not good news, not bad news

after a gruelling week of no sleep and constant worry for pingu and her health, i got a call from the vet. actually, it was a message leaving her cell phone number, so naturally panic set in. however, the news was better than hoped but still not great.
basically, she has an infection in her spine (as suspected) which we've been treating with antibiotics for the past week. she now has to be on those antibiotics for another 6 - 8 weeks with continued low mobility and limited exercise. the poor girl is gettin' bony and losing weight!! after that, her spine needs time to heal which means - you guessed it - more bedrest!
aside from that however, is the risk she faces with her degenerative disk disease, something totally seperate from the infection. the issue is with all the extra boney growth on her spine potentially putting pressure on her spinal chord, thus causing paralysis. i truly hope it won't get to that point and take comfort knowing that the radiologist said dogs can and have lived with this type of condition comfortably. as for her falling over and losing balance, well the good news is that it's not a result of pain but rather a neurological malfunction. i'm relieved to hear she's not in pain and judging by her improved attitude, she isn't showing signs of being uncomfortable. several times i've let her out of her crate and she's completely bananas jumping all over the carpet in excitement of seeing me. it's hard to not encourage her playfulness and keep her sedate when she's in such an excitable state, but it's for her better health. 10 minutes out of the crate anyway and she's sound asleep with the antibiotics and muscle relaxants keeping her drowsy.
so sadly there is no cure for her disease and unfortunately the growth on her spine is there to stay. all we can hope for is to keep her comfortable for as long as possible.
thanks to everyone for their concern and thoughts for pingu and us during this tough time. it looks like they're working so please keep up the hope!
i'll leave you now with another picture of my darling doggy.
when she's sick pingu gets away with murder
and ken even lets her sleep on the bed some-
times cause we're total sucks.