Aftercare
I was terrified, every time she coughed I was there cleaning her up. She came up to bed with me, she had a lovely night's sleep, I couldn't sleep in case her coughing didn't wake me up.
After an operation like this there is a lot of phlegm to come up, it has built up over the years and needed to get clear. This was very frightening and Ellie needed a lot of care for the first 4 weeks, by then most of the phlegm had been brought up and she was going to be as she is now.
Ellie adapted very quickly but I didn't, I was still terrified of anything happening to her, what if the hole was blocked and I couldn't hear her, what if, what if, was going through my head all the time. Eventually when nothing out of the ordinary happened, I started to relax and accept this but this was the hardest part, accepting the tracheotomy.
Tuesday I took Ellie back to the vets for them to check, she mugged the vet and nurse because she was so pleased to see them, gave them lots of Staffy kisses and cuddles. The vet was really pleased with her progress over night.
Ellie can never wear a collar again, she can not have a bath or go swimming or she will drown, but she is able to breath better than she has ever been able to before. She has adapted very well, still coughing but that is supposed to go as well. One of the vets, Adel, has a pug with a tracheotomy in who is living a normal dog's life so was able to give me some tips as an owner not a vet. Her dog had this operation 2.5 years before Ellie, I have seen the Pug and you would never know that she had one in.
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Ellie is doing everything at a much quicker pace now, she is playing more, races up and down the stairs as only dogs can, and trots everywhere instead of walking.
She rarely coughs but with the snow and dry air I had to moisten the air in the house, washing on radiators is good for this. She has a nebuliser and will sit with her head up when I am using it. I also bought a mister which puts out a continous mist into the room to help with Ellie's breathing.
I took her back to see Auntie Adel last Wednesday who is delighted with her progress, Ellie only needs to go for her 6 monthly medication check-ups now unless there is a problem. She will be more open to chest infections and I have to take her straight to the vets if she gets one.
Adel also said that it is quite common to put a tracheotomy in as a temporary measure but rare for it to be permanent because of the commitment needed to the dog. Up to now I can't say the work is a lot, I check to see if she needs cleaning every couple of hours but normally she is cleaned about 3 or 4 times a day, I always clean her first thing of a morning and last thing at night so she doesn't need much during the day.
I worried at first if I had made the right decision but seeing her now I have. It all happened so quickly I didn't have time to work out if I wanted to put her through this or not, it was a case of this being done or she died, I am very pleased that I did let them put a tracheotomy in Ellie, her life is so much better now.
Ellie has a whistle when she breaths, she can't bark but makes a funny noise instead. In every respect Ellie is a normal dog, does everything a normal dog does and is a very happy, contented dog that finally she can breath properly.
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