The Coach's Wife: Da Da Da Dum….

This is what played in my head (on repeat, of course) the day we found out our little B would need surgery.

Now I know that he’s “just” a dog to some people, but he’s a member of our family, the FIRST member of our family to us. I personally couldn’t imagine him being in pain or not being with us and though hubs would probably not admit it freely, I know he feels the same way.

I’m not sure I remember what life was like before we got Bronx. Pretty boring I’d imagine, cause that doggie keeps us on our toes!

Any who, it was confirmed for us on 11/3/2011 that B had definitely torn his CCL (Cranial Cruciate Ligament) which is basically the same ligament as a human’s ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). He had been a 3 legged dog for several days after the initial “yelp” that occurred on 10/29/11 during his morning bathroom visit and then on the 3^rd an x-ray confirmed that the ligament was completely torn and would require surgery to repair it.

I was calm. I kept reminding myself that it wasn’t cancer, it wasn’t diabetes, it wasn’t a heart issue…all things that are extremely hard to treat for dogs and it WAS treatable with surgery. Our vet explained and showed us a video of the two choices of surgery we had. One of which was designed for smaller dogs, like the lap dog variety and the other which was more extensive and designed primarily for larger breeds that were young and highly energetic. Here’s the crappy part…ya ready? One surgery (the one that probably wouldn’t last 2 years) was around $500 and the other surgery (the one that would probably keep B mobile his entire life and probably wouldn’t fail as long as the recovery regimen was followed) was a whopping $2800.

Now, those were the two surgery options. We also had two other options;

1.) Let him live life as a 3 legged dog and keep him comfortable.

2.) Put him to sleep.

*Cue the tears here….because they flowed. Oh boy, did they flow.

Now don’t get me wrong, he was still the happiest dog around, even on three legs. It didn’t even seem to faze him, but to me that was not the quality of life I wanted for the animal that I love so dearly. So we decided to perform the surgery…the one that would last, the one that would give him the option to run and play and be his rambunctious self. Sure, it was the most expensive one. Sure it was the one with the most recovery time and the difficult recovery regimen…but it is what we felt was best for our boy. Now, how in the hell were we going to pay for it???

Who has $2800 laying around in a bank account some where….ya know like and EXTRA $2800??? I don’t know many people who do and we sure didn’t. I cried. I lost it. I screamed. I cried. I punched pillows. I cried, again. I felt lost and trapped. Because, all in all he IS NOT “just a dog.”

All I can say, is I continue to thank God daily because he truly answered my prayers in this situation.

We scheduled Bronx’s surgery for November 17^th, still not knowing exactly what we would do or how we would pay for it. In the back of my mind I knew, I knew it would end up going on our credit card and it would be yet another bill.

Another bill to the couple who haven’t received a raise from their employers in FOUR years and are pinching pennies just to be able to continue to put money in our savings!!!

The surgery date came, it went well. Bronx stayed overnight and came home with us on the 18^th. The closest surgeon was 1.5 hours away from us, so I had to take time off from work to handle it. B came home with like 7 different medications and a very strict recovery regimen. Zero activity for 6 weeks. Do you know how hard it is to keep a dog on zero activity??? But we did it. We continue to do it. We’ll keep doing it and whatever else it takes to make sure I get my pup back. It’s hard and it makes me want to pull my hair out, but it’s for the best and it’s for the one I love and that makes it a little easier.

Miracles happen. I’m a firm believer in that. I’ve just never had a miracle, per say to happen to me lately. Or so I thought. A few days after I scheduled B’s surgery I had a meeting with the director at my company. We are small. We are in healthcare. We’re growing, but in this economy it’s slow, and I’ve kept that in mind during my 4 years here. However, during our meeting he recognized my hard work, good attendance and leadership with the company and presented me with a signed wage increase form! A raise! A raise! I finally got a raise! The raise was awesome, to say the least, but not the best part! They were going to back pay me on the wage increase for the past 6 months!!

With that money I’ve been able to pay most of the surgery off and put a little back for the upcoming post-op x-rays we’re having done soon to check on B’s leg. God is good, people! God is good!

So here's B on the way home from the surgeon the day after his surgery.