The Story Of An Eye (part two)

Getting Mona’s cataract and glaucoma surgeries done was going to be tricky since she had to go to Columbus for it and I had a very hectic work schedule around that time. Luckily, my city’s emergency clinic would transport her to Columbus for a fee. I jumped on that option and took her in early (we’re talking 5:30 AM) on a Monday in September last year. Her surgeries were Tuesday and she would have to stay for at least three days to have her eye pressure checked regularly. This in and of itself was stressful for me, not having my dog, but I could only imagine how it was for Mona. At least I knew what was going on. All she knew was she was away from home with strangers.

Her surgeries went good and the specialist was confident eye sight had been restored. But, her eye pressure started going up. Evidently they go conservative with lasering glaucoma (you can go back in but you can’t put it back), so after spending the weekend at the hospital, I was told they had to go back in. After that, her eye pressure was good. Eleven days later, I get my dog back in an ecollar and on five different eye meds, some which were to be given four times a day, and two oral meds. 

Surgery was on her left eye. (Photo credit: Me.)

She would have rechecks every week to two weeks for a little while to ensure everything was healing nicely and the eye pressure was good. And it was. I got the go-ahead to take off her ecollar, although meds would continue for awhile. I left the ecollar on one more day, then took it off. Then, the following Monday when I got home from work, she was squinting. By Tuesday, I could tell she had a corneal ulcer. Ecollar: Back on (to her dismay). Upon recheck, diagnosis: Melting corneal ulcer (basically meaning infected).

Oh boy. 

Melting corneal ulcer. (Photo credit: Me.)

How will this story end? Stay tuned for the final installment of "The Story Of An Eye".

The Story Of An Eye (part one)

Back in June, I had a dental and skin biopsies done on my long-haired Chihuahua, Mona. She had had some fur loss in some places for a little while and her normally big, fluffy tail was lacking. Little did I know at the time that her skin and coat issues (hormone-related) would be the least of her problems.

Shortly after those procedures, I noticed what looked to be a cataract forming in Mona’s left eye. Bummer, but not too unusual for an 11 year old Chihuahua. However, it popped up so fast that it just baffled me. Nonetheless, after keeping an eye on the eye (har har), I finally consulted with my vet about it. In looking at it in passing (I was there for one of my other dogs and Mona was along for the ride, as always), he suggested consulting with an eye specialist. My thinking is it caught his eye (har har) as being more than a cataract. And it was. She was now at least largely blind in that eye (I HAD noticed some missteps on her part). But, she also had glaucoma, causing higher than normal pressure of the eye. This meant surgery. A whoppingly expensive surgery. The good news was that there was a large chance that her vision would be restored in the eye. So, being the dog (and cat) mom that I am, I swallowed the shock of the estimate and went for it. That’s what credit cards are for, right? Plus, I have pet insurance for her, so I was hoping to recoup some back. However, the story didn’t end with the surgery. Nor did the financial and emotional toll end there, either. 

Stay tuned for part two of "The Story Of An Eye".

Mona before any eye troubles. (Photo credit: Me.)