maddox’s hospital stay

At 7:00 yesterday morning, I awoke to the sounds of Maddox vomiting. We cleaned it up, I took him out to go to the bathroom, and fed him breakfast. About 30 minutes later, he threw that up. Over the course of the morning, Maddox threw up a dozen times. There was nothing in his stomach, but he clearly did not feel well. He was incredibly lethargic and looked miserable, so I decided to make an appointment with our veterinarian.

The vet was unable to feel any obvious mass or obstruction during her exam, so she ordered x-rays and blood work. They warned us that along with looking for any obstructions, they were also going to be looking for other things that might cause consistent vomiting (i.e. tumors). This hit me like a ton of bricks. This entire time I had assumed Maddox had just gotten into something that wasn’t sitting well with his tummy. Never had it crossed my mind that we could be talking about cancer. I spent the next hour in prayer.

To my relief, the x-rays, did not reveal anything unusual – everything appeared to be normal. Yet, the vomiting continued. They gave Maddox an anti-vomiting injection as well as an injection of fluids and sent us on our way. They said they would call us the next day with the blood results and informed us to call them if we noticed any loose stools – especially if they contained blood.

At home, Maddox’s demeanor remained unchanged. He was the polar opposite of his usual spunky self. He also continued to be miserable and was continuously on the verge of vomit. He would not eat – another highly unusual occurrence for our completely food-driven friend.

Around 8:00 that night, Maddox had a bout of bloody diarrhea and we were immediately on the phone with the local Emergency Veterinarian Clinic, who advised us to bring him in.

My heart ached for Maddox. He had been through so much and had been such a good sport. But now, he was exhausted, and too uncomfortable to lie down. He tried persistently to leave the clinic – even attempting to dig his way out of the room. When that didn’t work, he stood in the corner, unwilling to move, and practically fell asleep standing up.

The doctor performed another full body workup on him and, this time, found what appeared to be a plastic bread clip during the rectal exam and a wadded up plastic bag in his fecal sample. They told us that they wanted to admit Maddox to the hospital overnight so they could keep an eye on him. Another ton of bricks. Maddox wouldn’t be coming home with me?!

They explained that they would perform follow-up x-rays, to see if they could see anything else, as well as to check for any tears to the intestines. They would also give him some pain medication that would hopefully help him to feel more comfortable and allow him to sleep.

When it was time to leave, Maddox used whatever energy he had left in an attempt to go with us. Matt and I had to pretend to walk with him to the back just to get him to move. When I finally got to the car, I was crushed. Not only was I scared and feeling incredibly bad for him, it was just heartbreaking to know that he didn’t want to be there. That he wanted to be going home with us and I couldn’t make him understand why he had to stay. I had to find comfort in knowing that he would be watched all night by experienced vets/technicians. It helped a little…but I still missed my boy.

This morning, I called the vet to see how Maddox did throughout the night. They informed me that the x-rays and blood work had come back clean, and while he had not vomited or had anymore diarrhea, he was still not interested in eating and continued to be more lethargic than they would like to see. Because of that, they were going to keep him through the day and continue to monitor him. If he wasn’t “perkier” by this evening, they would need to have him spend another night in the hospital.

Around 2:00, I received the official notification that Maddox would be staying overnight again. The vet said that he was still not eating and there hadn’t been any change in his demeanor. Worst of all, she told me that he was in a lot of pain, and although they were trying to alleviate that with pain medication, there was nothing else they could do but wait for his body to bounce back. Most of all, they needed him to poop.

At 8:00, the doctor called, specifically to say two incredible words:”HE POOPED!!” Matt and I were so relieved and laughed a little out the amount of celebration taking place over a bowl movement. The doctor had more good news to share as well. Not only was Maddox pooping quite a lot, but he was starting to regain his appetite and was also starting to be more alert…all great signs.

We actually got to go over to the hospital tonight and visit him. I brought him his favorite toy. It was great to see him and to know that he was on the mend. He looked a lot better than when we had dropped him off the night before which was another relief. After about 30 minutes, Maddox was ready to sleep, so we said goodnight, gave him hugs, and he gave us a few kisses. The doctor said, provided everything continues to go well through the night, Maddox should be able to go home tomorrow.

Praise God.

<jenna>

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