Barney's heart stopped during his neuter surgery!

[Anna_525]

HOORAY FOR BARNEY!!! Wooot!

Go chew another slipper while your mommy is allowing you to.....

[Scully'sMom]

Somebody pass the tissues please!!!

YAY BARNEY!!!

Barney's Mom, my family and I (and all the people I told at work) are SO happy to hear that Barney has done so well. Not that I should be surprised - I think The Man upstairs was so hounded by prayers he couldn't do anything BUT make it happen.

Please give Barney a hug and a kiss from us!

[AngusMacDoggal]

What a relief!! Yeah Barney, so happy you are on the mend!! Sure taught me to be very vigilant when it comes to Angus and not take anything for granted. I scheduled a complete BOP before he is neutered in 2 weeks.

Have a great weekend Barney and continue to improve!!

[TNA]

Barney's Mom,

We'd love any updates you have on him so far today.

Ang.

[qwas789]

Great news. Barney has been on my mind for the last 2 days. I guess prayers do work.

Especially with Grillywarren`s two Cairns joining in. I can almost picture the two listening and pulling for Barney.

It`s a great day.

[dufunny]

I am so sorry that you are going through this. I realize it has been a couple of days since the last post and I am wondering how you and Barney are doing. I cannot even imagine the shock of a phone call like that, only to recieve another terrible phone call later. You and Barney are in my prayers! This must be devastating. Please keep us updated.

[Deasta]

WOW... i'm so happy for barney!! cairns and their owners are amazing...happy wkend..stac

[kayharley]

Nothing I can add to the previous posts other than to say May God Bless Barney and his entire family...your courage and love definately helped.

A huge sign of relief coming from CT along with hugs and kisses

[mollysmom1]

I was away yesterday so couldn't check on our precious boy, and it was killing me. So glad to hear he's coming along, and I agree w/all the others about the power of prayer. May your little boy gain more and more strength as each day passes. Please continue to keep us posted.

[Lesley]

Thankful to hear the news on Barney. He's a trooper - and we are so glad to hear he is up and alert.

Lesley & Rusty

[Barney's Mom]

Hello everyone! I am feeling discouraged and I needed to share what's been on my mind.

First of all, I want to report that Barney is up to his old tricks again! Flopping over for belly rubs and biting my hand grabbing my slipper, etc. But his vision still worries me. Sometimes it seems like he is seeing fine. I'll pretend I have a treat in my hand and he will follow it with his eyes and head. He walks over to his toys, he pounces on things, he barks at my daughter's toy stick horse (he did that before all of this!). But the thing that makes me sick to my stomach is that he won't chase his toy. I'll throw it and he just sits there looking at me. If I have his full attention and his eyes are down, sometimes he will go after it, but not like a lightning bolt like before. Also, as many of you know, before when I would drop something on the floor he would take off with it. Tonight I dropped a pot holder on the floor and he didn't even notice it and he was standing right by me. And this evening when I gave him his dinner, I made him sit and he did, all the while looking right at me. Then I put his food bowl down and usually he dives into it. This time I put it down and he still looked at me for a few seconds after I put it down. Then I think he smelled it and started eating.

Is he just so incredibly smart that he has us all fooled by learning the sounds and smells of things? When we walked outside tonight, he was barking at imaginary things. Now I know he used to do that a bit before, but it just seems wierd now.

Toomanypaws, I know your husband is a vet. If his sight truly is coming back, and I think it has, could it take a while to come completely back? Is it possible that it could come back, but not completely?

I feel so depressed because he was showing so many signs that he could see again, but then he does something strange. Not chasing his toy really concerns me, because that was his favorite thing to do together. I just felt sick to my stomach all day. Please everybody, don't stop praying!!!! He's not out of the woods yet! Thank you....

[alaskpat]

Your family and Barney will be in my prayers and thoughts. Sasha and Riley were at the vet today I spoke with him about it. He said it is rare but does happen. He did say that sometimes it can take days for the sight to come back after and that he has some vision is a good sign. But a lack of oxygen to the brain is hard to tell. Wishing you and Barney quick recovery.

[toomanypaws]

My dh didn't want me to go into detail here, but from what your're describing, it sounds like his visual cortex was effected due to his heart stopping. Check your PM for more detail.

Continued prayers and (((((((((HUGS)))))))))) to you and Barney!

[maggie]

Barney remains in my thoughts and prayers, don't get discouraged!

[Scully'sMom]

I'd like to second what Maggie said! I know it has to be hard but look at what a walking miracle Barney is considering where he was a few days ago.

Please know my prayers continue for rhim!

[cairnrescueleague]

15 years ago, one of my brothers was hit by a car and suffered a traumatic brain injury. His recovery was a long hard road, and he is not exactly the same as he was before the accident (mostly short-term memory problems). We miss and grieved for Joe the way he was before the accident, but we love him just as much now, possibly a little more because we came so close to losing him. But he's healthy and happy, and the fact that he's still with us is such a gift.

It is amazing how much recovery can take place after a brain injury. Some things come back very quickly, other things take time. But scientists are finding that much more recovery can take place than they originally thought, and the brain can heal and keep making new connections long past the time they orginally thought. Randal McCloy, the miner who survived that accident in WV, has recovered far beyond the point his doctors thought he would, and I think Barney will surprise you.

Also, I don't think dogs have the same consciousness of bad things happening to them that people do. Barney may not even be aware that something is wrong, for all he knows, what happened to him could be something that happens to all dogs. His whimpering may have been anxiety over not being able to see, or it could have been an effect of the anesthesia clearing his system, but it sounds like he's adjusting well.

My cairn Chelsea had to have an eye removed, and she took it in stride. None of the psychological trauma a person would go through. I'm currently fostering a dog that suddenly went blind about a year and a half ago, and if you didn't know she was blind, you would swear she could see. Her ophthalmologist calls her the bat! I also fostered a dog that ended up having to have both eyes removed, and he caught a mouse after that! It's hard on us, but the dogs, especially cairns, seem to adjust very well to adversity.

I will pray that Barney recovers completely, but if there are things that end up not being quite the same, I'll pray that Barney and you are able to overcome the hurdles.

[Lili]

Hi. I'm new to the forum. I'm Mexican, I live in Monterrey, and we're getting our first Cairn next month. I'm very excited. But I got interested in this thread, because I had a miniature poodle for 13 years and she had a real problem with plaque, so she had to have serious cleaning several times. Well, one of those times, her heart also stopped. The thing is she was no puppy anymore. She was at least 8 years old. When I picked her up, she was such a mess. Just like your Barney, she kept whimpering and it took at least 3 days for her to fully recover and be back to her normal self. She didn't have a specific thing, like Barney's sight, though. But she was in pretty bad shape overall, eating very little, crying and not walking much.

Didi got to live several years more after that. She went through several surgeries too. Teeth cleaning and even 2 tumor removals. She was fine. She kept on living a happy life until she died for age reasons.

So don't loose hope. Barney is a puppy and I bet he's much stronger than how Didi was when it happened to her. I'm sure he'll fully recover in a couple of days.

Do not loose hope!

Animo!

[tlwtheq]

Just checking in on Barney this AM. All our love, hopes and prayers,

The Wilk Pack

[Eliz222]

Just wanted to give Barney a hug today. (((hugs))).

[maggie]

Just checking in hoping all is well!

[grillywarren]

Checking in on Barney the Magnificent!

to Barney love Grilly and Madison

Hope your little guy is feeling better every minute!

Ellie

[Hhoky]

I feel awful! I finnaly pried my computer awat from my daughter and started reading right away. I think I held my breath the whole time. I wish there was something I could do for you both...or the right thing to say to help you feel better. Oh ....I just feel so awful for poor Barney and you 'Mom' as well as the rest of your family.

I can sympathize with your situation, Barney and your family will be in my thoughts and I will light a candle on my alter for him.

If there is more I could do....I dont know, realistically you live to far from me to make a cassarole or something.. Once Barney is back to 100% could we send him a teddy or something?

Izbell's sitting here licking my face with worry, I just keep crying for you. I am sorry it comes so late. Hang in there, we are with you.

[kayharley]

Do you think Barney needs another hug from another forum member? Hope so.....

[toomanypaws]

More hugs and prayers from us before we go to bed.

[Barney's Mom]

Thank you all so much for the (((hugs))) and prayers! I will be glad to pass them on to Barney!!

Barney did some things today that made me believe he is on his way back to being normal, at least behavior wise. We have now let him run free into the living room and hall, instead of just being in the kitchen. Because of the way he is now, he doesn't go for every little thing on the ground, so the living room is a nice place to have him with us. However, he got a hold of a shoe, and wouldn't you know it....the old growling, snarling, that's-mine-and-you- won't-get-it-from-me Barnney emerged!! He is starting to play tug of war with things again too! We also play a game where we say, "where's Barney?" and look all around us and up at the ceiling, still repeating that phrase. Before the ordeal, he would come and stand at our feet and bark, sort of saying, "I'm right here!!" Then we get all excited and say "There he is!!!" and he gets all wiggly happy and jumps up on us with his little ears-back submissive happiness. He is doing that now too!

Now I want you all to tell me what you think of these indicators regarding his vision: I was sitting on the floor with my back up against the couch and my legs straight out and crossed. Barney was on the wood floor, nosing / dodging / tossing his rawhide bone around. All of a sudden he grabs the bone and runs full tilt toward me and does a race horse leap in mid air over my legs. Then he did it again! It was funny because he got so high that he had a hard time keeping his back legs from going too far over his head! And Saturday, I took him for our first long walk together since he came home. Before, pine cones were his favorite thing to snatch as he walked along. Well, he saw one on the sidewalk and walked to it. Then I picked it up and rolled it down the sidewalk about 6 feet and he went after it! Also on the walk, there was a man about 50 feet away, walking his big dog toward us. Barney spied them and his ears, head and eyes perked up and then he started pulling on the leash toward him! These three things, and many more, make me think he can see. But then he does something wierd like not being able to find me when I am laying flat on the floor and calling his name. On our walk I was so happy when he chased that pine cone, then he does something strange that makes me wonder if he CAN see....

I am just going to have to stop fretting about it, put him in God's hands to heal, and just love him. I love him more than ever before since he had to go through this. And now I am starting to feel these terrible guilt feelings for even sending him in there in the first place. I think to myself if I never would have had him neutered, this would never have happened, and he would be my whole, perfect little boy. But what's done is done, and what will be will be I guess. I am still very heartsick about the whole thing though, and will be for quite some time.

We go back to the vet tomorrow for a check up. I am half afraid to take him back for fear it is going to jinx his recovery and he will regress! Call me wierd but that's what's going through my mind. I don't know what to expect at this visit, other than to see the total astonishment of every person working there at how good he is doing!! And of course for them to drop the bill in my lap, which is like adding insult to injury. BTW, all of you who asked about the type of anesthesia Barney got...I told the vet to have it written out for me when I come so I can post it on the forum for everyone. So probably Monday night I will have that up for people to read.

Must get to bed. I got the best nap this afternoon, which after losing so much sleep this week, was badly needed. Barney stretched out in his "superman" sleeping position under the chair and joined me!