Clive going for a walk

This is Buddy's stroller.......I am pretty sure Buddy hates it though. Clive seems to not really know what to make of it but it's kind of hard to tell.

Update

Clive is still doing really well. The doc had warned that the surgery might not be an instant fix but it's looking pretty good so far. He has a really good appetite and still hasn't thrown up once since I got him home. He is resting more than before but really is pretty active considering what he has been through. He is even playing a little now.....His incision looks good and he hasn't been licking or scratching it so he isn't having to wear his e-collar which I am sure he is happy about.

Just got Clive home,,,,,,

   

He seems to be doing pretty well. He ate first thing when he got home and then paced around a lot. He didn't like the ride home in the car at and I think that got him pretty agitated but now he is sleeping on my arm (makes typing rather difficult). He is confused by his e-collar but it's one of the soft ones so it gives a little when he hits stuff with it so that helps a bit. Ty seems confused by his new attire as well. You can't really see his scar that well in the pics but it's really large! He is shaved on both sides of his body and you can really see how underweight he is now. Time to start fattening him up I hope. The surgeon said she was able to pass a large tube down his esophagus into his stomach while he was under anesthesia so that's a good sign. He will be on special medication as I mentioned in an earlier post (in addition to pain meds) but it has to be compounded so I have to pick it up at a special pharmacy in a few days. I am supposed to keep him "quiet" and "calm" for two weeks now which is going to be really hard as active as he likes to be but I will try.....the grand total was $1990. Thanks so much to everyone who donated and everyone who sent such great vibes his way.....

Update from surgeon

Just talked to the surgeon. She reiterated that the surgery went well. Turns out that Clive had a slightly different type of aortic arch called Aberrant Left Subclavian Artery. All the medical jargon in the articles I have found about it pretty much goes over my head but I am still reading about it. Not finding much about it in cats but I find quite a bit about it in humans. Anyway the result is the same in that his esophagus was being constricted and she has removed the cause of the constriction so now we have to see what happens. His esophagus was very "dilated" when she was in there so the hope is that without the constriction it will regain normal shape and normal function. He will be on a medication for a few weeks that may help with that and he will go back in 2 weeks for another x-ray to see if his esophagus is looking more normal. Also a couple of pics of him getting ready for surgery this morning.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberrant_subclavian_artery
http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/content/full/178/5/1269

clive is out of surgery!

Ok so Clive got out of surgery just fine and the surgeon is supposed to call me later to give me some details. The tech who called me said he was waking up on a normal schedule and that the surgery went well. His body temperature dropped a little below what they like and he had been under anesthesia for some time so they didn't end up neutering him. They are going to do that in the morning when he will have had some time to recover and warm up. It's only about a 5-10 minute procedure. He should be ready to come home tomorrow after work so I will post again when I get him home.

surgery day

just dropped clive off for his surgery. good luck clive! i will post again as soon as i have news.g

hanging out with his other "dad"

Clive loves to sit on the laptop...

Clive loves to sit on the laptop....

CLive & Ty

Clive is having a rough morning today. He had one of his really bad spells early when I tried to feed him breakfast and he hasn't been able to hold much food down yet today.....here he is getting some TCL from his "Dad" Ty. I am anxious for Tuesday to get here so he can get some relief.

HUGE HUGE THANK YOU TO CC'S FUND

This local Charlotte group has come through in a huge way for little Clive and with their help we have now reached our goal!! Clive is so touched that so many people have taken an interest in him and are pulling for him. I really can't say enough about this group and how wonderful it is that they are out there helping people who are unable to pay for expensive procedures for their pets. You can read more about them here and again thank you to them on behalf of Clive:

CC's Heart Fund at Carolina Veterinary Specialists