10/23/12 - I find it amazing how well known Cletus is becoming (at least in the local area). Doctors are wanting to meet Cletus when he goes in for appointments and they come from all around the hospital to see him. I am getting calls and emails from people in the area showing their support and for that Cletus and I are truly grateful. Cletus' name is known by local pharmacists and vets, technicians, and reporters.
Cletus' story is inspiring, not only is Cletus surviving against all the odds, against the whole deck stacked against him, against the unknown, Cletus is fighting his condition with an amazing zest for life, with a heart filled with joy, and with pure unconditional love.
The unsteadiness that Cletus was showing yesterday seams to be completely gone today. Good days and bad days and it really wasn't a bad day, we have had plenty of bad days, we will call it a dizzy day.
We are scheduled for the first of two cut backs of the CSF medications tomorrow. If you recall, we decided to raise Cletus' CSF medication due to him having some issues with unsteadiness, a little leaning on furniture, staring, etc that were due to neurological issues most likely caused by CSF fluid buildup in his head causing pressure on his brain. Cletus was also placed on a 2nd CSF control medication. It has now been a week and the signs we were seeing have diminished substantially (except for that little blip on the radar yesterday). He goes down on his nornal medication and the extra medication tomorrow morning then next week goes back to his normal dosage of the normal med and off of the extra med.
I am a little nervous taking him down on the meds but we can of course raise him back up or keep him on the higher dose and on the new med if he goes back to having the neurological signs/symptoms so I really have nothing to be nervous about.
This is also the first time since he started acupuncture that Cletus is going a month without acupuncture. Normally, Cletus goes to the acupunturist every 2 weeks but since he has been doing so well, the Dr thought it is better to cut back to once a month as every 2 weeks is too much for a dog Cletus' age. We can go back earlier if Cletus shows signs of stress. Today would have been Cletus' 2 week appointment. It will actually be 5 weeks for Cletus because he was asked to be the subject in front of a class at the acupunture institute, which is a great honor for Cletus, on November 17th.
NOTES:
The more exposure we can get for Cletus, the more likely it is that we can help other animals out there suffering from open lipped schizencephaly. Cletus can't be the only one with this condition. Animals must be getting misdiagnosed and dying from OLS due to vets not understanding what they are dealing with. Help us get the word out about Cletus and schizencephaly.
If you can, please donate to Cletus' campaign http://igg.me/p/217159
As far as Cletus' doctors are aware of, Cletus has the only known reported case of open lipped schizencephaly in a canine. The key word here is reported. Most vets are not aware that schizencephaly exists or they are not aware that this condition is possible in an animal. Cletus is living proof of this possibility.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are 78.2 million dogs in the U.S. (http://www.humanesociety.org/). Some sites state that schizencephaly affect 1.54 per 100,000 people. According to rightdiagnosis.com, schizencephaly affects 1 in 2719 people or 0.04% of the population (http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/lists/preval.htm). The fact is that no one is sure how many people schizencephaly truly affects. If we assume these same statistics in dogs, it equates to up to 31,280 dogs out there with schizencephaly in the U.S. alone.
Please help me to get the word out about Cletus and schizencephaly. Contact your local news organization about Cletus or have your local news organization contact me directly at dsilber27@hotmail.com
Please help us by contacting Ellen through FB and tweet through the avenue below...
Submit your story to Ellen to potentially be on her show and have her help "change your life": http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/respond/?PlugID=432
Tweet her: http://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/
Thank you for your support,
Doug & Cletus
I am Douglas Silber and I was the owner of Cletus, a bloodhound who is reported to be the 1st dog with open lipped schizencephaly (OLS). Even though he has the only reported case of OLS in a dog, he can't be the only one with the condition. This blog began with the purpose of following his life and to help educate about OLS in an animal. Cletus may no longer be by my side but I will continue to push for schizencephaly education and awareness... in the name and memory of Cletus the Bloodhound.
1 comment:
And I am sure Cletus is adjusting to his new found 'status' with the grace and dignity that he defines. I fail to see how anyone who meets Cletus could not fall instantly inlove with him! Gayle
Post a Comment