November 11th, 2006,  (Day 1):
Shown at right is the x-ray of Faith's neck. You can easily see the break and mis-alignment in the first couple vertebrae.

Vet's prognosis is not optimistic. X-rays showed cervical vertebral fractures between C1 and C2 in addition to a fractured dens as well, resulting in the displacement of a number of vertebrae. We were told that there was no feasible option for surgery, and her chances of recovery were practically nonexistent.

The dens bone is a small bone near the base of her skull, one that stabilized and held the first couple vertebrae in line. As a result of the stabilizing bone being broken, the first couple vertebrae in her neck are twisting off to the left, placing pressure on her spinal cord, and causing paralyses. She has no reflexes, and almost no movement in her hind legs, and very limited movement in her front legs.

She is on steroids for the swelling, and calcium supplements to help with her bone re-growth and healing. Lots of TLC, and nothing else we can do but give her all the love and care possible and hope for the best.

Nov 14th,  (3rd day):
The NoBite collar for a neck brace seems to be helping. It keeps her neck from bending for the most part, I think that is about as immobile as we will be able to keep her. She has adjusted well and gotten accustomed to it quickly. She does not seem to be in any pain, and certainly seems to be enjoying all the constant attention she is getting! She has regained some bowel control as well as some limited use of her front legs - today she is able to pull herself around a bit and was able to sit up on her own (leaning against the side of her crate for support) a time or two. Most certainly progress from laying flat out on her side like before.

Nov 16th,  (5th day):
More improvement to be grateful for. Faith is able to move (scoot) herself to her food and water bowls, balance herself in an upright position while eating on her own, and has regained complete bowel control as well. Steroids are reduced from twice a day to once daily.

Faith has some mobility with her hind legs now, but is really lacking on the coordination and balance. It was easier when she didn't get up, but the fact that she can a little is a good thing. The biggest problem now is that she tries to get up then staggers or collapses and falls, jarring herself and falling into things.
I have been working on a "sling" of sorts, and tried it out today on her. I rigged a strip of a soft t-shirt with cutouts for her front legs like a sling under her body. Ran a dowel thru the top to provide support all across, then fastened a strip of elastic to the balance point of the dowel and ran it up to a bar about 2.5 feet above her. Now the elastic will stretch enough that she can lay down easily, and she can try to stand with some support as well, but she can't fall and flop as the elastic is too short. Kind of a bouncy stretchable sling, like one of those baby walkers that hang from a spring on the ceiling. It seems to be working. It keeps her from falling and hurting herself, and compensates for her lack of balance by stabilizing her when she tries to stand.

 

Nov 19th,  (1 week, 1 day):
Faith stood today. Admittedly it was only for a couple seconds, and it was with my help to keep her balanced, but she stood up on all four legs! Any progress is a good sign! She's in the sling anytime I am not holding her, and it has been working great for her.

Nov 22nd,  (1 week, 4 days):
The "little teething terror" is sitting in my lap as I type this, and chewing on anything in reach (fingers are the chew toy of choice at the moment!). She's quite energetic, and keeping her quiet is becoming more of a challenge. She can stand on her own for brief periods of time, although her balance is not enough for it to last long. When in her sling, which helps provide support for her lack of balance, she can now stand and move a couple steps around her area. She's getting lots of lap time, and loving every minute of it! Steroids are reduced from once daily to every other day. Cat-naps in soft sunny spots are an all time favorite as well.

Nov 24th,  (1 week, 6 days):
Faith is standing on a regular basis while supported in her sling now! She's bright eyed and full of energy, and wants to play so badly. She is improving every day. Her balance and coordination are a far cry from what they should be, but they are getting so much better I can see the improvement DAILY. She spends every afternoon and evening in my lap, and has become quite a cuddlebug. Not at all spoiled ... New Photos just added!

Nov 25th,  (2 weeks):
Today is two weeks (one third) of the way thru the 6 weeks Faith needs for her neck to heal. While there is no guarantee things can't slip back to a position that pinches her spinal cord worse and cause regression again, her progress to date has been nothing short of amazing! In two weeks time she has gone from 90% paralyzed and flat on her side, to sitting on her own, standing with support for balance, and walking around a couple steps on her own while in her sling. All this in only two weeks ... and from the dog that we thought would probably never have enough body control to even move again! Here's to hoping the next two weeks continue to show the same rate of improvement! Every time I look into her bright eyes I am so glad we gave her a chance rather than following advice and having her put down. This little dog amazes me, she really has a strong will to live.

Nov 27th,  (2 weeks, 1 day):
They say a picture is worth a thousand words ...
I'll let the photos speak for themselves in today's update!

Wobbly and uncoordinated, Yes ... but she's STANDING ON HER OWN!

Nov 29th,  (2 weeks, 3 days):
We retired Faith's sling today. She has gotten enough balance and is active enough that it only gets in the way now. It was the perfect solution to help her with her balance while she needed it, but now she has improved enough to be on her own! Faith is standing and walking on her own now with no assistance. She isn't great in the coordination and balance department, but has improved to where she can get around functionally just fine. She has a very limited area to hang out (when not in my lap) - it is big enough for her to walk around, eat and drink, and have potty room and a bed, but not big enough that she has room to move around a whole lot more than that. She sure wants to though! She's already dreaming of racing around and playing!

Nov 30th,  (2 weeks, 4 days):
I took Faith's neck brace off for the first time today to give her a bath (which she didn't think much of, BTW). She was easily able to support her head on her own, and had good mobility and movement as well. I always kept one hand cupped around her neck to prevent her from turning her head very much (like the collar does when it is in place), but I am quite pleased with her ability to move and support herself on her own. It was only a brief reprise from the collar - as soon as she was dry it went right back on, and there was no unsupervised movement on her part until it was back in place.

The swelling in her neck is noticeably reduced, and her progress is continuing to look good!

Dec 1st,  (2 weeks, 5 days):
Talk about feeling better ... Faith ESCAPED from her limited play pen area today. We returned from a road-trip to pick up a rescue dog to find her having a blast ransacking the living room ... she was obviously quite pleased with her accomplishment! :) New Photos will be posted tomorrow!

Dec 2nd,  (2 weeks, 6 days):
Another new picture to share. Waking up after a nap in the sun (one of her favorite passtimes - at least she settles for naps since I won't let her play and roughhouse). She is obviously feeling great - I think she is getting frustrated at not being allowed to play like she wants to. Her overall weight is not quite where I would like to see her at, so we are switching her to Evo kibble today to see if that will help. Only 20 days remaining to the 6 week mark!

Dec 4th,  (3 weeks, 1 day):
Faith is now three weeks thru the six weeks we were told it would take for her bones to heal, and she's doing great! Her recovery area has been increased from a 1 ft x 2 ft area, to 4 feet square, giving her a little more freedom and room with her increasing mobility. She now easily gets up and down, walks, and even runs with no problem! Of course the running and playing are not allowed nearly as much as she would prefer, we still keep that as limited as possible to try to allow for better healing. Coordination is still "off", but she gets around without falling 90% of the time now. Half-way thru her 6 weeks and I'm finally allowing myslef to become optimistic, her progress already is so much more than I had dared to hope!

Dec 7th,  (3 weeks, 4 days):
Going for rides is one of Faith's favorite activities now, second only to draping herself across my lap in a peacful slumber, or dancing around on the floor growling and barking at my feet in an attempt to goad me into playing with her. She is developing a very bold and outgoing personality. Very sure of herself and always on the go!

Dec 8th,  (3 weeks, 5 days):
Today was Faith's first real outside adventure - she got to explore around our 5 acres and meet the horses & mule. The checking things out part was fun, but those big beasts that snorted and blew in her face were kind of intimidating ... especially the one with the big ears! Of course she came back in from that adventure nicely tired out, and once again is passed out across my lap as happy as a pup can be. Her progress is a constant improvement still, and her weight is picking back up now that she's on the Evo dog food as well.

Dec 10th,  (4 weeks):
New pictures again today! This girl is so cute I find it impossible to stay away from the camera. How anyone could resist just melting under that gaze is beyond me... well, except for Richard when she's puncturing his bare toes with her little needle sharp teeth! (Did I mention she loves to play?) We had another puppy "day on the town" today, she got to visit some fish and pet stores. She has her own little fan club rooting for her wherever we go now :) Today we got a puppy harness and she starts learning how to walk on a leash. Its not nearly as fun as racing around the house and ambushing unsuspecting toes, but she is a very smart puppy and learns really quickly! Ooh, and look how grown up she is starting to look with her ears settling off to the sides!

Dec 13th,  (4 weeks, 3 days):
Faith is very mobile now. She sits, stands, walks, runs, jumps and plays as well as any puppy her age. Her rear legs don't quite move in sync with her front legs, but they sure can keep up! Although her gait is a little "off", she doesn't have many balance issues or problems anymore, and she has the control to do whatever she wants - she can run, play bow, stand up on her hind legs, and more. Every once in a while her rear end gets going faster than her front, and keeps going for a second after her front stops - with comical results! I always knew if Faith had a chance at all, it would be her determined attitude that helped her pull thru. As she improves it is only coming out more now! Faith has developed a very outgoing personality, and is very insistent about getting what she wants. She is so smart - she learned how to walk in a harness (not a collar as we don't want to put any pressure on her neck) in all of two days! We stopped in to visit at a saltwater fish store today again, and she made herself right at home - racing from one end of the store to the other, stopping to bark and play with guests, and showing off her recovered motor skills for her fans! She seems to think our big dogs are her personal chew toys (they don't seem to notice), but even with all her independence, she still comes running for her nap in my lap as soon as she gets tired.

Dec 14th,  (4 weeks, 4 days):
Faith got her second vaccination booster shot yesterday, and really isn't feeling well today. She has an upset stomach, can't keep food down, and doesn't have much enthusiam for anything. Poor girl...

Dec 16th,  (4 weeks, 6 days):
After two days of being under the weather, Faith is obviously feeling much better this morning. Her appetite returned and she started eating again this morning, and spent the next hour running around playing and seems to be back to her usual bouncy self. She's a bit tired, and is now sleeping (recharging) on my lap again as I type.
New pix just taken this morning added below.

Dec 20th,  (5 weeks, 3 days):
Only three days remaining for the 6 week countdown! I'm still going to be pretty cautious with her, and will probably leave the supporting collar on for a number of weeks still, but at this point things are still looking great! She's doing great! Watch for more updates and photos in a couple days!

Dec 25th,  (6 weeks, 1 day):
We took Faith's collar off today to see how she would function without the support for the first time since her injury 6 weeks ago. [...insert drum-roll here...] She looks amazing! The first thing she did was vigorously scratch all those itchy spots she hadn't been able to reach under there, then preceded to run off looking for someone to play with! Her neck is a little thin due to the lack of muscle tone, but that will be quickly recovered as she starts using it more without the brace. Her balance and ability to get around is as good as I could ask for, the only area noticeably affected still by her injury is that her front legs and rear legs seem a little "off-sync" with each other. Her gait is a bit goofy looking sometimes, but her mobility is wonderful! She can run and play, easily jump on and off low couches, stand on her hind legs, play bow, and more ... not to mention the little terror has perfected the art of ambushing unsuspecting bare toes with her needle sharp teeth!

Faith seemed to enjoy posing for photos without her collar - there are 4 new pictures included below in addition to this one! We'll keep her in the collar for another couple weeks, keeping her supported while she is playing, and gradually reducing her time spent wearing it as she has a chance to rebuild her muscles in her neck as well. Updates will continue, although not as frequently. We'll keep her page updated with her progress and (of course) frequent photo updates as well, so please do check back.

A huge thank you to all the people who have shown such overwhelmingly positive support for Faith and her Miracle! I love reading all the guestbook entries and hearing from everyone who has written to share words of encouragement. It just goes to show, Miracles DO happen.  :)  Faith never gave up, and neither did we.

Jan 10th, 2007:
Faith is completely done with her collar - and doing wonderfully! We stopped by for another visit to our vet and she amazed him by demonstrating her awesome motor skills around the room. He was quite surprised with her progress! To say her recovery has come in "leaps and bounds" wouldn't be much of an understatement at this point - she is as agile and mobile as any pup her age, has a normal range of motion in her movement and neck, and has healed without any major lasting negative effects. Faith is a happy well adjusted little girl - she travels with us everywhere and has many friends who know her by name in the local stores. She is a fearless and brave pup and races around with the best of them with no trouble at all. People who meet her today can't even tell she was ever injured, and those who saw her paralyzed can't believe she is the same dog when they see her run! With her brace off for weeks now and no sign of any regression or pain, I think its safe to say she has completely healed and will be a perfectly normally functioning dog! All she needed was some love and care, and for someone to have a bit of faith in her. :)

Jan 18th:
Added a couple new photos today. Faith travels everywhere with me lately, and she has a new pink jacket as the weather here is cold! (2 feet of snow and temperatures at 10 degrees below 0). She loves to go for rides, and is a well known and favorite visitor at many of the places we shop. At home, she has decided the best seat in the house (when not in my lap) is sitting on Chinga, our Cane Corso (Italian Mastiff). Faith will sit on Chinga's back with her front feet on the couch and will happily survey her domain (you'd get a big head too if you had a pal 10 times bigger than you to back you up!). I think the attitude goes to her head sometimes, she often seems to have forgotten she is only 5 lbs!

Feb 11th:
We traveled to AZ for a rare breed (ARBA) dog show with Tristan (one of our Cane Corso Italian Mastiffs) this weekend. Of course Faith came along as our mascot, and she had a great time! It all started innocently enough with allowing someone to hold her while I was in the ring showing Tristan, but within an hour she had a fan club that grew thru the day! I don't think I got to hold my own dog for more than an hour all day long - she made so many new friends and spent most of her time being passed from lap to lap and held. Tristan and I did great showing - out of the 5 shows, he received an Excellent rating in 4 and a Very Good in 1. Faith was the star of the day though. Her outgoing personality and big eyes won everyone over and I had to double check at the end of the day to make sure none of her new friends followed thru on their threats to kidnap and adopt her! Tristan (shown in photo at right) is Faith's portable bed. Her favorite place to hang out is perched on top of his back surveying her domain!

April 14th:
Faith has grown to 7.3 lbs at her last vet visit, and is filling out into a gorgeous girl. She is a well-known favorite everywhere we go and is always full of fun and good times! During today's visit to the dog park she was most impressed with a Great Dane she met. The only thing that phased her was that try as she would she could not seem to reach high enough for the traditional (butt sniffing) doggie greeting! When we were ready to go though, Faith decided in no uncertain terms that she was NOT done playing, and she was NOT going to leave without having her say in the matter. She would come just up to my fingertips, barely close enough for me to brush her nose, then would flash this mischievous look in her eyes, flip her ears back, and BOLT off and race in a huge circle full tilt to come back just out of reach and tease me to just try and touch her again ... then off she would go! She had half the people at the dog park laughing at her antics!!!

April 16th:
Today is a picture day... Who needs words with photos like these?!

April 18th:
Today's grand adventure involved the discovery of a BUG! It was by far, with no doubt, the most intriguing thing Faith had seen in a long time. She slammed on the brakes mid-stride while racing full tilt, skidded to a halt on her front feet with her butt up in the air, and was completely enthralled with the little beetle's progress across her turf. When I finally ruined her fun by rescuing the beetle and putting it over the fence, she promptly adopted a small pine-cone as her new (replacement) best friend and proudly carried it around till she lost it to another distraction. Enjoy the photos!

May 30th:
Faith went in for her spay today. She is a well known favorite visitor at the vet's office, and had a group of well wishers all the way thru her surgery. I was able to stay with her as she was put under, watch her surgery, and be there to hold her as she was waking up - she is doing very well, although I tend to think she is milking the sympathy just a bit tonight! She figured out rather quickly that if she lays there and gives me a sad-eyed-look, I'll come carry her wherever she wants to go :)

June 11th:
Faith's big accomplishment this month was the day she figured out she she is able to jump up on the bed by herself! She sat there for a moment while the magnitude of her leap sunk in ... then, so very pleased with her new accomplishment, she leapt right off the bed to race across the room and try it again! She practically burned a track in the carpet for the next 20 minutes, jumping off the bed, running full tilt across the room, flipping around and launching off the far wall to fly back up onto the bed again. I have never seen her more proud of herself. :)
She has been sleeping by my side in bed at night for months now - her favorite spot in the world is to stretch along my side between my ribcage and arm, with her head across my neck and tucked under my chin. Since she was young I always lifted her onto the bed when she wanted up , and when she wanted down she was taught to stand and wait for me to set her down. Even with her newfound ability to clear tall beds in a single bound, she still comes to my side every night, stands up and rests one paw on my arm, and waits for me to pick her up and tuck her in. She's so sweet!

July 8th:
Hard to believe my girl is 10 months old already! Faith is filling out and maturing into a beautiful IG. She has put on a little weight and rounded out some of her sharp angles - she is now 8.2 lbs, sleek, beautiful, well muscled and fit. Totally spoiled, she lives the life of royalty. She bosses the mastiffs around before using them for beds, harasses one cat and sleeps with the other, steals and stashes toys from the other IGs, and entertains the young pups for hours on end.
She has located the boxes of toy reserves ... and no matter how many dozens of toys she has scattered across the floor, she will wait till I'm not looking to sneak over to the storage box and pull out a couple new ones. Of course the second she is caught I get the totally innocent "who, ME???" look... (regardless of the frozen with a stolen toy in her mouth pose and incriminating new tags shredded on the floor).

August 11th:
Faith has a new Blog! Keep up to date with new Faith's continuing updates on her very own blog!
Please visit her blog on IGWhispers.com at this link: www.igwhispers.com/forum/blog/justalittlefaith

Happy Birthday Faith!

September 15th:
Today is Faith's First Birthday - she is now a whole year old!
For a little pup that was paralized and given no chance of recovery at 8 weeks, just reaching her first birthday is an incredible accomplishment she never should have achieved. Reaching a year of age healthy, happy, and completly recovered with full mobility is far beyond my wildest dreams for this girl. When I first brought her home from the vet with her broken neck, as I held and cared for her poor broken and paralized body, I prayed that she would somehow accomplish the impossible and against all odds recover even enough to just be able to get around well enough to function happily as a "special-needs" dog. Even to hope for that was asking for the impossible... I never dared to dream that she would today be the happy full-of-life bundle-of-joy that blesses me every day I am graced with her presence!

This dog is an inspiration to me EVERY DAY.
For her to have accomplished all she did, no matter how frustrated I am about life at the moment, I don't really have much to complain about myslef! I am so blessed to be able to share my life with her.

Faith's 1 Year x-Ray Results!

November 6th, 2007:
We had follow up x-rays taken today - 1 year after Faith broke her neck. The x-Rays are AMAZING!!!

Faith's original X-rays (taken November 11th, 2006 & shown again for comparison at right) showed cervical vertebral fractures between C1 and C2 in addition to a fractured dens, resulting in the displacement of a number of vertebrae. The break, as shown in the original x-ray caused her spinal cord to stretch and bend around the ms-aligned vertebrae, resulting in swelling, torn muscles, and paralysis.

Her x-rays today, taken one year following her original break, show an incredible and amazing recovery! Even after watching her progress in leaps and bounds through her recovery and since, I was still floored by what the x-rays showed.

FAITH'S BROKEN NECK HAS STRAIGHTENED AND COMPLETLY HEALED! SHE IS 100%, WORRY FREE, AND IN NO DANGER OF FUTURE DISPLACEMENT OR DISLOCATION, OR ANY CHANCE OF HER OLD INJURY AFFECTING HER SPINAL COLUM AND MOBILITY AGAIN!

Even our vet was surprised by the x-ray results. He credits the early stabilization and care, combined with the fact that she was so young and still growing when the break happened, as big factors in her miraculous recovery. She was young enough to grow thru the break, and for her neck bones to heal as they were stabilized and pulled back together as the swelling was brought down. Long term, she retains a slight bit of un-coordination, (nothing that would be noticed without me knowing what to look for), and a slight bulge on either side of her neck at the point of the break as a result of the massive amount of tearing and muscle damage that had to happen for the severe displacement shown in the original x-ray. Her gait seems to be a little high in the front, but as there was no comparison before the break (due to her young age) there is no way to know if it is possibly just her natural gait or somewhat affected by the injury. Bottom line is that Faith's neck has fully healed, she is doing great, has nothing to worry about in the area of future issues due to the original break, and things couldn't be better!

I'm so happy today :) No more always being overly protective and careful! No more holding back and coddling when she wants to play tug (one of her all time favorite games)! Now I get to go "collar shopping" as she doesn't have to wear a harness all the time for fear of re-injuring anything!

Below is a copy of an 11x14 framed print I took to my vet today. My gorgeous and amazing girl (can you tell I'm just a wee bit biased?) now holds a place in his office on his "wall of fame"! Already she has been an inspiration to other clients who have had a pet with a serious injury!

Have I mentioned I'm walking on air today!??? :)~