5/5 Belle- Recovery Update Day 3- With Video

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Good Morning,

It's actually almost day 4 since her surgery was completed by 4:00PM on Sunday. She is holding her own. Her bilirubin was down to 3.5 and her jaundice was barely noticeable, and her ALT was up slightly to 1500 but the Dr felt it was due to the increase in prednisolone. No other values are elevated. On my second visit yesterday, they brought a full bowl of food out with her, and by the time I was done, she was done with the food. She has a great appetite and she's still getting nutrition through the j tube. I saw her 3 times yesterday, and she was at her best during the last visit. I was excited to hear the nurse say Belle growled at her when she was trying to move her around to get the tubes disconnected. This is typical Belle and I wouldn't expect any less.

The anemia that is of concern seems to be responding better to therapy. Her second transfusion was given when she was at a PCV of 15%. She rose to 18% after and dropped to 12% within 8 hours for a -3% after 8 hours. The third transfusion was started at 12%. She rose to 18% afterwards, rose to 20% 8 hours later, and has slowly dropped to 16% over the last 12 hours for a +4 after 20 hours. A much better result than the second. The increase in Prednisolone seems to have helped quite a bit. The AB's have also had a few days to work. They will be testing her again at 1:00pm, and if she drops more, she will likely be getting a fourth transfusion. Her anemia is my biggest concern, so I hope her numbers keep trending in the right direction.

I'll update as I can.

Jason

Re: 5/5 Belle- Recovery Update Day 3

Hi Jason

thank you for the update, very glad that Belle having a good appetite! And growling too!
Keeping paws crossed for further good healing!

Re: 5/5 Belle- Recovery Update Day 3

I certainly hope if the transfusions continue, they progress shown continues as well.
That Belle is one amazing character, eh?!?!

Glad to hear she is eating on her own, and fiesty!

Keep up the great work and attitude...its obviously making a big difference for her.

Re: 5/5 Belle- Recovery Update Day 3

In these circumstances. growling is a good thing! Keeping up the prayers for Belle's speedy recovery!
Take good care of your self and tell belle we are all thinking of her and sending her hugs! :YMHUG:

Saw her this morning. I captured some video of her.


As I was typing this, I got a call from the Dr and her PCV dropped to 15%, so she will be getting another transfusion, this time with whole blood rather than the packed red blood cells. The doctor and I are encouraged that this last transfusion held up much better than the prior ones, but she needs to stabilize. After 5-7 days, she will build up antibodies and that can create problems with bad reactions moving forward. She is not out of the woods yet, and that's hard to accept. I want her home, but she still has some mountains to climb.

Jason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J79Fd-mJkck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_q7YfgU5VQ

She's gorgeous! She seems very alert. Love the red shirt - Logan rocked one of those, too! We thought it made him look like he was going clubbing.

I hope she continues to do well and makes a full recovery. She's a strong kitty and knows how much you love her!

Jason she looks great and beautiful I wish you the best with her and that she continues to recover fully sending more healing vines and prayers for her :mrgreen:

awww Belle looks so sweet, pretty eyes!

More healing - heal, heal , heal Belle! cat_pet_icon

What a sweet girl! She looks bright and alert and not at all pleased that you are filming when she is not at her most attractive. The turtleneck is cute, but not quite her color!!

Reiki, white light and a blizzard on its way to Belle. Looking forward to your next update.

What a goregeous kitty! SHe is so fortunate to have you for a dad. Such devotion there.

She looks good - alert, lively, attentive: all good signs - what a fighter! I love her red sweater - what a fashion accessory! I hope she continues to do well - makes a full recovery. We are all rooting for her. Many healing vines headed her way.

I sure hope they can get the anemia under control.

She looks terrific, very alert, those beautiful eyes. Loved seeing her swat at the fly. She looks a little suspicious, though.

I'm sure she's thinking, "I just know this is going to show up on the Internet and I'll be the talk of the neighborhood."

Thank you for posting those videos of sweet Belle. I'm glad she found a friend in a fly :mrgreen:

Hope she continues to make great progress and will be home soon!

Hi Jason-

Thank you for the videos. She looks so cute in her sweater - why does she have it on? Is it holding in some tubes? You are doing an incredible job with her. She's very lucky.

Jason, Belle is a very pretty girl! She looks look from the video's....very alert and moving around. I am sending continued healing vines to her.

Belle's eyes are stunning! It's great to see her chasing the fly. Sending more healing vines to Miss Belle so she can come home soon.

If only Belle could read, she'd be more full of herself than she already is! ;-)

The red sweater is holding in her j tube(a feeding tube that bypasses the stomach directly into the small intestines). They are no longer using it, but don't want to pull it yet. As nice as the red sweater looks, it really annoys her. She is hesitant to move around in it.

Her anemia is the only thing from stopping her from coming home, so I hope it stabilizes after this last transfusion. If not, she'll be there until it does. After seeing her tonight, I know she wants to come home. They said she's getting cranky, and getting tired of being poked and prodded. I'm also not crazy about the affect Fentanyl has on her. She seems constantly drugged, so I'm hoping they end that soon. When I visit, she knows I'm there because her tail wags like crazy, but the drugs make her look right through me.

I'll get the latest PCV around 10:30 tonight, then another at 8:30AM. I'm hoping the numbers look good, because I want her home.

Thanks all for your kind words,

Jason

Good Belle, bright and alert! We do so hope that her treatments will do the trick and that she'll be home with you soon. Sending healing vines, snowflakes, good thoughts, prayers. (((Belle))) (((Jason)))

Ella & Stu

Looks like Belle will be home soon--Sending Healing vines & our wishes for quick recovery for sweet Belle!