Frank is at the emergency vet - so worried

[Biogirl71]

Yesterday we were over at my husband's sister's house for Easter. Frank was playing with the other dogs and as always, when he starts panting too much, we put him in a nice cool room by himself for a break. After his break, he was fine, drank some water. The other dogs were outside so Frank was just walking around the house by himself. After a bit, I noticed he started having trouble breathing. I thought he might be overheated, so I used cool washcloths to try and cool him down, but he started doing this awful rasping noise. His tongue and gums started to look purple so my husband and I rushed him to the emergency vet. They sedated and intubated him immediately to get him oxygen because he was at critical levels when we got there. They found he also aspirated so he has fluid in his lungs. They have him on a ventilator now and are monitoring his oxygen levels and lungs.

It was so scary to see him laying on the table, hooked up to the ventilator. I couldn't stop crying and I felt so bad for him. I feel so much guilt and keep thinking that I should have been watching more closely or given him a break sooner or have been careful about giving him water.....right now we are just waiting to hear back about how he is doing after the overnight.

 

[mer55]

Omg!! So scary!! Praying so hard for Frankie's quick recovery!!

 

[Marine91]

Keeping you and Frank in my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

 

[NigelsMom]

Oh my goodness I'm so sorry this happened please know that you and Frank are in my prayers and I hope he will be ok. Please don't feel guilty or beat yourself up right now Frank needs your strength to pull through. Sending Love & Light!

 

[JeannieCO]

OMG, I'm so sorry this happened to Frank. You know how much I just adore Frank, he, and you, will be in my thoughts all day.

 

[Bazza]

Thinking of you all and Frankie How awlful for you, and don't keep beating yourself up, unfortunately things do happen, and it may have happen regardless. Be kind to yourself and let us know how it goes. Praying hard he will be o.k.

 

[ddnene]

I'm so sorry to hear about Frankie… keeping you both in my prayers!!! Please keep us posted…

 

[buffym]

I'm so sorry, keeping you and Frankie in my thoughts and prayers!!!

 

[brutus77]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I will keep Frank in my prayers today. Please please update when you can.

 

[jimmyjj]

Hi.
Sorry to hear about frank, any up dates ??

 

[Biogirl71]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We just got an update from the vet. Last night they reduced his oxygen to 60% on the ventilator and his levels stayed really good. Then after midnight, they tried reducing the ventilator level to 40% and they said his levels were good for a few hours but then they checked him at 4:30am this morning and his levels were too low, so they increased the ventilator to 60% oxygen again. They are going to continue to monitor him and later this morning try to lower the ventilator to 40% again and see how he does.

So it wasn't bad news, which is good. His levels are stable right now. I just feel so helpless.

 

[brutus77]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We just got an update from the vet. Last night they reduced his oxygen to 60% on the ventilator and his levels stayed really good. Then after midnight, they tried reducing the ventilator level to 40% and they said his levels were good for a few hours but then they checked him at 4:30am this morning and his levels were too low, so they increased the ventilator to 60% oxygen again. They are going to continue to monitor him and later this morning try to lower the ventilator to 40% again and see how he does.

So it wasn't bad news, which is good. His levels are stable right now. I just feel so helpless.

Do they have any idea of the cause yet? Poor baby.

 

[Biogirl71]

They said there was a lot of inflammation in his airways, but they think that was probably from him trying so hard to breathe. They said they thought it was just a cycle where he might have taken fluid into his lungs, then couldn't get enough air, breathing harder and putting pressure on his airways, irritation of the airways, panic, breathing even harder, etc. where it just gets worse and worse. I feel so awful for him. It was horrible when we were on the way to the vets with him gasping for air. I can't imagine how panicked he must have felt. Poor little guy.

 

[Davidh]

So sorry for Frank and we are keeping him in our thoughts and prayers today. I hope he gets better soon, and you can take him home soon. Poor baby boy.

 

[Vikinggirl]

Aww I'm so sorry you're going through this with Frank. I am hoping and praying for you guys that he gets better soon.
Please don't be so hard on yourself and beat yourself up with guilt. These guys are so sensitive and fragile, and you did all the right things by watching him, and separating him when you saw him panting. You put him in a cool room, and he seemed to be okay afterwards. You kept him inside, and continued to watch him which was a good thing because you noticed that he was having trouble breathing and you got him to the vet. Good job. We do our best to prevent them from overheating, over exercising, and over drinking water, but even with our best efforts, we do t always know how they are going to react, and things can change very quickly. He's at the vets now, and he's getting treatment, I hope he continues to improve and comes home soon. Please keep us posted.