Print

[Wilson3]

I thought maybe we could post pictures of our best friends when very sick.
To help others not feel so alone,and afraid.

I know I was when I saw these appear on Wilson. These got this bad a few weeks into treatment. When blasto was trying so hard to stay alive.

The leg where it all started the hair never grew all back on this leg,also it did open up some right before it healed completly


The wriste that has joint and bone damage.the pink skin is where healing has started


The foot he almost lost. thanks to pascalite clay he still has it


his tongue also was hit this picture makes it look pretty good this is when it healed it is more split then the picture shows but no tthe easiest to take a picture of


the time I took this Wilson was on treatment about a month and I really thought he looke dgreat from what he had looked like you can see the lump on his leg also in this picture



wilson3

[Judy]

I think this is a good idea but I think we should label the subject differently so that those who might be squeamish will be forewarned. I also think that if we keep a collection of pictures - this might be very valuable at showing the clinical signs of blasto. While we might have it at a health fair if needed,  I'm holding the vision of these pictures also being used at seminars for vets (I don't have any romantic involvement with a vet - my disclaimer - just wanting to figure out a way best to inform them). Francie's mom (I'll add pictures soon). 

[Jen]

I didn't take any pictures of Dirtbike when she was sick, but K sent me pics of Wilson. Those pictures and his story gave me an amazing amount of hope when Dirt was at her worst.
   Dirt had one lesion on her back, about the size of a nickel.  It was NOT as bad as Wilson's, nowhere near.  But she had lost 40 lbs and was skin stretched over bones, very pitiful.  After a few weeks of Itra, the biggest one was healing, but she got several black lesions around her paws, about the size of a pencil eraser. They did not turn into full-blown sores like the one on her back. I treated all of them with antifungal creams, and they quickly went away.

I should've taken pictures tho.
jen

[WallysMom]

some pics of Wally's lesions/sores...

sorry not the best photos...I will try to get better ones as these were taken with my cell phone's camera which isn't so great.


Ouch on his back paw


showing some Elvis lip....thank you...thank you very much

[Judy]

Francies right toe - the initial site of "infection for one month" until blasto was diagnosed from a similar ugly infection in her hind toe. I never thought it would heal and she would loose it also, but manuka honey healed it.  After it healed she lost the nail. But it has grown back!  Also, when she was in post op after her toe was removed from the back leg, this front toe had been healing but she lay there drooling on it, and then it actually got worse again - a sign defintely for a fungal infection that likes moist areas.

This is before honey, then she healed, lost the toe nail, and the toe nail grew back (she didn't lose the toe, thank goodness - as I feared)

[Judy]

Francie's left front foot  (opposite foot from the picture above) - the ankle where she started limping without a visible sign of disease - her third foot symptom, which developed a huge blood "blister" then started to ooze the dark thick blood/fungus contents. Notice sore area above it also.

[Judy]

Area that had started to heal, then healed fine with honey - what an amazing summer - she took it well, with about 6 bandages every morning and night, and an elizabethian collar, unless I was immediately near her to keep her from licking her wounds
Sorry it is so big - thanks for the help on how to get this in

Note that everything has totally healed although the hair has grown back it is not curlyon the left ankle where she lost all her hair with the wounds. I definitely was scaird that she would loose her left leg for a while - I couldn't imagine her healing - but she absolutely has healed without a limp.

[Judy]

Francie with her neighbor friends and dog cookies they made for her- I have to put a positive picture in

[Wilson3]

it is so amazing the difference!!! she is very cute ( inth elast picture)

[jiggasmom]

this is pretty much all he does, lies around with a pouty face

the swelling in his leg

[Judy]

Awwww - what a cutie!!   Yes, the swelling in Francie's ankle joint looks identical. Most likely it is because it can't drain yet, and is full of junk that the itra/fluconazole is working on. I don't have a picture of Francie's swollen ankle - because it was so dark and she was hairy at the time, but she did loose all the hair on the area of the sores (bullae that opened finally and seeped the contents) but the hair has grown back!  Not curly as the rest of her but straight. After it drained, the swelling on her ankle definitely went down, and the latest xray is that it is not in her bone anymore, she has a residual arthritis in her toe but that is because it took a month to diagnose the blasto, her nail on that toe finally fell off and a crooked one has grown back. Hang in there - this is a couple month process of touch and go, bandaging wounds, loving and caring, spoiling and making sure to daily take the medication. (Because it was not an open sore on her ankle, I did do contrasting hydrotherapy, 3 minutes of warm wash cloth alternating with 30 seconds of cold (once in a while in a little cup) which I think helped to increase the med to the area and get it to do it's thing - but I don't think you need to force the draining - it will come - and most likely you are dealing with other issues until then - on the other leg at the thigh,  she did start to drain on a trip in the car, I didn't realize at the time that there would be swelling/bullae etc.  on other parts of her body that then would open up and drain, so keep a lookout).  Keep up the great work!
Francie's mom
PS I think it would be wonderful to have a healing meeting with everyone someday - possibly at the booth in Milwaukee in January?  My dream would be in the summer sometime for those that can make it in the area - think of all the great insight we all have!!

[Wilson3]

jigga sure has the look !
 And he seems to be on the right track
thanks to all you have done for him


i am wonder if people would be will to share these photos at the expo in Jan??
If so please email them to me at
wilson3usie@sbcglobal.net

I cannot print them from the site

thansk
wilson3

[Judy]

No problem will send - when is the fair again?

[evayola]

I am wondering if I can get you marges xrays because hers were the worst that my vet had seen. I will ask her if they can be made into jpegs so I can print them out.

eva

[Wilson3]

this is the expo
http://www.petexpomilwaukee.com/
if you go tothe vendor page on page 2 it says canine blastomycosis awarness booth # 917 ( once on the page you right click and a list comes up to make it bigger to read at least i needed it bigger)
it was nice she upped us to a corner booth they are better but cost more she gave it for free because its for a great cause

thanks for all pictures they are very helpful!!
wilson3