I then took her to Kansas State University Veterinary Hospital in Manhattan, Kansas. They took her right back to ICU and started treatment. They took x-rays and did an ultrasound and they said that everything looks really good and they too think it was a toxin. During the rest of the day they noticed that she seemed to have had a stroke with the way she acted. She was going in and out of blindness and she didn't seem to know where her legs were and she would have those screaming fits. She also seemed like she wasn't aware of her surrounding and wasn't responding to anything they did. They thought that it was caused when she had been hit by a car when she was around a year old and was a ticking time bomb in her head. They had given her a very poor prognosis and on Tuesday we were going to go in and put her to sleep so she wasn't suffering anymore. I had called them back to let them know we were coming when the doctor told me that they ran a test for a tick borne disease called Ehrlichia. She tested positive. ( They can get a lot of false positives so they sent her blood to a lab to have the test confirmed.) They said that Ehrlichia explains some of her ailments but not all of them and that she still has a really poor prognosis. Dogs usually present with bleeding out the nose with seizure activity with Ehrlichia and Luci didn't have the bleeding. We were getting ready to leave when the doctor called me back and said she had just spoken to her boss who is an Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease specialist. He told her that he has seen and treated dogs with Ehrlichia and they presented with meningitis instead of the bleeding. She said she did not know that as it isn't reported and taught but he has personal experience. They ordered the special antibiotic that she needs and it was started on Tuesday afternoon. They noticed a difference in her that night and the next morning. She was more aware and seemed to be more visual. They were also able to calm her down by just talking to her and she wouldn't go into a full blown screaming fit. We were able to go see her last night and she looked much better and more awake to me from when we had her here at the house. She started wagging her tail and tried getting up. She still doesn't have use of her back legs but she is using her front legs more. She also seems to have control of her tongue now whereas before it would just hang out the side of her mouth. She was doing a high pitched whine and heavy breathing while we were there. The student working with Luci called last night to let us know that she had settled down and was pretty comfortable and quiet after her 7pm treatments.
This morning the student called to let us know that Luci was pretty quiet and comfortable during the night and that she was able to flip herself over from side to side by herself. She still doesn't know exactly where her back legs are but if she is able to push up against something, she is able to move herself around.
We are so happy that there is a change in the right direction but she has a way to go. They want to get her eating as quickly as possible to put weight back on but she needs to have really good swallowing capabilities so that she doesn't inhale food into her lungs causing more problems. They also think that her yelling/screaming fits are because of the opioids that she is on and it's very disorienting. They are going to talk to the head of the department and see what he thinks about starting her on a very low dose of steroid to help reduce the swelling a bit faster. If she can eat and go the bathroom on her own, she can come home and continue treatment here.
Puppies: The puppies are doing awesome despite mommy not being there. They are all growing and have normal developments and are playing and acting just like the other litters. I had started feeding them puppy food soaked in milk replacer about 5-6 days before Luci got sick. They are all eating well and their teeth have come in. They now eat dry food and drink water, but three times a day we give them warm milk replacer. They are going outside to go to the bathroom when we open the door to the den and they are happy playful pups. Cisco will come over and visit with them but he has learned since their first litter that pups think he can be nursed on too just like Mom. It is so funny to watch how he keeps his backend away from the pups as he backs up and sniffs them. He starts cleaning and licking the pups when they go over to him individually. He has a lot of patience but as they get older he has been the enforcer and the one to teach them manners. They all learn quickly to give Dad his space and he only lets them come over individually or in pairs to play with him.
The doctors at KSU have told me that Luci most likely contracted this when we had a streak of super warm days in the 70's and 80's. We had really cold weather and at night it was in the teens and then it was super warm and only 50 at night. So, she already had the pups before she contracted the tick borne disease. They have also assured me that if she contracted this while she was pregnant, the bacteria don't cross the placental barrier but the antibodies can and sometime if a pup is tested, they show the antibodies from the Mom but not the disease. So according to KSU, no one has to worry about the pups with this.
To be safe, we are taking Cisco in to our regular vet and going to have him tested to make sure he hasn't been bit by an infected tick.
I will post updates here as I get calls from the doctors. Please do not hesitate to email me or call if you have any questions! Good thoughts and prayers are appreciated!