Well here we go agian...Need prayers...Update

[M.R.Ducks]

So my dog Tucker had a meningitis relasps Monday morning. We were playing Sunday evening with no problem. Come Monday morning at 6:00 I could tell he was not feel anywhere close to 50%. I took his temp and it was 105.5, 30 minutes later it was above 106. After some discuss with the vet we opted to go ahead with a spinal tap. Later on that day we got the results back for the CSF tap and it showed signs of meningitis. The good news was it seemed to be a milder case that what he had last time.

Well long story short we had to put him back on steroids and he will more than likely be on them for the remainder of his life. While it is only a small dose it is still something that he has to have to maintain a day to day lifestyle. While he does look better he hasn't bounced back quite like he did last them. So we are going to be fighting an up hill battle for the next few weeks. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Its a sad sight to see an animal that loves to do his job so much to be hindered by such a condition.

Time will only tell how much we will be able to do. I guess its time to change his name from Second Chance Hotshot Tucker to Third Chance!

Thanks in advance for the prayers
Matthew Young

[vern3]

Hoping he gets back to his old self, 3rd times a charm.

[DeltaCotton12]

Sorry to hear that Matt.. COME ON TUCKER MAN!!!!!

[southernmallard]

Prayers sent...hope everything turns out ok!

[T-Bone]

prayers sent. t

[Duck Chaser]

Matt, hate to hear that, and hope he bounces back quick. Will be thinking about yall and the Tucker dog..

[3seasons]

Prayers sent Matt, hope all turns out well. Hope to see Tucker running like normal in the Fall

[M.R.Ducks]

Well it was three weeks ago today that I last saw a welling and excited pup. This round has been extremely hard to take! The initial dose of medicine that was prescribed did not work as the Vet or we would have liked. They doubled the dose of steroids that he was getting and boy has it been bad. At the moment Tucker has lost about 3-4 pounds (all muscle). He is eating about 5 cups of food a day but looks like a street hound who digs through the dumpster. The meds are making him lose muscle mass in areas that do not get worked (like his back and head). He drinks so much water during the day that he looks like he has a wormy pot belly.

Currently the plan of attack is to continue him on the high dose for another week to a month depending on how he responds. The vets are hinting around that he may have developed early onset arthritis due to the steroids but can not be for sure until all signs of meningitis have cleared up. Like I said this round has been hard because he is just not the dog he was before (even after the first case). Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We have a long way to go, heres praying that Tucker turns the corner very soon!

[Karen Klotthor]

Praying for a speedy recovery.
Karen

[GulfCoast]

Prayers sent!

[SME]

Double prayers from the GulfCoast family!
SME

[Lady Duck Hunter]

Bless his heart! I know you must be worried sick. Prayers sent for a complete recovery soon.

[merlebo05]

is the meningitis bacterial or viral in origin?? Steriods are palliative care and not curable.

[M.R.Ducks]

is the meningitis bacterial or viral in origin?? Steriods are palliative care and not curable.

NEITHER! Of the 50+ times we have been to the vet they have not found a cause for his illness. The most recent diagnosis was his body is simply over producing white blood cells. From what I have read this is a large stretch. We had to put him on pain meds for the time being until we can get his white cells in check. Hopefully he will crest the hill soon and pull through like last time.

Thanks for the prayers hopefully they will be answered soon!

[M.R.Ducks]

Well it has been a while since I have updated this. A few days after my last post Tucker started getting extremely sick looking. We (my wife and I) assumed that it was because of the medicine he was taking. As I said before Tucker had looked like he was losing weight which we were told was a side effect of the medication. Well last Tuesday I had enough and scheduled an appointment for Thursday. Well Tucker must have overheard the conversation because he spiked a temperature Tuesday. When I let me out of the kennel Wednesday morning he just laid down in the floor. I checked his temp and it was about 104.5. The night before it was 101.something. So I took him to the vet that morning and noticed (as we pulled into the vet) that he had some red areas on his stomach. Weighed him as soon as we got there and he had lost about 12 pounds since the last visit. During the physical exam the tech asked how long he had the mass on his stomach area. I was confused for a moment and then stuck my hand in to figure out what she was talking about. She preceded the exam and we quickly realized the mass was his lymph nodes as other in his rear were also a little inflamed. However the initial lymph node in question was about the size of a small grapefruit. So he was admitted for testing and observation.

Fast-forward about 1.5 days. We were contacted by the vet and after a blood panel, ultrasound, liver cell test, lymph node expression, and bacterial cultures we were informed that his initial diagnosis was staff infection…and oh by the way the original lymph node has ruptured and was leaking "BEARDED CLAM" so he had some sutures put in to tie down gaze. But we were told we could come get him that afternoon around 4:00.

Jump to 3:30: Wife gets a call from the vet letting us know that know is other lymph node (right interior rear leg) had started growing, he had some type of fluid in his right leg, his prostate was enlarged, and he had a UTI. So they wanted to keep him overnight but we could pick him up in the morning.

Jump to the next morning: We are waiting for discharge information and Tucker when the assisting tech comes in and tells us that they went ahead and opened up his right lymph node to drain and added sutures on that side as well. Packed us with string, gaze, glove, antibiotics and other medicine and sent us on our way.

Well after numerous 100 pieces of gaze, an antibiotic that is about $80 a week, we have finally hit the home stretch I HOPE. We still have bi-monthly appointments for the next few months to be sure that his meningitis stays in check since we dropped his pred dose so quickly to help fight the infection.

So again thanks for you thoughts and prayers! You all have been a blessing to have around to have a place to vent/share. BTW I let him out this morning and the first thing he did was pick up a bumper! First time that has happened in a while so I hope it is a good sign!

Thanks again!