One of my neighbors came with me today to see Powers (Powers actually met him on the first day he came home with me). He's a little familiar with what's been going on, but on the way to the hospital I briefed him on the situation and what possibilities there were with this visit. I packed Powers' favorite toys, his treats he ate growing up (I rotate through various flavors now but save some of his "baby" ones as extra-special treats), various sorts of food (including the puree; thank you for that recommendation), and some clear Pedialyte. Heading in, the veterinary tech gave me the briefing I've heard all weekend about his state and how it's looking grim, and I told her I'd like to speak to the doctor about everything again. A nurse came in with Powers and he had a fair amount of energy today, especially happy to see my neighbor and my mom, who came along, too. Powers was beginning to have too much fluid in his system so they removed his IVs that day and also got him off the fentanyl drip. His protein was low and they were worried he would need a secondary method of feeding soon.
As the nurse was describing Powers' day, I pulled out his treats in their foil bag, and like clockwork Powers walked up to me and sat his wrinkly butt down. I was in awe and tearing up. I went through the motions just like I did when he was growing up, breaking it in half so it was manageable for his baby mouth. With little hesitation, Powers gobbled them up as he always does. I was shocked and wanted to keep this momentum up! Pulled out the chicken and rice "sludge" and got a spoon in front of Powers. He started licking at it and got a few spoonfuls in. I got his dry food and he ate a little out of my hand! I was bawling like a giant baby at this point, because contrary to what was apparently happening earlier in the day, Powers was now eating.
The doctor came in and we had a talk about everything going on and what to expect and watch out for in the coming days. Heading into the visit, I made it clear (again) that the tube idea made me very uncomfortable and I wanted to try having Powers at home to see if that would help any. She seemed supportive of him being "ready," as nothing they'd administer him now wasn't anything I could do as well. We left with Powers and an antibiotic (for maintaining the pneumonia [he shows no symptoms but they want him on it for a while longer]) and anti-inflammatories for the pain. He is home now and sleeping a good deal. He is not yet "normal" judging by his behavior, but I can tell the pneumonia being gone has helped his activity quite a bit. He's been walking all over the apartment reclaiming his territory, haha. Frankly, he is still weak and it shows, but I am hoping these coming days will readjust him and he starts eating normally again. This is the number one concern right now for the doctors, as he needs to be intaking a lot over the next few days. I'm going to need to experiment in the kitchen for a while to see what interests him the most.
As for the bone disease, it is what it is. We are surely far from finished with dealing with it, but at least we have taken a step forward. No one can guarantee Powers will make it through it, but I am eternally thankful for the man upstairs and knowing that Powers and I are meant for each other. I appreciate everyone who prayed for us during this extremely trying weekend, and I've found out in short time what an amazing community you are. I'll be getting Powers to his regular vet this week so we can essentially baseline where we are at now and devise what we need to do in the coming weeks to get Powers back to a better state. I'll keep you all updated as I go. We're not out of the woods yet, but at least we're headed in that direction.
Sending positive thoughts for continued improvement for little Powers.
