. Tim said to try to let her eat thickened baby food normally. NEVER again!! Choked, aspirated and I worked suctioning her for over a half hour! Dumb move!!
August 13th - 11 ½ ounces
August 18th - brothers received vaccinations. Want to wait till Mia is 1 lb. for hers to be given. Ultrasound of head was normal
August 25th - Barked (well, kind of)
August 29th - developed a slight cough. I thought it was her just trying to clear her throat.
August 31st - At 2am feeding noticed major struggling to breath. Brought to emergency. Pneumonia! Left her at emergency to receive oxygen therapy. Went back to feed her at 6am. Brought her to Hilton at 9am. Given Clavamox.
September 2nd - weighs 12 ounces. Started mixing AD canned food with her formula
September 13th - didn’t seem right today. Brought to Hilton. Put back on antibiotics (Clavamox.) Switched formula to Enteralcare HLP. Went back to feeding every two hours. Set up steam tent for her.
Mia has had two previous ultrasounds to check for hydrocephalus. Both were negative for fluid. Her ultrasound today showed a very small section of fluid on the left side of her brain L started back at every 2 hour feedings.
September 14th - 13 ounces No regurgitation since formula change.
September 15th - 13.8 ounces. Went back to regular formula
September 16th - We went to Orchard Park Medical Clinic to have Mia evaluated. I really liked it there. They did an X-ray and determined pneumonia was gone and they also did a complete blood work panel. Blood work came back normal except for a low blood sugar count which was expected because she was late on her feeding.
September 17th - I couldn’t insert feeding tube this morning. Went to Hilton and Tim thought it might be a Persistent Aortic Arch. He did ultrasound of her heart which was normal and one of her head which still showed fluid on her brain. He sent us right back to Buffalo for a possible permanent feeding tube to be placed. Buffalo determined it probably was not PAA and suggested different positioning for feeding. They also said to continue doing what I was doing for Mia and they would monitor the hydrocephalus and possibly insert a shunt at the time of her cleft palate surgery. We have another appointment scheduled for a week and will return on 9-24.
September 20th - I figured out that when the tube gets stuck at the certain point to give little a formula with the syringe to lube the area and the tube inserts much easier. Another thing I figured out on my own.
Mia had a pretty good week. She was very playful and we only had a few days of difficulty with the feeding tube. Her brothers were here for the week and Mia really enjoyed being with other puppies. She was definitely the boss!
September 24th - We went to Buffalo and Mia weighed in at 14.6 ounces. We decided that we should give her at least the Parvo vaccine for now. She did well and had no reactions. The vet wanted to wait a few weeks before they do another ultrasound of her head. She has showed no signs that the Hydrocephalus has progressed. We return to Buffalo in one week (Oct, 1st.)
September 28th - she just doesn’t feel well today. Very sleepy and not playing at all. Started oxygen a few times a day and have vaporizer going at all times. Put back on antibiotic.
September 30th- still not feeling well all day until about 9pm. Then she started playing and acting a bit more like her old self. Weighed in at 1 pound today. Huge milestone for this puppy.
October 1st - went to Buffalo for her appointment. Decided to wait on more vaccines because she was sick.
October 4th - Mia is back to her old self. Playing more and more. Had a really good week of her feeling well
October 7th - Going to Buffalo today for her weekly appointment. Mia received her DPP today. Half dose again. No reactions other than a sore shoulder. Weight today was still 1 pound. Still waiting on the ultrasound of her head. What an awesome week she had.
October 9th - Mia is going to a wedding today. I will do my best to hide her. She is still 1 pound. I am feeding her 8mls mixed with 1 tbs. of AD canned food every three hours.
October 10th - Mia woke up very congested this morning. She got a good suctioning and started her back on antibiotics :( She was a very sick puppy all day. Hope she is less weezy tomorrow and feeling better. We did vaporizer and oxygen throughout the day.
October 15th - Still very congested. has been all week.
October 20th- Playing and acting fine but still coughing (or clearing her throat) constantly. She goes for her vet appointment of Friday.
October 22nd- Went to Buffalo today. We switched her antibiotic and did a culture on her cleft so see if she has a bacterial infection up there. Will have results in 4 days. She got her 2nd parvo vaccine. Had an xray to check for pneumonia because of the cough and snotty nose. xray was normal. She goes back in two weeks for her 2nd distemper vaccine and in one month we get our consultation with the surgeon to talk about surgery.
October 25th- Still so very congested. Dr. Minner called today. The culture showed Bortatella and a slight trace of E-coli. She doesn't want her on antibiotic just yet. Saving that for surgery time. Will reculture at next visit.
October 29th - Mia has green discharge from nose now. I started her back on the Clavomox.
October 30th - Happy 18 weeks Mia
November 1st - Clavomox seems to be working. She is feeling much better.
November 3rd - Mia wagged her tail today. It was VERY noticable!!! She did it for hubby :)
November 4th - Still has boogies but is so much more lively and playful. Goes to vet tomorrow for possibly her last round of vaccinations before surgery and also another culture of her cleft to see what's growing in there.
November 5th- Mia is now fully vaccinated (except for rabies..too small still) and we have our consultation date with the surgeon set for a week and a half. This surgery is becoming very real and now I am starting to get very nervous. On Sept. 13th a small amount of fluid was detected on Mia's brain. Two months later, this baby shows no signs of hydrocephalus. We have been holding off on another ultrasound because there have been no indications that this has advanced. She is a pretty normal puppy and very smart! We are adding one cooked scrambled egg, divided into her seven meals a day, to get more protein in her. She is still very skinny with no fat on her whatsoever.
November 7th - added one scrambled egg daily to Mia's diet divided up into her 7/8 feedings a day. We are adding more protien because her hind legs look to be bowing a bit. I am afraid it might be rickets caused by malnutrition. Also feeding her more now to really try to fatten her up before surgery.
November 9th - for the first time ever Mia did NOT want to eat. I don't know if she has an upset stomach or if her throat is sore. Wondering if the egg isn't agreeing with her.
November 14th - not fighting me anymore to eat but still not crazy about it. I think she is just getting tired of having a tube shoved down her throat all the time. Still snotty nose and awful odor coming from her mouth.
November 18th - Going to the vet tomorrow for her surgery consultation appointment.
November 19th - Mia will have surgery on Tuesday, November 30th. I will spend the night before (in Buffalo) and have her at the hospital by 8am. They said surgery should be about an hour and a half. They may give her a tracheotomy so the breathing tube isn’t in the way while they are repairing the cleft. Not a lot of room there with her being so small. She is still only 1 pound and 3 ounces. They will also insert a feeding tube for feedings after the surgery. There are so many things that can go wrong but we all agree that we really have no other choice at this point. The upper respiratory, aspirating, pneumonia, and low nutrition are all pretty bad now and surgery is her only hope at a normal life. It may work or it may not. She may need several surgeries to complete the repair. There is even a chance, once they get her there and put her under, that it isn’t even repairable :( there may not be enough tissue up there to use for the repair. If she does well following surgery the doc says she came come home the next day. He said I have done a great job thus far with her and they would trust me to care for her after. Little do they know I will NOT be leaving her side for even that one day she‘s there. I have to say this is going to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. To hand that little baby off to them and just hope that she makes it through the surgery is tearing me up already and we still have 11 days to go. She is so tiny and the smallest dog to have this major of a surgery performed. I also found out what is wrong with her hind leg today. She has a very bad case of luxating patella. Like the poor baby hasn’t endured enough! Surgery is required to repair that as well but not for a long while. First things first. Another ultrasound of her head with also be performed once she is under before the surgery. I am hoping the hydrocephalus hasn’t progressed. But I am pretty sure it hasn’t. She is so very smart and showing no signs of it whatsoever. Please keep those prayers coming!! I truly believe they have helped both Mia and I through this whole thing for the last 5 months. I love you all!! Thank you so much!!
November 30th - December 30th - Mia had her surgery and all went well. It was a huge surgery and the cleft was larger than expected. She was one sick little peanut. She had to stay in the hospital a little longer than we thought and was there for three days. I was stuck in Buffalo because of an unexpected snow storm. Her recovery was long and painful. A break in the repair was expected and sure enough she did have a small break on the roof of her mouth. Another surgery will be done on Jan. 4th to repair that.
January - Mia's second surgery was done on Jan. 4th. All went well but we have to see if the repair takes. It could be three weeks to a month before we know if it was a success. She is a troopers and one tough cookie!!
Mia had her 3rd surgery on January 27th. She spent several days in the hospital and almost died. That surgery broke down 2 days later. She has a peg-tube now and receives all of her feedings thru that.
Mia's Diary
