6 weeks after 2nd treatment

Tristan has been doing very well for the last 4 weeks. That is no to say he never limps, but his limp is considerably less than before his injection. His morning walks are virtually limp free as you can see from the video and he is quite spunky. The 2nd video is dark but it shows a bit of his enthusiasm in the morning at a time when his leg was usually quite bad. He will never be young again but I feel that this has added to the quality of his life considerably.

11-6-08 New Progress

It has now been 3 weeks since Tristan`s 2nd stem cell treatment. I hesitate to say this but it has been 4 days now with hardly a limp at all. I noticed on Monday that he was having a good day and it is now Friday and it continues. We have been having some very damp weather as well which would normally make anyone with arthritis worse. I am still keeping him confined to his room for the most part and only going for short walks to potty for another 3 weeks as per the vet-stem instructions. I hope the progress continues or at least stays as good as it has been this week.

10-28-08 2 weeks after 2nd treatment

Tris went for his second stem cell injection 2 weeks ago tomorrow. I have not yet noticed any great improvement. He had the tumor removed off his rear leg at the same time and thank goodness the biopsy was negative, it was the kind of cell that could easily have turned malignant so it was good that we removed it when w did. We only had enough stem cells to make one shot so we used it for his left foreleg. I have kept him confined and quiet for almost 2 weeks now.

10-14-08 4th Shot

Tristan went for his 4th adequan shot today. He is doing OK with the shots, some days he seems stiffer than others but all in all there has been some improvement. We have decided to remove the growth on his rear leg on Wednesday and at that time we will also do the stem cell injection that we have left. It will be injected in to his left elbow, which is still the joint that gives him the most trouble. Maybe this time the effects will not be so short lived.

10-3-08 We had a good day !

This past Monday, Tristan went for his 2nd Adequan shot. I only noticed a slight improvement up till now from the 1st shot. Today however was a very good day. Usually first thing in the morning he is very stiff but today he hardly limped at all on his morning walk. He will get a 3rd shot on this coming Monday. In the next few weeks he will go in to have the tumor that was found on his rear leg removed. We have decided that at that time we will also use the remaining stem cell shot in his front leg. It seemed very unlikely that I would put him under anesthesia in the upcoming year for the sole purpose of using that remaining shot so it just seemed that the wisest thing to do would be to do it now since he would be under anyway.

You can see in the video from today that he was much more comfortable. It gives me such joy to see him have a good day. Hopefully now, without having to ever do any steps, his improvements will last a while longer...and with the next injection of stem cells he will improve further so the winter won`t be so hard on him.

9-22-08 Tristan goes to the Vet

His ramp is complete and he has taken to it quite well. He still however has not improved at all in his front leg. Today we took Tris to see if adequan shots might be of some benefit to him. We found a new growth on the back of his rear leg that looked rather suspicious, it will have to be removed before too long. If the adequan does not provide him with adequate relief from the stiffness and pain in his foreleg at the time when he is under for the tumor removal we will implant the remaining stem cell injection. He was such a good boy at the Dr. today ( could be that she had cookies ...hahaha) but I do believe he really knows that they are trying to help him.

Tristan gets a Ramp!!! 9-10-08

The workman were rained out but at least were able to finish the ramp part. Tristan took to it right away. I am hoping that it will help in the long run now that he will no longer have that shock to his forelegs from going up and down the steps.

Going down is easier than coming up but he will get the hang of it before long I am sure. He thinks he needs to jump on to the ramp and has stumbled a little a few times, we just need to take it very slow and it will become natural for him.

9-10-08 Always a Happy Boy

His front leg is worse but as you can see he is still one happy boy!

9-07-08 Update

Not much new, Tris is holding his own. He is not doing the steps nearly as well as before so we have someone building him a ramp out of the house shortly to make it easier on him and me. I hope this will help him to improve some as his front leg is still giving him lots of trouble.

8-12-08 Back to Square One

I haven`t been posting much because there hasn`t really been much good to talk about. The 2 videos below were taken this morning on Tris`s first out, again his leash was removed for the picture, we still do everything on-leash. At this point the only improvement I can see or I should say the only way that I can tell he feels better is by the fact that he is still from time to time lifting his leg to potty. I don`t think at all that Tris`s lack of progress should discourage anyone else from trying this treatment, in fact we may go back and try again with the remaining shot in his front leg. I have seen to many remarkable recoveries to think it couldn`t help others more. Perhaps if it had been available back before he became so bad it could have helped more. Unlike some of the other candidates who had only one or two bad joints, Tristan has nearly every joint in his body effected. I do feel at this point that his front leg is even a little worse than it was before we started, possibly because we were more active at first when he was feeling better. We don`t go for walks any more but I do take him just to the other side of the gate to sit in the grass and watch "his" yard, this way he still feels like he is getting out. His spirit is amazing, he always has a smile a kiss and a wag for his Mom no matter what his body feels like.

7-31-08 6 weeks

We are officially at the end of our 6 week re-coup period. Tristan is happy and is doing well, he has not quite made the progress that I had hoped for but I will accept anything that means he feels even a little better. The limp he had in his front leg has been back for a couple weeks off and on, more on than off. I have stopped taking him for his short walks even though he looks to go, I am afraid it is not in his best interest to over-due it. He still appears to be happier and stronger. I do most everything on- leash, even in the house so that he does not go to fast and hurt himself. The video below was taken off leash so you could see how he moves without me taking weight off with his harness.

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY!!!! 7-22-08

The Big Day is here !!! Tristan was 13 years young today. He spent his day doing all his favorite things. He wasn`t having a great day with his foreleg today so we couldn`t go for a walk but he got extra cuddles this afternoon as he sat in the "big bed" (which is code for my bed ha..ha.ha..) with me and his heating pad. He likes that almost as much as going for a walk. This evening he had a burger on the grill( no bun, he`s saving his carbs ..) followed by presents and his favorite of all, banana ice cream from Marble Slab....after all, you are only 13 once!!!! and he can go back to his diet tomorrow.

First there were presents!!!

Then came the ice cream!!!

7-17-08 A Walk in the BIG yard

We haven`t walked for a few days, as much as he would like to do it all the time he is not always feeling up to it in my opinion. Sometimes he can be limping on his front leg rather badly one minute and the next time he gets up he is fine. Today was a good day and boy was he excited to go, I couldn't open the gate fast enough. Tomorrow is 4 weeks since the procedure.

7-13-08 Off Leash

I had Tris off the leash a little today, I made sure I checked the yard for squirrels first so we didn`t have any extra added excitement ! I don`t intend to do it on a regular basis yet. I was thinking that we just passed the 4 week mark on Friday when in fact we won`t reach 4 weeks till this Friday so I don`t want to push things. You can see he is moving well but still favors his left foreleg at times. He seems to be more sure of the steps , he hardly hesitates at all when going up the 3 steps to the house, but I do think he moved better on leash with the harness since I was supporting some of the weight in his front.

It has been getting harder each day to keep him confined in the evening which is normally his "active" time. Nothing like a big old bone to give us some quiet time!!

7-8-08 Hurry Mom !!!...HURRY!!!!!

The end of this video is dark but I wanted to show how well Tristan could move when he wants to. This was taken while I was making his breakfast this morning, if he were not on leash he would probably hurt himself moving around like a puppy!! The boy does love his food!!

7-7-08

Things still going well, he was a little stiff yesterday but this weather has been so crazy. We skipped the short walk yesterday and today just stuck to our trips out for bathroom breaks. The video from today shows how well he is getting around but most of all he is still as happy as can be. His mind would go a little faster than his body would carry him I think. I have started using a little heat on his joints this week like what they suggest, I will see if that makes a difference.

7-5-08 A Very Happy 4th!!!!

It`s been a very busy but happy holiday!! Each day over this weekend Tris has gone for a walk around the "big yard". He actually goes right for the gate since he is enjoying it so much. Today he actually walked all the way to the back of the property and back. Lifting his leg on every flower or tree he can find, something that would have drove me crazy in the past now makes me smile..He pulls so strongly on the harness , it reminds me of one of those weight pulling dogs. He seems to be stronger each day.

7-2-08 A GREAT day!!!!!

Tristan had a GREAT day today. His limp was gone again and he was feeling good. Good thing I had him on leash when I was making his breakfast or he would have been running down the hall at top speed!

For the first time in several years he took a short walk around what we call "the big yard". Years ago if you asked him if he wanted to go in the big yard he would get so excited but it became to much for him so he stayed in the smaller section of our property. Today when we went out I went over to the gate and opened it, he looked at me in disbelief as if to say "are you for real?". We took a nice slow walk once around the yard and back,he was even lifting his leg to mark everywhere when his whole life he has been a squatter, too funny!! He turned when we got back to the gate and actually wanted to go again but I told him this was a good start and under the recommended 10 minutes, maybe next week we would try more. I haven`t seen him that happy in years, it is truly amazing!

7-1-08 A Little Better Today

His limp seemed to be a little better today. It seems to come and go. The 2 videos I posted were taken within minutes of one another. In the outside video he is not limping much at all but indoors it is rather pronounced.

6-30-08 A Little Gimpy today ?

Not sure why but Tris was gimpy off and on today on his front leg again. Last night we had a bad storm about 3am and he gets quite upset and paced back and forth quite a bit. I should have got up and iced his legs when he calmed down but I didn`t. This morning he was limping pretty good but by tonight it seemed a bit improved but not as good as it was. I did ice it through out the day. I removed more than half the stitches and left the ones where it is still not quite healed. He was still in great spirits all day, the limp didn`t seem to bother him, just me. Hoping it is better tomorrow after a good nights sleep.

6-29-08 Mr. "Cone-head"

Another good day as far as movement goes. Today though was the first time he has tried to lick the stitches, so they must be itching, so the cone went back on. It`s time for most of them to come out but there is still one small section on one side that is not quite healed yet so I will take out what I can and extend his antibiotics for another week and see how it does. The area does not get a whole lot of air, so it is taking a little longer to heal. Tris however is in GREAT spirits, I would swear he is smiling. Going into our 2nd week, I can increase his walks by a little bit which I am sure he will love.

6-27-08 Road Trip!!

We headed on over to the vet today for a quick check-up. It is just about time to remove the stitches but before doing so wanted them to have a look at an area in his groin in front of his sutures that was enlarged. Turns out it is just a "pocket" of fluid that is a result of removing the fat cells and it will reabsorb on it`s own. My motto is "better safe than sorry". Everyone at the animal hospital was quite pleased with how well he looked. One thing I noticed different today..when riding in the car I usually have to keep a hand on him to keep him from sliding around as we drove, today he was strong enough to stabilize himself the whole way there and back...then it was nap time.

6-26-08 Thursday

Still doing well, he is really not liking the whole "staying calm" part of this. I have had to confine him to the bedroom in the evening with a bone when he would normally be out and about because he gets to excited and could hurt himself. He must feel so much better that he wants to go faster than his legs can carry him!!

6-25-08 A Very Happy Boy

Last night we left Tris alone for the first time since his procedure, with his cone of coarse (he thinks it`s his hat and that he is very handsome when he wears it ) ;0) When we returned home instead of having to go wake him and let him know we were back, he was standing at the door waiting for us, wagging and barking. It was a really nice site. You can just tell he feels so much better. He will never be young again but just to be comfortable is nice. Today`s video shows how much more power he has in his step I believe.

Another Good Day 6-24-08

Having another good day. Tris went for 3 short walks already today and did very well. I did notice an ever so slight favoring of the opposite front leg from what was treated in our earlier walk. I think he is trying to go a little too fast since his bad leg feels better..I slowed him down a lot on our next outing and he was fine. Jim and I both noticed that he seems to be standing a lot more than he was. When he would come in from his walk he would sit and wait for his cookie, now he is standing and waiting for it and standing at the door and watching the other dogs. He is a lot stronger and much more active..."It`s A Good Thing"

Answering a few questions

1. Someone had asked how long the shots will last ?I don`t think they are really sure but I have read 9 months to a year maybe, I am sure it also depends on the dog...at that point we can use the cells that are banked to inject again.
2. Will I continue to see improvement?..I think again it depends on the individual. I certainly hope he will continue to improve through out the whole recovery period. Some dogs see some immediate improvement and others are more gradual over the coarse of weeks.
3. I was asked what supplements or medications Tris was on daily.

• phenobarbital is the only prescription he is on- 2x per day for a seizure disorder
• aspirin- 325 mg 2x per day
• vitamin E 400 i.u. 1x per day
• 750mg Shark cartilage 2x per day
• Triple strength glucosamine/chondroitin complex 2x per day
• multi vitamin 1x per day
• fish oil concentrate 1000 mg 1x per day
• host defense (mushroom complex) for immune strength 1 x per day
• 1 1/2 tsp pet tinic liquid iron supplement 2 x per day

This is what Tris has been on for most of his life, it is by no means what I would recommend anyone else try without speaking with their vet, this is just what works for him.

6-23-08 Monday

Another good day so far. I had to allow him to come up the 3 steps to the inside by himself today. There was more stress involved for him with me trying to carry him than there was letting him do it on his own. He came up all 3 without hesitation and I iced his joints when we came in just in case. Tris has always been very proud and does not like assistance unless it is really needed. In our morning walk there was a strength to his step that has not been there in quite some time. I don`t see as much improvement in his rear as I do in the front but I think that is to be expected. In front his problem was his elbow and that was injected. In his rear he has bad hips, knees and hocks and we injected knees so I don`t expect it to be as dramatic . All in all I am very very pleased!!

See For Yourself !! 6-22-08

It`s a Miracle????? 6-21-08

It`s only been 36 hours....I wasn`t really expecting miracles and I don`t want to get too excited but again this afternoon and tonight when he went out he had NO limp on his front leg, it had been very noticeable for quite sometime. I will try to take video tomorrow. It was getting very hard by tonight to do the steps because he wants to do them himself and was actually trying to get away from me so I couldn`t pick him up. He felt so good he came in and got his big bone to chew on.

A Good Morning

We have had a great 1st morning post injections. Tris and I did his morning exercises and what I though he would have objected to he was actually quite happy to do. Followed up with some ice-packs which he also sits with and kind of just wags his tails and gives a little lick on my cheek as if to say " Thanks Mom". I can`t believe this could actually be true and maybe it`s just a fluke but when I had him out this morning for his first short walk he did not limp on his front leg. Usually first thing in the morning he would be quite gimpy. I had figured that he would be stiffer than normal for the first few days after the injections just from the discomfort of having an injection in to a sensitive spot so I was quite pleasantly surprised !

A New Beginning

The day went very well as I said earlier. I can see the biggest problem is going to be trying to convince Tris that he needs to stay calm and take it easy for a while. He is sitting here whinning at me as I type to let him out.

You can see from the picture that as soon as the sedation wore off he was able to stand on his own just as well as before. I have put a harness on him to help with carrying him down the steps to the outside. Part of the rehabilitation is that he don`t do stairs for several days and allow the joints to heal as much as possible before putting them through that motion.

With the 2 vials of fat that we sent Vet-Stem, they were able to extract enough stem cells to supply us with 4 injections for today and one to save banked for future use. The procedure today required sedation, which may or may not be required in all cases you would have to check with each individual vet...(not sure if it is just because of Tristan`s people skills or not) Each joint was shaved, in his case both knees and his left elbow to prevent any contamination, the needles were then inserted into the joint capsule and the stem cells inplanted. The 4th shot was given intraveneously to help the body as a whole.

The rehab is very similar to that of a knee replacemnet if I recall. He is not to do any running, jumping or playing at all for 4-6 weeks. We will be doing passive range of motion execises each day followed by ice packs at first and slow-short leash walks. Everything is to be done on leash. The full rehab instructions can be found on the vet-stem website at http://www.vet-stem.com/images/VetRehab.pdf and http://www.vet-stem.com/images/PetOwnerRehab.pdf

We will take it from here and see how well it goes, I will post each day with updates.

It`s DONE!!! and the boy is HOME!!

It is about 1:30 pm, and we are home.The procedure started around 12:15..He looks a little like a patchwork quilt :o) but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and let me tell you it is a beautiful sight to have him home. .. the procedure went textbook perfect. I will explain more once we are more settled in.

Off to the Vet for the injection soon !!

It`s friday morning, we are waiting for the shipment to arrive fed-ex from Vet-stem so we can take Tristan in for his injections. Its almost 10 am and he again knows something is up since he missed breakfast and his favorite morning treats..he`s been a little talkative about it :o). Will post when we return and let you know how he did, I am so curious to see how many stem cells we recieve back from the amount of fat that was sent.

Good As New, Ready for the BIG Day!!!

A little stiff but still able to do the steps.

A Very Good First Night!!!

Tristan had a very good night, he slept through till 7am.I put an e-collar on him as a precaution. He seemed a little uncomfortable in the evening so I opted to give him a tramadol rather than start him back on his regular aspirin regime ( 1-325 mg Bufferin 2x per day) due to the little bit of bleeding he had yesterday. This morning he was still some what stiffer than normal which was probably due to all the extra activity yesterday along with the incisions in the groin area and his lack of aspirin since Monday. The incisions looked very good this morning and there was no more bleeding so I figured I would start him back with his aspirin along with amoxicillin, 500 mg`s 2 x per day. On his 2nd outing, he was just about back to 100%. So much so that he was after a piece of bird bread in the grass...got to love him!! He is a trooper!!! So the worst is behind us and the best is yet to come!!!

Tristan has pretty much slept all day, which is what he needed to do. He was able to go out on his own with a little assistance, was only slightly unsteady and ate 2 full meals. The incision line had a little bleeding after our first trip out but that is to be expected due to the location of the incision and has since stopped.

Not sure if you can see from the image but each incision looks to have about 5 stitches. I continued to use cold compresses 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off for most of the day to minimize any swelling.

The fat cells were packed in a special refridgerated box and I heard from the Doctor that they were picked up shortly after we left around 10:30am by Fed Ex and were on their way to California to be spun out before coming back to us on Friday morning. It`s been a long day so I will close for now...Tristan says have a good night.

He`s Home !!! Phase 1 complete

It is now almost 11:30..Tris has been home in his own bed for about 45 minutes now. I am applying cold compresses to the 2 incision sites. He appears to be doing great. I can`t thank Dr. Sparacino VMD, Dr. Schroll VMD ,Cathryn our Vet Tech. and everyone at the animal hospital for all their help and understanding. The way they handle and care for my boy is amazing...They had to do 2 incisions ,one on each side of the inguinal area to remove enough fat to fill both viles for vet-stem. Each vial contained approx. 4 tablespoons of fat. He`s finally sound asleep, I will take more photos later.

Almost Time!!!

Well, it is 7:30am....we have to leave for the Doctor in about an hour. Tristan knows something is up after not getting his breakfast this morning but seems to be OK with it. He`s a little stiffer than normal since I stopped his asprin on Monday so they wouldn`t have a bleeding issue today. Will update when we return later.

We are scheduled for Wednesday June 18th!!! 9am

This video more clearly shows the problem with his left front leg. He has severe arthritis in his elbow in this leg and does limp, some days more than others. It also shows that he is still able to get up the steps. Our procedure is scheduled to begin on Wednesday the 18th of June at 9am. He will be put under so they can remove the fat cells needed to send to Vet-stem. I might add that he had a complete blood panel run last week to prove that he was healthy enough for the procedure as Vet-stem needs to approve the candidate before going ahead with the procedure.

Video of Tristan in yard 6-15-08

A Little Backround Info

For those of you who weren`t sure, Tristan is a pure bred smooth chow chow. He was born July 22, 1995. From a very early age he began having skeletal problems. He has severe hip dysplasia in his right hip, moderate hip dysplasia in the left. However the left side is the side that has the bad knee on which he has had several surgeries. Over the years he has shifted so much of his weight to the front that he has now developed terrible arthritis in his left elbow, causing him to limp rather badly at times. Last year he was xrayed from head to toe and I was told he not only had arthritis in all the joints of his limbs but also in his spine and neck but yet he never complained and greeted each and every day with a wagging tail. Probably because he didn`t know any different. My hopes with doing this procedure is to give him finally a morning when he can wake-up and not feel pain. For more pictures of this special guy you can check his web page.http://www.luckyviichows.com/tristan.htm I hope to be able to show other people with this blog what is involved in doing the stem cell therapy and how Tris progresses in hopes that it will help some other dogs with similar problems.