Rocky's Eye Removal

chicklette

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#1
One morning we noticed Rocky had a squinted eye and we all thought she had something stuck in it, however that was far from the case. My dad just walked in the door and her eye was not squinted so he could see it and without an appointment and without hesitation we rushed her to the vets when he said she must go into the vets IMMEDIATELY.

Her pupil were fully dilated with a white glaze over them. This happened over night with her eyes getting that bad with the white film over them. I was petrified but kept it together for the sake of Rocky. Dr. Branton (our vet) sent us over to another clinic he owns because he wanted to test her eyes with this special equipment he did not have there.
So at the other place they did a lens test and the one eye was awful. She was totally blind. OVERNIGHT, can you imagine going to bed having sight and wake up blind?!

The left eye was borderline (50/50) and the right eye (bad eye) blind.
The other eye was borderline. We will have to keep drops in that eye forever so the same thing does not happen to her other eye, which I'm really scared may happen. You become resistant to medications if you use them all the time.
My vet Dr. Branton sent us to a optometrist in the States. He checked her over and said the dreaded words, "The eye has to come out," I was mortified and scared, so our veterinarian Dr. Branton did Rocky's operation since he does some a few times a year plus he operated on his dog Benny, took the eye out.

Rocky was blind in that eye anyway so it wasn't the hugest shock to her.
I have total confidence in my vet, He has done NUMEROUS operations on our animals, even three operations on my chinchillas.

I was so petrified and scared and sad, I didn't want her to spend the night there since she rules my bed. She is used to pillows, scratches, snuggles and blankets I wanted to bring her home so bad and I got my wish.
The thought of taking the eye ball right out made me nauseous. It was just a very devastating time in my life. I just felt so horrible for my baby, what a traumatic thing to go threw within a day!

After the operation when we got her home I put her in bed with me. She liked that and slept which is the best healing process.

We thought Jack (my other jack Russell) would start licking the wound or sniffing at it but she didn't which was a good thing.

So in a week we had no time to think, no preparation and some tough decisions to make in a split second decision. There was the option of a fake eye which is prone to getting infections, a glass ball with her eye lid being sown shut or just close the eye up. But as well as that it can have some complications.

I went with just closing the eye up. That way it is over and done with and I will never have to deal with infections. There is an indent where the eye was and it is sunken in but I'm used to it now.

She always looks like she is winking, it's cute.

So what happened to the eye? Well let me explain as best as I can.
On our eyes we have a covering that protects our eyes called a lens. Well that lens fell off and did some major damage to the eye because the lens was not there to protect it. So much that there was no hope saving the eye and it had to be removed. She was totally blind in that eye. So we need to keep close tabs on the other eye. Rocky was in pain with that eye, it's like having a constant migraine. That is why the eye was removed.

Rocky pulled threw with flying colors, it was us that had the problems after. We were total basket cases. Stress can really take a toll on your body and mind. Rocky gets two different kind of eye drops and she will be on this the rest of her life. But I do think the pain meds make her groggy. Plus the operation is slowing her down some but not very much.

I would do anything for that dog and pay what ever I needed to make her better. Which already is a lot but you can't put a price on love. But she is still a bundle of energy, nothing slows that dog down. I wish she would just take it easy for a bit but no, there is no stopping a Jack Russell on a mission.
I have came to the conclusion that if she does have to get the other eye taken out I will help her. I will teach her words on commands like Curb, Stairs, Food and she will be carried a lot. I don't think it's necessary to put a dog to sleep if they are blind and both vets have said they can still be happy totally blind. I would not let her suffer just to make myself happy though and keep her around however, putting her down will not be necessary thanks heavens! That was my worst fear. All the vets and specialists say that a blind dog can still live a fulfilling life. Just some adjustments need to be made.

Actually we go Thursday for a chek up. Long long drive but Rocky just sleeps in the car. I will get a video of our trip.





 

smkie

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#3
I had a "winky" once. I would cry a river if this happened to one of my dogs. IT would be a little comfort tho to remember WInky. A good dog, we found this way. WINky did very well, you would never have known one eye was missing from the way SHe maneuvered.

I am so glad ROcky pulled through with flying colors. THat's the best of a bad situation.
 

chicklette

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#4
Well now I don't even notice it's gone and she adjusted very fast. Which is amazing. Oh I cried trust me. It makes me ill thinking if she looses sight in the other eye, we are doing everything possible to save it. It's very stressful.

When I was waiting for her operation I was a mess. My heart was pounding the whole time, I mean a whole eye had to come out and when we picked her up she looked HORRIBLE. I had to sit down with her because I started getting light headed. But she was so happy to see me, giving me kisses like nothing happened. I think they were annoyed by how many times I called during her operation but I couldn’t help it, I was worried sick.
 

Dekka

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#6
Awwww glad she is ok though. Try not to let her know that her lack of eye upsets you!
 

smkie

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#8
YUp I am the same way when my dogs are hurt. We love them so much we share their pain. REally glad Rocky is adjusted quickly.
 

adojrts

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#9
Hi, glad she is ok, from your discription I assuming she had PLL. You may want to contact the breeder so they can test the sire and dam (her sibs and littermates for sure) with the new DNA test for PLL in Jrts.
Hopefully with the new DNA test we can elimate PLL from Jrts, one can dream......nasty nasty eye disease.

Again glad she is ok.
 

chicklette

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#11
We took Rocky’s to the eye specialist yesterday. It’s always a long and tiring drive, three hours there and three hours back. We take her to London, that is where she gets the best care, he knows his stuff and we are doing EVERYTHING possible to save that one eye, what ever it takes.

Well we went in all happy because we THOUGHT things were going well besides a few problems but it was far from it. When she is there he tests her eyes and he does an eye pressure test. The normal range should be around 20. Well hers was 50 and all of her hears dropped. We all felt sick.

So Dr. Quinn put her “regular” drops in to see if that takes the pressure down. We have to wait 30 minutes so we went to get a coffee. It did nothing. Then he put in some big guns eye drops, waited 30 minutes and the pressure dropped to 28. I was so happy I almost cried. The thought of her loosing that other eye sickens me. I know how awful it was to loose that other eye, it was a rough rough time. She pulled threw with flying colours but not us. We were all sick, stressed and just tired.

So off we went home with now three different kind of drops to put in her eye. I felt paralyzed, now I’m just plain old whipped out today. A long trip with a scare like that is tiring.
 

MPP

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#12
Oh, poor Rocky. And poor you--an emotional rollercoaster like that on top of a long road trip and a long trip back! You must totally exhausted in every way.

On a somewhat brighter side, it sounds as if Rocky's eye is responding to the new eyedrops. I certainly hope so. I'm sending healing and strength vibrations along with warmth and concern.
<<<<<<<strength and good health>>>>>>>
 

chicklette

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#13
Yes, Im still kind of exausted but at least the pressure went down with the new drops. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. So does Rocky.
 

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