Home-Safe and Sound-Distemper Virus Gone!

Carmella is home and bursting with life, thanks to the two vets who had the courage and compassion to think outside the box and to do whatever it took to make her well!

She looks a little funny with her shaved neck, but the hair will grow back.

When I came to pick her up the nurse who'd been assigned to Carmella, Cecelia, came in and said, "I just want to tell you, lady that you should give yourself a pat on the back for what you're doing for this dog. She is a sweety, and I don't think many other owners would have gone as far as you did."

I asked her if Dr. Muller had done the procedure on the other dog with Distemper and she said she didn't know and I told her I hope he did soon because I want others to be saved too. As much as I love Carmella I can imagine how much others in the same situation want their dogs to overcome this disease and they should have the same chance.

Dr. Muller was off today and will be out of the office next week but Cecelia asked me to call on Monday and she would find out about a follow-up appointment for Carmella.

After I had dinner and fed Carmella her kibble I opened up a big Granny Smith apple, as promised, peeled, cut it into sections and gave it to her as a reward for getting through all this. She gobbled it down enthusiastically and I took some very cute pictures of her.

It seems fitting that she should get an apple given the apple's symbolism throughout history of the acquisition of knowledge, and of stepping out on faith, and her eating it was almost a sort of communion which indicates new life, nourishment, (and on an even more global level) opening the door to new frontiers.

Carmella's expenses are adding up, so your donations and/or purchases are still needed to help with her vet bill. Please use the donation button in my sidebar, purchase handcrafted jewelry from my Etsy store, or buy a $5.00 ad on my blog like the banners you see to your right in the area which says "Are you in my top spots?" through Scratchback.

Also, please share the information here with your vets, let them know that this cure is real and that the demand for it is growing. No dog needs to die of Distemper or become irreperably disabled any longer if vets do this early enough in the disease process. If you work for or with a shelter please tell them about this option.

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Carmella's Medical Miracle-Part Two Completed!

Carmella has now had the NDV injected into the Foramen Magnum (the area at the back of the neck just below the skull). Everything went according to plan and she has not had any adverse reactions.

This morning Dr. Muller came into the room after we had spoken with the nurse assigned to her about the medical miracle, and you could tell that he was excited about the prospect of doing something that few vets have tried in the course of their entire career.

Often veterinary medicine in private practice can become rather mundane and routine. There are only so may rabies shots, spayings and neuterings, routine check-ups and common injuries you can take care of before it all just runs together, and so this day was filled with wonder and possibility.

Dr. Muller was beaming from ear to ear as if he'd known us for a long time, greeted me, and shook my hand. Carmella went right up to him and jumped up with her front paws on his white coat, sensing that he was one of those few who really "got" her and the value of her life. The nervousness she'd shown in the taxi on the way over seemed to melt away and was replaced by the current state of hope and anticipation that filled the air. At first he seemed a little unnerved by her exuberant and unabashed entrance into his personal space but soon he forgot all that and reached over and petted her. Carmella has a way of doing that without even trying. Her spirit shines through with the intensity of a thousand suns to transcend the confines of species.

"So she is having myoclonic jerking in the right front leg?"

"Yes, and some now in the left back leg too" I replied.

The vet opened the box containing the NDV and looked over its contents. I told him that the bottle contained B1 rather than LaSota strain and relayed what Dr. Sears had said last night indicating that the different strain should pose no problem and it should work just fine.

"Hmm. Dr. Norwood told me verbally that the company sent him LaSota strain."

"Yes, I thought it was until I looked at the print magnified. It really had me worried there for awhile, but I'm glad it's not going to mess things up."

"True; it shouldn't be a problem. I read your blog and you've done quite a good job of documenting all this and put alot of time and research into it. I think all these doctors are just afraid of trying something so new and there is a risk of death anytime you go into the spinal area, but I believe in this instance the benefit is worth the risk because these dogs invariably will progress to disability and die if it's not done. Then there is the issue of all the supportive care and the cost of that, and the special needs for the rest of the dog's life."

"Exactly."

"And the point is well-taken that there's alot more Distemper out there that's not being addressed simply by prevention." Dr. Muller held up the bottle of dillutant and commented on the intense blue color. "This looks pretty nasty. I wonder what's in here? Probably food dye, but I just wonder if that could cause a reaction?"

"Yes, I wondered that myself and was a little shocked when I saw it too."

"I hate to put this into the CNS." He paused holding it up to the light and pondering. "I bet I could just use saline solution instead and that would be kinder."

"That makes sense to me."

"Yes, that seems like it would work well instead of this blue stuff." His ability to think outside the box and trouble-shoot was something that had been missing in the other vets I'd spoken with over the past nonth or so. Where others backed away he was instead thinking of ways to solve those particular weaknesses in the equation. This was just the kind of ingenuity needed.

He asked whether there were any instructions included as to how to mix the two and I said that it didn't appear so. He noted that some of the print on the bottle seemed to be in French. Then he went about calculating out loud the proprtions of saline that would be needed and how best to mix it with the NDV, returning the scary-looking blue stuff to the box. Then he looked over the instructions he got from Dr. Sears and I handed him my copy that I'd printed out. There appeared to be a few discrepancies; possibly one was written later than the other or there were two variations which could be followed interchangeably.

"If there's anything you aren't sure about be sure to call Dr. Sears before you get started just to make sure. He's very nice and says he's willing to give as much back-up as you need. He's retired so he's most likely home most of the time."

"OK."

"He did tell you that you shouldn't expect results immediately..."

"Yes."

"Really we're looking at 4-6 months before we're going to see restoration of the myelin."

"Yes, we talked about that last night."

"I think it will go well. We have ultrasound here so I can see where the needle is and make extra sure it's in the right place."

"Oh, good. That makes me feel alot better. As long as you're skilled enough not to hit the spinal cord then I think it will be smooth sailing."

"The needle just needs to go in about this far" he showed with his fingers "and as long as you don't go in at an angle then you're alright." He seemed to be replaying it in his mind as a trial run, something which many athletes, musicians, and other talented people do to prepare for major challenges ahead, and a very useful brainstorming technique.

Then he and the nurse took Carmella to another room and he told me that he'd come out to the waitingroom to let me know how it went.

I must have read just about every magazine in there. I think it was around 10:00 or 10:30 when I saw him open the door leading to the back part of the clinic.

"Mom?" he said. He was smiling, so I knew the news was good. I jumped up as he motioned me in. "She did really well. No problems, no shock." I followed him down a hallway to the left and into a little room where the same nurse was who had spoken to me earlier. They were just getting Carmella up off the table and she seemed to scramble up with a start, somewhat disoriented. They put her down on a blanket on the floor and her IV came out in her struggling to right herself. The nurse asked if she should put another one in and he told her that it probably wasn't necessary and if she needed more fluids they could always do it again later.

Dr. Muller showed me the vial of cerebrospinal fluid he had withdrawn for the antibody and strain tests. It was milky and somewhat thick, about the consistancy of shampoo. He remarked that he had no trouble getting it and I asked about Carmella's shaved neck where there was a small dot on the left side at the top. That was where he had stuck the needle and he explained that they figure a triangle in order to mark the area to go into. Her bare neck made her look much like a Hare Krishna.

I sat down with her on the floor and she started to crawl into my lap and whine. He'd given her some morphine and it was beginning to wear off. He did not want to give her any anti-inflammatories because the process by which the Newcastle Disease virus vaccine works requires an immune response so that the cytokines in Carmella's brain and spinal area can locate and then kill the Distemper virus. The immune system is thereby put on high alert, turning up a few notches in order to create the power necessary to eradicate it completely.

The NDV in effect acts as an irritant to the dog's immune system in much the same way that sand acts in an oyster except that rather than encasing the virus the way an oyster forms a pearl around a grain of sand it just bombards it. This immune storm takes place within a 24-48 hour period after the injection is given into the spinal canal.

Certain events during that period such as seizures can happen until things calm down again and the virus is gone, so they are keeping her overnight for observation. They have an ICU much like hospitals have for humans. The nurse assigned to Carmella showed me where they would keep her. There were about two rows of cages one on top of the other, and Carmella was placed in one on the upper deck. Across from there was an area with desks and there must have been 15 staff in that room all looking at charts, documenting, monitoring, and taking care of the dogs. I was glad to know that there were people there in that room 24 hours a day in case of any unforseen emergencies.

At the end Dr. Muller told me that he'd leave instructions for the vet on-call for tomorrow and that he or I could call him at home if we needed to. The nurse wrote her name and the other vet's name on our paperwork and explained that if I didn't hear from them by 10:00 tomorrow morning to call and have one of them paged so I could find out how she did overnight. Since the cost of the cab over there was huge I asked if it would be alright if I picked Carmella up later in the afternoon if I could get somebody I knew to bring me after she got off work, and she said that would be no problem.

I looked in on Carmella one more time before heading home and reached in between the bars and petted her muzzle with my finger right near her whiskers and she gave me a wide-eyed look as if to say, "You're going to leave me here?" I told her I was coming back to get her tomorrow. I instantly was tempted to change my mind and take her home then, but figured I better not in case she had an emergency in the middle of the night and I had no way to get her to an emergency vet fast enough. I walked out hoping that maybe she would get some sleep and that it would soon be tomorrow and she'd be over the worst of it.

Her hospitalization required that I pay half the bill in advance which was about $200. I put that on my CareCredit.

The house feels empty without Carmella here and I hoped that people were not bored logging on to watch the Carmella-cam without Carmella. The kitchen seemed overly still and vacant with dog toys and cushions strewn around on the floor.

I was beginning to get very drowsy and develop a headache from lack of sleep and the rest of my body had begun to ache also. If I didn't have an autoimmune disease myself I would have thought it was sympathetic pain to what Carmella was feeling. I at a late lunch, put an ice pack on my head, and went to lie down. Finally the pain subsided and I did get some sleep.

I called Dr. Norwood's office to give them the good news, and sent an e-mail to Dr. Sears. I also asked where he got the Distemper strain tests done, as Dr. Muller had said that Antech labs only does the antibody test. He'd mentioned to me in the office that we might have to send it off to a University vet school and I told him that was alright with me. If Carmella's information could help other dogs then it was worth it.

Before Dr. Muller said goodbye he asked if he could keep the remaining part of the bottle of NDV because he has another dog he'd also like to treat with it that is just beginning to develop neuro symptoms.

I really hope he and Dr. Norwood do collaborate on a paper about Carmella's recovery. Somebody has to be the first to get this cure into the medical journals, no matter how small a story. It will be nice if this happens in Dr. Sears' lifetime. He deserves to see this put on the map while he can enjoy the accomplishment, and if no more dogs and their owners are left out of luck because there is something written up, then all this work will have been worth it. Carmella is a testament to its effectiveness, and that is a beautiful thing.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

A Little Panic For A Moment but We're Ready

This afternoon I was tying up alot of loose ends and taking more pictures of Carmella when I decided it might be educational to show on my blog what NDV looks like, so I opened my refrigerator and held it up to the light and took a picture of that and another of the dillutant that goes with it.

Everything was going smoothly when I got down to cropping and editing my pictures and when I came to that one as I cropped it and showed it to "fit on screen" I saw the magnified tiny lettering below the title and it said B1, not LaSota strain. I freaked out because this was why the procedure was rescheduled the first time, thinking that would not work, but this time it was too late.

I rushed around writing e-mails to Dr. Sears and Dr. Norwood in a panic asking if they knew whether this strain would do the same job or whether it would hurt her if it was not LaSota strain. Being around 6:30 pm Dr. Norwood was already gone and I figured I may or may not hear from Dr. Sears in time unless he checks his e-mail in the evening. I waited until around 9:00 pm and kept checking and since tomorrow when I got up would probably really be the crack of dawn for him I figured I better call him.

He answered the phone and I told him the predicament. Luckily he said it would still work and that as long as it did not have other viruses mixed with it there would be no risk of a reaction. I took a magnifyer and looked at the little bottle very carefully. There were no other names on it, so we should be OK.

Dr. Sears told me that we should not expect the fast kind of recovery that we saw in the body to take place in the CNS, and that for the kinds of symptoms due to demyelination that Carmella has we should not expect to see noticeable improvement for a minimum of 4-6 months. He said that's how long it takes for the regeneration of myelin and new pathways to be created via stem cells. This in and of itself is exciting because in documents written earlier he is conservative on the prospect of regeneration but focused more on the heading-off of further damage, although it is alluded to in certain paragraphs.

He asked me to stay in touch and I said I would. I was too nervous to stay on the phone for very long.

As an aside; it is uncanny that the theme of regeneration keeps showing up in my life.

Both Carmella and I have been nervous as hell this evening. Everytime I go into the kitchen she wants to chew on me. I tried getting her to eat as much as she could earlier because after 10:00 pm she is not supposed to eat anything and she can just have a little water. I need to take her outside on a leash tonight before I got to bed and in the morning because she will eat anything she can get off the ground, even sticks or dirt if I don't stop her.

Tonight I put together a folder with her medical records, the protocol procedure, and other related papers and took out all the stuff from it that would not be pertinent.

Watching the news coverage of the gas shortage I am still a little nervous about taking a taxi in the morning, as the forecast is that lines are shorter but many stations are still running out. I hope there are enough drivers working tomorrow so that they are not too backed up. I plan to call at 7:00 (two hours before we need to be there) just in case.

I also wish that a friend could sit with me while I'm waiting in the waitingroom to see how the surgery comes out. It feels alot like when my son was in the hospital being evaluated for brain surgery. I was pretty much handling it alone.

Well pretty soon the hard part will be over, the last shreds of the virus will be gone, and Carmella will be out of the woods. I'll be glad when she is home, safe and sound.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

Preparing for The Cure!

Today started out full of activity. Having eaten late before I'd gone to bed I awoke with a slightly upset stomach and the alarm seemed to go off way too early. The repairman was coming to get the security lights put up and take care a a few other odd jobs around 9:00 and I wanted to call and get the news from Dr. Muller as to whether he had located the NDV and talked with Dr. Norwood yet. When I called a receptionist told me that he wouldn't be in until 2:00 today. She said that Dr. Norwood had just called and she had to take a message. I asked her to have Dr. Muller call me so I could find out if everything was set.

A little while later the receptionist called back and said she'd gotten in touch with him and that he said I should bring Carmella in Wednesday and get the NDV from Dr. Norwood's office and bring it when we come. I assumed that the two of them had spoken by that time, but the receptionist hadn't asked. She said she'd ask him that and ask whether Dr. Muller felt the vaccine was still viable that Dr. Norwood had.

Then I called Dr. Norwood's office to find out whether they could have it up at the front around 4:30. Felicia had to check with Dr. Norwood and see if it "came in yet" so apparently he had ordered a new batch!

While I waited to hear back from Dr. Norwood's office I took care of some Etsy-related things and wrote Dr. Sears several e-mails and also Dr. Muller to give them the link to my blog and the Carmella-cam.

I called back and Gwen told me that it was ready.

The woman who lives just a mile away got off work early and picked me up and we headed up there.

In the waitingroom was a woman sitting there with two dogs; one tiny little Chihuaua puppy and an older Dachsund. I commented on how cute the puppy was and pointed him out to my friend, saying you could hold it in the palm of one hand. The owner smiled appreciatively and jokingly commented for the other dog, "What about me?"

Felicia turned around as we approached the front desk smiling broadly. "So you found somebody to do the treatment! That's great!"

I said yes and gave her a thumbs up. "And it's just in time. She has gotten worse over the weekend".

"So you won't need the news media?"

"Well, not to get her treated but once she's had the procedure it will be an even bigger story. I'll just need to change my press release."

Just then I noticed Dr. Norwood standing to my left inside the half-door leading to the back. He was smiling and seemed to have come into the room nearly unnoticed.

"Hi!" I said looking his way. "Yes, sometimes she jerks so much it's like she's dancing in place". I did an immitation of Carmella's jerking with my arm and hand on the desk in front of me.

"Oh, wow", he exclaimed, concerned. "I'm glad you were able to find one."

"Did you make contact with Dr. Muller today?"

"I tried, but they said he was out until 2:00, so I e-mailed him, but never heard back" Dr. Norwood responded. "I had a hard time getting this" he said, as Gwen brought out the box containing the precious vaccine and proceeded to tape up the box. "There's two bottles in there but he'll probably only need one."

"When are you taking it over there?" Gwen asked.

"Wednesday. Our appointment is at 9:00 in the morning. I was just going to put it in the refrigerator at home until that day."

"Oh, OK, then the best thing is to take it out of the box when you get home and put it in the refrigerator and put the ice packs in the freezer, then put it back in there together before you leave for the appointment."

I asked Dr. Norwood if he gave Dr. Muller the contact information in his e-mail for the supply company so he'd know in the future where to get it. I didn't quite register his answer, but it seemed as though they might not have normally carried it. The box had an Atlanta address on it which was stamped "late delivery" but no date.

"How's she eating?" Dr. Norwood asked me.

"Great! She almost finished a whole 50 Lb. bag of dog food in one month! I have a webcam on her now documenting her recovery. I hope that with Carmella's recovery we can educate other vets about this so that they realize that rather than putting dogs to sleep there is a real option. If you decide to publish this you and Dr. Muller should collaborate", I said to Dr. Norwood. "After all, your name should be on that paper, because you were a big part of this."

Tears came to his eyes, and suddenly my peripheral vision sensed movement from all corners of the room. I realized at that moment that there was an audience. It seemed as though over the previous minute or so 6 or more people had slowly gathered to watch this unfold.

"When should I bring her in next for you to see how she's doing?" I asked him.

"Well I would bring her in a week later, then a month, then at 6 months, then at a year, but I'm sure he'll want to see her for a follow-up too. Anyway I'm sure he'll want to keep her a few days for hospitalization or at least overnight."

"I hope she gets rid of the jerking."

"We won't know for awhile whether that's temporary or permanent" Dr. Norwood replied.

"Yes, that's true. But myoclonic jerking is considered a type of seizure, so maybe it won't be permanent."

I thanked them and headed out the door, the box in tow.

Once at home I found Carmella stretched out in front of the kitchen entrance as I entered. This was not normal, as she usually jumped up and waited with nose pressed against the crack as soon as she heard people in the garage and jumped up enthusiastically as I came in, but not this time. In fact I had to squeeze by her and move her aside to come in. That worried me.

I unpacked the box and looked closely at the bottles inside. The NDV bottles were amazingly small, each only about one inch high, and they were each packaged side-by-side with a very large bottle of delutant liquid about 5-6 inches tall that was sort of bluish in color. It occurred to me that the vaccine must be very concentrated for such extreme proportions. The writing on the bottles of NDV was very tiny. One would need a magnifyer to read what it said. After putting them into my refrigerator and the ice packs in the freezer I sat down on the floor to play with Carmella. She started trying to chew my pants leg but still seemed particularly inert and avoided standing, moving about mainly by tossing and turning from one side to the other, rolling onto her back and onto her stomach.

She had been outside several times earlier and had been energetic, but usually she has not remained tired for very long after exerting herself. Tonight she seemed notably different, as though her limbs were sluggish and it took some effort to move them. If she can just manage to hang in there until Wednesday everything should work out.

Be sure to check out the Carmella-cam at the top right in my sidebar to see her live.

If you'd like to help Carmella please use the donation button in my sidebar, buy an ad slot, and/or purchase handcrafted and unique art jewelry from my Etsy store; http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/ in advance of the holidays. Proceeds are going to pay off her vet bill. Many thanks to those who have already given, and to those who have commented and given other types of support. Keep reading, commenting, and do whatever you can. Carmella still needs your help, good thoughts, and prayers as she embarks on this next phase of recovery. The next few days are going to be very crucial.

Carmella-Cam Coming Soon!

I've decided to let the whole world wittness Carmella's recovery. Just a quick post before I go to sleep, as somebody could be coming to hook up my wireless system as early as 8:00 am!

I figured I better start this before Carmella has her procedure so that readers can see the before and after footage that still pictures can't quite illustrate alone.

The webcam I'll be using is a Linksys Wireless-G Internet Home Monitoring Camera that works with a wireless router.

Today I spent some time throwing sticks for Carmella in the back yard and got some more pictures of her.

She fell a few times, but is still holding her own.

Tonight she has been jerking, and then I noticed her toenails were very long and needed to be clipped so I had to really wrestle with her to get that done. She acted as though she was being killed even though it doesn't hurt.

She also managed to find a tear in the linoleum and pull off a piece about a foot long, to my horror!

I had to spray some bad-tasting stuff on the area to see if I could keep her from picking at it any more but that doesn't always deter her.

In just a few more days I should hear from Dr. Muller as to when he can get the NDV and do the procedure. Stay tuned! You may be seeing live feed of Carmella's motion starting today or tomorrow. All Carmella, all the time.

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Scheduling The Procedure

Yesterday was a mad rush. I got a call late in the day asking me to order the NDV myself and was given a link to the company a vet tech had located, but upon closer inspection it did not say in the description whether it was LaSota strain or another. (NDV comes in a whole variety of strains). We were shooting for tomorrow as the day for the procedure but when I went to the website I saw that they only ship 2-day service Mon-Wed. and it was already the end of the day, so it looked like it would really take a miracle to get ahold of the right stuff in time for an 8:20 am appointment tomorrow. Besides, the customer service line had already closed, so I had to wait until today to contact the hatchery supply house.

When I got up I called only to find that the strain was B-1, not LaSota, and that was all they had. They also didn't know where to get it, so I called Dr. Norwood's office to get his source, but he was tied up.

Then I put in a call to Dr. Muller at Briarcliff Animal Clinic. It took him a minute to realize who I was but then remembered and I told him that I was trying to get Dr. Norwood's source since we knew he was able to find it for the first part.

Dr. Muller told me also that he had a female vet friend whose husband was a researcher and owned a hatchery and that he could probably get it through them. I don't remember which part of Georgia their place was located but it sounded as though he thought we could get it before the end of next week.

We talked about possibly Wednesday and hoped to get it done before next Friday so that she wouldn't get any worse in the meantime.

He said he was excited about meeting me and Carmella, and was very nice.

Gwen, the Office Manager at Dr. Norwood's office called to get Dr. Muller's phone numbers and e-mail address because Dr. Norwood wanted to contact him with the information directly. I gave her the information, and asked if everything was OK because I hadn't heard from Dr. Norwood in ages. She said that he had just had an unusual number of surgeries and emergencies lately.

He'd had a meeting with some drug reps recently who specialized in vaccines and he presented Carmella's case to them. They were very impressed and urged him to publish his findings!

All this is great news but it also comes at a time when the one friend who is usually home that time of day can't be with me because she'll be out of town the entire week. Carmella and I will probably have to take a cab at least on the way over there, and I won't know if they'll be keeping her overnight until that afternoon when she wakes up from general anesthesia. I'm sure I will be nervous as hell on that day waiting to see how she is afterwards.

Tomorrow I am going to the first bead show I've been to in many months. I need to get some good accent beads to go with my new line.

The woman doing proofs for my custom stamps still hasn't gotten back to me with all of them but I hope to hear from her this week or on Monday so I can decide which ones I want made first and put in an order.

Carmella has been as rambunctious as ever, grabbing at my legs and chasing sticks in the back yard, but I can tell she knows something's up. She has started whining at the baby gate even when she doesn't have to go to the bathroom when I put her back in the kitchen so I can do my work.

If my bedroom door is open she runs and takes a flying leap onto my bed and wants to stay there but pretty soon she starts trying to chew on me and gets restless, then begins looking for trouble to get into on the floor and I have to put her back in the other room.

If the debate isn't cancelled between McCain and Obama tomorrow night I want to watch it. Current events in this country seem to have risen to a general state-of-emergency. Except for snippets of news here and there I've been so busy trying to get treatment for Carmella I have missed alot of what's going on lately.

This gas crisis reminds me of that movie "The Day After" with people operating on a basic survival level fighting over their place in line and arguing over who needs it the most.

Once this treatment is complete Carmella will probably start to calm down. The virus is most likely messing with her head and once the virus is gone she can really begin to start living instead of merely surviving.

If you'd like to help Carmella (God knows what this next part will add to the bill), you can purchase ad space here on my blog through Scratchback, use the donation button, and/or purchase handcrafted jewelry here:

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