Tweet
One of the reasons we save money is to give ourselves the power of choice and resources when faced with difficult decisions. Our beloved little terrier-mix, who is getting older, developed a heart condition this fall. In discussions with his vet about fairness and prognosis, we were encouraged that this was a livable condition. The correction? A pacemaker, for our dog. I didn't even know such a thing existed, and it still is science-fiction to me. Cost? About $5k. Now, many people would not have opted for this on cost alone. But the procedure is minimally invasive, prognosis is great, the holidays are here, and we feel like he has some good life ahead of him. He's given us the gift of another year of his wonderful little life, and it's just not his time yet, so, yes!! Of course we did it.
The procedure came with a bit of medical tourism, as it's only done at a handful of veterinary teaching hospitals. So we took a few days to go stay on the Oregon coast in a beautiful RV park overlooking the ocean, meanwhile shuttling back and forth to Oregon State University in Corvallis for pre-op appointments and surgery. It all came and went just fine, and we enjoyed a lovely weekend together before the operation, one last family hurrah on the beach with sandy paws and lots of treats! Then, the day of surgery came, and we picked him up the next morning, everything went fine. We made the couple-hundred mile drive back home in the RV, comfortable for all. As for OSU, I can't say enough good things about the program, the staff are wonderful and we were blown away at how well they seem to run things.
Long story short...Recovery takes a while as the leads into the heart need time to heal and become strong, as to not be dislodged or pulled out. So he's had to be under mild sedation for a couple weeks. I can tell when his drugs wear off, he's ready to go! Wants to play and be mischievous again and it just makes my heart light up. Most importantly, no more syncopal episodes.
We're in the final stretch of recovery and will be doing medical tourism-part deux-in another week for his 30-day check up. We are expecting the "all clear" from the hospital on a Friday morning after his visit, and then we are returning to the wonderful little RV park we stayed at for the weekend, again with lots of sandy (muddy!) paws and good treats.
The procedure came with a bit of medical tourism, as it's only done at a handful of veterinary teaching hospitals. So we took a few days to go stay on the Oregon coast in a beautiful RV park overlooking the ocean, meanwhile shuttling back and forth to Oregon State University in Corvallis for pre-op appointments and surgery. It all came and went just fine, and we enjoyed a lovely weekend together before the operation, one last family hurrah on the beach with sandy paws and lots of treats! Then, the day of surgery came, and we picked him up the next morning, everything went fine. We made the couple-hundred mile drive back home in the RV, comfortable for all. As for OSU, I can't say enough good things about the program, the staff are wonderful and we were blown away at how well they seem to run things.
Long story short...Recovery takes a while as the leads into the heart need time to heal and become strong, as to not be dislodged or pulled out. So he's had to be under mild sedation for a couple weeks. I can tell when his drugs wear off, he's ready to go! Wants to play and be mischievous again and it just makes my heart light up. Most importantly, no more syncopal episodes.
We're in the final stretch of recovery and will be doing medical tourism-part deux-in another week for his 30-day check up. We are expecting the "all clear" from the hospital on a Friday morning after his visit, and then we are returning to the wonderful little RV park we stayed at for the weekend, again with lots of sandy (muddy!) paws and good treats.
Comment