Thanks again everyone! Your thoughts, prayers and vibes have certainly been benefical for both my boys.
Ziggy continues to do well. I have cut back on the pain meds and he seems to be pretty much the same as usual. He does not like the cone, but that's pretty normal, I would think. He's sleeping in the Den with me right now, so the cone and discomfort are not plaguing him too much.
Okay now for Zack the Corgi. It was determined that the damage to his pasterns has come about from a lifetime (well, almost seven years anyway) of being an exuberant corgi. Every time he has jumped off the bed or the couch or done one of his signature little leaps, he has compromised both his wrists. When he was heavier a few years ago, he probably started the damage. The tests done on Thursday showed that his right wrist is completely broken down in the second joint space. The damage to his left wrist is not so bad but is probably only just a little better.
That's the end of the bad news. Now for the good news:
Almost immediately the following problems or complications were ruled out
1. Zack does not have DM (its a corgi degenerative disease)
2. The situation in his wrists has nothing to do with the back injury he suffered (I dropped him) as a very young puppy
3. It also has nothing to do with the head/injury Zack suffered the night Liesl died. (I was crying so loud that he ran full force into a wall and knocked himself out.)
4. The thing that really most worried me: His wrists will not break as the angle of his paterns gets closer and closer to 90 degrees. He will be in more pain should that ever be the case, but he was shown to have a high pain tolerance so I'm not too concerned about that.
So where do we go from here:
1. There is some hope that by changing his "lifestyle," I can keep the damage from progressing that far. All I have to do is keep him from jumping off any furniture and do my best to limit his native exuberance so his wrists can rest. I also have to take another 4 or 5 pounds off him.
6. He's not going on any pain meds right now. I want to keep those for when he really needs them
7. There is a surgical intervention that could be done if it becomes more necessary. It is way too expensive for me at an estimated $2,200. per wrist. Plus as it fuses the wrist I really don't want to put Zack through both surgeries. Also there is actually some chance that it will not do much to make Zack any more comfortable or to significantly increase his longevity. So for now its off the table, but if Zack should get very much worse in a very short period of time, it could still be done.
The plan for now is to continue his diet and limit his access to things he can jump up on and down from. I am also going to get him some type of support while we are out on walks. In addition, I hope to take him to Ziggy's trainer and see if he can help me teach Zack to keep all four feet on the ground at all times. (Yeah, right, she sighs)
I know you are all wishing Zack and me well as we try to adapt to our new situation. I can't thank you enough for all your thoughts, prayers and vibes.