Sick Bailey = Cranky Ella

We had a very devastating ordeal last week, that thankfully, turned out positive.  Bailey started acting strange Thursday night.  She was panting heavily, walking uncomfortably, and at one point, went outside and laid down on the side of the house.  We immediately rushed her to the ER, as I was afraid it could be bloat.  Well,  by 3 am, after hours of worry and stress, the ER vet told us she might have a twisted intestine and that emergency surgery was necessary.  We wanted to transfer her to our regularly vet hospital, but was told that she should be opened up immediately, and that if her intestines were dead, they would have to euthanize on the table.

John and I were absolutely devastated and could not stop crying, as we waiting anxiously in the waiting room with little Ella.  We felt like we were going to throw up the entire time.  Then, around 5 am, the technician came out to tell us that a rock was removed from her stomach, she passed a bunch of stool, and the intestines were fine!  We were overjoyed!  At that time, we decided to have her stomach stapled to prevent torsion in the future.  I then took her to our regular vet, where she spend the night in the ICU.  We picked her up the next day and are now keeping her on a extremely restricted routine so her stomach and intestines can recover.  I finally took a nap at 1 pm the next day after being up for over 24 hours and juggling breastfeeding!

Needless to say, my body must have released massive amounts of stress hormones into my system.  Ella was pleasant and mellow Friday and Saturday.  Then, by Sunday, she was a cranky little bear!  I think my stress may have made her a bit sick.  Her bowel movements shifted from 5-6 a day, down to 1-2, and they were dark green instead of yellowish brown.  She developed a heat rash and breastfeeding became painful again.  I really think she picked up on the stress of almost losing Bailey.

Sorry Ella!

Things returned to normal by Tuesday.  She was back to her pleasant self and feeding with minimal pain resumed.